Chinchilla

Chinchillas are crepuscular (most active around dawn and dusk) rodents, slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels. They are native to the Andes mountains in South America and live in colonies called "herds" at high elevations up to 4,270 m (14,000 ft). 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.

The chinchilla (whose name literally means "little chincha") is named after the Chincha people of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare due to hunting for their ultra-soft fur. Most chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised.

Chinchillas are currently listed as a critically endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a severe population loss approximated at a 90% global population loss over the last 15 years. The severe population decline has been caused by chinchilla hunting by humans.

Chinchilla (disambiguation)

Chinchilla is a fur-bearing mountain rodent native to South America.

Chinchilla may also refer to:

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Destiny

Destiny or Fate is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.

Fate

Although often used interchangeably, the words "fate" and "destiny" have distinct connotations.

Destiny (Barrio Boyzz album)

Destiny is the sixth studio album by Latin rap group Barrio Boyzz. It was released in 2000 through SBK Records.

Track listing

Destiny (ISS module)

The Destiny module is the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the International Space Station (ISS). It was berthed to the Unity module and activated over a period of five days in February, 2001.Destiny is NASA's first permanent operating orbital research station since Skylab was vacated in February 1974.

The Boeing Company began construction of the 16 ton (14.5 tonne), state-of-the art research laboratory in 1995 at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.Destiny was shipped to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 1998, and was turned over to NASA for pre-launch preparations in August 2000. It launched on February 7, 2001 aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-98.

Astronauts work inside the pressurized facility to conduct research in numerous scientific fields. Scientists throughout the world will use the results to enhance their studies in medicine, engineering, biotechnology, physics, materials science, and Earth science.