Nosing around

Chacoan peccaries can’t see very well, but their sense of smell more than makes up for it: their finely tuned noses can even detect tasty roots underground. The sociable pigs also have a gland on their back that secretes a strong-smelling substance to keep outsiders at bay.

Despite this clever way of scaring off enemies, the peccaries are now highly endangered. Their natural habitat in South America is being steadily decimated by encroaching cattle ranches. They are also the victims of poaching. In 2015, Tierpark Berlin began coordinating the European Endangered Species Programme for this rare pig species.