What is Guinea pig?
{{speciesbox | name = Guinea pig | image = Two_adult_Guinea_Pigs_(Cavia_porcellus).jpg | image_caption = Two adult guinea pigs | status = DOM | genus = Cavia | species = porcellus |taxon=| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]) | synonyms = {{species list |Mus porcellus| <!--trailing pipes are empty authority fields--> |Cavia cobaya| |Cavia anolaimae| |Cavia cutleri| |Cavia leucopyga| |Cavia longipilis| }} }} '''Guinea pigs''' (''Cavia porcellus'') are a kind of [[rodent]]. They are not [[pig]]s and are not from [[Guinea]]. The reason for why this is the name is unclear. They are also called cavies.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bradford|first=Alina|date=April 28, 2015|title=Guinea Pig Facts|url=https://www.livescience.com/50658-guinea-pig-facts.html|access-date=May 16, 2023|website=Live Science}}</ref> They are [[domestication|domesticated animals]] which originated in the [[Andes]]. Studies on [[biochemistry]] and [[Hybrid|hybridization]] suggest they are [[descendant]]s of a closely related species of cavy. They do not occur naturally in the wild.<ref name=weir>{{Cite book|last = Weir|first = Barbara J.|contribution = Notes on the origin of the domestic guinea-pig |editor-last = Rowlands|editor-first = I.W.|editor2-last = Weir|editor2-first = Barbara J.|title = The biology of hystricomorph rodents|publisher = Academic Press|year = 1974|pages = 437–446|isbn = 0-12-6133336}}</ref><ref name=Walker>{{cite book|last = Nowak|first = Ronald M.|title = Walker's mammals of the world, 6th edition|url = https://archive.org/details/walkersmammalsof0002nowa|publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press|year = 1999|isbn = 0-8018-5789-9}}</ref> == Guinea pigs as pets == In many parts of the world, people keep them as [[pet]]s. In [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Ecuador]] and several other countries, they are raised for [[food]]. The first people who domesticated the ani