Look at these tiny animals. "What is a Peccary?" You're probably wondering to yourself, "like some kind of pig thing?" Well, you'd be close, but Chacoan Peccaries are actually much more special than your average hog. Originally believed to be extinct, there are only 3,000 of them in existence. Two weeks ago, the San Francisco Zoo raised that tally to 3,006.

Two of the pups were born on October 27th and four more were born on October 29th. Not bad for a species that hadn't been discovered until the early 1970s. Chacoan Peccaries hail from the Gran Chaco lowland region that stretches from Paraguay into Bolivia and Argentina. In South America, their native habitat is threatened by ranches, oil exploration, road construction, and uncontrolled hunting. At the San Francisco Zoo, however, you can find them across from Eagle Island, next to the Terrace Cafe.

The peccaries like to eat salt licks around mounds made by leaf-cutter ants and they've gotten pretty good at eating cacti by rolling them around and knocking all the spines off.

This weekend, there will be a special Peccary Party where you can come and welcome them to San Francisco in person. In the meantime, here they are skittering around all cute on YouTube:

[SFZoo]