View source for Peccary

{{Short description|Family of pig-like mammals}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Peccaries
| taxon = Tayassuidae
| authority = [[Theodore Sherman Palmer|Palmer]], 1897
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Miocene|Present}}
| image = Pecari tajacu - 02.jpg
| image_caption = [[Collared peccary]], ''Dicotyles tajacu''
| type_genus = ''[[Tayassu]]''
| type_genus_authority = [[Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim|Waldheim]], 1814
| subdivision_ranks = Extant and subfossil genera
| subdivision = *''[[Tayassu]]''
*''[[Catagonus]]''
*''[[Dicotyles]]''
*{{extinct}}''[[Mylohyus]]''
*{{extinct}}''[[Platygonus]]''
| range_map = Peccary range.png
| range_map_caption = Range of the peccaries
| synonyms = Dicotylidae
}}

'''Peccaries''' (also '''javelinas''' or '''skunk pigs''') are [[pig]]-like [[ungulate]]s of the family '''Tayassuidae''' (New World pigs). They are found throughout [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Trinidad]] in the [[Caribbean]], and in the [[southwestern]] area of [[North America]]. Peccaries usually measure between {{cvt|90|and|130|cm|ftin|0}} in length, and a full-grown adult usually weighs about {{cvt|20|to|40|kg|lb}}. They represent the closest relatives of the family [[Suidae]], which contains pigs and relatives. Together Tayassuidae and Suidae are grouped in the suborder [[Suina]] within the order [[Artiodactyla]] (even-toed ungulates).

Peccaries are social creatures that live in herds. They are [[omnivore]]s and eat roots, grubs, and a variety of other foods. They can identify each other by their strong odors. A group of peccaries that travel and live together is called a squadron. A squadron of peccaries averages between six and nine members.<ref>Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona - informational web site at [https://www.nps.gov/opi/learn/nature/javelina.htm]{{dead link|date=June 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> They give birth year-round to an average litter of two.<ref>{{cite web | title=Living with Javelina | url=https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife-conservation/living-with-wildlife/living-with-javelina/ }}</ref>

Peccaries first appeared in North America during the [[Miocene]] and migrated into South America during the [[Pliocene]]–[[Pleistocene]] as part of the [[Great American Interchange]].

When the two occur in the wild in similar [[species distribution|ranges]], they are often confused<ref name="Miller1988">{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=George Oxford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJGZJviEtqYC |title=A Field Guide to Wildlife in Texas and the Southwest |date=October 1988 |publisher=Texas Monthly Press |isbn=978-0-87719-126-1 |pages=61–64 |chapter=The Javelina - Prickly Pear Gourmand |quote=many people confuse them with domestic pigs gone wild |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetowild0000mill/page/61}}</ref> with [[Feral pig|feral domestic pigs]], commonly known as "razorback" hogs in many parts of the United States.<ref name="WoodwardQuinn2011">{{cite book |author1=Susan L. Woodward |author2=Joyce A. Quinn |title=Encyclopedia of Invasive Species: From Africanized Honey Bees to Zebra Mussels |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KOGfKRZ0YFIC&pg=PA277 |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-38220-8 |page=277}}</ref>

The [[Maya peoples|Maya]] kept herds of peccaries, using them in rituals and for food.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dillon |first1=Brian B. |title=Meatless Maya? Ethnoarchaeological Implications for Ancient Subsistence |journal=Journal of New World Archeology |date=1988 |volume=7 |page=60}}</ref> They are kept as pets in many countries in addition to being raised on [[farm]]s as a source of food.<ref>[http://pigtrop.cirad.fr/subjects/genetic_and_biodiversity/commercial_farming_of_collared_peccary "Commercial farming of collared peccary: A Large-scale commercial farming of collared peccary (''Tayassu tajacu'') in North-Eastern Brazil"]. Pigtrop.cirad.fr (2007-04-30). Retrieved on 2012-12-18.</ref>

==Etymology==
The word ''peccary'' is derived from the [[Carib language|Carib]] word {{lang|car|pakira}} or {{lang|car|paquira}}.<ref name="etymo">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=peccary |title= Peccary|dictionary= Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=26 March 2012}}</ref>

In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], a peccary is called {{lang|pt|pecari}}, {{lang|pt|porco-do-mato}}, {{lang|pt|queixada}}, {{lang|pt|tajaçu}}, among other names like {{lang|pt|Cateto}} or {{lang|pt|Caititu}}. In [[Spanish language|Spanish]], it is called {{lang|es|javelina}}, {{lang|es|jabalí}} (a word also used to describe [[wild boar]]), {{lang|es|sajino}}, or {{lang|es|pecarí}}. The word ''javelina'' derives from the Spanish word for "wild boar".<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/javelina "javelina"]</ref> In [[French Guiana]] and [[Suriname]], the animal is called ''pakira''.

