SOUTH AMERICA 393 



states that till recently at least they were still common in 

 Villenar Province, Chile, but are gone from the provinces of 

 Antofagasta and Tacna. The countries in which these animals 

 occur have of recent years realized the value of chinchillas as 

 fur bearers, and not only have passed laws to safeguard them 

 from extermination if possible but also have made some at- 

 tempts to breed them in confinement for fur. Dr. Francis 

 Harper through correspondence has assembled some notes on 

 this subject, from which some of the following details are 

 extracted: In the winter of 1923, M. F. Chapman succeeded 

 in securing five male and seven female coast chinchillas and 

 bringing them to California for breeding purposes. At the end 

 of the third breeding season (1926) his stock had increased to 

 65 animals. He found them easy to handle, for they quickly 

 become tame, but they do not thrive in a damp atmosphere. 

 In Chile captive animals have been found to produce two 

 litters a year and are polygamous. The gestation period is 

 about 111 days. Females will mate and commence breeding at 

 four months of age, but it is inadvisable to breed them so 

 young. Those brought to the United States have, after four 

 years in captivity, raised even \hree litters a year. The num- 

 ber of young at a birth averages two but varies from one to 

 four (Ashbrook, 1928). Following Chapman's success with 

 these animals, the stock was divided in order to establish 

 other "ranches." In 1935 M. L. Weaver, who has had a share 

 in raising this stock, wrote that "we have ranches at Logan, 

 Utah; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Afton, Wyoming; and Madison, 

 Wisconsin ; all doing well." He knew of several later shipments 

 of live animals from South America, but none had been success- 

 ful. In Chile, the home of this chinchilla, local attempts are 

 being made to raise the animals and to develop an improved 

 cross-breed, but efforts to hybridize the coast chinchilla with 

 other forms have been unsuccessful. The former, though 

 prolific, is less valuable than the Peruvian chinchilla, has 

 coarser and less grayish fur, and is worth about half as much in 

 price. Hitherto most of the efforts of breeders in the United 

 States have been directed to building up a stock, some of 

 which has been sold for fabulous prices to prospective breeders 

 as royal chinchillas, which strictly they are not. There are 

 several chinchilla farms in Chile, where the coastal form is 

 still locally common. 



