In January, I received an e-mail from my son in Arizona with the subject line asking, “Guess who’s eating the roses?”
Last year, when I was visiting for my granddaughter’s first birthday, Christian and I planted a rose garden in a raised bed. Little did we know that the raised bed would make the flowers more accessible, like eating at a lunch counter.
It was horrifying to see that three havalinas had stopped by for a snack. Not a true pig, the havalina is classified as a peccary, a big game species. They travel in small groups and, although omnivorous, prefer roots, grasses, seeds, cacti and apparently have added roses to their list of yummies.
A havalina looks a lot like our barnyard pig, but has a face that is flattened on both sides of its cheeks. It has rough fur that it can puff out like a porcupine when surprised. It gets its name from its canine teeth that look like javelins. Not a pretty animal at all!
Christian was surprised to see the trio in his front yard and hurried inside to get his phone to take their picture. They also were startled and had begun to leave, heading down the walk right towards his garage! A couple of photos later, the havalinas were on their way down the street and Christian was safely back inside. In looking up information about the havalinas, the recommendations were the same as we are told about our wildlife, especially the coyote. Don’t leave food outside.
Don’t leave your pets outside unattended. Make loud noises to shoo them away if you encounter them. Like the coyote, they aren’t usually aggressive, but when provoked, beware!
So it seems that every suburbia has its issues with wildlife. I, however, would much rather see the occasional coyote than a havalina.
