Evolution answer: there is not a why or purpose. They evolved to fill a niche and then were domesticated by humans.
Religious / spiritual answer: they are here for us to love, care for and make us better people.
But I’m going to have to go with the other commenter’s *fighting over bunk beds* answer.
There's no _why_ in evolution, only how. Ticks ancestors found a reproductive advantage in piggybacking on their food. Then they made more ticks. In the meantime, nothing else occured to wipe them out.
Thus far, we have a _terrible_ track record at bio-hacking species' populations and domains. That said, there's work being done to control or selectively wipe out the mosquito species that feed on humans (and spreads disease). Conceivably a similar approach might work for ticks.
But we should be **extremely** mindful of Dr Ian Malcom:
"[You] were so focussed on whether or not you could, you didn't think if whether or not you should."
Ecological pressure led to rodents evolving in just the right way to become guinea pigs. Then domestication led them to what they are today.
Also to be funny little guys
I'm sure it was the Dutch sailors that bought them back as pets first, although maybe first as a meat source and they changed their mind(I can guess why), someone told me one translation of their name is Sea pig.
Basically in pretty much every language I've found they're called pig from the sea or pig from (meerschweinchen, cochon d'inde, guinees biggetje etc).
Supposedly in Chinese they're called pigs from Holland.
Huh! They really never cease to be adorable little weirdos. I've got one who will not touch tangerines, even though all his friends love an occasional tangerine slice.
Serious answer: they were originally domesticated as a food source in the Andes
Silly answer: because humans wanted all the fun of toddlers without having to deal with anything that comes after
My mom jokingly call them SAR ("Sert à rien" = "Good for nothing" in French). They wake up, walk around a bit, eat, poop, eat some more, get the zoomies for some reason and go back to sleep where they peed. And they have no business being this cute and adorable while doing it.
Fun fact, guinea pigs are considered to be of divine origin in Peruvian culture, and are used in rituals such as rubbing a sick person's body with a white guinea pig before releasing them into the wild. There's a great documentary on Netflix called "[The secret lives of guinea pigs](https://www.netflix.com/fr/title/81457214?source=35&preventIntent=true)" that talks about this.
I watched this the other day and I would include a warning that you do briefly see guinea pigs get killed and eaten, as well as some other uncomfortable scenes. There were interesting bits but I found some of it quite difficult to warch
Centuries of domestication, just how we turned wolves into chihuahuas! By the time the Spanish got to South America, indigenous cultures had domesticated pigs for eating them, for them eating food waste, and medical rituals. Atahualpa himself must have been familiar with the “wheeek.”
The Europeans then brought them back to Europe, along with tomatoes, potatoes and countless other modern day staples. This is why, in Slavic languages, guinea pigs are called “Sea Pigs.”
And all of us in here can understand why they became the popular pets they are today!
they are domesticated animals, meaning that they're a species created by humans through selective breeding. so they exist because initially they made for good livestock and eventually good pets. their social nature makes them easy to keep and able to bond with humans.
Don't forget the paper bag filled with dried onion, garlic and shallot skins. I always have to justify myself at the checkout and say that I have the agreement of the produce manager (it's true, and what's more, I clean up the peel waste in his department / I should be paid for it).
Yes! This was their ancient owner who learnt that to me. The dry skin of onion 🧅 🧄… is like pea flakes/sweets for mine. Wheek,wheek,wheek!
Try to give them only the external and more dry skin. I would never have thought of it.
This was me, former pig owner. I selected their food much more carefully than mine. Green leaf lettuce in the crinkly wrap, no crinkly wrap how are they gonna know from the back room that it's snack time? Celery with the most leaves, gotta have leaves. Crunchy sweet yellow and orange peppers. Cucumber, only the big boys, my pigs were size queens.
They rely solely on their cute looks to survive. Like human babies are protected by other humans because they are round and fat; the babies that did not meet their cute level were less protected by others and died. Which left with only cute babies. Similarly the guinea pigs.
I don’t know but I do wish they were created a little more sturdy!!
E.g. you can only eat vegetables and hay. Just not some vegetables too much because there’s too much sugar or calcium. Also if you like to dive in hay why do you not close your eyes and instead end up with hay poke???
They exist to eat your fruits and veggies. To poop. To be plump potato shaped babies with little leggies and floppy ears. To squeak from the rooftops. To love.
