Chacoan Peccary

Chacoan Peccary:  The Chacoan peccary or Tagua (Catagonus wagneri) is a species of peccary found in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. About 3000 exist in the world. It is believed to be the closest living relative to the extinct genus Platygonus. The Chacoan Peccary has the unusual distinction of having been first described in 1930 based on fossils and was originally thought to be an extinct species. In 1971 the animal was discovered to still be alive in the Chaco region, in the Argentine province of Salta.

 The species was well known to the native people, but it took a while for scientists to rediscover its existence. It is known locally as the Tagua.Chacoan peccaries have received the nickname "pigs from green hell" because of their wild, impenetrable habitats.[citation needed] The Chacoan peccary is confined to hot, dry areas. Dominated by low-lying succulents and thorny bushes, the Gran Chaco is approximately 140,000 square kilometers. There are a few scattered giant trees, but the majority of the vegetation is thorny scrub vegetation.

 Chacoan Peccary

 Chacoan Peccary

 Chacoan Peccary

Chacoan Peccary