Collared Peccary, Pecari tajacu

Collared Peccary, Pecari tajacu. Photographed within the confines of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona, February, 2022.

Collared Peccary, Pecari tajacu. Photographed within the confines of the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, Palm Desert, California, March 2011. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Collared Peccary, Pecari tajacu, is a member of the Tayassuidae family of Peccaries. The Tayassuidae family consists of three species each placed in their own genera: the Chacoan Peccary, Catagonus wagneri, the Collared Peccary, Pecari tajacu and the White-lipped Peccary, Tayassu pecari. Collared Peccaries are commonly referred to as Musk Hog or Javelinas. The Collared Peccary is also known as the Collard Javerlina and in Mexico is known as the Jabalí (a word also used to describe a wild boar), Sajino, and Pecarí.

Collared Peccaries closely resemble pigs with coarse coats and large, ovular heads with flat snouts. They have “salt-and-pepper” colored hair with a hint of yellow on their cheeks and a white stripe that runs along their shoulders and neck like a collar, giving them their name. In tropical areas, they tend to have darker coats. They have small ears and small black eyes. Their upper canines are straight, and their lower canines are longer and stick out as tusks. Their upper and lower canines interlock when their mouth is closed, stabilizing their jaw and strengthening their biting force. Slight sexual dimorphism is displayed with males possessing visibly larger tusks than females. Their tail is barely visible and their legs appear slender under their proportionally large bodies. They walk on the middle two toes of their feet, as their other toes are greatly reduced and located higher up on their legs. The Collared Peccary is the smallest of the Peccary species, measuring 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches) in length and 30 cm (12 inches) to 50 cm (20 inches) at shoulder height with an average weight of 16.8 kg (37 lbs) to 30 kg (66 lbs).  

Collared peccaries do not have a defined breeding season, rather, they are sexually active throughout the year. Peak breeding activity occurs during different times of the year depending on the location of a population. Males reproduce year-round, depending on the accessibility of mates, and females will reproduce as long as they are not already gestating or weaning young. They are polygynous, and typically live in small herds with a dominant male that mates with the females within the group. The lesser males have no breeding rights themselves, but unlike many other hierarchical species, they stay with the herd for the entire year instead of forming their own all-male bachelor groups. The males initiate mating by smelling, nuzzling, or biting the females. Sexually receptive females will then allow males to mount them and copulate. Prior to mounting, males will push their snouts between the hind legs of their mate. Gestation lasts approximately 142 to 151 days, and females give birth to 1 to 4 young in a den made in a hollow log or a depression in the ground. Females typically give birth to two litters per year. The young weigh approximately 0.5 kg (1 lb 2 oz) and are precocial at birth. Mothers and their young communicate with each other using grunting and purring vocalizations. Young are weaned at around 6 weeks of age, however, they associate with their mother for up to 9 months after they are born. Juveniles reach sexual maturity at 11 months old, at which point they are fully independent. Some Collared Peccaries remain in the same herd after they reach independence, while others disperse to find new herds. Males do not play an explicit role in caring for their young, however, they protect the herd against perceived threats and in doing so, they provide protection for offspring that are in the herd. Collared Peccaries have lifespans of fifteen years in the wild and over thirty years in captivity.

Collared Peccaries are nocturnal in the summer and diurnal in the winter. In non-forested habitats they are crepuscular and move as a herd around dawn and dusk. Herds may spread out dramatically, traveling and foraging more than 30 meters (98 feet) apart at times. In semi-arid areas they live in herds of 10 to 15 individuals, while in forested areas herds consist of 5 to 10 individuals. Small herds typically consist of 1 to 2 males and 1 to 3 females of different ages. One dominant male is found in each herd, and both sexes exhibit a dominance hierarchy. Male hierarchy is based on age, body size, and tusk size. Dominant males protect their herd from danger and regulate group behavior, while subdominant males help guide their herd to foraging sites. Female hierarchy is based on age, body size, and reproductive status. Weak, sick, and old Collared Peccaries separate from their herds and create a new herd within their home territory. If their health improves, they return to their original herds. Within their herd, they display social behaviors such as playing, mutual rubbing, and sniffing the fur around each other’s genitals. Collared Peccaries have a large dorsal scent gland located 15 to 20 cm anterior to the base of their tails. This gland secretes a strong musky smell that is used to mark territorial boundaries and identify other members of their herd. They have poor eyesight and are unable to detect and distinguish objects farther than 3 meters (9.8 feet) away. As a result, they rely more heavily on their hearing to communicate and perceive their environment. Their calls typically communicate aggression, submission, or alarm. When provoked, they clack their teeth together in rapid up-and-down motions. Juveniles also use this method to communicate, and when they are separated from the group, they produce loud, high-pitched squeals. 

Although Collared Peccaries are omnivores, the majority of their diet consists of vegetation including grasses, forbs, woody plants, roots, herbs, and succulents. They sometimes supplement their diet with calcium, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium from naturally occurring salt licks. In the southern part of their range, they are more likely to consume meat from snakes, fish, frogs, eggs, and carrion. In rainforests, their diet is largely fruit-based. Collared Peccaries are preyed upon by American Crocodiles, Coyotes, Jaguars, Ocelots, Pumas, and Humans. They typically react to potential predators by fleeing, however, they will sometimes stand their ground as a herd or make bluff-charges. Adults occasionally leave juveniles behind when they flee. In these cases, the juveniles play dead or hide in nearby foliage. Juveniles also hide while their parents are foraging to lower their risk of predation. Collared Peccaries are hosts for Lice, Mites, Ticks, Trematodes, and several Nematode species. 

Collared Peccaries are highly adaptable and inhabit a wide variety of habitats from tropical forests to deserts. In the northern part of their range, they maintain viable populations in areas where winter night-time temperatures fall below 0°C (32°F) and light snow cover is occasionally present. 

Collared Peccaries may be confused with Pigs or Wild Hogs however they are much smaller in size and possess a distinct white stripe along their shoulders and neck. 

From a conservation perspective, the Collared Peccary is considered to be of Least Concern due to their wide distribution and occurrence in a variety of habitats. They are primarily threatened by over-hunting and destruction of their natural habitats. These factors have already resulted in extensive fragmentation of Collared Peccary populations and their extirpation over large parts of their former range. Both the Collared Peccary and the White-lipped Peccary are important resources for substance hunters in the Peruvian Amazon. In Peru, subsistence hunting of Peccaries is legally defined as the use of Peccary meat for household consumption or the sale of Peccary meat in settlements of fewer than 3,000 inhabitants. Peccary pelts are also sold as a by-product primarily to the European leather industry for the manufacture of high quality gloves and shoes. However, it is currently unclear if this trade increases hunting pressures, and how many individuals must be killed to obtain pelts that meet the quality standards of international trade.