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Javelina
Pecari tajacu · Tayassuidae
The Southwest's unique desert pig — not actually a pig, but you won't know the difference at 20 yards.
Found & hunted in
Overview
The javelina (collared peccary) is not a true pig despite appearances — it's the sole member of the family Tayassuidae in North American hunting. Found in desert scrub, cactus flats, and thorn-scrub country of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, javelinas are gregarious herd animals that navigate dense saguaro and cholla cactus with remarkable ease. They're hunted over-the-counter in Arizona with archery equipment — one of the few OTC opportunities for a unique western big-game species — and by draw for gun seasons.
Habitat
Collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu) — commonly called javelina in hunting parlance — are uniquely North American desert dwellers inhabiting the Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, and semi-arid thornscrub of southern Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and deep into Central and South America.
Population
Collared peccary populations in the United States are estimated at 500,000 to 700,000 animals, with approximately 80 percent concentrated in Texas (estimated 400,000 to 500,000), followed by Arizona (approximately 60,000 to 100,000) and New Mexico (approximately 15,000 to 25,000).
Conservation
Collared peccary management is relatively straightforward compared to other North American big-game species because the animal's specific habitat requirements are not currently under severe development pressure.
Diet
Desert plants — primarily prickly pear cactus (both pads and fruit) which provides both food and water. Also eat roots, bulbs, berries, mesquite beans, and some invertebrates.
Social Behavior
Highly social — javelinas live in herds of 5–25 animals with a defined home range. They communicate with scent from a dorsal musk gland (the 'button' on their back) and a vocabulary of grunts, huffs, and tooth-chattering alarm sounds. Herd members groom each other and sleep huddled together for warmth.
Breeding & Rut
Javelinas breed year-round but with peaks in spring and fall. Young can breed at 11 months. The short gestation and year-round breeding sustain stable populations.
Scouting
- →Identify prickly pear cactus density on aerial and satellite imagery before scouting on foot.
- →Glass rocky canyon walls and boulder fields for bedded javelina during midday heat (10 AM to 3 PM).
- →Work rocky washes and dry creek bottoms at first and last light.
- →Water sources are reliable scouting targets in dry conditions.
- →Use your nose — literally. The dorsal scent gland of a javelina band produces a powerful, skunk-like odor detectable by humans from 50 to 100 yards downwind.
- →Glass from elevated positions in the morning overlooking the major prickly pear flats and wash drainages below.
- →Once you locate a band, study it through binoculars to count animals and assess the largest male.
- →Contact the Arizona Game and Fish Department regional office or Texas Parks and Wildlife's regional biologist for your specific hunt unit.
Gear & Calibers
Hunting Tips
- →Glass open desert flats and cactus country — herds of javelinas feeding on prickly pear are visible at distance.
- →Javelinas have poor eyesight (about like a human with bad vision) but an excellent nose. Downwind approaches are critical.
- →The January–February Arizona archery season is a fantastic early-season hunt when the desert weather is mild.
- →Water is a reliable draw — javelinas water at stock tanks and natural desert water sources regularly.
Stalking Tips
- →Javelinas in a feeding herd often allow very close approach if wind is in your favor. 30 yards is very doable with a bow.
- →Move slowly and deliberately. The animals watch each other for alarm cues — if one spooks, they all go.
Glassing Tips
- →Glass flat desert terrain and hillsides covered in saguaro and prickly pear. Herds are visible at several hundred yards.
Trophy Judging
- →Skull length and width are the primary Boone & Crockett scoring criteria for javelina.
- →Lower tusk length is the most visually impressive trophy feature.
- →Body size estimation is more difficult with javelina than with deer or pronghorn because the thick, bristly coat obscures body condition.
- →Sex identification prior to harvest is required in Arizona.
- →Band composition assessment reveals hunt opportunity.
- →Age estimation in collared peccaries uses tooth wear, body size, and behavioral indicators.
Field Care & Dressing
- →Remove the musk gland on the javelina's back before field dressing.
- →Javelina must be skinned immediately — the hide holds heat aggressively in warm desert weather.
- →Peccary meat is excellent table fare when handled properly — it is a mild, white-meated protein.
- →Field dress through the back of the hindquarters and down through the belly, taking care not to puncture the intestinal tract.
- →Quarter and bag before transport.
- →Skull and tusks are the primary taxidermy element of a javelina trophy.
Things to Know
- →Javelina meat is edible but has a strong, gamey flavor if the musk gland is not properly removed immediately after the kill. The gland is a small, hairless button on the lower back — remove it without cutting into it before dressing the animal.
- →Arizona's OTC javelina archery tag makes this one of the most accessible western big-game hunts. Buy the tag, show up, hunt.
Terminology
Records
Trophy javelinas are uncommon — most hunters harvest any legal animal. AZ OTC archery is the primary draw hunt-free opportunity.