Chinchillas are crepuscular rodents, slightly larger than ground squirrels, native to the Andes mountains in South America. Along with their relatives, viscachas, they belong to the family Chinchillidae.

The animal (whose name literally means “little Chincha”) is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its soft and dense fur.[1] By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare due to hunting for their fur. Most chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised.[2]

[..]

The international trade in chinchilla fur goes back to the 16th century. The fur from chinchillas is popular in the fur trade due to its extremely soft feel, because they have about 60 hairs sprouting from each hair follicle. The color is usually very even, which makes it ideal for small garments or the lining of large garments, though some large garments can be made entirely from the fur. A single, full-length coat made from chinchilla fur may require as many as 150 pelts, as chinchillas are relatively small.[10] This fact led to the extinction of one species, and put serious pressure on the other two. Though wild chinchillas are no longer hunted for their fur, domestic chinchillas are still bred for this use.[11]

Chinchilla (disambiguation)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Chinchilla usually refers to a particular species of fur-bearing mountain rodent native to South America. It may also refer to:

* A type of fur coloring in cats
* The Chinchilla rat
* Any of three breeds of Chinchilla rabbit:

* American Chinchilla
* Standard Chinchilla
* Giant Chinchilla

* Shire of Chinchilla, a Former Local Government Area of Queensland
* Chinchilla, Queensland, a town within the Shire of Chinchilla
* Chinchilla de Monte-Aragón, a municipality in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain.
* Chinchilla (band), a heavy metal band

@11 They get those huge pelts of of those little animals?