This article explains how guinea pigs live in the wild, why they make good pets, and the reasons they are used in research. It includes their natural habitats, behaviours and how they survive. This helps you understand how guinea pigs adapt to different environments and the ethical issues involved in their care and use.
How Do Guinea Pigs Live in the Wild?
Guinea pigs are known for their social nature, naturally living in groups called herds or muddles. They are vocal animals, using a variety of noises and body language to communicate, maintain group harmony, and warn of danger. In the wild, these social structures are essential for their survival.
Wild guinea pigs are more aggressive than their domesticated counterparts. This is most likely due to the increased risks and challenges of living in a natural environment with predators and competition from other males.
Senses and Navigation
Although guinea pigs do not have particularly sharp eyesight, they compensate with good hearing and a strong sense of smell. They rely on these senses in the wild to detect predators and navigate their environment.
Mating Behaviour
Research suggests that in the wild, a male guinea pig will mate with many females but a female guinea pig will have a preference for a single male.
A study of wild guinea pigs showed that within the harem groups, females kept closer contact with the male than each other.
Natural Habitat of Guinea Pigs
Wild guinea pigs are native to South America. They mainly live in the humid grasslands of the mountainous Andes and savannahs. Unlike some small mammals, guinea pigs do not dig burrows or build nests.
Instead, they may occupy burrows abandoned by other animals and create complex tunnels through dense vegetation, which acts as a protective barrier against predators.
A study showed that wild cavies sometimes change their home ranges in response to habitat changes, such as vegetation growth and flooding. However, these moves were temporary, with cavies returning to their original ranges once normal conditions returned.
What do Guinea Pigs Eat in the Wild?
Guinea pigs are herbivores, depending entirely on plants for their sustenance.
In the wild, their diet primarily includes a variety of grasses and other vegetation, which they forage from the more open areas where they live.
They venture out for food mainly in the early morning and evening to reduce the risk of being caught by predators. When foraging in areas with short vegetation, they limit their feeding to brief periods, remaining constantly alert and ready to make quick dashes into thicker vegetation for protection when necessary.
In one particular study, wild guinea pigs were observed in their natural environment. The researchers found that they rarely roamed further than five metres from dense vegetation.
Predators
Guinea pigs face many dangers from carnivorous animals, including other mammals, reptiles and birds of prey. Common predators of guinea pigs include:
- Caracaras
- Cats (domesticated and wild)
- Dogs (domesticated and wild)
- Falcons
- Grison
- Hawks
- Coyotes
- Lizards
- Opossums
- Owls
- Snakes
- Wolves
Wild cavies tend to avoid areas where there are frequent predators and use their keen sensory capabilities to detect danger. When in the protective cover of dense vegetation, a wild guinea pig’s natural instinct is to stay completely still when predators approach. Even when they rest, guinea pigs are alert, often sleeping with their eyes open.
Domestic guinea pigs also display this natural instinctive behaviour, which can make them appear very nervous. Understanding their wild background helps explain these behaviours and highlights the importance of providing a secure and calm environment for them as pets.
Guinea Pigs as Pets
Guinea pigs have become popular pets in many countries around the world. Princess Diana famously kept one, and it was recently revealed that the children of Prince William and Princess Catherine also have pet guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs’ gentle nature, unique personalities, and varied sounds make them especially endearing. Once tamed, they are easy to handle and respond positively when treated well, making them excellent companions.
Their calming presence and affectionate behaviour can comfort and emotionally support people with mental health issues, and they are sometimes recommended as therapy pets for this reason. However, it is important to recognise the commitment required before choosing to keep guinea pigs as pets.
Pet guinea pigs are usually kept in large enclosures inside or outside and have specific needs that need to be met to ensure their wellbeing.
Over-breeding and Ethical Adoption
Unfortunately, overbreeding has led to a surplus of domesticated guinea pigs, resulting in many being surrendered to overwhelmed rescue centres. These centres face huge challenges in providing necessary care due to space, resources, and financial limitations.
To tackle this problem, it is more ethical to adopt guinea pigs from shelters rather than purchasing from breeders or pet shops. This helps reduce the strain on these facilities and helps guinea pigs find suitable homes.
Guinea Pigs in Research
Unfortunately, guinea pigs and other animals are still used for scientific testing and research despite the unethical nature of this practice.
Guinea pigs have been used in scientific research for over 200 years because they have many similarities to humans, particularly in the way they process vitamins and respond to diseases. This makes them useful to scientists studying human health problems. Also, guinea pigs are easy to handle, which helps reduce stress in experiments, and they have been readily available for research purposes.
However, the use of guinea pigs in research has actually decreased because rats and mice are now more commonly used. This is because these rodents breed faster, have more babies, and are easier to work with in genetic studies. They also don’t have some of the physical challenges that make guinea pigs harder to work with for certain tests.
Despite this, guinea pigs are still used in medical research. They are considered especially useful for testing the safety of new heart medicines and for studying infectious diseases. Scientists find them useful in learning more about the immune system and genetics, helping them better understand specific diseases.
Although scientists emphasise the importance of providing good care for guinea pigs within their research laboratories, this is overshadowed by the fact that the animals are still used in experiments that often cause them suffering.
Information from some scientific studies and archaeological reports was used in this article. Here are some of the sources:
https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/85/4/788/868618
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7158311/