Costa Rica Reintroduces 13 White‑Lipped Peccaries to Piedras Blancas National Park

Veterinarian Dennise Ortiz Angulo led a nighttime convoy of 13 white‑lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) from the Osa Peninsula across Golfo Dulce to Piedras Blancas National Park. The herd, captured after years of preparation, had been absent from the park for roughly 18 years when hunters eliminated the local population. After a long truck drive and a boat crossing, the peccaries were unloaded at the park’s shores, where they began to disperse through the forest. The operation marks the first reintroduction of the species into this ecosystem, which the animals historically helped shape through seed dispersal and soil disturbance.