12 Guinea Pigs With The Most Majestic Hair

Guinea pigs are not pigs, nor are they from New Guinea. It is thought that they were named guinea because they were sold for one guinea (21 shillings) when they first brought to England. However, another theory is that English people thought they came from the West African coast of Guinea, since they were imported from South America via the Guinea slave trade ships. The pig part of the name may have come from the sound and shape of the guinea pigs, which can be similar to a miniature pig. Professional breeders and people who show guinea pigs usually call them cavies, named after their wild cousins. The Abyssinian guinea pig is mysteriously named, and no one knows where the name came from. Abyssinia is the former name of the country of Ethiopia, but guinea pigs bear no resemblance to native animals there.