Chinchilla
Chinchilla lanigar
Chinchillas are four-legged, squirrel-like rodents found
in the Andes Mountains of South America, at about 10,000 to
16,000 feet. Where they live, water is scarce and the
terrain is very rocky. They live in crevices and holes in
the rocks.
The diet of the wild chinchilla is herbivorous. They feed on bark, grasses, and herbs. Chinchillas get most of their water from the plants they eat. Chinchillas come out in the morning to feed, as well as at night.
Chinchillas resemble small-eared, long-tailed rabbits, and are about 9 to 11 inches long, excluding the tail. Including the tail, they are about 12 to 17 inches long. A chinchilla can weigh up to 2.25 pounds. They have short front legs which help them hold the roots of grasses which they eat. The longer hind legs help them hop around quickly. Their feet are also clawless and padded, which helps them move around easily. They have ears that are almost hairless. In captivity, chinchillas can live from 15 to 25 years.
Chinchilla means "little Chinta" which is the South American
Indian tribe that it is named after.
Females can usually have two or three offspring to a litter, and may produce two litters in one year. Chinchillas live in social groups from 14 to 100 members. Chinchilla babies have fur at birth.
Chinchillas have a soft, dense, gray and black fur coat. The grayish-blackish color of their fur coats helps them blend in with their rocky environment. What makes their fur so soft is that it has more than one hair coming from each follicle. Their fur is one of the most expensive furs around because it is so soft. Wild chinchilla coats can cost up to $100,000. In captivity, they take dust baths to keep their fur clean. They were almost hunted to extinction because of their soft and unique fur. Protective laws were formed in the 1920s. Now there are fur production farms instead of hunting wild ones. Chinchillas are now common in captivity. Because of excessive hunting and destruction of habitat, the Giant Chinchilla is extinct.
Written by Naturalist Kevin Paradis