Earth Almanac: July/August 2006

Spear Teeth

There are no true pigs native to the New World, but the collared peccary—ranging from northern Argentina to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas—comes close. While breeding occurs throughout the year, most young are born in summer, and now—in early morning and late afternoon—is your best chance of encountering family units. But give them space. While peccaries seldom exceed 60 pounds and don’t see well, they will, on rare occasions, charge humans, lashing out with teeth constantly honed by meshing against each other and which give the animal its alternate name: javelina, from the Spanish jabalina, for spear. Peccaries patrol forests, chaparral, grasslands, and deserts in small bands, foraging on all manner of animal and vegetable matter, though none more avidly than prickly pear. They mark territories by rubbing musk from a gland on their rumps onto rocks and trees. Confronted by trespassers or predators, peccaries lay back their ears, bristle their manes, and clatter their canine teeth. If you receive such a greeting, forget the close-up.