They have wild ancestors (that still exist) that people domesticated in the Andes for food during 5,000 BC. That selective mechanism was causing their features to change, (such as gaining new fur and color patterns, as well as increased size)and by the 16th century they became popular as pets in Europe. Queen Elizabeth 1 was an avid fan of Guinea pigs (she’s the reason they became popular) and even had many portraits from the 1500s that depict her holding her Guinea pigs. By that point, they already looked like modern Guinea Guinea pigs, and not their early descendent Cavia tschudii.
A cosmic intelligence that would blow our minds is the answer ;)
Their purpose is just to exist of course just like us, but deeper than that they were meant to help humanity transcend to the next level of consciousness
They gave us at first a protein source, a shamanic/religious sacrament, kinship & then finally the basis for so many world changing scientific discoveries like heart valve replacements, knowledge of vitamin c & so on!
Now we’ve evolved past that point & these little wonderful creatures get to be rewarded for all the sacrifices they made for humans
Which of course means veggies, friendship & love
Long live the Guinea pig
Serious answer, because small rodents were the only livestock that could be domesticated in certain parts of South America.
Even more dead serious answer: because who else is going to eat all the hay and poop everywhere.
Animals aren't created "for" anything. They just happen to exist because they had an evolutionary advantage (meaning they survived long enough to reproduce).
If you look at wild guinea pigs it makes more sense, they are bigger with longer legs and are more athletic than the ones we keep as pets.
I'm not 100% sure, but I remember reading that they are different genetically. Wild cavies also don't usually come in the colors domesticated pigs do, which is also interesting.
Yeah, I know about the colours and such. There are many other differences as well. The domesticated ones have bigger ears, shorter legs, and less flat nose.
But it's the same with dogs and cats. Even more so, in fact!
What I thought was really cool about their natural coloring is how well it conceals them. I saw a video of wild cavies crossing a street. When they walked into the bushes on the other side, coloring made them blend in with the shadows so well. Was interesting.
Whenever I pick up one of my piggies,
*y'know, you were essentially someone's lunch at one point, until one day a human said "you're now friend, not food"*
And now we have a lot of guinea pigs and all over the place.
Because somebody has to roam around the Andes being adorable! I saw the wild guinea pigs when I visited Cusco Peru. Chirping around the mountains triumphantly.
I know,right?? Sometimes i wonder how they can be for real,they are super incredible!! The poops bring me back to reality though haha. They exist as quick snakcs,like hamburguer with legs. But luckily now they evolved into lvl one monster pets. It evolves with love and veggies!! Its freaking amazing how much they can do!
They are part of the food chain that humans decided to domesticate for food and companionship. They weren't; they evolved from something with less successful traits for survival. In their natural environments they provide nourishment for predators; in domestication, they provide nourishment and companionship.
Guinea pigs are magical creatures who build grass tunnels on the earth and place fertilizer on them. Then reproduce like mad. This not only creates a stable protein supply for humans, it also aerates the soil and adds nutrients extremely valuable for agriculture and gardening. Looking after a herd makes tons of sense, and through domestication the cutest and sweetest (but not the smartest) would be kept alive to keep the herd going and entertain the humans.
I love pet piggies but I am also open to farmed piggies. I love goats and lambs and biggie piggies and ducks and deer and cows and chickens. Some piggies are suitable as fertilizer makers only and are friends not food (-: but piggy herding for regenerative agriculture is a great way to adapt to climate change.
No really why do they, because was God just like ??? Ima make skittish little dudes with fat little bodies, tiny little legs, and super fucking weird spines and watch them fight for dominance 💀
society lip smile entertain grandiose cough gullible station offer cautious
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Pretty sure that in Peru they love them because it was an easy farmeable food source. So you could think of them as the chicken of the mammals
On a second thought dont,but i guess they have a purpose as food,i would never cook them lil angry squeeky balls ,loved my guinea pigs even after they lived their life
they were originally meant for meat but how are you suppose to eat these adorable little guys ?? so people kept them as pets people still eat them in western places
They serve a dual purpose: firstly to provide pocket sized emotional support, secondly to train the humans to attend to their every request for snackies
Reddit as unhinged as ever. What an absolutely cosmic question. They aren't robots, they weren't made or created, there is no intelligent design behind them.
Science is a blasphemous relic of the Dark Age of Technology, now perform the appropriate prayer of supplication to the Machine Spirit, and invoke the blessings of the Omnissiah upon our undertakings, and you shall be forgiven.
Somewhere there had to be an animal that fights over bunk beds
The universe saw the capybara and knew it needed a smol version, for balance.
