Tayassu pecari
white-lipped peccary

White-lipped peccaries are distributed from southern Mexico south to Ecuador, and from the Entre Rios in Argentina to the Pacific coast of South America (Mayer and Wetzel 1987).

Tayassu peccari lives in a variety of habitats, including desert scrub, arid woodland, and rain forest. Thickets, limestone caves, and large boulders serve as shelters. Peccaries tend to live close to the place of their birth, and they rarely travel far from a water source. (Mayer, Wetzel, and August 12, 1987)

Tayassu pecari is a medium sized species. They have a pig-like body with a long snout, thick neck, large head, tiny tails and thin, delicate legs. Head and body length ranges from 750 to 1,000 mm, tail length from 15 to 55 mm, shoulder height from 440 to 575 mm, and weight from 25 to 40 kg. Pelage is coarse and covers the entire body. In adults the color is dark brown to black with white areas in the pelvic regions and dorsal side of the neck. The young are distinguishable from adults by their combination of red, brown, black, and cream coat and the white colored legs and undersides of the throat and neck. Adult peccaries have forefeet with two large weight-bearing toes and two smaller toes used only on soft substrates, all toes have hooves. Their hindfeet consist of two large toes and one smaller one. Peccaries have large, sharp canines that form a distinct lump under the lips. Males have longer canines and females have a larger braincase, otherwise males and females are monomorphic (Mayer and Wetzel 1987). (Mayer, Wetzel, and August 12, 1987)

White-lipped peccaries are active both day and night, but are primarily nocturnal. They are a nomadic species, always moving in search of food and water. Peccaries are gregarious, their home range is estimate to be between 60 and 200 sq. km. They travel in herds that contain females and males of all ages, females usually dominate the males. Herds can include up to 2000 individuals, but most range from 5 to more than 200 members. This behavior protects them from attacks by their natural predators, the mountain lion (Puma concolor) and jaguars (Panthera onca). It also helps them forage more efficiently. Peccaries use their dorsal scent glands as a means of territorial marking, and to identify group members.

Tayassu peccari communicates with sounds. They make low level vocalizations and teeth clatters depending on the activity. Large active herds produce a constant racket of bellowing, screaming, and loud tooth-clacking, which can be heard for several hundred meters. On the other hand, small groups seem to stay quiet.

Peccaries travel long distances and their presence in a certain area is episodic and unpredictable. They usually visit each area for a few hours or for a day or two, often leaving the ground pocked and churned. Like pigs, these white-lipped peccaries use mud wallows. They are visited again and again if along the same route of travel.

(Mayer and Wetzel 1987).

White-lipped peccaries consume many different types of food. Their tooth morphology allows them to consume a wide range of food in the tropical forests, however peccaries eat little meat. Peccaries eat fruit, leaves, roots, seeds, mushrooms, worms (Annelida), and insects. Occasionally, they will consume small vertebrates, such as frogs, snakes, lizards, eggs of birds and turtles, and carrion (Mayer and Wetzel 1987).

White-lipped peccaries have been known to eat farmers' crops. Crops such as maize, sweet potatoes, manioc, bananas, and sugar cane are frequently eaten (Mayer and Wetzel 1987).

White-lipped peccaries are an important source of hide and food for hunters in the area. They offer a large amount of protein for a hunter's diet (Mayer and Wetzel 1987).

Populations in some areas are stable. White-lipped peccaries have vanished from areas in Mexico and northern Argentina where they once lived. Peccaries are threatened by hunters and by deforestation. In areas where they seem to be disappearing, only herds of fewer than 10 members remain (Mayer and Wetzel 1987).

An odd ritual of grooming is performed by this species. One peccary grooms another's scent glands by rubbing the sides of its head on the other's hindquarters and scent glands. This is not related to sex or age (Mayer and Wetzel 1987).