All about Biaka
(Natasha's granddaughter of a chinchilla variety)
"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language."
Martin Buber
"Everyone's pet is the most outstanding. This begets mutual blindness."
Jean Cocteau
"She was short on intellect, but long on shape."
George Ade
"Man has will, but woman has her way."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Biaka was the first chinchilla born in my house. I didn’t even know that Boo (her mother and my very first chinchilla) was pregnant. I woke up one morning and saw a tiny fur ball next to Boo. I was unprepared. Biaka escaped from the cage on the very first day of her life, (chinchillas are born fully equipped with eye-sight, fur, etc. and are fully functional as soon as they are out of their mother’s womb). I was afraid to crush her tiny body and it took me almost an hour to catch her. I must’ve seem like a scary Godzilla to a few-hours-old Biaka, because we’ve had a strange relationship ever since. For the longest time thereafter she would scream hysterically whenever I approached her cage. She still doesn't trust me completely.
Biaka has a personality of a stereotypical woman and falls apart whenever something changes in her life. If I add or remove something from her cage (God forbid actually move the cage) she lays down like a piece of fur for hours showing with every fiber of her furry being how depressed she is. One time Mr. Bond (her ‘husband’) had enough of her abuse during their playtime and bit her, which resulted in Biaka laying motionless for 4 hours in a corner of a sofa. She was so upset that she went limp whenever I tried picking her up. I was so freaked out by her behavior that I thought of going to an all-night veterinary clinic. I don't take her hysterics to heart anymore. If Biaka behaves in a similar manner now I just try to look for clues as to what might've upset her and I know that she'll be OK in a few hours.
Biaka is also one of those unstable mothers that make their children afraid and suspicious of everything for no reason. For the first few months after her babies were born she was screaming at me whenever I approached the cage, which in turn resulted in the babies screaming in my presence. Thankfully, I was able to establish a good relationship with the babies when they grew up.
Biaka is such a typical female that she actually likes human jewelry. If I'm wearing earrings or a necklace she gets on my shoulders and tries to take it off of me. It's especially funny when one wears a chain around their neck. In that case Biaka usually comes from behind, puts one of her hint legs on a person's neck (for leverage) and pulls on the chain with her tiny front paws (which look very much like human hands). The whole thing usually looks like she's trying to choke a person.
However, the funniest thing about Biaka is her crush on my cat Tihon. Whenever he's around, Biaka becomes awfully coquettish and stops short of blushing, (not that chinchillas can blush, but if she could she would). Her behavior makes me a bit sad, because it's obvious that it makes Mr. Bond jealous. He even wags his tail to get her attention, which she manages to successfully ignore. Life is so unfair!
