Nature is a wonderful and beautiful thing, and like us, can make mistakes and also like us, at times, design something that leaves us scratching our head in puzzlement. One of these nonsensical creations is the unusual and bizarre babirusa wild pig -- to be correct, the Sulawesi babirusa wild pig (as you get 4 types, but this one is the most bizarre).

Native to the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi, Togian, Sula and Buru, this wild pig has a very prehistoric look -- the upper canines of the males, are those top tusks and they grow through their flesh, and then start to curve towards their snout!

And then they have lower canines that grow vertically. Those tusks/teeth never stop growing and the top canines/tusks can penetrate the flesh, but luckily this is not common.

There is only one documented case where the tusks grew too far and killed the animal. So, it can happen. What on earth was Nature thinking? There is no clear reason for those tusks, but one reason, given by a renowned researcher, may be the most plausible -- that is the males may need them to protect their eyes during fighting.

Once, their biggest threat was not from predation, but from the competition (competing males) so the males needed those tusks. Today, their decline is not natural and deforestation and poaching have shoved them into the terrible category of a threatened species.

* Yes, they do have a cult following because this is such an unusual and interesting animal -- they are followed by biologists, conservationists, mammal geeks and extreme wildlife travellers.

Photo by Coke Smith.