Meet Milo, São Paulo Zoo's Collared Peccary Piglet
July 02, 2013
On March 24, São Paulo Zoo in Brazil welcomed a new Collared Peccary to the park! The male piglet was named Milo by the biologists who take care of him. Milo was born weighing only 740 grams, and in his first days, he was bottle-fed with milk specially prepared with all the appropriate nutrients needed for his healthy growth. Now three months old, he already eats tubers, fruits, seeds, and leaves. Peccaries can reach up to 55 pounds (25 kg) when adults, and gestation lasts about 145 days, with the mother giving birth to one or two piglets.
Photo credits: São Paulo Zoo / Carlos Nader
See and learn more after the fold.
Peccaries are commonly mistaken for domestic pigs, which originated from the Old World. However, peccaries are from a different family and the four known species only exist in the New World, ranging from the Southern United States to Northern Argentina. They are named for the white stripe, resembling a collar, that encircles the neck and shoulders of adults. In the wild, Collared Peccaries live in groups of up to 40 animals. Although they are not commonly aggressive, they can be considered very dangerous if they are threatened or scared, since they will flee and possibly use their long tusks as defense against any menace. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Collared Peccaries are common and widespread, and are a species of Least Concern on the Red List of Threatened Species.