CHINCHILLA

small South American rodent of the family Chinchillidae (order Rodentia), long valued for its extremely fine-textured fur. Chinchillas look like long-tailed rabbits, but with smaller ears. They are about 35 cm (14 inches) long, including the tufted tail. The soft, valuable fur is pale gray with dusky overtones; a black streak runs the length of the tail, above and below. Depending on the authority, chinchillas may be considered a single species, Chinchilla laniger, or two species, the long-tailed (C. laniger) and the short-tailed (C. brevicaudata). Chinchillas live in loose communities in arid, rocky regions of the Chilean and Bolivian Andes. They live in burrows or rock crevices and are active above ground in the morning and late afternoon. At the least alarm they scamper to their burrows, only to emerge a few moments later. They eat seeds, fruit, grain, herbs, and moss. Usually two litters, each of two young, are produced yearly; the gestation period is about 110 days. Once hunted almost to extinction, chinchillas are still scarce in the wild. They are raised commercially. Almost all of the chinchillas in captivity are descended from a few animals introduced into the United States in 1923. For mountain chinchilla, see viscacha.