<p><b>Chinchillas</b> are either of two species (<i><a class="mw-redirect" title="Chinchilla chinchilla" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla_chinchilla">Chinchilla chinchilla</a></i> and <i><a class="mw-redirect" title="Chinchilla lanigera" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla_lanigera">Chinchilla lanigera</a></i>)<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> of <a title="Crepuscular animal" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepuscular_animal">crepuscular</a> <a title="Rodent" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodent">rodents</a> of the <a class="mw-redirect" title="Parvorder" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parvorder">parvorder</a> <a title="Caviomorpha" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caviomorpha">Caviomorpha</a>. and are native to the <a class="mw-redirect" title="Andes Mountains" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes_Mountains">Andes mountains</a> in <a title="South America" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_America">South America</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-EB1911_5-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla#cite_note-EB1911-5">[5]</a></sup> They live in colonies called “<a title="Herd" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd">herds</a>” at high elevations up to 4,270 m (14,000 ft). Historically, chinchillas lived in an area that included parts of <a title="Bolivia" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivia">Bolivia</a>, <a title="Peru" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peru">Peru</a> and <a title="Chile" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chile">Chile</a>, but today, colonies in the wild are known only in Chile.<sup id="cite_ref-Patton_6-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla#cite_note-Patton-6">[6]</a></sup> Along with their relatives, <a title="Viscacha" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscacha">viscachas</a>, they make up the <a title="Family (biology)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_(biology)">family</a> <a title="Chinchillidae" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchillidae">Chinchillidae</a>. They are also related to the <a title="Chinchilla rat" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla_rat">chinchilla rat</a>.</p> <p>The chinchilla has the densest fur of all mammals that live on land, with around 20,000 hairs per square inch and 50 hairs growing from each follicle.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> In the water, the <a title="Sea otter" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_otter">sea otter</a> has a denser coat. The chinchilla is named after the <a class="mw-redirect" title="Chincha people" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chincha_people">Chincha people</a> of the <a title="Andes" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andes">Andes</a>, who once wore its dense, velvet-like <a title="Fur" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur">fur</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare after being hunted for their ultra-soft fur. Most chinchillas currently used by the <a class="mw-redirect" title="Fur industry" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_industry">fur industry</a> for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchilla#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup> Domestic chinchillas descended from <i>C. lanigera</i> are sometimes kept as pets, and may be considered a type of <a class="mw-redirect" title="Pocket pet" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_pet">pocket pet</a>.</p>