Guinea Pig

The guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, is a rodent in the family Caviidae, weighing 700 to 1,200 grams and measuring 20 to 25 centimeters, with continuously growing front teeth and a strongly social, freeze-or-flight temperament, likely descended from wild cavy species including Cavia aperea, Cavia fulgida and Cavia tschudii. It was originally domesticated as livestock for its meat in the Andean region of South America, where it remains eaten today; Peruvians consume an estimated 65 million guinea pigs each year, and the meat, high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, is described as resembling rabbit or dark chicken meat. European traders brought the animal westward in the early 1500s, where it became a popular pet among the upper classes and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I, and it is used today as a household pet and laboratory research subject as well as a food source in its native range.