Chinchillas are a rodent which originated in the Andes region of South America. They are cute little animals that are often compared to a cross between a rabbit, a squirrel and mouse because their body is of similar size as that of a rabbit, their tail is like a squirrels tail, and their ears are rounded like a mouse. Chinchillas have dense fur, large button eyes, long whiskers and their characteristic long bushy tail. The majority of chinchillas kept as pets are Chinchilla lanigera which is the long-tailed chinchilla. From this species of chinchilla, there are 3 subspecies which are Costina (pointed-head, longer ears), La Plata (the broad head and round ears) and Raton (the dwarf chinchilla).
In their natural habitat, they live in colonies high up the mountains. They sleep in underground borrows or caves. Chinchillas become active at night, as they are nocturnal animals which means that they tend to sleep during the day and become active at twilight and night, when they usually search for food.
Unfortunately, Chinchilla pelt was used as a luxury fur, especially in the 18th and 19th Century, where it was very sought after. It would take over 100 chinchilla skins to make just one coat. In the early 1900’s, the South American government recognised that these animals were becoming extinct and so Chinchillas were put on special conservation to protect the remaining animals. Today, trade in wild chinchillas is strictly prohibited.
As the extensive trapping of the chinchilla eliminated most of the chinchillas in their natural habitat, there were attempts to breed chinchillas in captivity in both Europe and South America, but it was not successful. It was not until 1923, when an American mining engineer, Mathias F. Chapman successfully operated chinchilla breeding in California, using chinchillas from Chile. Eventually, in the US and Canada, there began chinchilla farming or ranch-breeding and this form of breeding did not appear in Europe until after the Second World War. Now, chinchillas are bred throughout the world, and became known as the pet of the 90’s.