Page 68 - Present Day Wildlife_Float

Guinea pigs, (Cavia porcellus), are primarily domesticated rodents belonging to the genus Cavia
in the family Caviidae. Genus Cavia also has five non-domesticated members*. All Guinea pigs originat-
ed in South America and although they are now found in many countries across the world there is still a
large population in South America, though, not in the wild. The non-domesticated species is still exclu-
sive to several countries located in Latin America. Across the species the size varies, however, a repre-
sentative size for an adult guinea pig is often
quoted as being around 272 mm in length and a
weight of around 637 grams .

*Wild guinea pigs
Brazilian guinea pig (C. aperea. Location,
Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina)
Greater guinea pig (C. magna. Location,
Brazil, Uruguay )
Montane guinea pig (C. tschudii. Location,
Peru, Chile, Argentina)
Santa Catarina's guinea pig (C. interme-
dia. Location, an island in the Moleques
do Sul archipelago, Brazil )
Shiny guinea pig (C. fulgida. Location,
Brazil)

Guinea pigs tend to be larger than the
Wild Guinea Pigs average rodent. They have no tail. Due to
breeding practices the domesticated guinea pigs coat
colouration is usually a mix of bright blacks, whites,
oranges and browns. The length of their coats, depend-
ing on the breed, can be smooth or long, rough or hair-
less. The colour of the wild guinea pigs coat tends to be
more restricted to shades of black, grey or a light taw-
ny colour. There is no hairless wild guinea pigs. Guinea
pigs have poor eyesight but have excellent hearing and
smell, and a well-developed sense of touch.

The wild guinea pig is known to inhabit grasslands, meadows, and heavy
grassy areas at forest edges. Although the montane species is believed to bur-
row, the others are not known to burrow or build nests, but will take over bur-
rows vacated by others. To move safely in the open and stay hidden from their
many predators, they create a complex network of surface tunnels through the
long grass, around 8 to 12 cm wide, all of which lead to popular feeding areas.
They are very sociable, living in small groups or herds that consist of several
females, ‘scows’, a male or ‘boar’, and their young, ‘pups’. When they are not
foraging for food, they spend a lot of time grooming both themselves and other
members of the herd.

Guinea Pigs are herbivores, and chew around 50 to 100 grams of vegeta-
tion daily. To compensate for this high yield , their teeth are constantly growing
throughout their lifetime. They are also diurnal, coming out to hunt and eat in
the early mornings and late at night. They are not very agile; they struggle
when climbing and can only jump small objects. When startled they tend to
freeze or dart about erratically, possibly trying to confuse any predator. If a
herd is startled or taken by surprise they will stampede out in all directions.
They are good swimmers but – apart from the Greater guinea pig, which is
semiaquatic – most prefer to clean themselves by rolling around in clean dry
sandy ground which removes any tics or fleas. When they are excited or happy
they run around hopping into the air in a movement known as, popcorning.
(See: Rodent)