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Animal profile

Collared peccary

Pecari tajacu

MammaliaDesert scrub, thorn forest, tropical forest and suburban marginLeast Concern

Field profile

The collared peccary, or javelina, is a small pig-like mammal that lives in tight social groups and marks group members with a dorsal scent gland. It eats roots, fruit, invertebrates and, in desert country, large amounts of prickly pear.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-01-31

Collared peccary

The javelina is not a pig, and eats cactus

Peccaries belong to a separate American family from the pigs of Eurasia and Africa, with straight tusks, fewer hind toes and a complex stomach. In the Sonoran Desert they chew prickly pear pads whole, spines and all.

Read with evidence →

Collared peccary | Daily Animal Facts