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Chinchilla - CHINCHILLA LANIGERA
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Chinchilla": "Chinchilla" is possibly from the native South American Aymara word for the animal.
Location: Originally from the southern Andes in Chile; now bred on ranches worldwide.
Habitat: Terrestrial. In the wild state it prefers semidesert terrain and rocky mountainsides.
Description: The soft dense coat is a distinctive silver-gray. In appearance the chinchilla closely resembles a squirrel, with a bushy, plumelike tail. The ears are quite long and the eyes are large. Length of head and body is 10 inches and the tail is an additional 7 inches. It weighs a little over one pound.
Behavior: The chinchilla has now almost completely disappeared from the wild because of the merciless hunting for its highly prized fur. It is active at night, but it can also be observed during the day at the entrance to its burrow. It feeds on roots, tubers, bulbs, and mosses, which it holds tightly in its front feet for a nibble. Unfortunately, the coat of the ranch-bred chinchilla is not as beautiful and uniform as that of the chinchilla living in the natural state.
Reproduction: The female has six nipples. It is fairly easy to rear in captivity, and in a year, it can have three litters, with one to six young in each (but usually two).
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
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