Omnivores, they eat mostly cactus fruit, berries and bulbs but occasionally eat snakes and small vertebrates. Unlike other desert dwellers, they must always be near water. Peccaries have long, coarse dark gray hair with a whitish collar on their neck. They are pig-like animals with a long snout, thick neck, compact body, very small legs, small, sharp hooves and a very short tail.
Peccaries have poor vision, fair hearing and a keen sense of smell.
Gestation lasts about 115 days. They usually have twins, but the litter can consist of one to four young. Lactation lasts six to eight weeks, but young remain with the mother two to three months. They mark their boundaries with secretion from their rump on trees or rocks. Most peccaries never travel far from their place of birth.