Posted by admin | Posted in Pets & Animals | Posted on 17-03-2010
Tags: chinchilla care, chinchilla habitat, natural chinchilla, natural chinchilla habitat, natural pets
Where do chinchillas really come from? This is a question often raised by curious pet owners. For the record, they didn’t just emerge from the sewers like another group of rodents, rats. They also aren’t all too natural pets, unlike dogs that are considered man’s best friend and cats that are great feline companions. Where chinchillas come from is a lot more interesting.
Where do chinchillas really come from? This is a question often raised by curious pet owners. For the record, they didn’t just emerge, pet, from the sewers like another group of rodents, rats. They also aren’t all too natural pets, unlike dogs that are considered man’s best friend and cats that are great feline companions. Where chinchillas come from is a lot more interesting. The natural chinchilla habitat not only shows how precious these rodents are, but also how rich its heritage has been for the past century.
Most importantly, it will give you more reasons to give proper chinchilla care.
The exact location of the chinchillas, the Andes mountain range, spans the following countries: Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Although chinchillas are known to exist only in Chile now, chinchillas used to live prolifically in the said South American countries.
Now that you already know that chinchillas live in the Andes mountain range in South America, do you know just how high the mountain range is? The ranges are about 3,000 to 15,000 feet from the sea and are very rocky.
Chinchillas manage to live in these conditions by its extraordinary ability to jump at around 6 feet. As for the predators in the wild, chinchillas are pitted against the likes of lions, wolves, and snakes on ground and hawks, eagles and owls on air. To fend off these predators, chinchillas have a set of defense mechanisms that may not do the job perfectly well, but is at least able to preserve their species.
By the 1500s, chinchillas were discovered by Spanish navigators. The exact origin of its name is constantly a subject of debate, but there are three known origins.
According to one source, chinchilla comes from the Chincha Indians, which used the fur of the rodents for clothing, food and accessories. Another source points to its nature-strong and little. Strong is derived from the Spanish word sinchi while little is from quechua lla. When combined, the word chinchilla is formed. A third and less popular origin is from the Spanish word chinch, which means little bug. Out of the three, the first one is usually the most accepted.
When the Spaniards arrived in the mountain range, they attempted to transport chinchillas in an attempt to use their fur for the booming pelt industry.
Unfortunately, all the chinchillas died in the transport and the attempt to export chinchillas to Spain failed.
Another attempt to export chinchillas from its South American origins was done by Matthias Chapman in 1918. Having seen a chinchilla while carrying out his mining duties, the mining engineer appealed to the Chilean government for permission to transport chinchillas to North America. Incidentally, chinchillas were classified as endangered around this time. With persistence, Chapman was permitted to transport 11 chinchillas to North America.
These animals were bred en masse, resulting in the many chinchilla pets in local pet stores throughout the country now.
In 2001, the previously branded extinct short-tailed chinchilla or chinchilla brevicaudata, was taken off the list. Doctor Jimenez was able to snap a photo of this chinchilla species. In 2008, the more common species, the chinchilla lanigera, was also classified as critically endangered and could no longer be transported out of its natural chinchilla habitat.
Brent Burklow is a chinchilla enthusiast and it is his goal to help others to provide proper care for their pet chinchillas. His newest book, “The Ultimate Guide For Pet Chinchillas”, teaches loving pet chinchilla owners everything they need to know on how to provide all the care and love for their chinchilla’s needs, to live a healthy long life. For more information on how to care for pet chinchilla go to the author’s website. http://www.guideforpetchinchillas.com
Author: Brent Burklow | Source: ezinearticles.com
Yes, I hate to see people mistreat their little chinchilla pets. I found a lot of time people don’t mean to mistreat them, but do it accidentally. Lots of people seem to think they are just the same as a gerbil or hamster. Not the case. There was some really good information here. Thanks.
[...] Facts About the Natural Chinchilla Habitat – These animals were bred en masse, resulting in the many chinchilla pets in local pet stores throughout the country now. In 2001, the previously branded extinct short-tailed chinchilla or chinchilla brevicaudata, was taken off the list. … [...]
There are some interesting points in time in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well
You made some first rate factors there. I regarded on the web for the problem and found most individuals will go along with together with your website.