Copenhagen Zoo - Babirusa/pig hybrids

Like other city zoos, Copenhagen doesn't have much space and the hybrids were kept in a backstage enclosure for the latter half of their life. They were put to sleep in late 2008, at an age of 2 years (= young adults). Not because of infection but because good arguments for keeping them alive were missing; being hybrids they were of no conservation value and they took up valuable space. Many zoos have a "full stop policy" on hybrids and in Denmark it is illegal to transfer non-domesticated animals from a certified zoo to a non-certified facility (i.e. even if they wanted, they couldn't transfer them to a random farm to live out their entire natural life). An autopsy was performed by local scientists and Alastair Macdonald, a leading authority in Suid morphology from the University of Edinburgh. Many test were taken. In general the teeth in the lower jaw most resembled that of a babirusa and those in the upper jaw most resembled a pigs. However, the upper jaw tooth that passes through the roof of the snout in the babirusa matched neither that of a babirusa nor the normal downward tooth of a pig. Instead it rotated outwards to exit through the side of the gums (post-mortem photo of male). An apparently unknown bacteria species was found in the stomach samples of two of the hybrids; it appears to be linked to a special stomach section that is found in babirusas but not pigs. The carcasses were forwarded to the Natural History Museum for preservation. In the months before being put to sleep, an intensive observation study was performed. Just like their morphology, their behavior appeared to be a roughly equal mix of the two parent species.

thanks for that. Especially the photo