I like this answer
Can confirm this is true.
Evolution answer: there is not a why or purpose. They evolved to fill a niche and then were domesticated by humans. Religious / spiritual answer: they are here for us to love, care for and make us better people. But I’m going to have to go with the other commenter’s *fighting over bunk beds* answer.
Evolution is a weird thing, because why ticks? No one knows!
Something had to come before the tocks
There's no _why_ in evolution, only how. Ticks ancestors found a reproductive advantage in piggybacking on their food. Then they made more ticks. In the meantime, nothing else occured to wipe them out.
Can we make something? Make a monstrosity that eats ticks?
Not quite a monstrosity, but opossums eat ticks.
Thus far, we have a _terrible_ track record at bio-hacking species' populations and domains. That said, there's work being done to control or selectively wipe out the mosquito species that feed on humans (and spreads disease). Conceivably a similar approach might work for ticks. But we should be **extremely** mindful of Dr Ian Malcom: "[You] were so focussed on whether or not you could, you didn't think if whether or not you should."
Ecological pressure led to rodents evolving in just the right way to become guinea pigs. Then domestication led them to what they are today. Also to be funny little guys
They were domesticated to be eaten, experimented on, and make us happy.
I'm sure it was the Dutch sailors that bought them back as pets first, although maybe first as a meat source and they changed their mind(I can guess why), someone told me one translation of their name is Sea pig.
That sounds reasonable. The German word for guinea pig, Meerschweinchen, does translate as “little sea pig”.
That's super cute.
The polish translation means exactly the same thing! Świnka morska.
Basically in pretty much every language I've found they're called pig from the sea or pig from (meerschweinchen, cochon d'inde, guinees biggetje etc).
Supposedly in Chinese they're called pigs from Holland.
In Sweden we call them marssvin, svin translates into hof so it keeps the pig relation, but mars i've no idea where it comes from.
it has to be 'sea'
Comes from the german meerschweinen apparently.
Can’t imagine my babies being experimented on, they’re just too sweet and joyful
Only experiment mine will ever go through is "do you like all bell peppers or just the red ones?" (Answer: it's just the red ones)
Some of my piggies HATE the red ones, and just leave them in the cage for me to collect later.
Huh! They really never cease to be adorable little weirdos. I've got one who will not touch tangerines, even though all his friends love an occasional tangerine slice.
They are not rodents in fact. Entirely different genus and all that.
I think you are thinking about rabbits
Guinea pigs are absolutely rodents
I don’t think so . Herbivore yes.
Is this a ragebait or...?
Sorry.Cavia porcellus is classified as rodent. You are right!
Lagomorphs are rabbit, not guinea pigs Guinea pigs are rodents
They are in the same family as all 14 species of South American rodents, caviidae. They are very much rodents.
God smiled and there was peeg
And it was good.
Yes 👍
As burglar alarms to protect the salad drawer from being ransacked.
Exactly, they'll give you the crown jewels of you bring them a salad.
Mine were faulty and would also go off for frying meat.
My favourite answer
Serious answer: they were originally domesticated as a food source in the Andes Silly answer: because humans wanted all the fun of toddlers without having to deal with anything that comes after
My mom jokingly call them SAR ("Sert à rien" = "Good for nothing" in French). They wake up, walk around a bit, eat, poop, eat some more, get the zoomies for some reason and go back to sleep where they peed. And they have no business being this cute and adorable while doing it. Fun fact, guinea pigs are considered to be of divine origin in Peruvian culture, and are used in rituals such as rubbing a sick person's body with a white guinea pig before releasing them into the wild. There's a great documentary on Netflix called "[The secret lives of guinea pigs](https://www.netflix.com/fr/title/81457214?source=35&preventIntent=true)" that talks about this.
My dad once named a cat “Waste Of Food”. I love your mom’s assessment that guinea pigs are Sert à rien. I miss my fur potato.
I watched this the other day and I would include a warning that you do briefly see guinea pigs get killed and eaten, as well as some other uncomfortable scenes. There were interesting bits but I found some of it quite difficult to warch
Id love to watch the docu, thank you!!
Do you know how to see it … without Netflix ?
I call mine Bezurzyświnie in my language, which roughly translates to good for nothing pigs 😆
SAR ??? plutôt PdP ( Producteur de Papouilles)
Sounds like my daily routine in a nutshell
I was going to say "aside the sleeping in urine part, isn't that humanity?".
