Without a question, chinchillas are beautiful and cute furry animals with large ears, a long tail and distinctive eyes. Do you know where they actually come from, what their name means and that we almost succeeded in nearly exterminating them before the domestication took place?
Chinchillas originally come from the south-American Andes, where they were one of the most widespread animals of these high mountains only less than 200 years ago. Their territory spread along the west coast over Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile. Here, in their natural environment, they live at 1500 – 3000 meters above the sea level in large colonies consisting of 15 – 100 individuals, hiding in rock crevices or digging dens. Their name (Chinchilla) is a combination of the words Chin and Chile, which in translation means fur from Chile.
For their characteristically dense and fine fur – this is caused by the individual hair follicles growing a tuft of 40 to 50 hairs – the chinchillas were valued already in the Inka times. Then, however, Europeans got to America and in the 17th century, they started to export the chinchilla’s fur to Europe. Up to 30,000 chinchilla skins were exported from Peru and Chile annually. This hunt took them to the brink of extinction. Following attempts of chinchilla breeding in captivity fell through since the mountain and cold-loving animals used to dryness did not survive sails over the equator where humidity and hot weather reigned. At the beginning of the 20th century, chinchilla was even declared extinct.
But American engineer Matthias F. Chapman believed, that in remote regions of the Andes, some chinchillas could have survived, and after long five years, he managed to find one of the last surviving colonies with the help of a local Indian. Chapman caught 12 chinchillas (only 3 of them were female). He equipped himself with cool boxes for the transport of the animals, so apart from one animal, all of them survived the crossing of the equator, and in 1923, he saw the birth of the first young animals at his farm in California. Today, their blood is present in virtually all the bred chinchillas, while the remnants of the wild chinchillas were granted the deserved protection shortly after: in 1929, the first law for chinchilla protection was issued and the National reservation for chinchillas was established in Chile.
Today, chinchillas are frequently bred all around the world in large private farms. However, only several small colonies survive in the wild, therefore, people try to return them into their original territories. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been very successful.
Kitten Lady describes her activities as kittens’ advocacy and humane education. This all is done by young beautiful Hannah Shaw. She’s a kitten rescuer, spreads the principles of humanity and is an unwavering advocate of animal rights. She decided to...
Several kinds of hedgehog are kept as pets. The most common one is the four-toed hedgehog or an African pygmy hedgehog in other words. This pet which is not very common but is becoming more and more popular can live up to 9 years in captivity and...
More than one artist fell in love with these creatures and looked for inspiration for work in them. One of them was Ernest Hemingway. He is the author of the well-known saying “One cat just leads to another”. He really kept a large number of cats (in...
We have an active and healthy lifestyle. Or at least we try to have. In relation to that, we don’t only think about our own food but also about our dogs’ food. The trend of barfing has already come to the Czech Republic, too. It is a method of feeding...
If you go camping for the first time, it is good to prepare for all various reactions of your furry friend. Do you travel with it by car and by public transport with no problems? Is your dog okay when not sleeping at home, e.g. in a mountain cabin? It...
As the name of this breed suggests, you can’t expect much hair on an American hairless terrier. This small or medium size muscled dog has hair only on its muzzle and eyebrows. But the interesting thing is that puppies are born with an undercoat which...
Let us get this straight, what is monoprotein food? It is wet food (i.e. cans and pouches) which contains only one type of meat, muscles and bowels. And why is it better than common wet food?
A meat bomb in a form of a dog paté or can doesn’t have to be only a reward. If you are planning to go on a long hike – to the mountains or to the valley – you can make the use of a dog meat can. Dogs in move, usually when doing any sport outside, need...
The cause of diabetes is a lack of insulin (a pancreas hormone) or the inability of the body to use it effectively (i.e. the resistance of tissues towards insulin). And it doesn’t matter if you’re a person or an animal. With diabetes, the sugar is...
Runner Dion Leonard could talk for hours about the bond which is created between a man and a dog and also about how an unknown Asian crossbreed dog becomes one of the most famous dogs on planet Earth. He bumped into a dog companion at the ultra-trial...
Even when you cannot or don’t want to take your dog on your holiday with you, you still have many options what to do with it. You can take him to your relatives, accommodate it in a dog hotel, use dog-sitting and other things. It’s not that easy with...
Cats can also be heroes and put their lives at risk to save someone from risky or life-threatening situations. The first cat hero I will introduce you to is Scarlett. She showed her heroism in the most natural form – she saved her kittens. She took...
