The chinchilla is a small South American rodent. It's long valued for its extremely fine-textured fur.
Chinchillas look like long-tailed rabbits, but with smaller ears.
They are about 14 inches long, including the tufted tail. Chinchillas live in loose communities in arid, rocky regions of the Chilean and Bolivian Andes. They live in burrows or rock crevices and are active above ground in the morning and late afternoon. At the least alarm they scamper to their burrows, only to emerge a few moments later. Their diet consists of seeds, fruit, grain, herbs, and moss.