The scientific name Tayassuidae derives from the same source as the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{lang|pt|tajaçu}}.<ref>A. B. H. Ferreira, Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, second edition (Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, 1986), page 1530</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[File:Sus scrofa & Tayassu pecari.jpg|thumb|left|Skulls of [[wild boar]] (left) and [[white-lipped peccary]] (right): Note how the upper canines of the peccary point downwards.]]
A peccary is a medium-sized animal, with a strong resemblance to a [[Suidae|pig]]. Like a pig, it has a [[snout]] ending in a [[cartilage|cartilaginous]] disc and eyes that are small relative to its head. Also like a pig, it uses only the middle two digits for walking, although, unlike pigs, the other toes may be altogether absent. Its [[stomach]] is not [[ruminant|ruminating]]. Though it has three chambers, it is more complex than those of pigs.<ref name=EoM>{{cite book |editor=Macdonald, D. |author=Castellanos, Hernan |year=1984 |title=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Facts on File |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0/page/504 504–505] |isbn=978-0-87196-871-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofma00mals_0 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Peccaries are [[Foregut fermentation|foregut fermenters]] (pigs are [[hindgut fermentation|hindgut fermenters]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jordano |first=Pedro |date=2016-12-27 |title=It takes guts to disperse seeds: the amazing physiologies of megafauna |url=https://pedrojordano.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/it-takes-guts-to-disperse-seeds-the-amazing-physiologies-of-megafauna/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=The Red Notebook {{!}} Pedro Jordano |language=en}}</ref> This foregut fermentation, similar to but separately evolved from a ruminant, is an example of [[convergent evolution]].

Peccaries are omnivores and will eat insects, grubs, and occasionally small animals, although their preferred foods consist of roots, [[grass]]es, seeds, fruit,<ref name=EoM/> and [[cactus|cacti]]—particularly [[opuntia|prickly pear]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3-kkgAxxnoC |title=Javelinas and Other Peccaries: Their Biology, Management, and Use |first=Lyle K. |last=Sowls |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-89096-717-1 |pages=69–70}}</ref> Pigs and peccaries can be differentiated by a number of characteristics, including tails and ear shape. The ears of pigs are large and upright and often pointed while the ears of peccaries are small and rounded. Pigs also have tasseled tails, but peccaries' tails are small and discreet.<ref name="SDZWA">{{Cite web |title=Peccary |website=San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: Animals & Plants |url=https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/peccary |access-date=April 24, 2023}}</ref>

The most noticeable difference between pigs and peccaries is the shape of the canine teeth, or [[tusk]]s. In European pigs, the tusks are long and curve around on themselves, whereas in peccaries, the tusks are short and straight and interlock with each other, prohibiting side-to-side movement of the jaw. The jaws and tusks of peccaries are adapted for crushing hard seeds and slicing into plant roots,<ref name="EoM" /><ref name="SDZWA" /> and they also use their tusks to defend against predators. The [[dentition|dental formula]] for peccaries is: {{DentalFormula|upper=2.1.3.3|lower=3.1.3.3}}

By rubbing the tusks together, they can make a chattering noise that warns potential [[Predation|predators]] to stay away.

