I was wondering if Chinchillas have ever been found in the wild in a place other than South America ...

Would an escaped Chinchilla survive in the UK or the USA?

Thanks!

I don't see why not. A strange first post though

__________________

Yes, it must seem strange

I'm in Australia, and a friend is interested in getting the "no importing Chinchillas" law changed, so she's doing research about possible environmental impact ... feral animals like rabbits and cats have done a lot of damage here before.

I am a fan of Chinchillas though (even though I don't have one!).

Good luck I know you have a lot of regulations on animal imports over there. I know with fish there has to be studies on it's surviveability in the wild before a species can be brought in. Then if it is renamed it has to be done all over again.

__________________

A friend used to run a chinchilla rescue and had in a few that had been abandonned in fields or woods, or were left on the side of roads. I don't think they could survive long term in the UK - their coats are not watrproof, so they would soon get a chill and die.

I'm newbie, hi

hi i dont know if they can be found in the wild in many contries but my first chinni i had was a rescue chin he was found in someones back garden with bites in his ears and a broken foot.... he was very wild and ferral...... so they can survive in the uk in the wild but ITS NOT ADVISED they can not defend them selfs from dog and cat attacks.... chikotah had sevral bites from a fox and almost died..... im very proud of what he is today thou he is still very shy and timid...

i dont believe there are any feral colonies living in the UK because for one they wouldnt survive for long in our damp climate.... they evolved to live in the Andes mountains where its dry and cool....hence why they have their beautiful dense coat which shouldnt get wet.

not sure how they'd adapt to the Australian climate if they got the chance but i dare say they'd probably fare better than in the UK , and with Australia having such a fragile eco system, already under pressure from many alien species, im glad there are laws in place to prevent the importation of chins if experts believe they could pose a threat to native species.

__________________
"If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, out financed, and out voted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of natural processes."
L David Mech

We have doomed the Wolf not for what it is, but for what we have deliberately and mistakenly perceived it to be..the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer..which is, in reality no more than a reflexed images of ourself." -Farley Mowat

considering they can drop dead in as little as 22C i dont think they would last long in the wilds of Australia, they would suffer from heat exhaustion pretty quickly, as would any tame chinchilla that was kept without AC

__________________