Patagonian Mara

Meet the Patagonian Mara!

It is a rodent and belongs to the same family as the guinea pig.

It has powerful limbs: its hind legs are long and end in hooves that facilitate jumping and running; the front legs, on the other hand, have claws that allow them to dig the ground.

The mara's habitat is the vast steppes of the southernmost tip of the American continent.

What are its habits?

It builds burrows and it is there where it has its young with its everlasting mate (it is monogamous). In the burrows, the offspring of up to twenty different pairs can gather.

They like to sunbathe and nap next to the hearth, so they can spend long periods of time.

Male and female usually travel together to look for roots and shrubs, their main food. In areas of low rainfall they usually eat several species of cactus, being an important source of water.

Conservation

Extinct

Extinct in the wild

Critically endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near threatened

Least concern

Insufficient data

Not evaluated

DID YOU KNOW ...

Like many rodents, maras have anal glands, so it is common to see males dragging their buttocks along the ground. It is a unique territory marker, which the males form around their mate.