Jim Richter, age 12, of Galveston, Texas, for his question:
WHAT IS A PECCARY?
A peccary is a hoofed animal that lives in forests and desert scrublands. It is a distant relative to the wild hog although it is not a true hog.
There are three living species of peccaries: the collared peccary, or the javelins, that lives in many sections of South America and as far north as the southwestern part of the United States; the white lipped peccary that is found in an area from Central Mexico south to Paraguay; and the tagua, or Chacoan peccary, that lives in the Gran Chaco region of Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.
It wasn't until 1975 that scientists discovered the tagua. They had previously thought that this species of peccary had become extinct more than 10,000 years ago.
Peccaries look very much like slender, active hogs. The collard peccary stands about 21 inches high at the shoulder. It has a coarse, grizzled, blackish gray coat with a gray collar. The white lipped peccary is larger and darker. The tagua, that has brownish gray bristles with a gray collar, is the largest species and measures about 30 inches at the shoulder.
Peccaries have large glands on their arched backs, about eight inches in front of the tails. When the animals become excited, the glands give off small amounts of strong musk. For this reason, peccaries are sometimes called musk hogs.
The mother peccary usually gives birth to twins, which are about the size of rabbits. They have reddish coats with a black stripe down their backs.
Peccaries are rooting animals but sometimes they prey on small animals. They travel in bands that may range from just a few to several hundred individuals.
Peccaries are shy, timid animals that flee from danger whenever possible. But if cornered, they will fight viciously with their sharp teeth. Their most common natural enemy is the jaguar.
Pigskin jackets and gloves are made from the thin, tough hides of peccaries. The skin can be recognized because the hair roots leave a pattern of three holes in evenly distributed groups.
Distantly related to the peccary are wild hogs that can be found in forests and jungles in many parts of the world. They include the babirussa, or babirusa, of the East Indies; the wart hog of Africa; and the wild boar that lives in somes parts of Europe, Asia and Africa.
Wild hogs that are called razorbacks live in the southeastern United States and in the West Indies. They picked up their name because they have sharp, narrow backs. They are actually descended from tame hogs that escaped from farms and became wild again.
The wild boar is found in southwesten and central Asia and North Africa. At one time, he roamed the forests of Europe.
Wild boars do not usually grow as heavy and fat as domestic hogs. But they are big animals. Most stand three feet high or more at the shoulder and many weigh as much as 400 pounds.