It is a little known fact that peccaries, an animal typically associated with deserts and rainforests, were once found across North America, including Canada. There was at least one but possibly two species of the genus Platygonus living from the plains to the tundra, even being found as far as the northern Yukon. These peccaries were larger than any modern peccary species, reaching sizes comparable to modern wild boar (Sus scrofa). Their teeth suggest that they had a very similar diet to wild boar as well. Where they differ mostly is in skull anatomy, showing smaller brain capacity and more advanced olfactory capability.
The exact details of Platygonus's extinction are not sure. No evidence of human hunting has been found, though such evidence is always rare and Platygonus fossils are not commonplace as is. They did go extinct at roughly the same time as many other species who are presumed to have been hunted to extinction. Another theory is that they were outcompeted by black bears, however those species had been sympatric for millenia and there are still areas where black bears can be found alongside modern peccaries. It is true that black bears have a similar diet to modern pigs, if a little more carnivorous. However, there are places in existence where black bears can be found alongside feral pigs, and the closely related Asian black bear is sympatric with wild boar in China and Siberia, without apparent conflict besides occasional predation.
So, under the assumption that humans are to blame for the extinction of Canadian peccaries, the question is raised of how to replace them. Their closest living relative is the Chacoan peccary (Catagonus wagneri), but that species, like all living peccaries, is adapted to much warmer, drier conditions than are found in this country. A much more practical substitution, if deemed necessary, would simply be the wild boar, an old world pig with similar habits and size. In their environments, wild boar are responsible for waste management and seed transportation and are a very important food source for predators. Unlike most hoofed animals, pigs are carrion eaters similar to hyenas and vultures. If they were introduced to Canada in a controlled fashion, there are many different subspecies that could be used. For example, colder areas might be inhabited by Siberian wild boar (Sus scrofa sibiricus), forests by European wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa), and plains by Mongolian wild boar (Sus scrofa nigripes). Other subspecies would also be eligible, and real peccaries could be used in warmer areas south of the border.
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Platygonus depiction - http://www.beringia.com/sites/default/files/Flatheaded-Peccary-banner.jpg
Chacoan peccary - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Catagonus_wagneri_1_-_Phoenix_Zoo.jpg
Siberian boar - http://www.hubertushuntingtours.com/images/wild_boar_2.jpg
European boar - http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03023/boar_3023393b.jpg
Mongolian boar - https://sites.google.com/site/wildpigspecialistgroup/_/rsrc/1358726242143/home/Sus-scrofa/Kazakhstan%20(1).jpg?height=209&width=320
Platygonus depiction - http://www.beringia.com/sites/default/files/Flatheaded-Peccary-banner.jpg
Platygonus depiction - http://www.beringia.com/sites/default/files/Flatheaded-Peccary-banner.jpg
.jpg?height=209&width=320)
Introducing wild boar to substitute peccaries is most certainly a bad idea. Though the species are similar in many ways such as diet, size, etc there are some very important differences. Perhaps the most important is litter size. All modern peccaries contrast with their true pig relatives by having only one or two young as opposed to the large litters produced by pigs like wild boar. Wild boar populations can rapidly expand with their large litters and as been seen world wide where wild boars/feral pigs have been introduced it only takes a few individuals and a few years for a large destructive population to become established. Wild boars also root far more often and more extensively than peccaries which can cause all kinds of ecological damage to ecosystems where they are not native (notably in Polynesia where wild boar rooting ruts destroy natural vegetation and create breeding pools for avian malaria carrying non-native mosquito which have killed many of Hawaii's endemic birds). Wild boars are also more carnivorous than modern peccaries. This is not so much an issue with larger species they occasionally prey on (deer fawns for example) but rather smaller species. Reptiles and ground nesting birds are at particular risk as wild boars have a taste for them and especially their eggs. In Australia wild boar predation on both freshwater and sea turtle eggs is a major conservation issue. Here in Canada the majority of our turtles are already threatened, with raccoon predation on eggs being a major proximate cause (human development and predator suppression has led to historic highs in coon numbers in certain areas). You may know that wild boars have already become feral in parts of Canada notably rural Saskatchewan in the parkland area. Signs of destruction are already showing and as a result there are no kill limits or permits required to hunt them year round.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's been a while since I wrote this and I have reconsidered to some extent. However I would point out that a lot of the problem with boars becoming invasive is that humans have driven out many of the predators that would control them. I'm not seriously considering them at this point, even though I as yet have no alternative, but if I did it would not be without huge amounts of restrictions and experimentation.
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