12 Guinea Pigs With The Most Majestic Hair

What do Rapunzel, Ariana Grande, and a guinea pig have in common? If you guessed hair, you are right. There are many species of guinea pigs, but Abyssinian, Peruvian, Coronet and Silkie guinea pigs are unique in their impressive, floor-length fur. These little creatures are beautiful to look at, but require a lot of care because of their unusual locks. Take a look at a few of these long-haired beauties.

Abyssinians are affectionate and respond well to training. They can breed with other types of guinea pigs, although the offspring may have mixed results. Caring for an Abyssinian is easy—a little extra attention paid, plus some additional cleaning and grooming is all that is needed alongside normal guinea pig care. Before the Spanish conquest of South America in the sixteenth century, the now-extinct Incas kept guinea pigs for food and even today, Peruvians, Colombians and Ecuadorians breed them for consumption, medicine and traditional rituals. Sailors were probably the first people to keep guinea pigs as pets and introduced them to Europe from South America. Guinea pigs are indigenous to South America, where five different species can be found in the Andean regions. The ancestor of the domesticated guinea pig is the wild guinea pig Cavia Porcellus, which is thought to have descended from C. tschudi or C. aperea (scientists are divided on which one, though there is not much difference between the two).