Javelina

No, javelinas are not ferocious wild pigs who spend their time attacking hapless residents. These grunting, poor-sighted collared peccaries are not true swine but distant relatives.  They would  rather run than fight.   They are believed to have evolved in South America and migrated northward about 1700 and are more closely related to an antelope than a pig.

They look like a wild boar with bristles

The stand approximately 19 inches tall and are about 35 inches long. Their long salt and pepper-colored bristles stand on end when alarmed making them appear larger than their actual 60 to 70 pounds. They look much larger when viewed from the side than head-on. They are surprisingly narrow-width animals.

Very skittish

When frightened, they utter loud “woofs” to warn the herd and occasionally show their large canine teeth as a defensive measure. Before fleeing, they leave a strong scent, reminiscent of a skunk’s, to throw off predators. Sometimes they can’t seem to figure out which way to run and may head straight toward the source of their alarm. This probably accounts for  stories about “charging” javelinas.

Roam in herds

They roam in the Foothills in herds up to 20 animals as another means of protection from predators. Herds mark territories of about one square mile.  Their hearing is probably slightly better than that of humans, but they rely primarily on their acute sense of smell as a warning system. They sleep stacked against each other to share body heat in colder months. Bedding sites are usually hollowed out places in soft soil where they are sheltered by brush or rock overhangs. Other tell-tale signs of a bedding site are dog-like droppings and cloven rounded tracks slightly larger than a quarter.

They have tough mouths

Javelina enjoy dining on succulent plants; prickly pear cactus is one of their favorites.  They use their keen sense of smell to locate small plant roots and bulbs before they break through the soil.  Their noisy inattentiveness while engrossed in eating, makes it fairly easy for a person to approach a herd quite closely from the downwind side.