When is a pig not a pig? Discover the white-lipped peccary at Dartmoor Zoo

When is a pig not a pig?

Crashing through the jungle like a mob of miniature bulldozers, relentlessly uprooting plants, roots and tubers.

Grubbing for insects and worms they leave a very visible trail of destruction behind.

With individual animals weighing in at only 40kg, they put their compact body form, muscular snout and Swiss Army knife style dentition to plough up the forest floor.

Multiply this by around 200 individuals and the result is an extremely efficient way to create new habitat.

As destructive as the foraging and feeding behaviour of the White Lipped Peccary (Tayassu pecari) sounds their role as ecosystem engineers is only just being recognised.

By breaking open the soil they create the ideal environment for new life.

Seedlings quickly establish in the newly exposed soil increasing the diversity of fauna.

Other, less powerful species, use the pathways they create to move around the forest aiding dispersal and the flush of new growth allows the forests to lock up even more carbon helping to reduce the levels of harmful atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.

So, what exactly are White Lipped Peccary?

The answer isn’t simple.

They are cousins of the modern pig sharing a common ancestor.

They are estimated to have split off from this common ancestor during the Miocene era (5 million to 23 million years ago).

Technically, they are hoofed ungulates and in their native South American Jungle habitat they are commonly found in herds of between 20 and 300 individuals.

However, there are reports of so called “Super Herds” of up to 2000 animals.

These aggregations may be seasonal and may also be linked to breeding behaviours.

Standing around 90cm tall and up to 135cm long individually at least the White Lipped Peccary is not too intimidating. However, they are the most aggressive of the Peccary species and when threatened they will not hesitate to turn on their attacker with their strong dagger like canine teeth.

En mass they are formidable and it's not unheard of for them to kill Jaguars through sheer force of numbers and determination.

They have a range of vocalisations ranging from teeth clacking, barking, growling, moaning and high-pitched squeals.

They use these vocalisations for group cohesion as well as warding off potential rivals or predators.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the body responsible for assessing the conservation of all plant and animal species on the planet, list White Lipped Peccary as Vulnerable.

The last time the species was assessed was 2012.

Vulnerable means that the species is in decline and under threat.

The principle threats to the species include deforestation and increased hunting pressure.

Peccary are running out of space and time.

As we remove more and more tropical rainforest, whether that is for commercial logging or clearing forest for agriculture we are removing the habitat that Peccary need to survive and thrive.

They are also extensively hunted for their meat which is used to fulfil the increasing demand for animal protein to feed an ever-expanding human population.

At Dartmoor Zoo the small group of 7 White Lipped Peccary are the only members of the species in the UK.

They can be found in their new habitat at the top of the South America area, near the Jaguar restaurant.