THREATS
Given their high monetary value ( a fur coat sells for up to $ 100,000 USD , and is made of 400 chinchilla pelts ), humans pose the greatest threat to wild chinchillas . Since hunting was banned in the early 1900s , most pelts come from captive chinchillas , but since wild trapping was banned , the value of wild pelts increased , which continues to drive illegal trapping . Natural predators include birds of prey , skunks , felines , snakes and canines , but chinchillas have a couple interesting defence tactics : they spray urine at attackers and can release fur from their skin if bitten ! Fortunately , their rocky habitat is less threatened by human activity than many others , although mining and livestock grazing can disturb chinchillas .
WHY DO THEY MATTER ?
Short-tailed chinchillas are in the middle of the food chain in their ecosystems , providing important food to predators above them , and cycling nutrients up from primary producers , in addition to helping distribute seeds from the vegetation they eat through their waste . These gentle creatures have occupied an important part of Argentine economic activity since trapping for their fur was scaled up in the 1700s . However , as we ’ ve seen too often , trapping exceeded their replacement rate , causing a rapid decline in their populations over the last three centuries , taking them to the brink of extinction . Today , short-tailed chinchillas are critically endangered .
INTERESTING FACT :
Unlike most mammals , female shorttailed chinchillas are the dominant gender of their species . They can be aggressive to other females and males during mating season , but when they choose a mate , they are monogamous ; they stick with one mate for life . In contrast , males are not monogamous . Perhaps this one of the reasons females are aggressive with them sometimes !
Pick an animal and draw a picture of it in its habitat .
Find a word on each page that is new to you and look up it ’ s meaning . Write a sentence or paragraph using the words correctly . Draw a picture to match your sentence .
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