Chacoan Peccary (Catagonus wagneri) Fact Sheet: Summary

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia - mammals

Order: Artiodactyla* (or Cetartiodactyla) - even-toed hoofed animals (includes pigs, sheep goats, cattle, deer)

Family: Tayassuidae - peccaries

Genus: Catagonus

Species: Catagonus wagneri - Chacoan peccary

Body Weight
Male: 29.5-40 kg (65-88 lb)
Female: 30.5-38.5 kg (67-85 lb)

Body Length
Male: 96-116 cm (38-46 in)
Female: 103-117 cm (40.5-46 in)

Tail Length
Male: 52-69 cm (20-27 in)
Female: 52.5-64 cm (21-25 in)

Pelage
Brownish-gray with a collar of lighter hairs across its shoulder. Long, shaggy hairs. Dark, mid-dorsal stripe.

Range
Fragmented range within central South America: some areas of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia

Habitat
Thorn forest, open woodlands, and agricultural land.
Live in the Gran Chaco, one of the hottest regions in South America.

IUCN Status
Endangered (2011 assessment) (Altrichter M. et al., 2015)

CITES Appendix
Appendix I (UNEP 2019)

Populations in the Wild
Unknown. Severe population declines in recent decades. Likely 3,000-5,000 or fewer. Main threats are over-hunting and habitat loss.

Locomotion
Quadrapedal walk, run.

Activity Cycle
Diurnal (unusual for a mammal living in hot areas of South America).

Social Groups
Small, stable groups that may stay with each other for a year; individuals possibly related. Average group size is 3.7-4.6 individuals (range 1-10).

Diet
Fruits, cacti, roots; also, some flowers, seed pods, and herbs.

Predators
Humans, jaguar, puma/mountain lion, ocelots may prey on young.

Sexual Maturity
From two years, in the wild

Gestation
151 days

Litter Size
Typically 2-3; range: 1-4

Interbirth Interval
Females have young once per year.

Birth Weight
Weigh 500-1,050 g (1.1-2.3 lb) during first week.

Typical Life Expectancy
Wild populations: not reported
Managed care: no AZA estimates

Feature Facts

• Rarest of the three peccary species
• Eating cacti; helps them meet their water needs
• Enjoy rolling and wallowing in mud to cope with the South American heat
• Exhibit a head-down or "head-bowing" display
• Females leave the group to give birth; newborns are able to run within two hours of birth
• Easily tamed by indigenous people and kept either as pets or as food animals
• Very few Chacoan peccaries left; losing habitat to agriculture and overhunted for food
• San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has a successful breeding program for this rare, endangered animal