Peccaries are [[social animals]], often forming [[herds]]. Over 100 individuals have been recorded for a single herd of white-lipped peccaries, but [[Collared peccary|collared]] and [[Chacoan peccary|Chacoan peccaries]] usually form smaller groups. Such social behavior seems to have been the situation in [[extinct]] peccaries as well. The [[giant peccary]] (''Pecari maximus'') of Brazil appears to be less social, primarily living in pairs.<ref name=description>{{cite journal |url=http://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/360180 |author1=Roosmalen, M.G.M. |author2=Frenz, L. |author3=Hooft, W.F. van |author4=Iongh, H.H. de |author5=Leirs, H. |year=2007 |title=A New Species of Living Peccary (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) from the Brazilian Amazon |journal=Bonner Zoologische Beiträge |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=105–112}}</ref> Peccaries rely on their social structure to defend territory, protect against predators, regulate temperature, and interact with other members of the species.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Javelina |website=Arizona's Wildlife |publisher=Arizona Game and Fish Department |url=https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife/livingwith/javelina/ |access-date=2016-02-17}}</ref>

Peccaries have [[scent gland]]s below each eye and another on their backs, though these are believed to be [[rudimentary organ|rudimentary]] in ''P. maximus''. They [[scent marking|use the scent to mark]] herd territories, which range from {{convert|75|to|700|acre|ha|-1|order=flip|abbr=off}}. They also mark other herd members with these scent glands by rubbing one against another. The pungent odor allows peccaries to recognize other members of their herd, despite their [[myopic]] vision. Their very poor eyesight may make them appear to be charging when they are trying to escape.<ref>{{cite web | title=Living with Javelina | url=https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife-conservation/living-with-wildlife/living-with-javelina/ }}</ref> The odor is strong enough to be detected by humans, which earns the peccary the nickname of "skunk pig".

==Species==
===Extant species===
{{see also|List of suines}}
Three (possibly four) living [[species]] of peccaries are found from the [[Southwestern United States]] through [[Central America]] and into [[South America]] and [[Trinidad]], each in their own genus.
*''[[Tayassu]]''
**[[White-lipped peccary]] (''T. pecari'')
*''[[Catagonus]]''
**[[Chacoan peccary]] (''C. wagneri'')
*''[[Collared peccary|Dicotyles]]''
**[[Collared peccary]] (''D. tajacu'')

The [[collared peccary]] (''Dicotyles tajacu''), or "musk hog", referring to the animal's scent glands, occurs from the [[Southwestern United States]] into [[South America]] and the island of Trinidad. The coat consists of wiry peppered black, gray, and brown hair with a lighter colored "collar" circling the shoulders. They bear young year-round, but most often between November and March, with the average litter size consisting of two to three offspring. They are found in many habitats, from arid [[scrubland]]s to humid tropical [[rain forest]]s. The collared peccary is well-adapted to habitat disturbed by humans, merely requiring sufficient cover. They can be [[Urban wildlife|found in cities]] and agricultural land throughout their range.

Notable populations exist in the [[suburbs]] of [[Phoenix metropolitan area|Phoenix]] and [[Tucson, Arizona]], where they feed on [[ornamental plant]]s and other [[Agriculture|cultivated vegetation]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalwildlife.org/nationalwildlife/article.cfm?articleID=308&issueID=19 |title=Winners and Losers |first=Peter |last=Friederici |journal=National Wildlife Magazine |date=August–September 1998 |volume=36 |issue=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g3-kkgAxxnoC |title=Javelinas and Other Peccaries: Their Biology, Management, and Use |first=Lyle K. |last=Sowls |edition=2nd |publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-89096-717-1 |pages=67–68}}</ref> There are also urban populations as far north as [[Sedona, Arizona]], where they have been known to fill a niche similar to [[raccoon]]s and other urban scavengers.<ref>{{Cite news|date=25 January 2008|work=The Daily Courier |url=https://www.dcourier.com/news/2008/jan/25/unwelcome-visitors-javelinas-and-humans-do-not-mi/|title=Unwelcome visitors: Javelinas and humans do not mix well|access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> In Arizona they are often called by their Spanish name "javelinas". Collared peccaries are generally found in bands of 8 to 15 animals of various ages. They defend themselves if they feel threatened, but otherwise tend to ignore humans.

A second species, the [[white-lipped peccary]] (''Tayassu pecari''), is mainly found in rainforests of Central and South America, but also known from a wide range of other [[habitat]]s such as dry forests, grasslands, [[mangrove]], [[cerrado]], and dry [[xerophytic]] areas.<ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn |author=Keuroghlian, A. |author2=Desbiez, A. |author3=Reyna-Hurtado, R. |author4=Altrichter, M. |author5=Beck, H. |author6=Taber, A. |author7=Fragoso, J.M.V. |name-list-style=amp |title=''Tayassu pecari'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T41778A44051115 |date=2013 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T41778A44051115.en}}</ref> The two main threats to their survival are deforestation and hunting.

