Javelina

I am reading this book called Skywater, just started it, but so far it seems pretty interesting and it takes place out in the middle of the desert in Texas, I beleive, and more then once they made a reference to an animal called a Javelina which I have not acutally heard of before, so I was currrious, it is not often I come acorss an animal I do not know about, and the way the decribed it in the book made it sound like perhaps some sort of boar or hog, so I looked it up. And they are quite cute little animals, I think, but then I know that does not count for much as I think just about anything in the non-human catagory is cute.

But here is what my research on the animal has turned up.

Though some people think javelina are 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 outskirts of the Phoenix area, most of Tucson, 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, protect against predators, regulate temperature and interact socially. They use washes and areas with dense vegetation as travel corridors. Javelina are most active at night, but may be active during the day when it's cold.

During the summer, feeding occurs in the early morning and late afternoon, with the noon hours spent resting in the shade.  They are very good runners, and have been clocked at speeds up to 35  kmph / 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 and mud wallows, which are used primarily at night.  These territories are usually 0.5-0.8 square kilometers in size.  The inner territory (non-overlapping part) of each group is characterized by smell.  Males often mark rocks and trees near resting areas with 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 main herd may split up inside the territory for up to two weeks.  The group is completely closed, with no new members ever being accepted, even though one in every ten offspring born is rejected from the group.  Population densities vary from 1-19 animals per square kilometer.  Numerous vocalizations have been recorded, including snorts, squeals, barks, and rumbling growls.

9:44 AM - 12/14/2007 - post comment

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