Peccaries are piglike, with a stout body, thick neck, large head, tiny tails and thin, delicate legs. They have long and coarse hair of dark reddish brown to black, and white on the side of the jaws. They have forefeet with two large weight-bearing toes and two smaller toes used only on soft substrates, all toes with hooves. Their hindfeet consist of two large toes and one smaller one.
Peccaries have large, sharp canines that form a distinct lump under the lips.
These animals are mainly vegeterian. They eat such foods as catcus fruit, berries, tubers, bulbs, and rhizomes, but occasionally will consume snakes and other small vertebrates. The white-lipped peccary breeds all year. The gestation period is roughly 156-162 days. If a litter is lost, the mother can mate again.