Tikumu’s letter

Press, 17 July 1979, Page 16

Tikumu’s letter

Dear Readers,

Do you have a guinea pig? Many New Zealand families do because they are furry, cuddly and gentle pets. But not everyone know that these little animals have a history ail of their own.

Guinea pigs belong to the rodent group of animals and they are natives of South America. When the Spanish armies invaded and conquered most of South America about four centuries ago they found that the Indians had tamed strange little animals as pets, and also used them for food. These animals were called cavies, and they closely resembled the guinea pigs that we know today. In their natural state they lived in burrows, or hid themselves in thick bush for protection against their enemies. They were herbivorous animals, eating only green vegetable foods, and even in their wild state they were very timid. There are many types of wild cavies in different parts of South America. They are all timid, probably because they are not able to protect themselves very well from their natural enemies.

With their chunky bodies and short legs, they are slow-moving compared with other rodents such as the rats and mice, and they cannot climb. Their short thick necks do not move quickly to allow them to detect danger

from the sides or from the rear, and they do not se® ciearly in daylight. But cavies have sharp hearing and a fine sense of smell. They use these two h i g h 1 y-devtCoped senses to protect themselves, and each other. Most species live together in large groups underground. When above the ground, at night, they keep close contact by calling to each other in highpitched sounds that have meaning only for their own kind. This is why guinea pigs need company. They are bred from a group of animals that aredependent on each other for survival.

Not all species of the cavy family are awkward in movement. There is a Patagonian species called the Mara, which is about the size of a small dog. Maras have long thin legs, long ears and small tails. They are hunted for their meat and skins which are used to make- warm blankets. It is said that they can run faster than the huntsmen’s dogs that chase them.

Another unusual species of the cavy family is the capybara which lives near the rivws along the East coast of South America. Weighing more than 50 kilograms (a guinea pig weighs between one and two kilograms) they are said to be the largest rodents in the world.

In common with most other members of the cavy family, capybaras are awkward on land, but they

are good swimmers, and at the first sign of danger, they dive into the water where they are very much at home because they have slightly webbed feet: and these, together with the layers of stor'd fat on their bodies enable them to stay in the water quite cemfortably for long pelriots.

It is not known how guinea pigs - got their name, because they are not pigs, and they do not come from Guinea, which is in Africa. The guinea pigs we keep as pets have been bred from th.® cavies, which until the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century, were to be found only in South America. Later they were- carried to all parts of the world by traders and Spanish soldiers returning to their homeland.

But guinea pigs have not adapted to change of climate and environment as oth.&r fast-breeding rodents, such as rats and mice, have done through the centuries. In New Zealand, as in most other countries of the world, guinea pigs are bred in captivity for rest-arch purposes in science laboratories and as pets for many animal-lovers.

Now that we know the guinea pig’s need for company we can understand better how to look aftc-r them. They need the reassurance of closeness to others, preferably other guinea pigs, but kind people are good substitutes.