Richard Lydekker

“ Generally met with in large droves of from fifty to a hundred, it is of a more pugnacious disposition than the former species, and a hunter who encounters a herd in a forest has often to climb a tree as his only chance of safety. ”

“ The stomach is much more complex than in the true pigs, almost approaching that of a ruminant. In the feet the two middle (third and fourth) metacarpal and metatarsal bones, which are completely separate in the pigs, are united at their upper ends. On the fore-foot the two (second and fifth) outer toes are equally developed as in pigs, but on the hind-foot, although the inner (or second) is present, the outer or fifth toe is entirely wanting. ”

“ Peccaries are omnivorous, living on roots. fallen fruits, worms and carrion, and often inflict great devastation upon crops. Both types are so nearly allied that they will breed together freely in captivity. Unlike pigs, they never appear to produce more than two young ones at a birth
Remains of extinct peccaries referable to the modern genus occur in the caverns and superficial deposits of South America, but not in the earlier formations. ”