Chinchilla

Chinchilla belongs to the genus chinchilla are either of the two species that are found in South America. The scientific name for both the species of South America is Chichilla chinchilla short tails and Chinchilla lanigers that have long tails and both of the species belong to the family of Chinchilladae. The Chinchilladae family of these rodents also includes its relatives named viscachas. They are the most enchanting medium-sized rodents who are most active primarily during twilight and are therefore referred to as crepuscular rodents who are also considered as infraorder or parvorder that brings all the new world hystricognaths together.

Though the size of the chinchilla is smaller than the domestic cat, they are more robust and slightly larger than the ground squirrels. They have large black eyes with round ears and velvety plush fur. For decades they have been valued for their extremely soft and thick fur pattern as they are known to have the densest fur among all the rodents known on earth. They are very social and like to live in a family group. They usually form a large colony that includes more than 100 chinchillas living together. They normally build their colonies at an elevation of 4270 m (14000 ft) from sea level. Unlike the nature of other rodents, the male chinchilla help raise the young one and be around them most of the time when needed. And also if in case the mother chinchilla is unable to nurse her young, the females of the other chinchilla family comes to feed the young.

The name chinchilla was derived from the Chincha people of Andres who were known to wear coats that are made up of only dense furs. They are the native dwellers of the rough Andres mountains situated in South America. But now these social rodents are almost an endangered species on the verge of extinction. Starting from ancient Incan history, the emperor of that time hunted down these rodents for meat, fur and even domesticated them as pets. Since then the hunting of these species continued for their lustrous and ultra-soft furs until the 19th century that they became a rare species. Even after being declared endangered by the international union for conservation of nature (IUCN) and putting a ban on hunting and trapping them with many other protective measures being taken, their number is dropping in a very alarming manner. It is because many of the fur industry still use their fur for textiles and accessories from the farm-bred chinchillas.  

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Characteristics 

Physical Characteristics

A chinchilla has an average body length of 38 cm (15 inch) with an average body weight of 800 gms (1.8 pounds). They have a very compact body, with large, dark, round eyes and a moderately long tail that is bush and usually of a length 15 cms. They have a dense fur of 1.5 inches that ranges in colour from bluish to brownish-grey with grey, white or black bands. Their underpart and the belly area is yellowish-white naturally. Their usual lifespan is 10 years in the wild and if kept in good captive care may increase up to 20 years. They are mainly similar to the porcupine or the guinea pigs as they have four short legs among which the hind legs are longer than the foreleg. The reason behind it is that they hold the food with their forelegs while eating in an upright position. They are generally very rapid and agile and can therefore leap 6 feet crevice. Their thick and dense fur almost hide their super athletic body.   

Species Characteristics

There are two living species of chinchillas, both existing in nature but the C. chinchilla is facing more danger of extinction than the C. lanigers who are still found in wilds that dwell in the rough elevated surface of 800 meters from cost and 6000 meters inland. That is why they are often referred to as wild chinchillas. The former species have a thick shoulder and neck, short tail and short and short ears as compared to the latter species.

Diet and Nature of Chinchilla

Like most social animals, even the chinchillas are repositories of various vocal tones. They are known to make 10 different noises and each has its significance according to their behavioural context. For instance one of the noise is made while they explore, one is to alert from any predator attack, one is to attract the female counterpart for mating and two different sounds for social interaction with friends and foes. they like to live in a large colony of 100 chinchilla rodents among which the females are more dominating and aggressive toward males and other females during their estrus. but they seldomly get into real fights. according to the notes mentioned in the Merc Veterinary Manual, all the baby chinchillas of both species have a common cry that is constant throughout their life span. As their harsh habitats are mostly open, so they like grooming, sunbathing in the morning and eating in open. They have often seen nibbling or biting on things to keep their constant growing incisors in control. They bathe in dust regularly to keep their coat healthy and therefore leave behind a circle of fine pumice dust around.

