Javelina is the Mexican name of the collared peccary (Peccary angulatus) , the only wild pig in North America.
They are called javelinas because of their razor-sharp tusks; "javelina" is Spanish for "javelin" or "spear."
Javelinas live in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts of southwestern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, southward through Central America to northern Argentina.
They weigh 35-60 pounds, and are 40-60 inches long, including their tail, and 20-24 inches tall.
Like all pigs, javelinas are omnivores, eating cactus pads, agave, invertebrates, eggs, reptiles, and birds.
Javelina have poor eyesight but good hearing. You may smell one before you see it, as they have scent glands below each eye and on their back. They use the scent to mark herd territories from 75 to 700 acres and other group members to establish a herd scent.
People often confuse javelinas with pigs that originated in the Old World, since some domestic pigs brought by European settlers escaped into wild. These feral pigs are known as razorback hogs.
In Old World pigs, the tusk is long and curves back itself; in the New World javelinas, the tusk is short and straight. They use their tusks for defense and to dig up roots to eat.
By rubbing the tusks together, javelinas make a chattering noise that warns off predators. They cannot be domesticated as they are likely to injure humans. But they live in relative harmony with people in the suburbs of desert cities in herds of eight to 15 animals. Indeed, residents of cities like Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona consider them garden pests.
They are called javelinas because of their razor-sharp tusks; "javelina" is Spanish for "javelin" or "spear."
Javelinas live in the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts of southwestern Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, southward through Central America to northern Argentina.
They weigh 35-60 pounds, and are 40-60 inches long, including their tail, and 20-24 inches tall.
Like all pigs, javelinas are omnivores, eating cactus pads, agave, invertebrates, eggs, reptiles, and birds.
Javelina have poor eyesight but good hearing. You may smell one before you see it, as they have scent glands below each eye and on their back. They use the scent to mark herd territories from 75 to 700 acres and other group members to establish a herd scent.
People often confuse javelinas with pigs that originated in the Old World, since some domestic pigs brought by European settlers escaped into wild. These feral pigs are known as razorback hogs.
In Old World pigs, the tusk is long and curves back itself; in the New World javelinas, the tusk is short and straight. They use their tusks for defense and to dig up roots to eat.
By rubbing the tusks together, javelinas make a chattering noise that warns off predators. They cannot be domesticated as they are likely to injure humans. But they live in relative harmony with people in the suburbs of desert cities in herds of eight to 15 animals. Indeed, residents of cities like Tucson and Phoenix in Arizona consider them garden pests.
