Living in the North Scottsdale communities of DC Ranch and Grayhawk provides its surprises when it comes to wildlife.
Many people visit or move from other parts of the country and aren’t used to dealing with snakes, bob cats or javelina. Every time I talk about javelina, my clients say “What?” Everyone has heard of snakes and various form of wild cats, but javelina? Not so much. It hasn’t scared anyone away from purchasing property in DC Ranch or Grayhawk, but you definitely don’t want one as a pet.
By rubbing the tusks together, they can make a chattering noise that warns potential predators not to get too close. What are these things? Peccaries. Peccaries are aggressive enough in temperament that, unlike Eurasian pigs, they cannot be domesticated as they are likely to injure humans.
For starters….here’s what they look like.
Javelina may be spotted in DC Ranch or Grayhawk
If you look them up in Wikipedia, here’s the explanation you will find.
“A peccary plural peccaries; also javelina and skunk pig; is a medium-sized mammal of the family Tayassuidae, or New World pigs. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina as are the pig family and possibly the hippopotamus family. They are found in the southwestern area of North America and throughout Central And South America. Peccaries usually measure between 3 and 4.3 feet in length. Adults weigh up to almost 90 pounds.”
They love succulent plants and cacti, flowers and other lush vegetation. They’ve ruined many a pretty bed of flowers including my own. Grr. They come in the middle of the night and root up your plants.
There are certain plants that don’t taste good to them.
Desert Marigold
Indigo Bush
Prairie Zinnia
Red Geranium
Sage
Snapdragon
Woolly Butterfly Bush
Try and plant plants that are at least five gallons in size.
They are largely nocturnal creatures but can also be seen during the day during winter time when the nighttime temperatures are colder. To discourage them, try these tips:
Avoid installing tasty plants or plants that drop fruit or nuts
Make sure there are no pools of standing water to drink.
Keep garbage and table scraps secured and off the ground.
Eliminate habitat such as crawlspaces or other areas for a javelina to hide.
Don’t scatter bird seed. Rather, try using seed blocks that can be suspended and do not contain much litter.
For more information:
Living with javelina in urban areas
www.azgfd.gov/w_c/urban_javelina.shtml
Javelina resistant plants
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1238.pdf
