[Gpdd] misc: another beautiful relative

[Ruth Leibowitz]

Another large and lovely relative of our dear little piggies is the 
patagonian cavy, also I believe called the mara.  They are not quite as 
large as capybaras.  When you look at pictures of them you can see the 
resemblence to piggies, but they have a very different body shape with long 
legs-- they look kind of like a cross between a deer, a rabbit, and a guinea 
pig.  They can reach up to about 30 pounds in weight and can run up to 18 
miles per hour.  According to one site they are very vocal and sound a lot 
like guinea pigs. Here are some websites with photographs and info:

http://www.garlynzoo.com/pages/Young_Patagonian_Cavy.htm
http://www.blackpineanimalpark.com/Animals/patagonian_cavy.htm
http://www.pawprintonline.com/central-pcavy-101.html


This particular website has pictures and information about a number of our 
piggies' cousins:

http://www.buddies.org/kvsource/cousins.html

Also for more trivia, and for anyone who thinks they know everything there 
is to know about guine pigs, I have found a guinea pig "quiz" on the 
internet.  Here is the site:  http://www.diddly-di.fsnet.co.uk/Cavy-Quiz.htm

Have fun!


Ruth in Portland

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