THE CHINCHILLAS— VISCACHA. 



371 



the table-lands of the Cordilleras, just below the 

 line of perpetual snow among the barren rocks, at 

 an elevation of from nine to fifteen thousand feet 

 above sea-level. They are as gregarious, playful 

 and agile as the preceding species, Exhibit the same 

 physical and mental peculiarities and feed more or 

 less on the same, or, at least, similar plants. One 

 of two varieties inhabits the table-lands of southern 

 Peru and Bolivia, the other the northern part of 

 Peru and Ecuador. 



/(" !■■ •S"«" 



THE COMMON CHINCHILLA. Sitting in the shadow of a ro 



the sterile slopes of the Cordilleras, the little Rodent in the picture is e 

 lug itself amidst barren surroundings. It is a very lively, agile an 

 and assumes many attitudes, of which that shown in the picture is a 

 mon one. iEriomys chinchilla.') 



The former is the Cuvier's Lagoti {Lagidium a 

 en) an animal about the size and shape of a Rab l 

 The fur is soft and long and of an ashy gray h n. 

 softening into a yellowish tint on the flanks. 



THE VISCACHA. 



The representative of the third species, the Vi^- 

 cacha {Lagostomus trichodactylus) assimilates more 

 nearly to the Chinchilla than to the preceding spe- 

 cies. Its body is covered by a tolerably thick fur. 

 The upper surface of the pelt consists of uniformly 

 distributed gray and black hairs, the back in conse- 

 quence appearing rather dark; the whole under sur- 

 face and the inner portions of the limbs are white. 

 The body measures twenty inches in length, while 

 the tail rather exceeds seven inches. 



The Viscacha is the sole representative of its 

 family east of the Andes; it is at present a native of 

 the pampas or vast grassy plains, ranging from 

 Buenos Ayres to Patagonia. Before the general 

 cultivation of the ground in that country it was also 

 found in Paraguay. Wherever it is found at all, it 

 exists in large numbers. In some regions it is so 

 common that one frequently, especially in the dusk 

 of evening, sees groups of them sitting on either 

 side of the road. The very loneliest and most 

 deserted spots are its abode; it comes close to the 



boundaries of cultivated regions, however, and trav- 

 elers may generally, with good reason, feel sure that 

 Spanish settlements are near when they find a great 

 number of "Viscacharias," as the burrows of these 

 animals are termed. 



The Abode of The Viscacha takes up its abode in 

 the Vis- arid plains covered with a scant 

 cacha. vegetation, or even occasionally bar- 



ren; there it digs extensive underground -bufrows^ 

 preferably near bushes and at a small distance from 

 fields. The burrows are both excavated and inhab- 

 ited by colonies in common. They are provided 

 with numerous tunnels and holes for escape, often as 

 many as forty or fifty, and are divided into several 

 chambers internally, according to the number of 

 individuals in the family inhabiting it. The number 

 of niembers of the family may sometimes increase 

 to eight or ten; then some of the inmates forsake 

 the old burrow and dig another, if possible- close to 

 the former. Now it sometimes happe.ns that the 

 Burrowing Owls, which we know as the companions- 

 of the Prairie Dogs, put in an appearance here also, 

 and without further ado take possession of one or 

 the other burrow. The cleanly Viscacha:s never 

 tolerate a companion which has not the same strict 

 ideas of orderliness as they; and consequently leave 

 the burrow and proceed to dig another for them- 



THE SMALLER CHINCHILLA. This species of Chinchilla is; 



smaller than the Common Chinchilla but it differs little from that ani- 

 mal in other respects, being as lively and agile as its southern neighbor, 

 which it also resembles in habits. (Sriomys lanigera.) 



selves as soon as the intruders annoy them by their 

 uncleanliness. In this way it may happen that the 

 soil is completely undermined for a space a quar- 

 ter of a mile square. During the day the family lie 

 hidden in their burrow; towards sunset they emerge, 

 one by one and at the advent of night a more or 

 less numerous company gather in front of the 

 holes. They investigate very carefully to ascertain 



