Chinchilla brevicaudata, short-tailed chinchillas, are nocturnal rodents that live in colonies of up to 100 individual animals. Mating occurs twice yearly, and females give birth to only one or two young at a time after a gestation period of 128 days. It is thought that females dominate the males, although evidence of this is limited. The short-tailed chinchilla is especially sought-after because of its larger size, up to 13 inches, and higher quality fur. Short-tailed chinchillas have long hind legs to stand up straight, short forelegs and small ears. Tails grow to six inches long. Females are typically larger than males.
The short-tailed chinchilla, which once roamed the foothills and mountains of South America, is native to the mountainous areas of southern Peru, northern Chile, southern Bolivia and northwestern Argentina. Today, they are located in Chile.
Short-tailed chinchillas live in grassland areas high in the Andes Mountains at elevations of up to 16,000 feet, where they live in burrows or rock crevices. Chinchillas are primarily herbivorous and sit up on their hind legs to eat vegetation like the grasses and herbs within their range. They do not appear to drink water and use morning dew and the moisture from the flesh and fruit of the cactus plant for hydration. Chinchillas also eat the insects found in their habitat, along with leaves, seeds, nuts, grains and flowers.
While short-tailed chinchilla are not as threatened by loss of their habitat as other chinchillas, human interference with their habitat remains a problem. Mining, forestry and grazing by herds of cattle and goats continue to decimate wild populations of chinchillas. Predators in the environment, like foxes, hawks, skunks and owls, are also a problem for these animals. The remote areas where wild chinchillas are found are now completely protected, but the soaring value of their fur is an incentive for trappers to take the risk of breaking conservation laws.