The third species, the [[Chacoan peccary]] (''Catagonus wagneri''), is found in the dry [[shrub]] habitat or [[Gran Chaco|Chaco]] of [[Paraguay]], [[Bolivia]], and [[Argentina]]. The Chacoan peccary has the distinction of having been first described based on fossils and was originally thought to be an extinct species. In 1975, the animal was discovered in the [[Gran Chaco|Chaco region of Paraguay]]. The species was well known to the native people.

A fourth as yet unconfirmed species, the [[giant peccary]] (''Dicotyles maximus''), was<!-- 2007 if you read the cite {{when|date=March 2013}}--> described from the [[Brazilian Amazon]] and north Bolivia<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moravec |first1=J. |last2=Böhme |first2=W. |year=2009 |title=Second Find of the Recently Discovered Amazonian Giant Peccary, ''Pecari maximus'' (Mammalia: Tayassuidae) van Roosmalen et al., 2007: First Record from Bolivia |journal=[[Bonn Zoological Bulletin|Bonner zoologische Beiträge]] |volume=56 |issue=1–2 |pages=49–54 |url=https://zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/Volume_56_1_2/049_054_BzB56_1_2_Moraves_Jiri_and_B%C3%B6hme_Wolfgang.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129030515/http://alt.zfmk.de/BZB/BzB_56_1_07_Moravec.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> by Dutch biologist [[Marc van Roosmalen]]. Though relatively recently discovered, it has been known to the local [[Tupi people]] as ''caitetu munde'', which means "great peccary which lives in pairs".<ref>{{cite web |last=Lloyd |first=Robin |date=2007-11-02 |title=Big Pig-Like Beast Discovered |url=http://www.livescience.com/1997-big-pig-beast-discovered.html |work=livescience.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Giant wild pig found in Brazil |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2007-11-05 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/nov/05/conservation.sciencenews |access-date=2012-12-18}}</ref> Thought to be the largest extant peccary, it can grow to {{cvt|1.2|m|ft|0}} in length. Its [[pelage]] is completely dark gray, with no collars whatsoever. Unlike other peccaries, it lives in pairs, or with one or two offspring. However, the scientific evidence for considering it as a species separate from the collared peccary has later been questioned,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gongora |first1=J. |last2=Taber |first2=A. |last3=Keuroghlian |first3=A. |last4=Altrichter |first4=M. |last5=Bodmer |first5=R.E. |last6=Mayor |first6=P. |last7=Moran |first7=C. |last8=Damayanti |first8=C.S. |last9=González |first9=S. |year=2007 |title=Re-examining the evidence for a 'new' peccary species, 'Pecari maximus', from the Brazilian Amazon |url=https://www.iucn-wpsg.org/_files/ugd/119740_0dc9019f69984c5cbac8e256cd3b1968.pdf#page=19 |journal=Newsletter of the Pigs, Peccaries, and Hippos Specialist Group of the IUCN/SSC |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=19–26}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gongora |first1=J. |last2=Biondo |first2=C. |last3=Cooper |first3=J.D. |last4=Taber |first4=A. |last5=Keuroghlian |first5=A. |last6=Altrichter |first6=M. |last7=Ferreira do Nascimento |first7=F. |last8=Chong |first8=A.Y. |last9=Miyaki |first9=C.Y. |last10=Bodmer |first10=R. |last11=Mayor |first11=P. |last12=González |first12=S. |year=2011 |title=Revisiting the species status of Pecari maximus van Roosmalen et al., 2007 (Mammalia) from the Brazilian Amazon |journal=[[Bonn Zoological Bulletin|Bonner zoologische Beiträge]] |volume=60 |issue=1 |url=https://zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/Volume_60_1/095_101_BzB60_1_Gongora_%20Jaime_et_al.pdf |pages=95–101}}</ref> leading the [[IUCN]] to treat it as a [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]].<ref>{{Cite iucn |author=Gongora, J. |author2=Reyna-Hurtado, R. |author3=Beck, H. |author4=Taber, A. |author5=Altrichter, M. |author6=Keuroghlian, A. |name-list-style=amp |title=''Pecari tajacu'' |volume=2011 |article-number=e.T41777A10562361 |date=2011 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T41777A10562361.en}}</ref>

