Chinchillas are rodents with exceptionally dense, velvet-like fur, large ears, and a fluffy tail. They are agile jumpers that leap about in the rocks of their mounatin homes, and make their homes in crevices and rock hollows. Chinchillas can be found in the southern Andes of South America. They are primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, but will sun themselves in front of their dens. The chinchilla diet consists mostly of grass, seeds, and leaves but they will eat nearly ank kind of vegetation and the occasional insect. They hold their food in their hands while they eat it.
Chinchillas live in groups of many dozen animals. The females are dominant, and tend to be beligerant toward each other and toward males. They express their aggression by chattering their teeth, growling, and urinating.
Chinchilla fur is easily shed. This helps them escape predators, since a predator that grabs a chinchilla may find itself with little more than a mouthful of fur. This is modeled as the Slippery advantage in game terms.