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Project Noah Nature School
Pecari tajacu
Shoulder height: 0.3 to 0.5 m Length: 0.8 to 1.0 m. Weight: 15 to 25 kg. Collared Peccaries are often confused with pigs due to their appearance. Their coat is a grizzled grayish black throughout, except for a yellowish tinge on the cheeks and a whitish to yellowish collar extending the mane, over the shoulders, and to the throat. While males and females are very similar in size and color, young are a yellowish brown color, with a black stripe down the back. Collared Peccaries have short, straight tusks that fit together tightly enough to hone eachother down with every jaw movement. This razor sharpness gives this species its common name: Javelina: a javelin is a lightweight, tip-shaped spear. Javelinas have a distinct dorsal gland on the rump that is essential in much species-specific behavior. They also have poor eyesight and good hearing, which are believed to contribute to the very vocal nature of this species.
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a 98-acre (40 ha) zoo, aquarium, botanical garden, natural history museum, publisher, and art gallery founded in 1952. Located just west of Tucson, Arizona, it features two miles (3.2 km) of walking paths traversing 21 acres (8.5 ha) of desert landscape. The nonprofit organization focuses on the interpretation of the natural history, plants and animals of the Sonoran Desert.
Spotted on Nov 5, 2013
Submitted on Dec 8, 2013
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