Rock cavies at the national zoo....they act just like my piggies!

[z123carleigh]

I've been in DC for the past days, and of course I had to go visit the small mammal house at the National Zoo. They have several habitats of rock cavies there, and they are so much like domestic guinea pigs! I watched one cavy barber another, and then poke and bite the others rear. The victim scurried away annoyed, and the first one was so delighted it started popcorning!

And here's the only decent picture I could get of a rock cavy...it's hard to take pictures of moving animals!

 

[pinky]

How cool! I've never even heard of them. Thanks for uploading the photo and the info.

 

[pandaloki]

They're so cute! I've always wanted to see their wild cousins/ancestors

 

[ellisa]

So cute!
I'm originally from Calgary, Alberta and they have those at the zoo there too.
One of them is very tame so he gets to take walks around the zoo. I'm not sure how I feel about that, because I'm sure kids rush him and scare the poop out of him.
I think they're very cute, though!

 

[mokaseed]

Capybara nap with Guineapigs

Is it the same animal in this video!?
They are so cute

 

[ellisa]

@mokaseed: No, that's a Capybara in your video. They are related but different animals. They are very cute, also!
I don't really like to use wikipedia, but this page shows a good breakdown of the Caviidae family: Caviidae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia