Collared PeccaryBetter known around here as …
Javelina
The phone call came in from a lady who seemed very concerned. She explained, “There is a sick baby pig by my front door”. I asked her why she thought it was sick. She replied that it was all by itself, just lying there and not moving. I got her address and went to investigate. When I got to the house, I found no sign of anything on her front porch. She explained that it had gotten up and walked away. I asked her some other questions and determined that the pig was actually a javelina, since it was 2 to 3 feet long, it was hardly a baby. I asked if she knew if any of her neighbors had been feeding wildlife; she did not know of any. I told her that it is common for javalina, that are being fed by well intentioned people, to become pests since they have no real fear of people. I told her that if it returned to give me a call. Minutes after I returned home, the phone rang; wouldn’t you know, the javelina had returned. When I got back to her house, I found “Baby” taking a nap on her welcome mat.
I signaled for the lady to let me in the back door and then proceeded to open the front door, after prodding “Baby” it reluctantly walked down the walkway and settled down for a nap under a window by the front of the house. Since it was Sunday and I was not going to be able to call Game and Fish for a relocation permit, I advised the home owner to give me a call if this javalina was still around the following day and I left.
This could have been the end of the story, but there is more! The home owner had followed me out the door as I left her house to talk to some neighbors about the situation. Oh, yes, she did not shut her front door. “Baby” had been waiting for this opportunity. She found her way into the living room; lo and behold there was a basket of fruit and candy for guests. You can use your imagination for the rest of the story.
Though some people think javelina is a type of wild pig, they are actually members of the peccary family, a group of hoofed mammals originating from South America. Javelina are common in much of central and southern Arizona, including the the Tucson area, and occasionally as far north as Flagstaff. Javelina form herds of two to more than 20 animals and rely on each other to defend territory and protect against predators. They use washes and areas with dense vegetation as travel corridors. Javelina are most active at night, but they may be active during the day, especially during the cold winter months, in order to take advantage of the sun's heat
When alarmed, they can run off at speeds up to 21 mph. While their eyesight is poor, peccaries have good senses of hearing and smell. Groups have individual territories which overlap at focal points, such as watering holes. These territories are usually about a quarter square mile in size. The inner territory (non-overlapping part) of each group is characterized by smell. Males often mark rocks and trees near resting areas using their dorsal glands. At these well-used resting spots and along the territorial boundaries are defecation sites which are visited by the whole herd. The group is completely closed, with no new members ever being accepted. One in every ten offspring born is rejected from the group. As you can see, this becomes a problem for the rejected offspring as it will never be accepted by any group.
Babe Looking for a Treat
Occasionally one is brought into a rescue center. One adopt me as its “herd”; I must have smelled just right. I named it Babe. It followed me around as I was cleaning cages and feeding the animals at the Center; whenever I sat down, it would lie at my feet and take a nap. Javelina have several vocalizations, including snorts, squeals, barks, and rumbling growls. These sounds have different meanings, most of which are warnings if you are close enough to hear them. The javelina are very protective of their young and will not hesitate to charge any threat.
Babe asleep
Family group:Herds of 2-20 animals, with herds up to 54 individuals being recorded.
Diet:Roots, fruits, tubers, grasses, leaves, eggs, carrion.
Main preditors:Coyote, puma, jaguar, bobcat.
Distribution
Plains with brush, semi-deserts, and forests in southern North America, Central America, and northern South America.
Description.
These pig like creatures are characterized by presence of four-hoofed toes on the front feet, but only three on the hind feet (outer dewclaw absent); short, pig like snout; crushing molars; nearly straight and dagger like canines (tusks); harsh pelage with distinct "mane" from crown to rump; distinct musk gland on rump; distinct whitish collar across shoulder in adults. Habits.
In Arizona, javelina occupy the brushy semi desert where prickly pear is a conspicuous part of the flora. They are commonly found in dense thickets of prickly pear, chaparral, scrub oak; also in rocky canyons where caverns and hollows afford protection.
Through exaggerated tales of the javelina’s ferociousness, it has been charged that peccaries will kill or injure dogs. It is true that encounters between peccaries and untrained dogs usually end with dead or crippled dogs. It is also true that in these battles the dog is always the aggressor, and any animal will defend its life to the best of its ability when attacked.
Javelina are chiefly herbivorous and feed on various cacti, especially prickly pear, mesquite beans and other succulent vegetation. Terrestrial insects also are eaten.
I’ve got to say that the pesky part of having javelina around has much improved due to the larger trash containers now provided by waste management. Before, we could count on our units being “trashed” by javelina who knew when trash day was.
Possible Conflicts with Humans and Pets
Javelina will likely visit occasionally if you live in Saddlebrooke near a wash or other natural desert. Javelina usually cause only minor problems for people by eating a few plants. However, people should never feed javelina. This can cause them to become regular visitors and lose their fear of people, creating problems for the neighborhood. Javelina occasionally bite humans, but incidents of bites are almost always associated with people providing the javelina with food. They can inflict a serious wound. Javelina may act defensively when cornered or to protect their young. Dogs, coyotes and cougar are natural predators of javelina.
What Should I Do?
If javelina have become a problem or have caused property damage, see the suggestions below to deal with the situation. Do your part to keep javelina healthy and wild because their removal almost always means death. Work with your neighbors to achieve a consistent solution to the problem.
To discourage a javelina you should immediately:
No comments:
Post a Comment