The Guinea Pig and his Grumpy Neighbors (264/268)

The Guinea Pig and his Grumpy Neighbors (264/268)

Though popular pets in the West, guinea pigs were originally domesticated in South America as a source of food and continue to serve that purpose to this day. Very few exist in the wild and those that do keep to remote regions high in the Andes.

They go by names like Texel, Rex, Crested and Satin and are beloved friends to many children and adults. They are guinea pigs, animals which despite their name are neither in the pig family nor from Guinea, and they were introduced to Europe in the 16th century by seafarers. Nowadays they are predominantly kept as pets, however, in South America where they were first domesticated they were kept, like pigs and hens, for food. And that remains the case to this day. Guinea pigs are also considered "sacred animals" by the Incas and continue to be used in mystical rituals by the peoples of the Andes. Wild guinea pigs, on the other hand, have become very rare. One would have to climb high into the mountains of Ecuador or Peru to find them. And yet it is worth doing just that to see them here in this wonderful habitat along with their grumpy neighbors.
Unique footage shot high in the Andes at altitudes above 3000 meters shows guinea pigs living cheek by jowl with Andean bears, woolly monkeys and hummingbirds.

The following new episodes are available:

• Jaguar Safari
  

• The Guinea Pig and his Grumpy Neighbors
• Raccoon Party
• Tiger Country
• Portugal - The Return of the Wild Creatures