Chacoan peccary, Catagonus wagneri, is a robust mammal in the pig family that calls the Gran Chaco home. Its range includes hot, dry tracts across Paraguay, Bolivia, parts of Brazil and Argentina, where thorny scrub, cactus stands, and seasonal floodplains shape its daily life. These animals move in small herds, relying on tight social bonds to locate food and protect young from predators. Their bodies are adapted to a prickly world: a leathery snout, brown to gray bristle-like fur, and extremely small feet that let them thread between cactus spines and navigate rough terrain. They forage across open plains and scrub margins, exploiting a mix of plant foods that keeps them fed in a harsh climate. This species has evolved a diet that includes various cactus plants and other vegetation, and their snout and teeth help them handle spiky plants without injury. The species has long stood as a symbol of the Gran Chaco’s resilience, and its presence often serves as an indicator of ecosystem health. Population numbers remain limited, with estimates commonly placed around three thousand individuals, reflecting ongoing pressures from habitat loss and fragmentation across its range. Like many wide-ranging herbivores, their survival depends on protected corridors, cross-border cooperation, and thoughtful land management — IUCN Red List.
DID YOU KNOW? It was once believed that the Chacoan peccary was extinct. In 1975, workers in the Gran Chaco encountered a living herd, a discovery that surprised scientists and sparked a conservation story. Since then, efforts in captive breeding and habitat protection have helped stabilize populations, though threats from agriculture, deforestation, mining, and grazing continue to press on the species’ range. Today the animal remains relatively rare in the wild, with scattered groups across its historic territory, and it remains the focus of regional conservation programs. Chacoan peccaries live in family groups that include adults and their offspring, with young remaining close to their parents for extended periods after birth. Reproduction tends to yield small litters, and birth timing is linked to seasonal rainfall and food availability. Physically, the animal bears a pig-like silhouette, featuring a leathery snout, a coat that shifts from brown to gray, and stout limbs that help it maneuver through thorny vegetation. Their foraging often takes them to cactus patches where they rub off spines with the snout and, in some cases, use the teeth to pull spines free — a remarkable adaptation to a spiny diet. The Chacoan peccary plays a crucial role in seed dispersal and vegetation dynamics within the Gran Chaco, shaping plant communities and helping maintain a balanced ecosystem. — IUCN Red List.