My hairy neighbors: meet some pig-like animals that "talk" with stinky smells! - behavior of wild pigs called peccaries

Ranger Rick, March, 1994 by Susan Lowell

Welcome to my ranch. I live deep in a rocky canyon way out in the Arizona desert. I have many wild neighbors. At the end of a summer day, three of my favorites often come for dinner. Just watch!

There - a hairy animal is peeking through the bushes. And another. And another. It's Juan, Jose, and Josefina!

The animals are each about 20 inches (50 cm) high, with rounded backs. And they look and act a bit like pigs. But they're peccaries (PECK-uhrees). Some people around here also call them javelinas (hah-vuh-LEE-nuz).

One species (kind) of peccary lives in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It's called the collared peccary because it has a band of light-colored bristles around its neck, like a collar. Two other species of peccaries live in Mexico, Central America, and South America.

THORNY TREATS AND

FAST FEET

Crunch! Munch!

What's that I hear Josefina eating? it's a cactus - thorns and all. That would be a big ouch to me. But eating thorns is no problem for peccaries. The cactus gives them good food and plenty of liquid. That's very important in this dry land.

Suddenly Josefina stops eating and starts barking almost like a dog. She's calling her two babies, Pepito and Pepita. Trit, trot, here they come.

Since peccaries may mate any time of the year, their babies may be born in any month. In Arizona, most babies are born in the summer rainy season, when there's lots of food and water.

Now Juan and Jose are carefully snacking on thistles. The menu for a peccary dinner might be nuts, roots, grass, weeds, prickly pear cactus, pincushion cactus, and sweet pods from the mesquite (mess-KEET) tree.

HELP FROM THE HERD

I often find Juan, Jose, Josefina, and the young peccaries together. That's because peccaries live in groups called herds. Most herds have I 0 to 15 members. By staying together, it's easier for the peccaries to defend themselves from enemies such as coyotes, mountain lions, and jaguars.

But it's not just safety that keeps the herd together. Juan, Jose, Josefina, and the young stay in the same area while they eat. Why? The older members of the herd are better at finding food. So the young ones get more to eat if they stick close to these good food-finders.

My wild neighbors haven't noticed me yet because peccaries have poor eyesight. Also, the wind is blowing my scent away from them. But suddenly the wind shifts - and Josefina's sensitive pink nose twitches.

Long bristles stand up on her back, right where a horse's mane would be. Some of the bristles are seven inches (17 cm) long! Now she looks very scary. Pepito and Pepita hide beneath her for safety.

Click-click-click! Uh,oh - Josefina is clicking her teeth together. That means "watch out - enemy nearby!"

Whoof! cries Juan. In peccary language, whoof means "danger!" It tells the other peccaries that there could be trouble, and it tells me to leave them alone. Quickly, the animals scatter. With their big heads, thick necks, thin legs, and tiny hooves, it doesn't look as if they could go fast. But peccaries can gallop up to 20 miles (33 km) an hour. In seconds, my neighbors have disappeared.

SMELLS THAT TALK

Suddenly I smell a strange odor that the peccaries left behind. It doesn't smell exactly like a skunk. But it doesn't smell like roses either! I wrinkle my nose and say, "Phew - smell those stinky peccaries!"

The smell comes from a scent gland on a peccary's back, just above its stubby tail. It makes a strong-smelling, brown liquid called musk.

All the members of the same herd rub musk on each other. Scientists believe that makes each member of the herd smell alike. The smell helps them keep track of each other. When peccaries move around, they rub their musk on rocks and trees in the area. That says, "Our herd lives here, and strangers aren't welcome."

Other peccaries from different herds often smell the musk too. That tells them they're in the wrong place. And if a peccary gets separated from its herd, it may be able to smell its way back by sniffing for other herd members.

I walk up the canyon, looking for my neighbors. There, I find Juan and Jose. But where's Josefina? Trit, trot. Here she comes, with her babies trailing behind. Jose and Josefina touch noses. "Hello, friend," they are saying. Then they rub against each other to spread their musk.

Now little Pepito is nuzzling Josefina. Rrrr! he purrs, king for milk. But then Pepita nips his leg, and the babies begin to play together.

Young peccaries usually stay close to their mothers. The young "talk" back and forth with their mothers a lot. That helps them stay together. But if their mother gets frightened, she may run off with the herd. The babies usually hide until their mother comes back.

GOOD NIGHT, NEIGHBORS

Jose and Josefina are standing near a waterhole in the canyon. Juan is already drinking there. Then, squish! He starts wallowing in the mud.

Peccaries wallow to cool themselves off and to get rid of some of the little pests that live on their skin and in their hair. When they can't find mud, they take dust baths.

Now Jose and Josefina move in to get their drink. Finally the sun goes down just as they finish drinking. Time to move on! Single file, my hairy neighbors trot away, looking for food. I watch them go, and then I head back to my house.