During the [[Late Pleistocene]], two extinct peccaries, ''[[Mylohyus]]'' and ''[[Platygonus]]'', were widespread across North America (and in the case of ''Platygonus'', South America), but became extinct at the end of the [[Pleistocene]] around 12,000 years ago following the arrival of humans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Kurt M. |last2=Hill |first2=Matthew G. |date=November 2020 |title=Synthesis and assessment of the flat-headed peccary record in North America |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=248 |article-number=106601 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106601 |bibcode=2020QSRv..24806601W |s2cid=224865922}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Collared Peccary444.jpg|[[Collared peccary]]
File:Tayassu pecari.jpg|[[White-lipped peccary]]
File:Catagonus wagneri closeup.jpg|[[Chacoan peccary]]
</gallery>

===Extinct genera===
In addition, Tayassuidae have a well-attested [[fossil record]], and numerous [[Genus|extinct genera]] are known:{{citation needed|date=November 2021}}
* †''[[Aptenohyus]]''
* †''[[Cynorca]]''
* †''[[Egatochoerus]]''
* †''[[Floridachoerus]]''
* †''[[Macrogenis]]''
* †''[[Mckennahyus]]''
* †''[[Mylohyus]]''
* †''[[Platygonus]]''
* †''[[Prochoerus]]''
* †''[[Prosthennops]]''
* †''[[Simojovelhyus]]''<ref name="protheropeccary">{{Cite journal |last1=Prothero |first1=Donald R. |last2=Beatty |first2=Brian L. |last3=Stucky |first3=Richard M. |year=2013 |title=''Simojovelhyus'' is a peccary, not a helohyid (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) |url=http://www.donaldprothero.com/files/92370301.pdf |journal=Journal of Paleontology |volume=87 |issue=5 |pages=930–933 |bibcode=2013JPal...87..930P |doi=10.1666/12-084 |s2cid=129670001}}</ref>
* †''[[Skinnerhyus]]''
* †''[[Thinohyus]]''
* †''[[Woodburnehyus]]''

==Evolution==

Although some taxa from the [[Old World]] like the European Miocene ''[[Taucanamo]]'' have been suggested to be members of Tayussidae, their assignation to the group is equivocal, with a 2017 [[Phylogenetics|phylogenetic]] analysis recovering ''Taucanamo'' outside the [[clade]] containing suids and peccaries. The oldest [[Fossil|unambiguous fossils]] of peccaries are from the Early [[Miocene]] of North America, with the North American Eocene-Oligocene genus ''[[Perchoerus]],'' also often considered an early peccary, recovered outside the clade containing peccaries and suids.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Parisi Dutra |first1=Rodrigo |last2=Casali |first2=Daniel de Melo |last3=Missagia |first3=Rafaela Velloso |last4=Gasparini |first4=Germán Mariano |last5=Perini |first5=Fernando Araujo |last6=Cozzuol |first6=Mario Alberto |date=2016-09-13 |title=Phylogenetic Systematics of Peccaries (Tayassuidae: Artiodactyla) and a Classification of South American Tayassuids |journal=Journal of Mammalian Evolution |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=345–358 |doi=10.1007/s10914-016-9347-8 |s2cid=27963274 |issn=1064-7554|hdl=11336/54840 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

Although common in South America today, peccaries did not reach there until about three million years ago during the [[Great American Interchange]], when the [[Isthmus of Panama]] formed, connecting North America and South America. At that time, many North American animals—including peccaries, [[llama]]s and [[tapir]]s—entered South America, while some South American species, such as the [[ground sloth]]s and [[opossum]]s, migrated north.<ref>{{cite web |last=McDonald |first=Greg |date=1999-03-27 |url=http://www.nps.gov/hafo/platygon.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020805090520/http://www.nps.gov/hafo/platygon.htm |archive-date=2002-08-05  |title=Pearce's Peccary – ''Platygonus Pearcei'' |work=Hagerman Fossil Beds' Critter Corner |via=nps.gov }}</ref> Several species of peccary across the genera ''[[Platygonus]]'' and ''[[Mylohyus]]'' remained in North America until their [[extinction]] at the end of the Pleistocene. Today, two of the three species are relegated to the [[Neotropical realm]], but the collared peccary ranges into northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.{{Clear}}

