The pic below shows the barren area chinchillas live in.
No banana trees, no grape vines, No pinapples.
Indeed the chinchilla has for a long time
evolved to being able to cope and thrive in a
barren land such as this pic shows.

The other pic further down was sent to us from Audrey.
Her friend who was on holiday in the Andes
was lucky enough to see them.
Again you will see it is not a fertile habitat.
It is rather poor yet chinchillas digestive systems
have evolved to allow them to live and thrive.
They are an endangered species.
Not because of poor eating material.
No it is fur trappers who are responsible for them
being endagered of becoming extinct.
All thanks to film and recording stars.
Perhaps great at singing but the fact
they wear real fur chinchilla garments makes
me think they care not one jot about animals lives.
Visit the wild chinchilla site who are doing so much to help the endangered wild chinchillas