Javelina
 A
small pig-like (though not related) animal, javelina, or collared peccaries,
have a sharp sense of smell and relatively poor eyesight. Considered a range
pest in the 1800's, javelina are now managed as a big game species and are
enjoyed by hunters and wildlife viewers alike.
Description: A relatively small animal, javelina
average about 1.5 feet at shoulder height and are about 3 feet long from nose
to tail. Their average weight ranges from 40-60 pounds. Javelina travel in
herds ranging from 8-27 animals. Their dorsal scent gland, coupled with their
sharp sense of smell, helps each javelina identify members of their herd.
Habitat: Javelina are generally found in low to mid-level deserts
and cactus-studded desert grasslands between 1,000 and 5,000 feet in elevation.
Marginal habitat includes pinyon pine-juniper, oak, and pine-oak vegetation
communities between 4,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation.
Food
Preferences: Javelina are essentially herbivores, although they will
occasionally eat insects and other animal matter. They will readily eat cactus
and other spiny and succulent plants, roots, tubers, forbs, and pods.
 Breeding notes: Breeding occurs throughout the year, peaking in
late winter and spring. Young, or "piglings," therefore, are born throughout
the year, with high numbers born in June. A litter consists of one to four
piglings, with an average of two.
Predators or Enemies:
Coyote
Size Individual Range: 4 square miles
Distribution: 1,000-6,000 feet, mostly south of Mogollon
Rim.
Live Weight: Male: 65 lbs. / Female 50 lbs.
Hunting hints: Javelina have small home ranges. Once found, they'll
usually remain in the same general vicinity. Glassing an area with binoculars
from a high point or good vantage spot in early morning or late afternoon is a
good way to begin your hunt. An Apache/Sitgreaves National Forest map is
essential.
 Information courtesy Arizona Game & Fish Department, Region
1-Pinetop,AZ
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