Collared Peccary
Tayassu tajacu

Even in places where there appears to be nothing to eat, the Javelina will root around. As an opportunistic omnivore, it will frequently find something.

Feral pigs are easily distinguished from Collared Peccary. The easiest identification is made by size. Feral pigs are larger, in many cases much larger, than Javelina. The hair is also not as dense, and is finer. It does not appear as shaggy as the Javelina. The tail is also longer, and it does not have the Collared Peccary's "collar," or bristled stripe.

This is a good time to mention that the Collared Peccary can be quite aggressive, when conditions are right. They are most volatile, and most aggressive when they have young nearby to protect. And even a smaller specimen is not to be ignored or taken lightly. These animals can cut with their tusks, and bite with their teeth, but their 'charge' alone can be quite dangerous. The animal is low to the ground, and quite dense, and when it is running at top speed (up to 25 miles per hour) and hits a human at or below the knee, the damage can be instantly debilitating. The knee can be disjointed, and/or the leg can be broken by such charges. The Javelina can be a vicious fighter, when the need arises. Unless you live in the outskirts of Tucson in a place with no solid walls, you most likely will not encounter a Javelina in town. But on the immediate edges of Tucson, and all the Sonora desert areas around Tucson, the Javelina lives and roams – and should be respected. If you see one, best to just turn and walk away. You can also see them on the mountain slopes grazing at altitudes up to 6,000 feet above sea level.

This large Palo Verde tree provides a nice, broad area of cooler, moister shade. This is exactly the kind of place herds of Javelina like to root out their shallow ground holes, and spend the hot, mid-day hours in the desert.

I once interviewed an experienced hiker who'd had a run-in with Javelina. He had taken his less experienced girlfriend into the desert for an early morning hike. The young lady enjoyed taking pictures, and she hoped to possibly get some nice shots of some of the desert animals, which tend to still be out early in the morning, after their night time feeding escapades. They saw a Javelina eating some ground level vegetation. The two stopped, and the girl pulled her camera out. The Javelina looked up at the pair a couple of times, but then went right back to eating. The girl was not pleased with her shot, and wanted to move closer, which they did. When they reached a certain distance from the feeding pig, it turned to face them and raised its back hairs. The couple stopped and took one step back, but the animal squealed and started to charge. The couple turned and ran. Fortunately, they were only about fifteen yards from a small set of stacked rocks, which they jumped up on. What made the story so interesting is the fact that the hiker told me that when they arrived at the rocks and turned, the charging Javelina arrived in two or three seconds, but was closely followed by two more Javelina, which seemed equally irritated. They all departed together within five minutes. I asked if both males and females were involved, but my source said at the moment, he was not really concerned with sexual identifications. The point of the story being: if you see one Javelina, there are likely more of them – and likely very close by.

The Collared Peccary is territorial, and it travels in herds that are active at different times of the day depending on the conditions. Here in the Tucson area, they will tend to be more active early in the morning and late at night. During the day the herd will seek cool shelter. Shelters are usually either rooted holes made under the shade and cover of some vegetation, or in small caves. If the temperature drops far enough, the se animals have been known to huddle together for warmth. They communicate with soft grunts while they feed, and with bark-like coughing sounds when alarmed. They also squeal when very afraid or hurt.

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