New species of ‘Giant peccary’ discovered in Brazil

This is a video of a (collared) peccary baby and its group forraging in Costa Rica.

From Wildlife Extra:

New species of ‘Giant peccary‘ discovered in Brazil

October 2007. A new species of peccary has been discovered in the Amazon. Until recently it was thought that there were only three species of peccary, the collared [see also here], the white-lipped and the Chacoan peccary. (The Chacoan peccary was thought to be extinct but a population was discovered in 1974 in the Chaco region of Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina.)

However a survey of the River Aripuana basin in 2000 discovered a group of 3 peccaries that did not belong to any of the above species. Further searches in 2003 produced a film of four of the peccaries, and some evidence from local villages that hunt the animals.

Holotype material

Marc van Roosmalen, the well known Amazon conservationist and researcher, collected 5 skins from hunters as well as a complete skull. Further studies showed that the new species of peccary was much taller than the other known species, thus it has been christened the Giant peccary.

Habits and distribution

Unlike other peccaries, the Giant peccary lives in small family groups consisting of an adult pair and 1-2 offspring. It appears to eat on fresh fruits and seeds unlike other peccaries, which search under the soil for roots and tubers. When hunted Giant peccaries run away at high speed, again unlike other peccaries which travel in large groups and defend themselves very aggressively. It is believed that they have a very restricted distribution and thus should be listed on the IUCN Red List.

The surveys and discoveries were made by Marc van Roosmalen, Lothar Frenz, Pim van Hooft, Hans de Iongh and Herwig Leirs.

See also here.

The Chacoan Peccary, Catagonus wagneri, is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The largest peccary species, it is endemic to the dry Chaco of western Paraguay, south-eastern Bolivia and northern Argentina: here.

Pygmy hogs in India: here. And here. And here.

How the overlooked peccary engineers the Amazon, an interview with Harald Beck: here.

Monitoring peccaries in Brazil benefits wildlife, local communities and food security: here.

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