The scientific name of a guinea pig is Cavia porcellus. Guinea pigs are extinct in the wild due to their popularity in captivity as pets. Over the course of history they have been used as food and test subjects. They have been domesticated since 5000BC when they were used for food. Some cultures such as the Moche people who worshipped animals often depicted guinea pigs in their art. Some even made statues of them.
On average, guinea pigs weigh between 1.5 and 2.6 pounds, and reach a length of 20 to 25cm. They live to be about four years old, but there was a report of one living to be fourteen years old.
Guinea pigs have a set of behaviours they perform as well. When startled they will either stay still or run to the nearest cover. Large groups will 'stampede' when danger is found by running away in different directions to confuse a predator. Happy guinea pigs will do a behaviour called 'popcorning' where they do little hops of joy. They also do allo and auto grooming as a bonding activity, during the grooming process a white substance will be excreted, this helps keep their coats looking good. Boars, male guinea pigs, will chew another boars fur as a way to establish a heirarchy.
Jaffa is the dominant guinea pig here, he displays his dominance by making grunts at the other boys and strutting along the partition that seperates them. He is seperated from Earl and Kenco because he will bite them as a sign of his leadership role, to avoid any bad injuries they are kept seperate. Jaffa is a brindle abyssinian.
I hope you enjoyed learning about some animals at college. I am going to either Bristol or Newquay zoo soon, and aim to make a video out of it.
-Dari
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