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The history of the chinchilla did not begin with them as pets. They were used in fur trading that goes back as far as the 16th century. When the Spanish conquered the Chinca Indians in the 1500's, they discovered these little fur balls and after touching their fur found them to be in high demand for their pelts. In Europe in the late 1700's and early 1800's, a chinchilla fur coat was a must-have for royalties and well-to-do families. It took approbimately 100 chins to make a coat so many of the creatures had to be killed to make one coat. The outcome was a low number of chins in the wild by the end of the 19th century. The Chilean government seeing the chinchilla on its way to becoming extinct began passing laws to outlaw the killing of these beautiful rodents.
In 1918, a mining engineer working for the Anaconda Copper in Chile named Mathias F. Chapman got his first glimpse of a chinchilla. A native of Chile had captured one of the rodent and developed a big interest in it. Chapman sought out permission from the Chilean government to capture chinchillas. The task was not an easy one; he first had to get permission from the Chilean government to venture into the Andes to capture chinchillas. Despite their reluctance, Chapman finally acquired permission to capture and export chinchillas in 1923.
Chapman put together a party of 23 men, besides himself, for the journey into the mountains to begin his search for the chinchillas. With the chinchilla population being so scarce, it took these men 11 years to catch only 11 chins that would be suitable for breeding purposes. Out of the 11 chins only 3 were female. Chapman spent the next 12 months slowing moving down the mountain with the chins. The reason the trip was so long was to allow the chins to adapt to the climate and surroundings. Others had failed in this because they did not allow the chins to adapt. Chapman used blocks of ice and avoided sunlight as he made his way down the mountain with the chins. Success was celebrated when all 11 chins survived. The chins traveled by coastal steamer to California. While on board the ship they still received constant care. Supplies of ice were used to keep them cool, and wet towels were placed in their cages. While traveling, a kit (baby chinchilla) was even born. The animals arrived in Los Angles on February 21, 1923.
Once the herd was established, their cost soared as high as $3200 per pair. By the mid-1960's thousands of chinchilla ranches were created, and chinchilla began to be offered as pets, their price usually $100 per animal. With approximately 3000 ranches throughtout the United States and Canada breeding chinchillas, their success as pets can only be given to M.F.Chapman for his dedication to the chins well-being in the beginning. This interest lasted the remainder of his life.
The natural habitat of the chin is different than that of captivity. They live in crevices between rocks and caves. They are very social and live in colonies of about 100. They live in these groups for added protection from the natural predators such as owls, foxes, snakes, hawks, and other night predators. Chinchillas have several defense mechanisms to survive in the Andes Mountain region. First, their light color resembles that of the rocks to protect themselves from predators. Second, their tail is stiff and firm and serves as balance when they jump great distances. Their coats dense, it allows for survival in harsh cold weather, protection from immense heat, and avoidance of infestation from fleas and other parasites. Their fur is released into the eyes and mouth of the predator as well, giving them enough time to escape while their enemies stop to wipe the fur from their face. To survive in their arid habitat in the wild, chinchillas satisfy their need for water by drinking the dew and condensation from rocks in the morning hours and bathe in sands or dust. Because they venture out at night when it is much cooler, the eyesight of these animals are undeveloped, and they use their long whiskers as a tool to guide themselves through the dark and through rocks. Also, they develop a "mental map" of their surrounding area for quick escape from an enemy. They are vegetarians and dine on food such as roots, fruits, leaves, bark, and tubers in the wild and alfalfa, pellets, and hay in captivity.