If youre ever seen, held or owned a chinchilla, its all because of 1 man. Chinchilla means Little Chincha which the South American Indian tribe for which it is named. When the Spanish conquered the Chinca Indians in the 1500’s, they discovered these little fur balls and after touching their fur found them to be in high demand for their pelts. During the 15th Century, a tribe of Indians, the Chinchas had haunted and trapped this tiny animal subsisting on the meat and using the skins to sleep on. They also wore robes woven from the plucked fur. So the Spaniards called this all-important little animal Chinchilla after the Chinchas. In time, the mighty Inca Indians conquered the Chinchas. Under Inca rule, the Chinchas were forbidden to wear the Chinchilla robes. They immediately became the fur of the Inca Royalty and adorned only those Incas who were of noble birth. In the 16th Century the Spaniards who demanded great tributes for their queen in turn, conquered the Incas. A story is told of one emissary who, seeking to win favor, sent his queen a strong box filled with jewels and gold plate. For protection, he wrapped the box in a Chinchilla robe that he had taken from an Inca Chief. The messenger, however, who was dispatched to the queen stole the jewels and gold plate and sent the queen only the box into which he had stuffed the Chinchilla robe. He then fled. So delighted was the queen with this exquisite fur that she had the messenger found and brought to court. Instead of torture and death as he expected, the messenger was knighted as a token of her appreciation for such a rare and exquisite fur, more beautiful and luxurious than any she had ever seen before. Thus was Chinchilla introduced to the civilized world every woman in Spain longed for fur such as the queen wore? Never had they seen a fur so soft, so light, of such delicate bluegrey tones, with such subtle, almost iridescent shading. It was a never-ending source of fascination and envy to all who were fortunate enough to see Chinchilla. In Europe in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, a chinchilla fur coat was a must-have for royalties and well-to-do families. It took approximately 100 chins to make a coat so many of the creatures had to be killed to make one coat. The outcome was a low number of chins in the wild by the end of the 19th century. The Chilean government seeing the chinchilla on its way to becoming extinct began passing laws to outlaw the killing of these beautiful rodents. So great was the demand that the Spaniards in South America sought for Chinchilla with the same zeal that they searched for gold and precious stones. The demand continued to grow faster that the supply as news of this rare and lovely fur spread over Europe. Chinchillas live 3,000 to 15,000 feet above sea level. They live in crevices of burrows high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Mathias F. Chapman was working as a mining engineer for Anaconda Copper in Chile in 1918. One day a local native Chilean Indian brought a chinchilla he had captured to Chapmans camp in a tin can to sell. Chapman bought the chinchilla and became more and more interested in this little animal. From his experiences with this chinchilla he developed a plan to obtain more of these animals and transport them to the United States. Originally, his thought was to breed chinchillas as pets, but later he conceived the idea of raising chinchillas for the fur market. In 1919, Mr. Chapman set about capturing as many chinchillas as possible so that he could establish a breeding population. It took 23 trappers 3 years to catch 11 chinchillas sturdy enough to make the trip and breed. At this time, in 1922, Chapman began the process of gradually working his way down from the mountains with his precious collection, AND trying to keep them cooler than 68°. The trek from his home at over 10,000 feet to sea level was taken in several stages to give the animals a chance to adjust to the change in altitude. The chinchillas traveled in large wooden cages that Chapman had specially built. They were shaded from the direct sun and, when necessary, were cooled with ice. Thanks to Chapman’s care, all eleven chinchillas made it down the mountain. Also during this time, Chapman was working on getting permission to bring his chinchillas to the United States. At first, he was denied permission to take the chinchillas out of Chile. However, his persistence paid off and the Chilean government finally granted permission to export the chinchillas in 1923. Once down the mountain, the chinchillas were transported via railroad to the coast. From there they traveled via the coastal steamer Palena to Callao. In Callao, Chapman and his wife, together with the eleven chinchillas boarded the Japanese freighter, Anyu Maru, for their voyage to San Pedro, California. The first farm was located in Los Angeles, the next in Techachapi. There he was plagued with spring water that contained chemical matter believed to have reduced production and by the theft of approximately half of his herd. It is believed that the stolen animals all died. Mr. Chapman moved back to the Los Angeles area to 4957 West 104 Street, then a county area identified as Inglewood (nowadays Palm and Oak). Mr. Chapman’s early structures approximated the conditions of the wild. He built a large retreat of brick with an adjoining room. The original structures promoted open air, large space and insulated nest boxes. The housing provided areas of protection from and full exposure to the local climate. The animals were offered a variety of feed and many places to exercise. In the early days, most people did not even know what a chinchilla was and the fur industry had yet to establish a stable market for the domestic chinchilla furs. Over the years Chapman did some experiencing with the chinchillas housing and diet. As the herd developed, they were offered for sale. Once the herd was established, their cost soared as high as $3200 per pair. By the mid-1960’s thousands of chinchilla ranches were created, and chinchillas began to be offered as pets, their price usually $100 per animal. With approximately 3000 ranches throughout the Unites States and Canada breeding chinchillas, their success as pets can only be given to M.F. Chapman for his dedication to the chins well being in the beginning. This interest lasted the remainder of his life. Mathias Chapman died on Dec. 26, 1934. A few of the original herd outlived M. Chapman, one living 22 years in the USA. His son, R. E. Chapman, continued the business creating the WORLD’S ORIGINAL SOUTH AMERICAN CHINCHILLA FARM in 1942. This was an era of many changes and it became evident that chinchillas would be saved from extinction. There were now a few hundred ranches worldwide. In the 1950’s, there were chinchilla ranches in most of the developed world except Asia and Australia. Ranchers continued to innovate with buildings, cages and equipment and management systems to suit local climates.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 16:08:45 +0000
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