Peccaries

Peccaries today are entirely American, so you might be surprised to hear that fossil evidence indicates that they originated in the Old World, and in fact were still there until as recently as the Late Miocene.

Why putting your hand in a peccary’s mouth is a really bad idea Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries make an interesting assortment of noises: Collared peccaries Tayassu tajacu produce loud, dog-like barks, and White-lipped peccaries T. pecari scream, bellow and retch when in large groups (small groups tend to be quiet).

Archive 2006-07-01 Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries make an interesting assortment of noises: Collared peccaries Tayassu tajacu produce loud, dog-like barks, and White-lipped peccaries T. pecari scream, bellow and retch when in large groups (small groups tend to be quiet).

Meet peccary # 4 Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries are omnivores, though they mostly eat vegetation (predominantly roots, fruits and tubers), and the suid-like rhinarial disk they have is obviously great for rooting in soil.

More on what I saw at the zoo Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries today are entirely American, so you might be surprised to hear that fossil evidence indicates that they originated in the Old World, and in fact were still there until as recently as the Late Miocene.

Archive 2006-08-01 Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries are ecologically flexible, with the three [cough cough] living species being distributed across rainforest, parkland, scrubland, steppe and even desert, and with Collared peccaries in fact occupying all of these habitats.

Meet peccary # 4 Darren Naish 2006

Collared Peccaries do boundries over lap between territories, do they use natural barriers to define territories?

Meet peccary # 4 Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries are well known for having big, scary canines and, unlike suids, both the upper and lower canines of peccaries are used in biting.

Archive 2006-08-01 Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries are reported to occasionally eat carrion, and they will also eat snails and other invertebrates as well as small vertebrates.

Meet peccary # 4 Darren Naish 2006

Peccaries are omnivores, though they mostly eat vegetation (predominantly roots, fruits and tubers), and the suid-like rhinarial disk they have is obviously great for rooting in soil.

Archive 2006-06-01 Darren Naish 2006