The Collared Peccary (*Pecari tajacu*) is a compact, pig-like ungulate found across an impressively wide range stretching from the southwestern United States through Mexico, Central America, and much of South America as far south as northern Argentina, making it the most widespread and adaptable of the three peccary species and the only one to extend its range into North America. Despite its superficial resemblance to a domestic pig or wild boar, the peccary belongs to an entirely separate family — Tayassuidae — and represents a distinctly New World lineage that diverged from the Old World pigs millions of years ago, differing in numerous anatomical details including its fused leg bones, a distinctive dorsal scent gland on its rump, and tusks that point downward rather than curving outward. It is a stout, compact animal covered in coarse, grizzled grayish-black hair with a distinctive pale yellowish or whitish band of fur encircling the neck and shoulders like a collar — the feature from which it takes its common name — and a mane of longer, darker bristles along the back that can be raised when the animal is alarmed or agitated. Highly social by nature, Collared Peccaries live in cohesive family groups typically numbering between five and fifteen individuals, maintaining strong bonds through frequent mutual grooming, scent-marking from their prominent dorsal gland, and vocal communication that includes a variety of grunts, woofs, and the dramatic clattering of their sharp tusks as a warning display. They are remarkably omnivorous and adaptable feeders, consuming a wide variety of plant matter including cacti, roots, tubers, fruits, seeds, and grasses, as well as invertebrates and occasionally small vertebrates, and their ability to eat spiny cacti — seemingly unbothered by the formidable spines — is one of their most impressive dietary feats. Found in an equally diverse array of habitats ranging from desert scrub and thorny chaparral to tropical rainforest, grassland, and even suburban edges, the Collared Peccary is one of the most ecologically flexible large mammals in the Americas, and while generally shy and inclined to flee from danger, a cornered or threatened group can be surprisingly bold and formidable, making them a respected presence in the wild. Sociable, resourceful, and carrying an endearing, bristly charm, the Collared Peccary is one of the most distinctive and fascinating mammals of the Western Hemisphere.
