Step 1 : Introduction to the question "5. "You pinned my violets to your furs". The furs might have been a cape made from a crepuscular rodent native to the Andes Mountains in South America. Which animal, grey-furred in the wild, could this be?"
...1. fox 2. mountain lion 3. wolf 4. chinchilla Chinchilla fur is popular in the fur trade because it is very soft due to its density - there are usually over 50 hairs in each hair follicle. While only grey fur is seen in the wild, they have been bred in captivity to produce a variety of colors - white, beige, ebony and more. Because the color is typically very even, it is ideal for small garments, although larger garments can be made. Since the animals are fairly small, a full-length coat made from chinchilla could require the sacrifice of 150 animals. By the end of the 19th century, they had been hunted nearly to extinction because of the popularity of their fur. Two species did survive, and hunting is now illegal, but illegal hunting continues to put pressure on their survival.
