Wild Cavies, Feral Guinea pigs, Wild Guinea pigs
by Cricket Blake
Order: Rodentia (Rodents)
Sub order: Caviomorpha* (Guinea pig like rodents)
Caviomorph heads are large, the bodies plump, the legs slender and the tails short. The most distinctive characteristic of these animals is the formation of the jaws and the massater muscles. One branch of the massater extends forward through a very large foramen in the zygomatic arch to attach to the side of the rostrum. The other end of the massater attaches to a characteristic flange on the lower jaw.
FAMILY: Caviidae
SUBfamily: Caviinae
Caviidae is first distinguished geologically during the Miocene period. Today caviidae, consists of three genera and over 20 species confined to the South American continent. Cavies are tailess they have four toes on fore foot, three on hind footand a distinctive blunt head and jaw. All species of this family have been used as food by humans.
Commonly known as the cavy, or guinea pig. The cavy is believed to be extinct in the wild. The wild population of guinea pigs are believed to be a strain of a feral population of formerly domesticated guinea pigs.
A close relative of the cavy, the apurea, is found in South America at altitudes up to 13,000 feet. It is likely that the original wild cavies were found at those same altitudes. In South America, feral cavies inhabit rocky areas, savannas, forest edges, and swamps from Columbia and Venezuela southward to Brazil and northern Argentina. They live in groups of up to about 10 individuals and sometimes inhabit abandoned burrows that were dug by other animals. They are most active at night, when they forage for a wide variety of plant materials. The coat color is much less variable in wild populations than among domestic cavies. It tends to be uniformly grayish or brownish and may be considered most similar in appearance to some of the solid "agouti" varieties. Occassionally a darker one is found with an almost black appearance. These wild black cavies are used by the natives in fold medicine. By the time that the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the new world, the cavi had been a captive bred source of food for thousands of years. The domestic guinea pig has been bred for meat production in South America for at least 3,000 years. During the period of the Inca Empire, from about 1200 to 1532, highly selective breeding produced a variety of strains, differentiated by color pattern and flavor. Even today, the guinea pig is used as a food source in Peru and other parts of South America.
As a species, cavies are extremely adaptable to a great range of climates. Though individualy they are highly susceptible to sharp variations in local weather conditions. To minimize climatic impact, they are typically housed indoors. Cavies are traditionally kept in the household kitchen, where they are allowed to run around freely. Some natives provide them with adobe hutches for shelter. Most Andean families keep at least 20 animals in this fashion. Guinea pigs eat a great variety of food, which is another reason they can be kept in regions as varied as the low, hot Amazon basin, the high Andes, and the arid western coastal plain. Alfalfa is their most basic staple food throughout much of this region, though cavies are always provided with a good selection of household table scraps as well and usually get all the water they need from the forage supplied.
Cavies are herbivores. In the wild they eat grasses and leaves. In captivity they are fed hay, guinea pig pellets (alfalfa with vitamine C added) fruits and vegetables. In captivity the life span of a cavy can be 6-10 years.
Andean people rarely need to purchase cavies. A mated pair is a typical wedding gift. Andean guests, and children may also be given a gift of a mated pair of guinea pigs. Despite the fact they live in the household together with their owners, individual cavies are never named nor are they ever considered to be pets. They are viewed in much the same fashion as are chickens. Women and children are the primary caregivers, charged with collecting the feed and cleaning the floor and adobe hutches. Children can own individual animals within the family herd, where they are used as personal cash for purchases or gifts, somewhat similar to the way American kids use allowance money.
Cavies are gentle creatures that easily live in colonies. One male will defend a colony of 5 to 10 females. Gestation is 9 weeks and the babies are precocial.The young are well developed at birth and can run about and eat solid food on their first day of life. They can survive without further nursing after 5 days but normally suckle for 3 weeks. In the wild a litter usually consists of 2. The young reach sexual maturity at 60-70 for females and 90 days for males. They continue to grow for several more months. In the wild, guinea pigs mate throughout the year. Females typically give birth twice a year to litters of 1-4 pups. The minimum recorded age of conception in a female is only 21 days.
Guinea pigs seldom dig. In the wild they occupy rock pilesand occassionally abandoned burrows, much like the North American animal sometimes called the "rock cavy," better known as the pika, a relative of the rabbit. Captive guinea pigs, kept on the ground but provided with ample boxes and hay stacks, will not dig out.
Cavies make great pets. they are sociable, easy to care for and gentle.
*includes Chinchillas, African Mole Rata, Patagonian Cavies, Agoutis. Spiny Rats, New World Porcupines, Nutria, Old World Porcupines, Degu,
Cricket Blake
Casmaran