12/07/2025
Meet the Bunny-Deer - PATAGONIA MARA (Dolichotis patagonum) is a large, long‑legged South American rodent that looks strikingly like a cross between a hare and a small deer, but it is actually in the cavy family with guinea pigs and capybaras. It is endemic to Argentina, where it lives in open, often arid landscapes and has a very unusual social system for a mammal.
Basic description ➡️ Patagonian maras have long ears, a blunt, rodent‑like face, strong hind legs, and relatively short forelimbs, giving them a hare‑like profile but with a stiffer, coarse coat and small tail. Their body length is around 70 cm, with a weight commonly in the 8–16 kg range, making them one of the larger living rodents.
Habitat and range ➡️This species is native only to Argentina, occurring mainly in central and southern regions including parts of the Pampas, Monte Desert, and Patagonian steppe. They favor open or semi‑open habitats such as arid grasslands and brushy shrub lands with large areas of unobstructed ground where they can see predators and run effectively.
Movement and behavior ➡️ Maras are diurnal, spending daylight hours feeding, moving, and socializing, then resting at night. They are adapted to a cursorial lifestyle, able to gallop at high speed and perform a stiff‑legged “stotting” or bouncing run similar to some antelope when alarmed.
Diet and digestion ➡️ Like rabbits, Patagonian maras are strict herbivores, primarily grazing on grasses and other green vegetation, and also browsing leaves, fruits, seeds, and even cacti in drier areas. They practice coprophagy (reingesting certain f***l pellets) to recover additional nutrients from their fibrous diet, analogous to caecotrophy in lagomorphs.
Social system and breeding ➡️ Their social structure is notable for combining long‑term monogamous pair bonds with communal breeding in shared burrow systems. A male–female pair typically remains together for life, but during the breeding season many pairs may place their pups in a common den or warren, visiting in turns to nurse and guard their own offspring.
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