MARA

Scientific name: Dolichotis Patagonum.

The Mara comes from the south of America and lives in grasslands. They can grow up to 40cm high, 72cm in lenght and can weigh up to around 12kg. They are herbivorous and eat grasses and herbs. So in the summer when everything is dry they head for the ponds where grass is still growing. Then can run up to 45km when escaping predators which is mainly the Andean fox but can sometimes bo hunted by the Maned wolf. Having longer back legs also helps them escape. Maras stay with the same partners for their hole lifes and the males stay close to the females and guard them from other males. The mother Maras dig burrows to put their babies in with many other babies which kind of makes it a communial creche! One by one the mothers come and check on their babies. They know which one is theirs by their scent. All of the babies want milk but they must wait for their owns mums to come before they get fed. They make lots of grunting noises as their mums come to feed them. I wish that they lived in New Zealand!