What kind of animal is the javelina?
The word “javelina” takes us back to the early settlers who followed Columbus to the New World. Spanish explorers probed north from Mexico and settled in southern North America. Many places in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico kept their early Spanish names and the people kept many Spanish words. This lingering chapter of New World history gave us the word “javelina.” In the Spanish language of the Old World, the sow of the wild boar was known as a “jabalina.” The Conquistadores who explored the New World discovered herds of animals that appeared to be first cousins of the wild boars they had known at home. It seemed natural to call the females jabalinas. The Spanish also adopted the America Indian word for this native animal and changed it to “pecari.” English speaking settlers arrived and later found that the same animal already had two names. Most of them chose “pecari” but changed it to “peccary.” In Texas, where the Spanish influence was very strong, the name “jabalina” was adopted an
