Javelina

Pen and ink, 2021, 4"x6"

Javelinas are collared peccaries. Peccaries are not pigs, though there’s definitely a resemblance, and are smaller, furrier, and have longer legs than pigs. They range from central Arizona, and Texas along the Rio Grande, down to Argentina. The ones we see in Arizona seem to congregate along watercourses, and we can see their tracks easily near the river and behind our house as they come by at night. They are mainly herbivorous, meaning in our yard they eat cactus paddles and flower pods, yucca roots and stems, mesquite pods and flower bulbs if they can. This might seem destructive, but you have to admire any creature that can without hesitation chomp on spiny cactus paddles. And, the babies are totally darling.