Javelina are best observed from a distance. That could be said of most wild animals, but with the collared peccary, the maxim is particularly true. Foul smelling and equally foul tempered, javelina range from Argentina to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.
My friend Ed Cisler, a bicycle clinic leader at the Prude Ranch’s Davis Mountains Fitness & Training Camp and retired Austin firefighter, got a closer look at a javelina than he wanted. Usually he teaches bicyclists the finer points of gear selection, hill climbing, and pace lines rather than how to defend yourself from an attacking javelina.
It was a clear morning in early August when Cisler was leading a group over the rolling roads between Fort Davis and Valentine. The riders were traveling about 35 mph when they saw a small herd of javelina beside the road. Slowing to about 20 mph, Cisler took the lead as the bikes neared the animals.
Without warning, one of the javelina charged. Cisler stayed upright as the first charge glanced off his front tire. The second blow caught the front fork, but it was the third charge that flipped the bicycle. When he awoke in the road, Cisler’s helmet was crushed and his titanium handlebars were broken. Luckily, his injuries were limited to a broken finger and some road rash.
“The javelina was probably more scared than the bike rider,” says Kevin Schwausch, a big-game specialist for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. “The herd was probably startled by the bikes, tried to scatter, and one got tangled up with the bike.”
Schwausch says that javelina attacks are extremely rare. Aggression is not their first choice. Unless a herd feels trapped or threatened, they will usually try to flee. Javelina have a set of canine teeth that they use more for show than defense.
You would think that with a diet of prickly pear cactus and mesquite beans, the javelina would be welcome on ranches. But TPWD has noticed a downturn in their population in Texas due mainly to habitat loss and illegal hunting. Although they have a snout, javelina are not pigs nor are they destructive like feral hogs.
The first rule for dealing with javelina in the wild, Schwausch says, is to be aware of your surroundings. Don’t get yourself in a position where a javelina would feel threatened. Javelina make up for their poor eyesight and hearing with an acute sense of smell. If you meet a javelina on a trail, back away slowly, and give it its space. To avoid pulling javelina hair from your car’s grill or your bike spokes, make some noise before you get close to a herd beside the road.
For information on javelina, see “The Javelina in Texas,” a terrific brochure at www.tpwd.state.tx.us. For information on the Prude Ranch’s adult summer camp, go to www.fitnesscamp.org.
897th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of “Day Trips” 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
This article appears in September 12 • 2008.
