Mara Factfile
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Scientific Name : Dolichotis patagonum
World Distribution
Maras come from an area of central and southern Argentina known as the Patagonian Plains
Habitat
They live in huge, dry, wide-open stretches of grassland or scrubland, where vegetation is sparse and trees are few and far between.
Feeding
Maras will
eat almost any vegetation but they prefer to feed on grasses and herbs.
In the summer, when practically everything has dried up, they head for the
beds of shallow lakes and ponds, where grass is still growing. Here, up to
100 maras have been seen grazing together, but at other times they are much
more spread out, moving in pairs rather than groups.
Predators
Their main predator is the Andean fox, but they might also get eaten by a maned wolf. Baby maras are at risk from Patagonian weasels and birds of prey. When a mara has been spotted, it leaps into the air and sets off at a gallop, showing its white rump as a warning signal to others.(Deer and antelope do this too).
Breeding
Maras mate
for life, the male staying close to his partner and guarding her from other
males.
Twice a year the female gives birth to a litter of 1-3 babies, which are born
fully furred with their eyes open.
She leaves them in a burrow which is shared by the babies of about ten other
mothers - a sort of communal creche! The mothers take turns to visit the creche
to find their own young, recognising them by their smell. All the babies push
and shove to get milk, but they must wait for their own mums!