Watch this family of collared peccaries at their favorite muddy wallow in the Amazon rainforest. It’s a drinking space they’ve tailor-made with their relentless snuffling and plodding of the wet soil, stopping any new trees from growing.
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TRANSCRIPT
- [Will] These bristly, pig-like animals are collared peccaries.
And it seems the alert adults have sensed they're being watched.
- [Mary] They're properly looking at the cameras.
- They're so aware of them, aren't they?
But they soon realize we pose no threat and return to their daily business.
This muddy wallow is clearly irresistible to peccaries, and our cameras are revealing why.
It's the ideal place for a refreshing drink and somewhere to cool off in the midday heat.
- Oh look, there's some little tiny ones.
They're babies. - Fantastic.
(peccaries snorting) Squabbling between the peccaries seems to be a regular affair.
(baby peccary squeaks) But it rarely lasts long.
Day after day, we watch as the herd returns to this wallow.
Their really sensitive noses are great for finding seeds and tasty morsels to eat here.
(peccary grunts) And this relentless snuffling and plodding stops trees and plants from growing in the wet soil, so it seems they've tailor-made this mucky meeting place to suit their needs just perfectly.
(inspirational music)