Patagonian Mara

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Caviidae

Weight: 12-16 kg

Height: 50 cm

Body length: 70 cm

Color: The upper part of the body is grayish, while the lower part is whitish.

Age of sexual maturity: 6 months for males and 2.5 months for females

Gestation period: approximately 77 days

Lifespan: up to 14 years

Habitat: The Patagonian mara inhabits the vast expanses of the Argentine pampas in South America.

Diet: Consists exclusively of plant foods such as grasses and roots of various plants.

Did you know?

• When young maras live in a burrow, their parents regularly visit to feed them.
• The Patagonian mara is the fourth largest rodent in the world, after two species of capybaras, beavers, and the largest species of porcupines.
• Maras can move in various ways. Their front legs are shorter than their hind legs. They are known to hop on all four legs in a movement called “stotting.”
• When threatened, Patagonian maras can perform long jumps, reaching heights of up to 2 meters in the air.
• Patagonian maras are extremely gentle animals that can be kept as pets. Moreover, there have been cases where domestic maras have been trained to walk on a leash and use a litter box.