Proyecto Asis Wildlife Rescue Center - Costa Rica

The White-lipped peccary Tayassu pecari

The White-lipped peccary is one of the peccary species found in Central and South America. It lives in both the rainforest and dry forest. They range from southeast Mexico, throughout eastern Central America, to northern Argentina.

It was introduced to Cuba in 1930, but possibly is no longer found there. According to the IUCN it's already extinct in El Salvador and its range has been reduced in Mexico and Central America during the last 20 years.

The White-lipped Peccary is diurnal and lives in large herds of 50 to 300+ individuals, though there have been reported sightings of up to 2,000 individuals. It is an omnivorous animal, feeding on fruits, roots, tubers, palm nuts, grasses and invertebrates.

Our Guests

Perla’s history

Perla has been living at Proyecto Asis for the past three years. She was brought to us by local park rangers because someone had killed her mother and left the two babies alone.  Unfortunately Perla’s brother did not make it. Perla however has survived without her mom.
Perla has acclimated well here at Proyecto Asis, however we cannot release her back into the wild because she would be defenseless without her group and it is not possible to reintegrate her into another group.  In their habitat, peccaries can be aggressive; but since she has spent most of her life here, Perla is like a pet and is very friendly.

Pancho and Lupe

Pancho and Lupe were once living on a farm like pets. We have been caring for them for the past seven years in order to provide them a better place to live.
We made a swamp in their living space and changed their diet (they were eating rice, beans and leftovers). We have been trying to create a similar atmosphere to make them feel like they are in their natural environment.
Our goal is to release them back into the wild, but this has been challenging because Peccaries live in big groups and integrating them back into a group could be difficult. This is why it is very important to think before to changing the natural habit of a species.

How you can help?

You can help by simply taking part in our Spanish and Volunteer programs, bringing student/ volunteer groups or

Perlita

Adopt a Peccary!