Guinea pig - description, habitat, lifestyle

Under the guinea pigs are not meant at all fluffy pets that are kept at home. These animals in their external characteristics resemble dolphins. And they got the name, because they are a bit like a pig.

Description

1. It was already mentioned above that, by their external characteristics, the individuals under discussion remind everyone of the famous dolphins. The head is characterized by small overall data, the nasal part is separated from the frontal and stands out against the general background. The dentition focuses about 50 teeth, which are small in size.
2. The animals extend up to 2 m along the length of the hull. The hull in the upper part is pigmented with dark gray, almost black. In the lateral sections and the abdominal cavity, the color is lighter. Also on the body of some animals specks of light tone are visible.
3. The abdomen can be completely white. It contains streaks of gray pigment. The back has a fin of not too large format. The tail fin has a horizontal landing.
4. Regarding gender differences, females weigh more than males. They grow to 80 kg., While male pigs weigh about 60 kg.

Features

1. We figured out the overall characteristics and pigmentation, now we will consider other aspects. Individuals of both sexes live for about 12 years. They reach maturity at 4 years, so they can reproduce. Pigs are prolific. The female carries the offspring for about a year, but not less than 9 months, it all depends on individual characteristics.
2. The food mainly includes small fish, including a goby, hamsa, atherin, etc. In order to feed, females need to consume at least 5 kg per day. fishes. Often poachers or fishermen put nets where pregnant females fall. At this time, they are very active, so they will easily fall into the trap. The female dies, and the cubs die.

Threat to the mind

1. Since the distant 1960s, these animals have been threatened, they were on the verge of extinction. But there was a ban on catch, respectively, the threat partially passed. However, some aspects remained that posed a certain danger to pigs.
2. The bottom nets are assigned to them, which are aimed at catching flounder, sturgeon, katrana, etc. These animals do not specifically fall into the trap, but cannot get out of it. In the Black Sea annually about 1.5 thousand individuals die in this way.
3. Also hazardous include shipping. Due to the fact that the dolphins are naive, they swim too close, receiving fatal injuries. Because of this, breeding ceases, some adult pigs die.
4. A feature of the skin is the ability to accumulate toxic substances. When environmental pollution dolphins are poisoned. Their body absorbs poisons, which causes a painful and slow death.
5. Some representatives of the variety die simply due to a lack of food supply. As you already understood, individuals consume mainly small fish. Fishermen massively catch it, not leaving dolphins a lot of food for survival.
6. Virus infections, which such representatives of the water body often suffer from, cannot be excluded from potential threats. They also get sick due to parasites. The abundance of weather, frost or excessive heat also affects the number of individuals.

Captive

1. These individuals very poorly adapt to the environment that can be provided in captivity.Under such conditions, pig breeding can be forgotten, they simply are not able to do this.
2. If representatives of the species are kept in special places, their lifespan is reduced from 12 years to a couple of months. That is, the animal does not even have time to reach puberty. Only a few survive to 1.5 years.

Behavior

1. The characteristics of this species include reluctance to live in large families. They can be grouped in groups of 5 individuals, but often swim in pairs. Some do feel good all alone. There is a possibility that pigs will gather in large numbers, but this will happen only during the period of shoal hunting.
2. These individuals are not inherent in the nomadic way of life. They are constantly in the chosen habitat, eat here, breed here.
3. These animals are good swimmers. They move closer to the upper layer of water, jumping and turning over. A feature is considered to be that individuals do not cause water movement, therefore their movements are hardly perceptible.
4. Pigs try to stay away from crowds and those who prefer scuba diving. Some individuals in a comic form emerge and swim with the help of the tail fin in an almost vertical position.

Breeding

1. The mating season in the considered individuals mainly begins from the end of spring and lasts until the end of summer. It is noteworthy that during all this time females mate with several males. After the breeding period ends, the pregnancy lasts about 10 months.
2. Often 1 baby is born. Only in rare cases are 2 babies. An interesting fact is that newborns can weigh up to 10 kg. Moreover, their body length reaches about 75 cm.
3. Do not forget that the animals presented are mammals. Therefore, babies are fed breast milk up to 1 year. Such individuals reach puberty at about 4 years.
4. The female porpoise may well give offspring every year. Sometimes such individuals take a break of several years. In the wild, the animals represented live no more than 20 years. Most often, this figure does not exceed 17 years.

Nutrition

1. Most often, the considered individuals try to adhere to the coastal area. They do not seek to swim into deep waters. The daily diet mainly includes small fish of various species.
2. Often such animals give preference to herring, capelin and herring. As an exception, when there is not enough food, porpoises can eat crustaceans, squid and algae. A day such animals require about 10 kg. products.

Status

1. Regrettably, this does not sound, but such wonderful animals are on the verge of extinction. Often the causes of this are global warming, colossal fishing, poaching, military exercises and general water pollution.
2. In addition to the above problems, porpoises often suffer from natural threats. Often considered individuals in large numbers die due to parasites and various diseases. Numerous studies have confirmed that most of the animals discussed are affected by a stenurus (roundworm).
3. Such parasites completely affect the hearing of individuals. In addition, porpoises die en masse due to harsh climatic conditions. Because of such a sad situation, animals were listed in the Red Book of many countries. The law prohibits the capture of the considered individuals. Otherwise, a large fine will result.
4. Otherwise, for any specialized purposes, these animals are not caught. The problem is different. When large quantities of fish are caught, small porpoises enter the net. Because of this, they die in large numbers.Whenever possible, fishermen unravel nets and release porpoises.

Enemies

1. The natural and most dangerous enemies in the aquatic environment for guinea pigs are white sharks and killer whales. In addition, bottlenose dolphins are no less dangerous for the individuals represented.
2. Such animals kill porpoises not for food, but to reduce competition for fish. The problem is that bottlenose dolphins and porpoises feed on the same fish. As a result, the former eliminate competitors.
3. Lampreys often attack guinea pigs. Most often, such pests leave open wounds and spots on the body of the considered individuals after themselves.

Some believe that it is because of the gluttony of this lover of the aquatic environment that they called him that. People call members of the family mutators, dull dolphins and berets. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, we will study the most important features in order of priority so that you make up your own opinion.

Video: porpoise (Phocoenidae)