White-lipped Peccary
Tayassu pecari 
Makushi name: Pîinkî, Karauta 
Creole name: Bush Hog, Wild Hog, White-jawed Peccary 
Size: body=1.2 m; weight=35 kg 
Description: Medium sized, piglike, with a stocky body and slim legs. All-black or dark brown except for a white or tan patch on lower jaw and throat. Larger and darker than Collared Peccary. Eyeshine dull, reddish. 
Activity: Nocturnal and diurnal, usually inactive in the middle of the day; terrestrial. 
Habits: Very social, living in large herds of 40 to 200 or more. Smaller groups represent fragmented populations. These peccaries travel long distances walking single file on trails or paths through the forest. Each herd uses a large home range, estimated as up to 200 square kilometres. It feeds by bulldozing through the soil and eating fruit, roots, vegetation and invertebrates. It uses its very strong interlocking jaws to open very hard palm nuts, an important element in the diet. This species can be dangerous; when encountered a group may make an ominous clicking sound by clashing the canine teeth together. Other sounds include a low bark in alarm, snorts, wheezes and rumbles. 
Habitat: Limited to large tracts of mature, evergreen forest with little human disturbance. 
Signs: Tracks show two triangular hooves, slightly rounded at tip, about 55 mm wide; large swaths of forest with shallow holes and disturbed leaf litter, permeated with musty, cheesy odour indicate recent activity of a group; greasy stains on rocks or logs. 
Status: Locally common. Listed on CITES Appendix II. 
Distribution in Iwokrama