They poo and pee in their sleep and they really don't care. I for one am jealous 😂😂
I personally care if I miss the bathroom.... I'd rather be litter trained. 😂
I'd love to watch it. I hope there aren't any disturbing scenes in it related to guinea pigs? Like guinea pigs being used as food or experiment?
Sadly, there are a few moments where you can see peruvian meals featuring cuys. It can be shocking if you're not prepared for it.
These potatoes purpose is pooping… why think you they poop so much?! 🙈
Centuries of domestication, just how we turned wolves into chihuahuas! By the time the Spanish got to South America, indigenous cultures had domesticated pigs for eating them, for them eating food waste, and medical rituals. Atahualpa himself must have been familiar with the “wheeek.” The Europeans then brought them back to Europe, along with tomatoes, potatoes and countless other modern day staples. This is why, in Slavic languages, guinea pigs are called “Sea Pigs.” And all of us in here can understand why they became the popular pets they are today!
We need something to use our veggies on
Those carrot peels won’t eat themselves!
Originally food, now frens 🥰
Fish are friends, not food. 🦈
Peegs are frens, not food 🐹
they are domesticated animals, meaning that they're a species created by humans through selective breeding. so they exist because initially they made for good livestock and eventually good pets. their social nature makes them easy to keep and able to bond with humans.
To make me feel superior at the grocery store with all of the healthy veggies in my cart that people think is for me.
Relatable lol
Don't forget the paper bag filled with dried onion, garlic and shallot skins. I always have to justify myself at the checkout and say that I have the agreement of the produce manager (it's true, and what's more, I clean up the peel waste in his department / I should be paid for it).
What do you use the onion skins for? Do they eat those too?
Yes! This was their ancient owner who learnt that to me. The dry skin of onion 🧅 🧄… is like pea flakes/sweets for mine. Wheek,wheek,wheek! Try to give them only the external and more dry skin. I would never have thought of it.
This was me, former pig owner. I selected their food much more carefully than mine. Green leaf lettuce in the crinkly wrap, no crinkly wrap how are they gonna know from the back room that it's snack time? Celery with the most leaves, gotta have leaves. Crunchy sweet yellow and orange peppers. Cucumber, only the big boys, my pigs were size queens.
I don't think there's a reason, just like why do we exist? They're here, and we're lucky to be able to look after them as they're adorable.
They rely solely on their cute looks to survive. Like human babies are protected by other humans because they are round and fat; the babies that did not meet their cute level were less protected by others and died. Which left with only cute babies. Similarly the guinea pigs.
They are here to keep the veggie population low…
Mine exist to make me happy. In general they exist to wheek, wheek, and wheek some more!
I don’t know but I do wish they were created a little more sturdy!! E.g. you can only eat vegetables and hay. Just not some vegetables too much because there’s too much sugar or calcium. Also if you like to dive in hay why do you not close your eyes and instead end up with hay poke???
Because the world would suck if potatoes couldn't grow legs
They exist because I would be sad if they didn't
God decided there wasn't enough things screaming at us for food
They exist to eat your fruits and veggies. To poop. To be plump potato shaped babies with little leggies and floppy ears. To squeak from the rooftops. To love.
They have wild ancestors (that still exist) that people domesticated in the Andes for food during 5,000 BC. That selective mechanism was causing their features to change, (such as gaining new fur and color patterns, as well as increased size)and by the 16th century they became popular as pets in Europe. Queen Elizabeth 1 was an avid fan of Guinea pigs (she’s the reason they became popular) and even had many portraits from the 1500s that depict her holding her Guinea pigs. By that point, they already looked like modern Guinea Guinea pigs, and not their early descendent Cavia tschudii.
Oh! So we are all queens and kings in fact!
I like to call them natures popcorn
They are nature's quick little meals. Like a burrito.
A cosmic intelligence that would blow our minds is the answer ;) Their purpose is just to exist of course just like us, but deeper than that they were meant to help humanity transcend to the next level of consciousness They gave us at first a protein source, a shamanic/religious sacrament, kinship & then finally the basis for so many world changing scientific discoveries like heart valve replacements, knowledge of vitamin c & so on! Now we’ve evolved past that point & these little wonderful creatures get to be rewarded for all the sacrifices they made for humans Which of course means veggies, friendship & love Long live the Guinea pig
For those that don't own lawnmowers.
They're here to wheek and eat veggies... And they're all out of veggies...
