COLLARED PECCARY
Tayassu tajacu

Look for peccaries in Arizona and Texas to northern
Argentina . . .

. . . hanging around rainforests, but also found in desert scrub and arid woodlands.

Come here snaky, snaky: Omnivores, they eat mostly cactus fruit, berries and bulbs but occasionally eat snakes and small vertebrates. Unlike other desert dwellers, they must always be near water.

They just look like pigs: Peccaries have long, coarse dark gray hair with a whitish collar on their neck. They are pig-like animals with a long snout, thick neck, compact body, very small legs, small, sharp hooves and a very short tail. Their length is 34 to 40 inches; height at shoulder is 21 to 22 inches; and they weigh 40 to 65 lbs. Peccaries have poor vision, fair hearing and a keen sense of smell.

All about babies: They can breed throughout the year but usually mate in February and March, giving birth in the summer. Gestation lasts about 115 days. They usually have twins, but the litter can consist of one to four young. Lactation lasts six to eight weeks, but young remain with the mother two to three months. Females reach sexual maturity at 33 to 34 weeks; the males at 46 to 47 weeks.

Longevity: Eight to 10 years in the wild; about 21 years in captivity.

Mom rules!: They live in herds of five to 15 animals including both sexes. There is a ranking order in which females dominate males (a matriarchy). Peccaries occupy stable territory — usually 74 to 100 acres, depending on availability of food. They mark their boundaries with secretion from their rump on trees or rocks. Most peccaries never travel far from their place of birth. When excited, a musk gland located on the rump opens and exudes a foul-smelling secretion. Sometimes, one animal will battle one-on-one with a predator, giving up its life while other family members flee to safety. Peccaries are immune to some snake venoms.

Listen up!: There are six types of vocalization:

1. Cough: male recalls a dispersed group.

2. Dry short woof: alarm call.

3. Laughing: aggressive encounter.

4. Clear nasal sound: produced during eating hours.

5. Clucking call: distressed infant.

6. Rasping sound (produced by chattering the teeth): angry or annoyed.

Status: 50,000 in the United States, classified as game animals and subject to regulated sports hunting.

Australasia | Conservation Corner | Madagascar |
Marco Polo Trail | North America | Plains of Africa | Tropical America