Warning sounds for white-lipped peccary

Because they live and move in large groups white-lipped peccaries can be especially vulnerable to hunters. (Photo, Rafael Reyna)

For centuries, the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) ranged in herds of up to 120 animals through much of Mesoamerica, helping to maintain the ecological balance of the forests and serving as a food source for indigenous and farming communities. But in recent years the wild relative of the domesticated pig, with its black bristly coat and white facial hair, is rarely seen in groups of more than 30 or 40. Worse, it has been eliminated completely from 87% of that portion of its former Latin American range that runs from southern Mexico to Panama. Experts say that in Mesoamerica the animal faces a real possibility of extinction. “This is a species that makes long seasonal migrations through primary forests in search of food and water and is extremely sensitive to habitat loss and hunting,” says Jeremy Radachowsky, an ecologist who heads the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society’s Mesoamerica program. “It... Read more →