The peccaries (also known by its Spanish name, javelina or pecarí) are medium-sized mammals of the family Tayassuidae. Peccaries are members of the Artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates) as are swine Suidae and hippopotami Hippopotamidae. They are found in the southwestern area of North America and throughout Central and South America. Peccaries usually measure between 90 and 130 cm in length (3 to 4 feet), and a full-grown adult usually weighs between about 20 and 40 kilograms (44 to 88 pounds).

People often confuse peccaries, which are found in the New World, with pigs that originated in the Old World, especially since some domestic pigs brought by European settlers have escaped over the years and now run wild in many parts of the United States. These feral pigs are popularly known as razorback hogs. Relatives of the Old World pigs include the warthog of Africa. One of the ways to tell apart the two groups is the shape of the canine tooth, or tusk. In the Old World pigs the tusk is long and curves around on itself, whereas in the New World peccaries the tusk is short and straight. Peccaries use their tusks for defense; they feed chiefly on roots and grasses but also eat invertebrates and small vertebrates.

By rubbing the tusks together they can make a chattering noise that warns potential predators to not get too close. Peccaries, indeed, are aggressive enough in temperament that, unlike Eurasia's pigs, they cannot be domesticated as they are likely to injure humans.

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