Now, for many people the mere mention of the word rodent brings to mind rats, which are the plague of civilization, but I ask you to banish that picture from your mind because a chinchilla does not in the least resemble a rat. They more closely resemble a combination between a squirrel and a rabbit. They also have soft bunny rabbit noses and their hind legs and feet resemble that of a kangaroo while their front paws closely resemble human hands. In fact, chinchillas use their front paws to eat and grab with, just like a human does. To pet a chinchilla has been compared to touching a cloud, their fur is that soft.
Chinchillas are soft little bundles of energy that love to be played with and petted and spoiled.
Each has its own personality and they are truly individuals. Protected wild populations continue to decline. Its habitat is threatened by human land alterations in north central Chile. Without funds, research and conservation wild populations will be extinct in the near future.