Despite their name; did you know that the guinea pig is neither a pig, nor does it come from the Republic of Guinea? In fact they don\’t come from anywhere near West Africa, and originate from the Andes in South America. They are also not universally known as the fluffy squeaking household pet we know and love in Western Europe!

Fact File
– Species: Cavia porcellus
– Common Name: Guinea Pig or Cavy
– Geography: Andes, South America
– Order: Rodentia
– Suborder: Hystricomorpha
– Family: Caviidae
– Subfamily: Caviinae
– Genus: Cavia
– Weight: 0.7 to 1.2 kg
-Length: 20 to 25 cm

Origins
The guinea pig was domesticated as a source of food by native from the Andean region (modern day Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) in around 5000 BC. It is still a delicacy in the highland regions, living off family food scraps.

European history wasn’t graced by the Guinea Pig’s presence until a series of 16th century English, Spanish and Dutch expeditions brought home guinea pigs for European eyes, where they were quickly taken as exotic household pets by the rich and famous.

Strangely however, recent excavations on Puerto Rico and other West Indian islands show that the Guinea Pig must have been bred (and presumably eaten) long before the arrival of the Spanish.

Lab Rats
Since the 17th century, the guinea pig has been used as the subject of scientific research. Early examples of this were vivisection to establish anatomy, and bizarrely to assess the chemical combustion of respiration, where 17th century scientists recorded that the heat from guinea pig breath melted snow, therefore proving that heat was generated from the digestion of food.

A Source of Food
Guinea pigs were originally food stuff in the Andes, and is now commonly found cooked and for sale in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia, particularly in the highland regions. High in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, it is reported to taste like rabbit or chicken thigh.

Popular Culture
Perhaps due to their popularity as pets in Western Europe, the guinea pig has become a star of the cuddly animal variety, often appearing as characters in books, cartoons and movies; particularly aimed at children.

Literature:
– The Fairy Caravan, a novel by Beatrix Potter
– Michael Bond\’s Olga da Polga series
– The Magician\’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
– Pigs Is Pigs by Ellis Parker Butler
– Star Trek: The Original Series episode \”The Trouble with Tribbles\”, written by David Gerrold, and based on Pigs Is Pigs
– Golden Hamster Saga books

Film and television
– Shredderman Rules
– Dr. Dolittle (1998)
– Nick Jr.\’s Wonder Pets
– South Park season 12 episode \”Pandemic 2: The Startling\”
– G-Force

Advertising
– Egg Banking plc
– Snapple
– Blockbuster Video

Pigs in Space
Yes, that’s right – guinea pigs are amongst the few species to have travelled into space – and survived! In fact they were amongst the earliest successful space travellers (before humans) and travelled on Sputnik 9 biosattelite in 1961 with a safe arrival back in the USSR, and more recently on a Chinese biosattelite in 1990.

Author Bio: Richard Chilcot is an author specialising in guinea pigs for sale and other classified animal subjects, particularly in Scotland, Wales, Essex and Plymouth.

Category: Pets
Keywords: guinea pig, pets, rodents, hamsters, america, andies, sputnik