White-lipped Peccary

You were separated from your group. It was your idea to be in the back in order to gaze up to the canopy of green trees and look for birds. And now here you are, in the middle of an Ecuadoran rainforest. . . alone.

You decide to keep walking toward where you believe your group is, slowly and carefully navigating the dense undergrowth, spiderwebs, tree roots, and scary things you can’t even see. Then you hear it: the unmistakable sound of grunts. Many, many grunts–like 200 low, guttural moans–and the gnashing and clacking of teeth. At the same time, you smell it: something dark, musky, stinky, and slightly rotten. Finally, you see it…

A wary of wild hogs called white-lipped peccaries, who are known for being aggressive in defense of territory, and for roaming in large groups of up to 300 members (called a “wary”).

You are not sure what to do. Will they be angry when they see you? Should you be cautious in your approach?

Nah. This is your wary, you little lost pig. And you don’t have to be wary of your wary.

 

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Black Rhinocerus

 

The Black Rhinoceros has a prehensile upper lip, which it uses like a mouth-finger to eat plants. It has two horns, sometimes three, on it’s face. They look like total bad-asses because of their large size and horny faces. The males are looking for trouble; they will charge at anything they perceive as a threat, be it another male, a human walking around looking for directions, GIANT ant-mounds minding their own business, or threatening tree trunks.

The Black rhinoceros is considered CRITICALLY endangered, in other words, almost extinct. This is because they have hunted by human-apes for their horns. Because their horns are pretty. Not because humans NEED their horns for survival, but because they ENJOY the LOOK of them.

Hey. Hey, Human. Why don’t you grown your own horn instead of coveting everyone else’s? Or HEY! I have an idea, use plastic or wood or something. Maybe, I’m going to hunt YOU and use your pinky finger bones for something I totally don’t need like a sandwich toothpick.  You jerks.