The Truth about Javelina aka Collared Peccaries (They Aren't Rodents!)

Photo by Larry Lamsa on Flickr

​Tayassu Tajacu
 
When my mother moved to Arizona, we would talk on the phone and she would tell me about the Javelina she would see wandering their neighborhood. I didn’t recognize the name, so I asked what they were. She said they were rodents that looked like pigs, smelled like skunks, and were bristly like porcupines. I had no idea what she was talking about until she said they were also called peccaries. The lightbulb went off. I remembered learning about them and that they were the new world relative of old world pigs. “They aren’t rodents,” I informed her. “Everyone here says they are rodents,” she replied. She was correct in that many people in Arizona do think Javelina are rodents. They are not. They are artiodactyls, or even-toed ungulates. This Order includes deer, hippos, giraffes, cows, and many others. They are as closely related to rodents as we are.

Like their not-so-close relative, pigs, Javelina do have a snout which they use to dig around in the soil for food. These include roots, bulbs, and my mother’s tulips. They are named after their sharp tusks, which look like javelins. They use these built-in weapons for defense, as they are mostly herbivores; however, I have personally seen one kill and eat a squirrel. Maybe let’s say they aren’t very picky.

Yes, they do smell like skunks. You can usually smell them before you see them because they have a musk gland on their lower back. Herd members will rub this on each other to help them stay together, as they have an excellent sense of smell, but their eyesight isn’t very good.

They do have long, coarse hair which stands on end when they feel threatened, making them look much bigger than their 18 inches tall. They also have short legs with teeny tiny hooves to help them get through dense brush. The babies look like potatoes on stilettos.

After moving to Arizona myself, I became very familiar with Javelinas. I loved watching entire families grunt and clip-clop their way across the street looking for the next flower bed to raid. You also couldn’t leave your jack-o-lantern out on Halloween, as pumpkins are one of their favorite snacks. Your elegant holiday display could quickly become an orange massacre!

If they don’t live where you are, you might be in luck! Javelina are moving northwards as temperatures warm. They were not historically even found in Arizona. This is a relatively recent phenomenon. Today, they are found from the Southwest through Central and most of South America.

As for why people think they are rodents, I still have no idea. It is suggested that it is because of their tusks, but rodents don’t have tusks! They have large incisors! I may never know the reason for this misidentification, but I will always be that annoying person who pipes up to provide an unsolicited natural history of this underappreciated animal.

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