New species join us at Tilgate all the time and one our most recent arrivals is a pair of chacoan maras! Have you ever met a mara before? What kind of creature are they? Where do they live? What do they eat? Find out all about these awesome, odd animals in this video!
Maras are one of the largest types of rodent; that’s the group, or ‘order’, of mammals that includes mice, rats, hamsters, squirrels, guinea pigs, beavers, porcupines, capybara and many others. The mara is part of the guinea pig family of rodents. There are two species of mara: the larger Patagonian mara and the smaller Chacoan mara.
Chacoan maras come from the Chaco region of Paraguay and Bolivia. This is largely dry forest and grassland, which is ideal for general herbivores like the mara.
Emilio and Gloria joined us from Lotherton Wildlife Park in Leeds and were very confident on arrival, soon scoping out their enclosure. They have now settled in well and revealed themselves to be very sweet if a little shy. They are much more of a calming presence than the occasionally raucous macaws and conures and on a quiet day you should be able to spot them in the large macaw aviary in the Americas Zone!
Tilgate Nature Centre 