When tagua were the talk of the town! Tagua is the local name for the giant Chacoan peccary, a wild swine species native to the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, which was becoming endangered due to hunting and habitat loss. The Zoological Society first became involved with this species in 1985, under the leadership of board member and former research director Dr. Kurt Benirschke, when the Society provided stewardship for Proyecto Tagua (Project Tagua). This project established managed groups of these swine to study their behavior and husbandry while also creating an assurance population against further declines. The four tagua that came to the Zoo impressed visitors with their bristly, bustling activity.