(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-11-07 09:51

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A Dutch scientist thinks he has discovered a new species of wild pig nearly twice the size of other pigs in Brazil's Amazon region.

Hunters transport a wild pig claimed to be a new species along the Arauazinho river in the Brazilian Amazon on Sept. 2003. Dutch scientist Marc van Roosmalen claimed to have discovered a new species of wild pig measuring over four feet, 1.2 meters, nearly twice the size of similar beasts roaming the same remote corner of the Amazon. [Agencies]

At four feet long and 90 pounds, the pig is the latest in a string of new species that Marc van Roosmalen reported to have found since 1996. His findings were published in the Oct. 29 edition of the German scientific journal Bonner Zoologische Beitrage.

Van Roosmalen, said his discovery of the peccary -- a kind of wild pig he dubbed Pecari maximus -- points out the need to protect the region as a habitat for wild species.

He said he made his discovery by accident in 2000, while searching for a new monkey species.

"I sensed there was something behind me and looked over my shoulder and saw three huge peccaries walking in a row," he said in an interview. "They came and disappeared like ghosts without making any sounds. That was atypical of peccaries, who always go around making lots of noise."

The region where Roosmalen discovered the new peccary and other species -- mostly primates -- lies along a logging frontier around Nova Aripuana, where the number of sawmills has grown from two in 2002 to 14 today.

Van Roosmalen said the wild pig species is remarkable for traveling in small groups, usually two adults, sometimes accompanied by one or two offspring, while other types tend to move in large herds. Small groups are more vulnerable to hunters, he said.

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