Breeding Cycle

Their breeding cycle usually starts from November and continues till May of the following year in the Northern hemisphere. Their oestrous cycle lasts for 38 days in which the females become sexually mature to mate with the male counterpart. Usually after mating the gestation period of the female chinchillas are about 111 days. They are mammals and therefore directly produce few litters at a time. They usually have one to six litters per year with an average birth count is 2 a year. The baby chinchillas are already born with open ears and eyes and full of dense furs. The birth weight of individual baby chinchillas ranges from 4 to 6 ounces that are 113 to 170 grams. They become sexually mature at 8 months. They are monogamous by nature. Unlike other rodents, the male of the family stay back in assisting with the growth of the young and if the mother chinchilla is unable to feed the babies then the other females of the family step in to feed the young until they are mature to look out for their food. The mother and the father chinchillas take care of their babies for 8 weeks until they can search for their food.

Self-Defence Mechanism

The main objective of the chinchillas to stay in a big group is to secure themselves from the other predators as there are many eyes to look out for each other. But as medium-sized rodents, they are very susceptible to being preyed on by animals in-ground as well as in the sky. Their main predators apart from humans are hawks and owls that hold them with claws and take them up in the sky while they are majorly hunted by snakes, foxes and cougars. Thus they possess a range of defence mechanisms like running with a lightning-fast speed, spraying urine on the face of the predator, darting for covers. But one of their biggest and essential defence mechanism as they get tensed or captured by a predator, they release a bunch of fur in their mouth commonly termed as “fur slip” to escape from the mouth.  

Types of Chinchilla

There are various breeds of chinchillas that are differentiated based on their physical appearance and the colour they are available in. the most common types of chinchillas are short-tailed and long-tailed that had their distinctive characteristics. A few of such different breeds of chinchillas are described below.

1. Long-tailed chinchillas:  The fur of the long-tailed chinchillas are usually bluish-grey, pearl-grey or brownish colour with the tip of the fur is completely black. The fur at the belly area of this species is yellowish-white in colour. They have a very soft and very dense coat all over their body. The thick covering of fur helps these species to stay warm and comfortable even at the higher altitudes throughout the year. They usually possess large foreheads, large black and dark eyeballs with vertically split pupils, external ears are large and vestigial cheek pouches. They are about 3 to 6 inches in body length but have a tail that measures about 9 to 14 inches. Though the base of the foot does not have any fur they are padded that are very soft, fleshy and cushion-like known as pallipes. They have four toes on the forelegs so that they can climb trees though their claws are very week. Most females of this breed weigh 1.76 pounds on average whereas the males of the family weigh only 1 pound.  

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2. Small-tailed Chinchillas: These particular species are considered royal, Peruvian or Bolivian chinchillas. They were once widespread in habitats like Andres mountain in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Bolivia. But of late they are declared as endangered species as they are on the verge of extinction. The small-tailed chinchillas were exploited the most for their fur. They usually have an average weight ranging from 28 to 49 cms with an average weight between 38 to 50 ounces. They have thick necks and shoulders but shorter ears and shooter tail length as compared to the long-tailed chinchillas. They have longer hind legs as compared to their forelegs and the hind leg are extremely strong and help them in long leaps on rough surfaces and also climbing. They prefer to stay in cold climates throughout the years and at an elevation of about 8000 to 16000 metes. They burrow undergrounds or into the hollows of the rocks for shelter.

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3. White chinchillas:  The white chinchillas are milky white (absolute white) without any hue or yellowish coat on them. This species is generally incomplete and need to cross-breed with other colours of chinchillas. The ears of white chinchillas are darker in colour as they have a blackish or greyish pattern of fur on them. These are the unusual rodents that flaunt patterns that are silver in colour. As this particular breed has some difficulty with their gene so it is not advisable to breed white chinchillas together. The other types of white chinchillas include white-violet, white mosaic, TOV mosaic, white ebony and white tan.

