Javelinas can be dangerous to curious tourists in Arizona & Mexico |
There was a recent story on our local TV news programs about two dogs that were gored to death by javelinas (pronounced hah-veleenas). In another case, a woman tourist filed a law suit against Saguaro National Forest because she was severely bitten while playing golf on a local course by a mother javelina.
Since we moved to Southern Arizona, we’ve encounter them frequently on jogging and hiking trails, or sometimes in the trash can areas behind hotels and apartment houses. The adults are about the size of medium dogs, weigh 50 plus pounds, and have sharp javelin-type teeth and pointed hooves. They frequently travel as families, with two adults and three or four juveniles, and sometimes in larger groups. |