Honesty and sadly enough, I have never seen a Patagonian Mara before in my life, I didn’t even know that they exist. So when we were walking through on a public garden in Buenos Aires and suddenly we realized that the park is full with these animals, I didn’t even know what to say… what are these cute creatures??
They look like a mix of rabbits, dogs and kangaroos and it’s a super cute combination with the best features from all. They didn’t come closer to us and anytime when I was trying to approach, they changed their place, they didn’t run away, but not very much into the idea of letting me closer. Of course, I respected them and besides admiring them from a distance, at least I could also capture some beautiful pictures and short footage of these newly discovered animal. 🥰
But of course we asked the park supervisors, as we were very curious, what are these animals?
“The Patagonian maras are considered to be a near threatened species. Historically, maras have ranged from north-central Argentina south almost to Tierra del Fuego. Nevertheless, maras have been greatly affected by hunting and habitat alteration and have been extirpated in some areas, including Buenos Aires Province. The mara skins have been used for bedspreads and rugs.”
The Patagonian mara is a relatively large rodent. It is also known as the Patagonian cavy, Patagonian hare, or dillaby. This herbivorous, somewhat rabbit-like animal is found in open and semiopen habitats in Argentina, including large parts of Patagonia. It is monogamous, but often breeds in warrens shared by several pairs.
Patagonian maras are found only in Argentina.
“Their social organizations have a unique combination of monogamy and communal breeding. Being monogamous, pairs of maras stay together for life, with replacement of partners only occurring after one’s death. The male has almost the sole responsibility in maintaining the pair by following the female wherever she goes.” 😍
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