What Australian animal is like a guinea pig?

The Greater Stick-nest Rat is a guinea pig-sized native rodent which builds a large communal home out of sticks and stones. It was driven to extinction on mainland Australia by intensive predation from feral cats and foxes, clinging to survival in a single population on the Franklin Islands, South Australia.

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What other animals look like guinea pigs?

Capybaras resemble the cavy and the guinea pig. Capybaras are short-haired brownish rodents with blunt snouts, short legs, small ears, and almost no tail. They are shy and associate in groups along the banks of lakes and rivers.

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What is a furry chubby animal that lives in Australia?

Wombats - Australia's incredibly cute, chubby marsupials

Like their closest living relatives (koalas), they're mostly found in the eastern part of Australia.

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Are guinea pigs Australian?

Native to South America, they are common pets in Australia and America with over 11 recognised breeds including the White-Crested, Rex, Silky and Abyssinian. Guinea pigs are usually very friendly and are a little easier to handle than rabbits.

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What Australian animal looks like a squirrel?

Numbat. This fantastic little marsupial is also one of Australia's rarest. Numbats are about the size of a large squirrel, with a pointed nose, striped rump, and bushy tail.

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Tasmania's 'tiny town' for guinea pigs a social media sensation | ABC News

15 related questions found

What looks like a squirrel but is not?

Muskrat

Although they do not have the bushy tails that squirrels are known for, the body structure of a muskrat resembles that of a squirrel so much that people often mistake one for the other. People also mistake muskrats for rats.

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What is the cute rodent in Australia?

Bandicoots. These marsupials may look like rats with their spiky snouts and skinny tails, but the bandicoots found in Australia are thought to be closer in kinship to rabbits.

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What is the closest animal to a guinea pig?

Guinea Pig Classification

They are members of the family Caviidae, which is most closely related to capybara and mara.

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Are there feral guinea pigs in Australia?

Rabbits, guinea pigs go wild in Perth suburbs amid concerns numbers could get out of control. Abandoned rabbits and guinea pigs roaming free in some of Perth's suburbs have been "breeding like rabbits" with the burden falling on volunteers to round them up before numbers get out of control.

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Is it illegal to own one guinea pig in Australia?

Cats, dogs and other common pets

There are no restrictions on cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rats, mice and axolotl (walking fish).

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What is the cutest Australian animal?

Top 10 Cutest Aussie Animals
  • Echidna. You'll have to be quick with the camera – echidnas don't stop to say 'cheese'! ...
  • Dingo. While greyhounds are our favourite breed of dog (obviously), dingoes are a close second! ...
  • Sea Turtle. We love sea turtles so much! ...
  • Kangaroo. ...
  • Platypus. ...
  • Quokka. ...
  • Sea Lion. ...
  • Sugar Glider.

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What cute animal is found only in Australia?

Quokka. Meet the Aussie animal that's as cute as it is rare. Only found in small numbers in the south-west corner of Western Australia, the quokka looks like a cat-sized kangaroo — but they're more friendly than your average roo, happy to bound up to humans for a selfie (even tennis ace Roger Federer posed for one!).

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What is the animal in Australia that looks like a hamster?

The smiling marsupial is a favorite photo subject for tourists on West Australia's Rottnest Island. Until recently, many people outside of Australia had never heard of thequokka, a Muppet-cute (despite its beady eyes and rat's tail) marsupial with an irresistible smile.

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What looks like a guinea pig but is not?

Cavies and guinea pigs look similar. They have rounded bodies, short legs, large heads, no tails, and short necks. Maras look like a little bit like hares. They have long legs, and their rear legs are longer than their front legs.

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What large animals look like guinea pigs?

Originally thought to be a pig of some sort, we now know that the capybara is a rodent, closely related to cavies and guinea pigs. Water pig. Africa has hippos, and the Americas have capybaras!

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What are the big things that look like guinea pigs?

They're closely related to guinea pigs and rock cavies, and more distantly related to chinchillas and agouti. Like beavers, capybaras are strong swimmers. Their pig-shaped bodies are adapted for life in bodies of water found in forests, seasonally flooded savannas, and wetlands.

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Can I own a capybara in Australia?

Currently only dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and selected species of birds from approved countries may be imported as pets and only when strict conditions are met. No other vertebrate animals are approved for import into Australia as pets.

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Is it illegal to eat guinea pigs in Australia?

Ian Douglas, senior veterinarian with the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, says it`s not illegal.

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Are there guinea fowl in Australia?

The most common species of guineafowl in Australia is the helmeted guineafowl. The female will lay up to 20 eggs that take about 28 days to hatch.

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What rodent is like a guinea pig?

cavy, (family Caviidae), any of 14 species of South American rodents comprising guinea pigs, maras, yellow-toothed cavies, mountain cavies, and rock cavies. All except the maras have robust bodies, short limbs, large heads and eyes, and short ears.

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What is the small animal that looks like a pig?

A peccary is a medium-sized animal, with a strong resemblance to a pig. Like a pig, it has a snout ending in a cartilaginous disc and eyes that are small relative to its head. Also like a pig, it uses only the middle two digits for walking, although, unlike pigs, the other toes may be altogether absent.

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What does a capybara look like?

Capybaras have short legs and an oblong body without a visible tail. Their bodies are covered with sparse rough fur that can range from reddish brown to light brown. Their head is large and elongated with a blunt muzzle. Capybaras have strong big incisors specialized for cutting grass, that grow continuously.

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What is the happiest rodent in Australia?

The quokka, a small marsupial native to Australia, is one such example of a species vulnerable to extinction in the country's harsh surroundings. Known as the “happiest animal in the world” due to its cute and friendly appearance, these creatures are now only found in a few isolated forests and small islands.

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What is the smiling rat in Australia?

In the mid-2010s, quokkas earned a reputation on the internet as "the world's happiest animals" and symbols of positivity, as frontal photos of their faces make them appear to be smiling (they do not, in fact "smile" in the human sense; this can be attributed to their natural facial structures).

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What is an Australian small rat like animal?

One animal that is sometimes seen and mistaken for a rat is in fact a small carnivorous marsupial - the Antechinus. While there are several species of Antechinus in Australia, they share several traits in common, which, taken together, can set them apart from rodents such as rats and mice.

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