Chinchillas+Rock

=**__CHINCHILLAS ROCK!__**=

Hello, welcome to my wiki space! While reading this wiki space, you'll learn all about chinchillas. Chinchillas are curious little animals now commonly sold as pets. If you went to the high Andes Mountains before chinchillas became endangered, you could see herds of a hundred wild chinchillas. Now, you'd be lucky if you saw one! Read on to learn about these adorable, endangered animals.

http://www.mtzionchins.com/

**Where Do Chinchillas Live and What Do They Eat?**
Chinchillas are found high in the Andes Mountains, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. They enjoy the cold, because with their thick, warm fur they overheat very easily. Chinchillas eat nuts, berries, moss, herbs, seeds, and grains. To eat they stand on their back legs and hold the food in their paws. media type="youtube" key="Zrk3r-P1Roo" height="344" width="425"

Why Are Chinchillas Endangered?
Chinchillas are endangered because of their fur. With the pelt hunting rising, it was estimated that 2 million pelts were made between 1895 and 1900. In 1905, in the United States alone, 217,836 pelts were imported from South America. When they became rare, pelts were selling for $200 each. In Japan, one coat sold for $49,000 in 1981 and in 1999 some coats sold for as much as $100,000! media type="youtube" key="T7o3o5K14Zk" height="344" width="425"

Interesting Facts About Chinchillas:
1. Chinchillas take baths in dust. 2. They have 50 hairs per follicle.(humans only have 1 hair per follicle) 3. They are part of the rodent family. 4. They are extremely fast and can jump two feet or higher! 5. Their ears are used to circulate cold throughout their body, so if the veins in their ears seem large then you known they are hot, and trying to cool down. 6. Female Chinchillas are lager, and heavier than males. 7. Chinchillas can reproduce until the age of 15, and live as long as 20+ years. 8. They are crepuscular- they are more active at night. 9. Little, sensitive hairs on their ears act as whiskers to help them feel their way around in their burrow in the wild.

SAVE THE CHINCHILLAS!!
After reading my page, I hope you learned all about chinchillas. If you're interested in saving the chinchillas, click on this link and learn all about how you can help! http://www.envirolink.org/resource.html?itemid=200311221249540.552554&catid=5

Work Cited:

 * __books:__**

__Wild Rodents__, CB Colby 1967, New York

__International Wildlife Encyclopedia,__ Marshall Covendish Published- 1991 North Bellmore, NY 11710, 1980


 * __websites:__**

http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/trade_chinchillas.php 1983, Animal Welfare Institute

http://www.garden-city.org/zoo/animalinfo/Mammals/chinchilla.htm Endangered- USFWS Cites Appendix 1 (wild populations only)