The chinchilla species, fawned over for their beautiful coats for centuries, began to be subject to the commercial hunting industry in the 1800s. Their numbers dropped from the millions to less than 6,000 currently over the course of the past 2 centuries. In 1929, the Chilean government put a ban on the hunting of these animals, but illegal activity and the agenda of financially-minded companies have continued to plague the animals, driving them to only inhabit a small portion of the Andes Mountains in Chile. These friendly, socially-inclined rodents have done nothing to warrant the treatment that they've received, and the wild chinchilla population continues to trend downwards despite current research efforts from numerous organizations. While there are currently many chinchillas in captivity as pets, the uniqueness of the wild chinchilla is at risk unless something is done by those in power to protect them.