==Domestication==

Peccaries bear a familial resemblance to true pigs due to their common ancestry and are in the same suborder as swine ([[Suina]]). They have been present in South America since prehistoric times.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gongora |first1=J. |last2=Moran |first2=C. |title=Nuclear and mitochondrial evolutionary analyses of Collared, White-lipped, and Chacoan peccaries (Tayassuidae) |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |date=2005 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=181–189 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2004.08.021|pmid=15579391 |bibcode=2005MolPE..34..181G }}</ref> The earliest scientific description of peccaries in the New World is in [[Brazil]] in 1547, in which they are referred to as "wild pigs".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donkin |first1=R.A. |title=The Peccary -- With Observations on the Introduction of Pigs to the New World |journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |date=1985 |volume=75 |issue=5 |page=3|doi= 10.2307/1006340|jstor=1006340 }}</ref>

It has been documented that peccaries were tamed, penned, and raised for food and ritual purposes in the Yucatán, Panama, the southern Caribbean, and Colombia at the time of the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire|Conquest]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donkin |first1=R.A. |title=The Peccary -- With Observations on the Introduction of Pigs to the New World |journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |date=1985 |volume=75 |issue=5 |page=30,35–39|doi= 10.2307/1006340|jstor=1006340 }}</ref> Archaeological remains of peccaries have been found in [[Mesoamerica]] from the Preclassic (or Formative) period up until immediately before Spanish contact.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Donkin |first1=R.A. |title=The Peccary -- With Observations on the Introduction of Pigs to the New World |journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |date=1985 |volume=75 |issue=5 |page=29|doi= 10.2307/1006340|jstor=1006340 }}</ref> Specifically, peccary remains have been found at Early Formative Olmec civilization sites.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Venderwarker |first=Amber M. |url=https://archive.org/details/farminghuntingfi0000vand |title=Farming, Hunting, and Fishing in the Olmec World |date=2006 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-72624-6 |location=Austin, Texas |pages=[https://archive.org/details/farminghuntingfi0000vand/page/125 125]–127, [https://archive.org/details/farminghuntingfi0000vand/page/131 131] |url-access=limited}}</ref>

The peccary is not readily suitable for modern captive breeding, lacking suitable characteristics for intensive or semi-intensive systems. Peccaries require a higher age before they are able to give birth ([[parturition]]) and have a tendency towards [[infanticide (zoology)|infanticide]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rushton |first1=Jonathan |last2=Viscarra |first2=Rommy |last3=Viscarra |first3=Cecilia |last4=Basset |first4=Frederick |last5=Baptista |first5=Rene |last6=Huallata |first6=Corsino |last7=Brown |first7=David |date=December 2004 |title=Captive breeding of wild species – a sceptical view of the prospects |url=https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/3294.pdf |journal=Wildlife Policy Briefing |issue=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824094952/http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/3294.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-24}}</ref>

== Relation with feral pigs ==
The demographic dynamics of the interaction between feral pig populations and those of the two native species of peccaries ([[collared peccary]] and [[white-lipped peccary]]) is obscure and is still being studied. The existence of feral pigs could somewhat reduce [[predation]] by [[jaguar]]s on peccary populations, as jaguars show a preference for hunting pigs when they are available.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Furtado |first=Fred |date=February 13, 2009 |title=Porco-monteiro: invasor ou vizinho? |trans-title=Wild pig: invader or neighbor? |url=https://cienciahoje.org.br/porco-monteiro-invasor-ou-vizinho/ |publisher=Ciencia Hoje}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tayassuidae}}
* [http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_javelina.shtml Arizona Game and Fish Department – Living With Javelina] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313103245/http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_javelina.shtml |date=13 March 2016 }}
*[https://azstateparks.com/javelina Arizona State Parks and Trails- Javelina]

{{Artiodactyla|S.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q232866}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Peccaries| ]]
[[Category:Ungulates of Central America]]
[[Category:Mammals of South America]]
[[Category:Priabonian first appearances]]
[[Category:Extant Eocene first appearances]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Theodore Sherman Palmer]]