Wild Animals of North America: Intimate Studies of Big and Little Creatures of the Mammal KingdomNelson, Edward William
Science
Wild Animals of North America: Intimate Studies of Big and Little Creatures of the Mammal Kingdom
Nelson, Edward William
Mammals -- North America
In tropical America collared peccaries are found in dense forests or
in low jungles, but in northern Mexico and the southwestern United
States they are equally at home among scattered thickets of cactus and
other thorny plants on plains and in the foothills. They are strictly
gregarious and live in bands of from a few individuals up to thirty
or more, usually led by the oldest and most powerful boar. They are
omnivorous, feeding on everything edible, from roots, fruits, nuts, and
other vegetable products to reptiles and any other available animals.
They are specially numerous in many tropical forests where wild figs,
nut palms, and other fruit-bearing trees provide abundant food. In the
arid northern part of their range dense thickets of cactus and mesquite
afford both food and shelter. Their presence in a locality is often
indicated by the rooted-up soil where they have been feeding.
Young peccaries become very tame and make most intelligent and amusing
pets. One moonlight night on the coast of Guerrero two of us, after
a bath in the sea by a small Indian village, strolled along the hard
white sand to enjoy the cool breeze. Suddenly a little peccary, not
weighing over eight or ten pounds, came running to meet us and, after
stopping at our feet to have its head scratched, suddenly circled about
us, away and back again in whirling zigzags, with all the joyous frenzy
of a playful puppy. Continuing this performance, it accompanied us for
several hundred yards, until we returned to the village.
Tales of the ferocity of bands of the collared peccaries and of their
treeing hunters who have disturbed them read well to the novice, but
have little foundation in fact. In reality the animals are shy and
retiring and fight only when forced to do so for self-protection. When
brought to bay by dogs or other animals, they fight viciously, and
with their sharp, knife-edged tusks can inflict serious wounds. Their
natural enemies are mainly the jaguar in the south and bobcats and
coyotes, which prey upon their young, in the north.
The increasing occupation of our Southwest has already resulted in the
extermination of peccaries from most of their former range within our
border, and unless active steps are taken to protect the survivors
their days will be few in the land. They are such unique and harmless
animals that it is hoped interest in their behalf may be awakened in
time to retain them as a part of our wild life.
=ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP= (=Ovis canadensis= and its relatives)
Wild sheep inhabit mountain ranges in both Old and New Worlds. Northern
Africa and southern Europe have representative species, but Asia
appears to be the true home of the group. There the greatest variety of
species is found, including such giants as _Ovis poli_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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