Peccaries are Hogs of a Different Sort!

Collared Peccary or Javelina

Here piggy, piggy!!!!!

Now, this was a fun sighting!!!! Locally, they call them Javelina. They are often called Collard Peccary. They roam neighborhoods in Sedona in small packs, searching of food and water....quite tame, but don't corner 'em. Their tusks (incisors) are very long and sharp....when cornered, taking on dogs quite successfully!! Have a read about them in their local magazine, Gateway To Sedona.

http://www.gatewaytosedona.com/article/id/379/page/1


My experience sighting the troupe of Javelina was so special. I was parked at a cabin north of Sedona...I woke at 8am one morning and decided to get some items from eRV parked in the driveway ... just a few duds and some breakfast provisions. I opened the front door of the cabin and stepped onto the front stoop.....wow.....10 feet away were 5-6 wild hogs chewing away at the nuts and seeds in the patio area...crunch, crunch, crunch! I stopped on a dime and watched and listened to them....so tame...quite cute....long haired piglet-sized hogs! They looked at me with little interest and, then, continued chewing away!!! Can hogs be boared??? (a pun!) I watched them meander along, eating for about ten more minutes...finally disappearing into the neighboring cabin site.

What a thrill for this ole biologist....the Iowa hogs cousin in the desert...such sightings are why I'm on-the-road....spectacular fun!!!!