Wildlife · Osa Peninsula, Puntarenas

Osa Peccary Killings Investigated as Community Monitors Sound Alarm

On Jan. 14, 2026, a community monitoring group in Rancho Quemado, on Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, found the carcasses of 10 white-lipped peccaries from a herd it had tracked for a decade. Environmental prosecutors raided three homes on Jan. 23 and are investigating three suspects, who haven't been charged or convicted. Locals say it was the worst such killing since 2008.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Investigates Illegal Hunting of Endangered Wild Pigs (2026-01-25)

For 10 years, volunteers in the small Osa Peninsula community of Rancho Quemado have walked the forest almost daily to keep track of a herd of white-lipped peccaries. In January 2026, they found 10 of those animals dead. Prosecutors are now investigating three people, and the case has renewed a long-running complaint from the community: there aren't enough rangers to protect the forest.

What happened in January

On Wednesday, Jan. 14, the Rancho Quemado Community Biological Monitoring group (Monitoreo Biológico Comunitario de Rancho Quemado) got word around 3 p.m. that its herd had moved into the neighboring community of Vanegas, on the edge of the Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve. By the time members arrived, the animals were dead and the meat had been taken, according to El Observador. They counted 10 carcasses, nine adults and one juvenile, and feared more animals were injured.

The group posted about the killings on social media, SINAC drew up an official report, and a complaint went to the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and the Public Ministry. Group president Yolanda Rodríguez said the herd hadn't been seen together since and might be scattered. She also criticized what she described as weak institutional commitment to protecting the reserve.

The investigation so far

On Friday, Jan. 23, OIJ agents working with the Agrarian and Environmental Deputy Prosecutor's Office searched three homes, one in La Palma de Puerto Jiménez and two in Bahía Drake. As The Tico Times reported on Jan. 25, three people are under investigation on suspicion of hunting nine peccaries on Jan. 14. Prosecutors said the case began when nine heads and their hides turned up on private land.

Agents seized meat and three cell phones. The prosecutor's office said it didn't yet know whether the meat came from the dead animals. The suspects weren't placed under precautionary measures while the case continues, and no one has been charged or convicted. Prosecutors said such environmental crimes carry one to three years in prison, and that illegal hunting "damages both the environment and human communities."

We found no public update on the case after late January.

Why white-lipped peccaries matter

White-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari), called chancho de monte in Costa Rica, look like wild pigs but belong to a separate family. They live in herds that can number in the hundreds and roam large areas of humid forest. Adults weigh about 30 to 60 kg.

Their rooting and feeding turn over soil and spread seeds, and they're key prey for jaguars and pumas. Because they need big, connected forests and travel in groups, a single hunt can remove a large share of a local population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as Vulnerable, and in Costa Rica it's threatened by hunting and deforestation.

The Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve links Corcovado and Piedras Blancas national parks, making it a key wildlife corridor for wide-ranging animals like peccaries and big cats.

A community project built over a decade

The Rancho Quemado group began in 2015 with SINAC support and a short training program, Rodríguez told Mongabay Latam in 2022. Its volunteers track birds, mammal footprints and camera-trap images, run a tree nursery, and teach local children. The peccary herd became its emblem, with its own community festival. Osa Conservation helped train the group early on.

The group says the herd grew from about 50 animals to 350 under its watch. That's why local activists told The Tico Times the killings "represent a major setback." They say the last comparable event in the area was in 2008, when about 70 peccaries were killed.

The ranger gap

The group says only two park rangers cover 149,500 hectares in the area and has urged SINAC to assign more staff. That figure comes from the group, not from SINAC, and we couldn't confirm it independently. The raids happened with tips from neighbors and partial SINAC support, according to El Observador.

The Osa is one of Costa Rica's richest wildlife regions, and community monitors play a growing role there. Our guide to species conservation in Costa Rica covers other efforts to protect threatened animals. Read about a jaguar named Encanto reappearing on an Osa camera trap and an Osa community filming its life alongside pumas and tapirs, or explore protected areas on our nature reserves map.

How visitors can help

• Hire local, licensed guides in places like Rancho Quemado and Dos Brazos, which gives communities a reason to keep wildlife alive.
• Never buy or eat wild game. Demand for game meat is what makes hunting pay.
• Report hunting or suspicious activity to SINAC's 1192 line or the SITADA environmental complaints site.

Frequently asked questions

What is a chancho de monte?

It's the Costa Rican name for the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), a pig-like forest mammal that lives in large herds. It's protected in Costa Rica and listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

How many peccaries were killed in Osa in January 2026?

The Rancho Quemado monitoring group found 10 carcasses on Jan. 14, 2026. Prosecutors are investigating the suspected hunting of nine.

Has anyone been charged for the Osa peccary killings?

No charges or convictions had been reported. Three people are under investigation, and their homes were searched on Jan. 23, 2026.

Is hunting legal in Costa Rica?

Generally, no. A 2012 reform of the Wildlife Conservation Law (Law 9106) banned sport hunting, with narrow exceptions such as scientific research. In this case, prosecutors said environmental crimes like illegal hunting can bring one to three years in prison.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Investigates Illegal Hunting of Endangered Wild Pigs (2026-01-25)
2. El Observador: Masacre de chanchos de monte en Osa que no se veía desde 2008: grupo reclama falta de guardaparques (2026-01-17)
3. El Observador: Fiscalía allana viviendas por cacería de saínos (2026-01-23)
4. El Observador: Caso de chanchos de monte destazados en Osa: allanan casas de tres sospechosos y se decomisaron celulares y carne (2026-01-28)
5. Mongabay Latam: Retos de la conservación comunitaria en Costa Rica, entrevista a Yolanda Rodríguez (2022-05-24)
6. Osa Conservation: home page

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.