chinchillas are either of two species ("chinchilla chinchilla" and "chinchilla lanigera") of rodents. they are most active at dawn and dusk. they are slightly larger and active than ground squirrels, and are found in the andes mountains in south america. they live in colonies called "herds" at high elevations of up to . historically, chinchillas lived in an area that included parts of bolivia, peru, argentina, and chile, but today, colonies in the wild are known only in chile. along with their relatives, viscachas, they make up the family chinchillidae.