A herd of Javelinas or Collared Peccaries (Pecari tajacu) are permanent residents in my Tucson neighborhood. They will often visit my yard to drink from my bird pond.

While they are here, the Javelinas nose around and look for things to either eat or play with. This baby Javelina began playing with some recently pruned twigs, and it was soon joined by a curious adult who thought that the twig game looked like fun.

Javelinas are very intelligent and will notice and investigate anything that has changed since their last visit, especially if it is recently planted edible plants. If they are bored, they will even uproot and destroy plants that they don't even like, such as agaves.

Normally, I've observed that baby Javelinas born during the winter have a lower survival rate than those born at other times of the year. This year, perhaps because of our abnormally warm winter, many of these winter babies have survived and there are quite a few of them in the herd right now.

Adult Javelinas can be grouchy and aggressive with each other (especially over food), but the adults are tolerant and gentle with the babies.