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4. Black Chinchilla: They usually have black colour veiling that is quite dark with the sides of the species have a lighter tone to it. Though they have a darker coat that runs from their face, forehead to the rare end of the body including their tail but they have a fairly white belly (crisp white). Their fur is velvety by nature with black patterns on their paws. Due to their darker shade and velvety fur, they are often called black velvet and cross-breeding them with another colour chinchillas produce TOV violet.

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5. Beige Chinchilla: The beige chinchilla has a violet undertone to it as it is a crossbreed product of pure beige and the violet breed. Thus its colour appears to be of champagne colour. They usually have purple iris and big round eyes with a belly that has a pure white colour. 

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6. Purple Chinchilla: They are one of the unique breeds of chinchilla that has a complete grey fur all over their body including their belly. Their grey gene is because of the crossbreeding of the violet and the ebony chinchillas.  Their hereditary characteristics are very prominent and because of their genetic issues, it is not ideal to breed two purple chinchillas. 

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7. Brown Chinchilla: The brown chinchillas are the result of the crossbreeding of black and beige chinchillas. Their fur is very velvety naturally therefore they are also known as brown velvets. Their paws of the brown velvet are pure brown by colour and their underbelly is of bright white colour. The brown velvets are both homozygous and heterozygous.

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8. Grey Chinchilla: The grey coat of the grey chinchilla is naturally grey and are of the pure grey gene. The grey colour is dominant in this species, though they are found in many shades of grey. The grey chinchillas have a crisp white belly.

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Distribution and Habitat

Chinchillas are the native of the Andres mountains of Argentina but they mostly have occupied the coastal and the hilly areas of Chile, Bolivia and Peru as well. But massive hunting and overexploitation of the species have led to its extinction. In 1914, many scientists claimed that the species have already extinct. Based on the claim five years of fieldwork project was carried in Jujuy province, Argentina and not a single species was found. Later the report was published in the year 2005. In the year 1953, the Chilean government have officially declared the species 

extinct but in the late 1900s to early 2000s, some of their population was found dwelling in the region of Antofagasta. Though many of its species are extinct in Peru and Bolivia, one specimen was found in a restaurant named Cerro de Pasco that is believed to be hailed from a native population. they often prefer to live in barren, rugged and rough areas at high altitudes above 9800 to 16000 feet and are accustomed to extremely cold temperatures. They usually dig burrows or stay in rock crevices. One of the species named C. chinchillas is selective granivore and folivore despite the harsh environment. They often feed on low lignin content and high fibrous plants. But their diet changes with the change in the season. They love to feed on the needlegrass that is found in perennial Chile. It consumes ferns such as succulents, cactus etc which are the main source of water for the species. 

Conservation Measures

The conservation act was implemented in the year 1929, with the legislation to protect the long-tailed chinchillas. But the law was not seriously taken up until the establishment of the Reserva Naciolan Las chinchillas in the year in 1983 in Auco, Chile. According to the report of IUCN, the population of the species is declining in the reserves whereas it is increasing in the restored habitats. While the mining industry and sites have been the greatest threat for almost all endangered species of chinchilla. 

Earlier the short-tailed chinchillas were widespread in many regions of Argentina, Bolvird, Chile and Peru but the population in the last few decades have sharply declined to 90 percent. Now there are only a few members of this species that still inhabit a few regions of Chile.

Despite the law enforcement and the measures taken to protect these species, still, they are under huge threat due to increasing mining sites, taking away of firewoods, quality loss of diet due to increase in grazing of other livestock, illegal hunting for fur industries etc. 

Another form that helps the protection of chinchillas is they are domesticated as pets. The domestic form of Chinchillas has a narrow body, large ears and long tail. One of the primary chinchilla care includes its dental care due to the rapid growth of its incisors throughout their lifespan and massive exercise. They need to be kept in a controlled air-condition as they lack the ability to sweat out the extra heat of the body. They need not bathe in water as their thick fur protects them from parasites like fleas and therefore reduces the chances of loose dangers.