Javelina

Javelina (Collared Peccary) The javelina or collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) is a pig-like mammal that lives in deserts, dry woodlands, and chaparral in the southwestern USA and Mexico.

Javelina Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology see peccary. More on Javelina Peccary - small wild pig, genus Tayassu, the only pig native to the Americas.

Javelina is derived from the Spanish word for javelin or sword and is a reference to the peccary's sharp tusks. Pecary is believed to be a Tupi (Brazilian native) word meaning "many paths through the woods." Tajacu is a Brazilian name for the peccary.

They are called Javelina because of their razor-sharp tusks, Spanish for javelin or spear. You may smell a peccary before you see it. The prickly pear is ideal food for the Collared Peccary due to its high water content.

It is commonly called "Javelina" in Texas and elsewhere. Its range extends southward through Central America and into South America all the way to northern Argentina.

Javelinas: Digging the Zoo Adopt a bald eagle or California sea lion. Visit the Smithsonian's American Indian Museum.

The name javelina, Spanish for javelin, is derived from the collared peccary's spear-like upper canines. Collared Peccaries are found in the Western Hemisphere, from the southwestern part of the United States south to Paraguay.

Also known as the Javelina, the Collared Peccary lives in the Southwest where it feeds mainly on prickly pear cacti, grass, seeds, and nuts. It lives in small herds with an equal number of males and females.

Their food sources include, but are not limited to, small rodents, rabbits, deer, elk, moose, antelope, cattle, hogs, skunk, javelina, armadillo, opossum, birds, crustaceans, insects, lizards, prickly pear cactus, fruits, and grasses.

javelina bush, little-leaf squawbush or Torrey yucca, with at least partial canopy cover. The nest is often about a meter (3 ft) off the ground, and is typical of thrashers, an open cup about 20 cm (8 in) outside diameter and 10-15 cm (4-6 in) deep.

In Texas, collared peccaries (often called "javelinas") occupy the brushy semidesert where prickly pear is a conspicuous part of the flora.

There are two species: the Collared peccary or javelina, its briskly , grizzled and gray black hair marked with a white neck band and , survives in small numbers in parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and is more numerous southward to Patagonia; ...

I also found a Spotted Towhee eating from the same bush, and a small group of Javelina came through the area while I was there.

Prey items: deer, elk, pronghorn, rabbits, rodents, javelina and occasionally livestock Predators: None ...

It is two to three feet long and stands about one and a half feet to two feet tall. It has a musk gland at the top of its rump. It uses its musk to identify members of its group and to mark its territory. It is sometimes called the javelina.

See also: Peccary, Collared Peccary, Deer, Musk, Rabbit