Denver Zoo’s newest residents are part pig, part deer, and 100% weird-looking

The Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance just added a species to the roster that looks like it was designed by a committee that couldn’t agree on anything, and honestly, we’re here for it.

Meet the Indonesian babirusa, whose name literally translates to “pig deer” in Malay and Indonesian. The zoo announced this week that a pair of four-year-old babirusas — a male named Chip from Audubon Zoo in New Orleans and a female named Garland from Nashville Zoo — have officially made their public debut in the tapir/babirusa yard at Toyota Elephant Passage. The two arrived behind the scenes back in June and have been getting acquainted with each other, their new digs and their neighbor Benny, a Malayan tapir they’ll rotate yard time with.

If you haven’t Googled a babirusa yet, do yourself a favor. The males are best known for their upward-curving tusks that grow straight through the top of their snout — a look that says “evolutionary experiment no one thought to stop.” The species only exists in the wild on certain islands in Indonesia and is listed as Vulnerable due to habitat loss from agriculture and tourism.

Chip and Garland are at Denver Zoo as part of a Species Survival Plan managed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, aimed at keeping the species from sliding further toward extinction.

So the next time you’re at the zoo and need a break from the usual suspects, swing by Elephant Passage and say hello to Denver’s weirdest, but quite possibly most lovable, new couple.