Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Caviidae
Domestic species: Cavia porcellus
I bet you didn't know this!
- Guinea pigs live wild in areas of South America.
- The Incas used to farm them for food.
- Even today you can enjoy fried Guinea pig in South America.
- Wild Guinea pigs are most active at night.
- Guinea pigs appeared in Europe in the 1500's.
- Guinea pigs and humans don't make their own vitamin C, so they must always eat fresh vegetables.
- In the wild they live in groups of 5-10.
- A young Guinea pig can run when it is only three hours old!
- In America Guinea pigs are called Cavies.
- They are often used for medical research. That's where we get the term "Guinea Pig" from to describe somebody who volunteers to take part in a test.
- Some species of
wild Cavy can be as long as a metre.