Species Spotlight: Collared Peccary (Tayassu tajuca)

If you spot what looks like a wild boar off in the distance from your campsite, don’t jump to conclusions – you might actually be looking at a collared peccary, which is a breed apart!

These pig-like creatures get their name from a yellowish band that runs under their neck in contrast to the grey and grizzled black color of the rest of their coat.  If you’re looking to spot a peccary on your trip, keep this in mind: peccaries are sensitive to the temperature, so they’re nocturnal in the summer and diurnal (active during the day) in the winter!

Description: Aside from their namesake collar, peccaries resemble wild boar and are characterized by their four-hoofed front feet and three-hoofed back feet, their short, pig-like snout, their dagger-like canines and their bristly, salt-and-pepper mane. When startled, their dark mane of bristles stands on end, making them appear larger than their 19-inch, 60-pound frame.

Park Habitat: They can be found in the park’s desert scrub along creeks, arroyos and the canyon mouths of mountain ranges.

Diet: Mostly herbivorous, they eat bulbs, tuberous roots, fishhook and hedgehog cacti, agave fruit and insects. They especially love to dine on prickly pears!

Main Predators: Coyotes, pumas, jaguars and bobcats

Interesting Fact: They are sometimes called javelins or javelinas, because they have upper front spear-like teeth that look like javelins!