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A grizzled gray-brown Chacoan peccary sniffing the ground.
Photo: Dave Pape, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chacoan Peccary

Catagonus wagneri

A pig-like hoofed mammal of South America's dry Gran Chaco, known only from fossils until it was found alive in 1975.

🦓 Hoofed Mammals
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About the Chacoan Peccary

Chacoan peccaries live in the Gran Chaco, a hot, dry plain covered with cactus and thorny bushes in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina. They use their tough snouts to roll cactus on the ground and knock off the spines, and they dig up roots. They get most of their water from their food. Peccaries live in small groups of two to ten.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Catagonus wagneri[1]
Lifespan
About 9 years in the wild. Up to 18 in human care.[1]
Diet
Herbivore. Cactus and roots, plus mineral-rich soil.[1]
Habitat
Hot, dry plain with cactus and thorny bushes.[1]
Where it lives
The Gran Chaco of Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina.[1]
Group life
Small groups of two to ten. Active mostly during the day.[1]
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2011).[2]

Fun facts

  • Scientists thought Chacoan peccaries were extinct until 1975.[1]
  • Peccaries roll cactus on the ground to knock the spines off.[1]
  • Peccaries eat soil from leafcutter ant mounds to get minerals.[1]

Vocabulary

peccary
A pig-like hoofed mammal of the Americas.
fossil
The preserved remains or traces of an animal or plant from long ago.
snout
The long nose and mouth of an animal.
mineral
A natural substance, like salt, that bodies need to stay healthy.
endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces a very high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Chacoan Peccary.” https://www.sfzoo.org/chacoan-peccary/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Catagonus wagneri (Chacoan Peccary).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4015/72587993 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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