Four Chacoan peccaries debut at LA Zoo

In less then one week, four Chacoan peccaries were born at the Los Angeles Zoo! The first peccary was born on Thursday, September 11 and the litter of three followed suit five days later on Tuesday, September 16, 2008. The four newest additions to the Zoo’s herd are currently on exhibit with their parents. Like hogs, peccaries have a well-developed snout used to root out bulbs, roots, tubers and rhizomes of a variety of plants. Occasionally, peccaries also eat small mammals and reptiles. Unlike the domestic pig, the peccary is a slow and dainty eater; they do not devour their food rapidly. Native to Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay, the Chacoan peccary was thought to be extinct until 1972, when Dr. Ralph M. Wetzel of the University of Connecticut, found the species still existed in Paraguay. (via L.A. Unleashed)