An adult peccary standing next to a baby peccary

Peccary

The “un-pig”
Type
giant panda

Mammals

Area
North, Central, and South America
The Americas
Endangered Status

Endangered

facts

size
3 to 4 feet
length
The average bed is 6.25 feet long.
Illustration of a peccary and a bed
food
plants & more
omnivore
Illustration of leaves, an insect, and meat

Peccaries eat all parts of plants, especially fruit, seeds, and roots. They sometimes munch on fungi, worms, grubs, small vertebrates, eggs, and carrion (remains of already-dead animals).

habitat
forests & more
Illustrations of tropical leaves

Some peccaries live in rainforests—but some live in deserts! Some live in grasslands or dry thorny scrub. In fact, peccaries have adapted to just about every kind of habitat.

description

A peccary with its mouth open showing its tusks

description

Don’t call me a pig!

Peccaries may look porky, but they aren’t pigs. These hoofed mammals are a separate scientific family (called the Tayassuidae). You wouldn’t want to get close enough to look inside their mouths, but if you did, you’d see that peccary tusks grow straight up and down. Pig tusks curve backward. You can also tell the difference by looking at their tail: if it’s hard to find, you’re looking at a peccary. If the tail has a tassel on the end, you’re looking at a pig. If the tail is curly, you’re looking at a domesticated (farm) pig.

A group of peccaries standing together amongst foliage

Made in America

There are three kinds of peccaries, and they all live in North and South America. The only one in the US is the collared peccary, also called the javelina. Collared peccaries live in just about every type of habitat, and they tend to eat whatever is most abundant there. For example, collared peccaries that live in tropical forests eat mostly fruit; those living in the desert eat lots of cactus.

Close-up of peccary hair

Growing their own food

Peccaries plant seeds, without even trying. They spit out some large seeds and trample them into the ground. Small seeds get pooped out, and some of them sprout. A third way they re-seed is by carrying around sticky or thorny seeds that attach to their wiry fur and fall off later.

A group of peccaries in a pit

Popular hangouts

Peccaries create and use wallows (large mud holes). They are popular places—and not just for peccaries. Some of them hold water even when nearby ponds dry out. Peccary wallows become an important breeding habitats for many frog species.

A peccary jumping

Growing up

A baby peccary looks like a miniature adult and can run around after its mother within a few hours of birth! A peccary herd includes both females and males of all ages. Youngsters often play while the adults are eating, moving, or resting. They are known for their frisky hopping behavior, leaping and running in circles. Juveniles sometimes play-bite and charge each other.

3 peccaries of varying age and size

Conservation

In South America, the rare Chacoan peccary is Endangered, and the white-lipped peccary is Vulnerable. People hunt them illegally. Logging, agriculture, and pasture for livestock destroys their habitat. Most populations of collared peccaries are stable, but in some places, they face many of the same threats. The Zoo is one of 20 zoos in North America and 7 zoos in Europe that are working to increase the Chacoan peccary population. In fact, many of the Chacoan peccaries at the Zoo were born right here.

Quiz

Peccaries are a type of pig.
Yes
No