chinchilla

chinchilla, (genus Chinchilla), either of two South American species of medium-sized rodents long valued for their extremely soft and thick fur. Once very common, chinchillas were hunted almost to extinction. They remain scarce in the wild but are raised commercially and also sold as housepets. All chinchillas in captivity are descended from 13 animals taken into the United States in 1927.

Chinchillas weigh up to 800 grams (1.8 pounds) with a compact body up to 38 cm (15 inches) long, large eyes, long ears, and a moderately long, bushy tail of up to 15 cm. Their silky, dense fur is generally bluish to brownish gray except for the yellowish white underparts. Various other colours of chinchilla have been bred in captivity, where they can survive 20 years or more. In their native habitat, chinchillas are colonial, living in arid, rocky environments of the Andes Mountains from southern Peru to Chile at elevations of 800 metres (2,600 feet) near the coast to 6,000 metres inland. They usually hide during the day in crevices and cavities among rocks, emerging during the evening and night to feed on any available vegetation. On particularly bright days they occasionally emerge during daylight hours to forage. Following an average gestation period of 111 days, chinchillas usually bear two annual litters of two to three young, although litter sizes from one to six have been recorded.

Both species of Chinchilla, the long-tailed chinchilla (C. laniger) and the short-tailed chinchilla (C. brevicaudata), are protected by law, but poaching and habitat loss continue. Chinchillas and their closest living relatives, the mountain viscachas, along with the more distantly related plains viscacha, constitute the family Chinchillidae of the suborder Hystricognatha within the order Rodentia.

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