Chinchillas are cute and soft but endangered.
- Chinchillas are a genus of two extant species of medium sized rodent mammals that move around mostly during twilight hours, and the animal lives in herds of 14 to 100.
- Chinchillas live at elevations of up to 4,270 metres (14,000 feet) in South America’s Andes Mountains, and they belong to the family Chinchillidae, a family of squirrel-like rodents.
- The term ‘chinchilla’ is said to have derived from ‘Chincha’, the name of the Andes Mountains indigenous people who wore garments made from their fur, however, it is also believed the term means ‘little bug’.
- Chinchillas have become critically endangered, and one species is extinct, due to human hunting for its very soft fur.
- Chinchillas grow to be 25 to 35 centimetres (10 to 14 inches) in length; weigh 400 to 500 grams (14 to 18 ounces); and can jump lengths of 1.8 metres (6 feet) in a single bound.
Chinchillas
Image courtesy of Ph!L!s/Flickr
- Female chinchillas have litters averaging two or three, giving birth to young that have a body full of fur and open eyes, and they live on average 10 to 12 years, although they can live to age 20.
- A chinchilla’s diet mainly consists of seeds, fruit, leaves and nuts, and they are preyed upon by birds like owls and hawks, snakes, foxes and other animals.
- Chinchillas can be kept as pets, although the animal requires a specific diet and habitat, including a relatively cool environment.
- The fur of chinchillas has been sold since the 1500s, while today the animal is bred commercially for their fur.
- The fur colour of chinchillas is typically grey, although humans have bred them so that they produce different colours, including white, black, blue or beige.
Bibliography:
Chinchilla, 2013, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/chinchilla/
Chinchilla, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla
The Chinchilla, 2014, Chinchilla Chronicles, http://www.chinchillachronicles.com/the_chinchilla.html
