ACRE, BRAZIL — Those traveling along the highways of the state of Acre can encounter all kinds of things along the way, and that was exactly what happened to digital content creator Matilde de Araújo Silva, 39.
While traveling along kilometer 29 of the road leading to the municipality of Feijó, in the interior of Acre, she came across a herd of peccaries alongside the road last Sunday (20) and recorded the moment.
Matilde said she was traveling by car with her husband and two friends and was driving along the federal highway when she noticed several cars and motorcycles stopped along the roadside.
“I saw several cars and motorcycles stopped on the highway. I stopped because I thought it was an accident. When we looked, it was a herd of animals, from the adults to the young ones,” she said.
According to the video, the animals move close to the road until they reach an area with a puddle of water. That is where the herd stops for a few moments to drink.
“They were near some land, where their goal at that moment was to quench their thirst,” she explained.
Although they are commonly known as wild pigs or bush pigs, peccaries are not pigs. The species Tayassu pecari belongs to the peccary family, a group of mammals native to the Americas that also includes collared peccaries.
The animals have dark fur and a characteristic lighter band around the chin area. An adult can weigh about 66 pounds.
Peccaries are found throughout virtually all of Brazil and need large, continuous areas of preserved vegetation to live. These areas can reach about 7,000 hectares and also need to have resources such as streams and other water sources.
The presence of water and large forested areas is important for the survival of peccaries. The species has been affected by habitat loss caused by deforestation and wildfires, as well as illegal hunting for meat.
The conservation status varies by region. Peccaries are classified as Critically Endangered in the Atlantic Forest, Endangered in the Cerrado and Vulnerable in Brazil, according to assessments by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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