Viscacha
COMMON NAME: Viscacha
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lagidium viscacia
TYPE: Mammalia
DIET: herbivore
AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 19 years
SIZE: 12 to 18 inches
WEIGHT: Up to 6.8 lbs
Viscacha, any of four species of slender yet fairly large South American rodents similar to chinchillas. They have short forelimbs, long hindlimbs, and a long, bushy tail. The soft fur is long and dense, and the soles of the feet have fleshy pads.
The three species of mountain viscachas (genus Lagidium) live in the Andes Mountains from central Peru southward to Chile and Argentina, usually at altitudes between 4,000 and 5,000 metres (13,000 and 16,000 feet). They have very long ears and resemble long-tailed rabbits. Mountain viscachas weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 pounds) and have a body length of 30 to 45 cm (about 12 to 18 inches). Fur on the upperparts is dark gray to brown, often with a dark stripe down the back; the underparts are white, yellow, or gray. The blackish tail is slightly shorter than the body and is tipped with black or reddish brown. Inhabiting dry, sparsely vegetated rocky cliffs, outcrops, and slopes, these rodents are poor diggers but are agile on the rocks, where they eat grasses, mosses, and lichens. Nonaggressive and gregarious, mountain viscachas sometimes form large colonies and spend most of the day among rocks and ledges. The approach of a predator is heralded with loud, abrupt birdlike whistles. At night the viscachas shelter in deep rock crevices and narrow stony tunnels. Females give birth two or three times a year. One young per litter is born after a gestation of about three months.
The three species of mountain viscachas (genus Lagidium) live in the Andes Mountains from central Peru southward to Chile and Argentina, usually at altitudes between 4,000 and 5,000 metres (13,000 and 16,000 feet). They have very long ears and resemble long-tailed rabbits. Mountain viscachas weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 pounds) and have a body length of 30 to 45 cm (about 12 to 18 inches). Fur on the upperparts is dark gray to brown, often with a dark stripe down the back; the underparts are white, yellow, or gray. The blackish tail is slightly shorter than the body and is tipped with black or reddish brown. Inhabiting dry, sparsely vegetated rocky cliffs, outcrops, and slopes, these rodents are poor diggers but are agile on the rocks, where they eat grasses, mosses, and lichens. Nonaggressive and gregarious, mountain viscachas sometimes form large colonies and spend most of the day among rocks and ledges. The approach of a predator is heralded with loud, abrupt birdlike whistles. At night the viscachas shelter in deep rock crevices and narrow stony tunnels. Females give birth two or three times a year. One young per litter is born after a gestation of about three months.