Collared peccary
| Collared Peccary | |
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| Species: | P. tajacu
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| Binomial name | |
| Pecari tajacu | |
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Tayassu tajacu | |
Collared Peccary, Pecari tajacu, is a peccary species found in North, Central and South America, living in many habitats, such as the Sonoran desert, chaco, deep rainforest, caatinga, cerrado, pantanal and deciduous forest. They are commonly referred to as Javelina, although this term is also used to describe the other two species of peccary.
Collared peccaries are diurnal and live in groups of 1 to 20 individuals, usually 6 to 9. They feed on fruits, roots, tubers, palm nuts, grasses, invertebrates and small vertebrates. They usually sleep at night in burrows, usually under the roots of trees.
It is sometimes called a "musk hog" because of the strong odor it releases, especially when alarmed. In some areas of the Southwestern United States they have become habituated to human beings and live in relative harmony with them in such areas as the suburbs of cities where there are still relatively large areas of brush and undergrowth to move through.
They will defend themselves if they feel threatened but otherwise tend to ignore human beings. They defend themselves with their long tusks, which sharpen themselves whenever their mouths open or close.
References
- Louise H. Emmons and Francois Feer, 1997 - Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, A Field Guide.
- Pigs & Peccaries Specialist Group 1996. Pecari tajacu. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 30 July 2007.