The Habitat of the Wild Chinchilla

The wild chinchilla, of which there are two species -- Chinchilla lanigera and the Chinchilla brevicaudata -- is a small rodent. These creatures are crepuscular, meaning they are most active in their foraging during dawn and dusk while being fairly inactive during the bulk of both night and day. Chinchillas are now on the endangered species list due to overhunting for their pelts, although they can be obtained as pets as well.

  1. Location

    • Chinchillas are native to the Andes Mountains in South America. Much of this landscape is extremely precarious and rocky, with steep dropoffs. Chinchillas live within rocky outcroppings and small caves in this environment and are adept at negotiating the sheer rock faces. Chinchillas can leap and jump from precipice to precipice, even covering several times their body length, up to six feet in the air.

    Climate

    • The Andes Mountains are the longest chain of mountains in the world and one of the highest as well. The wild chinchilla makes its home within the southern portion of the Andes Mountains, farther from the equator, where the weather is extemely cold at high elevations. Evolution has provided the chinchillas living here with very thick pelts to keep them warm.

    Diet

    • In the wild, chinchillas forage at dawn and dusk for their food. They look for small plants, seeds and roots as their main staple, but will also eat the occasional insect. Due to their clockwork schedule of activity at dawn and dusk chinchillas eat at the same time every day. A strict diet is essential to the wild chinchillas to promote good health and maintain their most important asset, their thick pelt.

    Lifestyle

    • Wild chinchillas can breed up to three times per year, producing up to a total of 18 offspring, with six to eight being average. Baby chinchillas are born already covered in a thick pelt to protect them from the cold, and they mature within eight months. They have an odd way of cleaning themselves by rolling in dust to soak up oils, dirt and moisture in their fur and then shaking it loose.