16 July: Guinea Pig Day

Today is Guinea pig day. Here are 10 fascinating facts about guinea pigs:

1. They don’t come from Guinea. In fact, they originated in the Andes region of South America. No-one knows why these animals are called guinea pigs. Possibly the first people bringing them to Europe had passed through Africa on their way from South America and that’s how the name came about.

2. They’re not Pigs, either, but rodents. Their relatives include the Capybara. However, the connection with pigs seems to persist in other languages. The German word for them translates as “little sea pig”; French as “Indian pig”; Chinese as “pig mouse” or “Netherlands pig”; and Portuguese as “little Indian pig.” It’s not completely universal, however. The Spanish translates as “little rabbit of the Indies” and the Japanese as "India rat". The scientific name is Cavia porcellus, which is where the alternative name “cavy” comes from. It’s possible the name came about because the noises they make resemble the squeaking of a pig.

3. They make 11 different noises. The best known is probably the “wheek” sound they make when excited or looking for their friends. There’s also a low ‘purring’ sound, which they make when they are feeling content and short ‘putt-putt’ noises which they make when they are exploring.

4. They’re sociable animals so if you’re going to keep them as pets you need to get at least two. It’s not a good idea to assume a Rabbit will be good company, either. Rabbits can be big bullies towards guinea pigs, they need a different diet and they can pass on diseases.

5. It’s thought Cavia porcellus only exists because of domestication and selective breeding of other animals in the cavia family. They were originally domesticated as livestock for a source of meat, and are still eaten in the Andes region. Guinea pig meat is known as cuy. They are also used in traditional healing rituals. Folk doctors, or curanderos, use the animals to diagnose diseases such as jaundice, rheumatism, arthritis, and typhus by rubbing a guinea pig against the patient’s body.

6. When grooming itself, a guinea pig secretes a milky substance from its eyes which it then rubs into its fur.

7. Guinea pigs have four toes on their front feet, but only three on their back ones. This means they’re not great at climbing, more at burrowing and hiding. They can swim quite well but don’t particularly like being wet.

8. The earliest-known European illustration of a domestic guinea pig is a painting in the National Portrait Gallery in London, dated to 1580, of a girl in Elizabethan dress holding a tortoise-shell guinea pig in her hands. At that time they were popular among the upper classes as exotic pets. Queen Elizabeth I had one.

9. A short story called "Pigs Is Pigs" by Ellis Parker Butler is about two guinea pigs held at a railway station. While the humans argue about whether they are pigs or pets, the animals do what comes naturally and the station becomes overrun with them. This story was the inspiration behind the Star Trek episode, "The Trouble with Tribbles".

10. Guinea pigs have been used in scientific research since the 17^th century, which is why an experimental subject is often referred to as a guinea pig. They’re less popular as research animals now as Rats or Mice are used more often, but research into diabetes, tuberculosis and scurvy (because, like us, guinea pigs can’t make Vitamin C, though other animals can).

Character birthday

Amber Drake, younger sister of Tabitha, who shows early signs of having a psychic gift like her sister. She appears in Death and Faxes.

Death and Faxes

Several women have been found murdered - it looks like the work of a ruthless serial killer. Psychic medium Maggie Flynn is one of the resources DI Jamie Swan has come to value in such cases - but Maggie is dead, leaving him with only the telephone number of the woman she saw as her successor, her granddaughter, Tabitha Drake.

Tabitha, grief-stricken by Maggie's death and suffering a crisis of confidence in her ability, wants nothing to do with solving murder cases. She wants to hold on to her job and find Mr Right (not necessarily in that order); so when DI Swan first contacts her, she refuses to get involved.

The ghosts of the victims have other ideas. They are anxious for the killer to be caught and for names to be cleared - and they won't leave Tabitha alone. It isn't long before Tabitha is drawn in so deeply that her own life is on the line.

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