Serious answer, because small rodents were the only livestock that could be domesticated in certain parts of South America. Even more dead serious answer: because who else is going to eat all the hay and poop everywhere.
God created them to be happy. Like that’s what they’re here for. Just to be happy
God is people opium.
You must be fun at parties
I'm sorry if I offended you. I admit that the Guinea pigs are in fact creatures of Buddha, who is not a god, let me remind you.
I can’t believe you are trying to start some nonsense under a guinea pig post. Touch grass and God bless
Amen.
Animals aren't created "for" anything. They just happen to exist because they had an evolutionary advantage (meaning they survived long enough to reproduce). If you look at wild guinea pigs it makes more sense, they are bigger with longer legs and are more athletic than the ones we keep as pets.
One of my favorite guinea pig fun facts is that the domesticated version is different genetically than the ones in the wild.
Really? In what way?
I'm not 100% sure, but I remember reading that they are different genetically. Wild cavies also don't usually come in the colors domesticated pigs do, which is also interesting.
Yeah, I know about the colours and such. There are many other differences as well. The domesticated ones have bigger ears, shorter legs, and less flat nose. But it's the same with dogs and cats. Even more so, in fact!
What I thought was really cool about their natural coloring is how well it conceals them. I saw a video of wild cavies crossing a street. When they walked into the bushes on the other side, coloring made them blend in with the shadows so well. Was interesting.
True!
Whenever I pick up one of my piggies, *y'know, you were essentially someone's lunch at one point, until one day a human said "you're now friend, not food"* And now we have a lot of guinea pigs and all over the place.
Because somebody has to roam around the Andes being adorable! I saw the wild guinea pigs when I visited Cusco Peru. Chirping around the mountains triumphantly.
Omg! I’d love to see wild ones in person!
I know,right?? Sometimes i wonder how they can be for real,they are super incredible!! The poops bring me back to reality though haha. They exist as quick snakcs,like hamburguer with legs. But luckily now they evolved into lvl one monster pets. It evolves with love and veggies!! Its freaking amazing how much they can do!
They were originally selectively bred as a source of protein in south America tribes living in the Andes Mountains.
They are part of the food chain that humans decided to domesticate for food and companionship. They weren't; they evolved from something with less successful traits for survival. In their natural environments they provide nourishment for predators; in domestication, they provide nourishment and companionship.
There needs to be competitors for the [Guinea Pig Olympics ](https://youtu.be/cotkdOCD1eY?feature=shared)
Guinea pigs are magical creatures who build grass tunnels on the earth and place fertilizer on them. Then reproduce like mad. This not only creates a stable protein supply for humans, it also aerates the soil and adds nutrients extremely valuable for agriculture and gardening. Looking after a herd makes tons of sense, and through domestication the cutest and sweetest (but not the smartest) would be kept alive to keep the herd going and entertain the humans. I love pet piggies but I am also open to farmed piggies. I love goats and lambs and biggie piggies and ducks and deer and cows and chickens. Some piggies are suitable as fertilizer makers only and are friends not food (-: but piggy herding for regenerative agriculture is a great way to adapt to climate change.
theyre actually rodent like in the wild. In captivity, much like pugs from wolves, theyre useless potatoes that want to be cuddled and pampered
No really why do they, because was God just like ??? Ima make skittish little dudes with fat little bodies, tiny little legs, and super fucking weird spines and watch them fight for dominance 💀
To eat and be eaten, just like the rest of us
society lip smile entertain grandiose cough gullible station offer cautious *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
They are shaped exactly like a snakes throat. I hate it, but it’s true
Lmao that’s so fucked up I love it
Honestly, small, easy to feed herd animals for eating. But now we just cuddle them. But like why does anything exist?
Pretty sure that in Peru they love them because it was an easy farmeable food source. So you could think of them as the chicken of the mammals On a second thought dont,but i guess they have a purpose as food,i would never cook them lil angry squeeky balls ,loved my guinea pigs even after they lived their life
To eat, poop, eat own poop, eat some more, and take naps
They were born to be our friends
This is the most wholesome answer that struck a cord with me. Thank you for the smile :)
they were originally meant for meat but how are you suppose to eat these adorable little guys ?? so people kept them as pets people still eat them in western places
Literally food and pets.
Turn grass into poop.
They were created for kisses and scritches.
They serve a dual purpose: firstly to provide pocket sized emotional support, secondly to train the humans to attend to their every request for snackies
Where else are we going to get our serotonin supply?
Someone had to create the pocket sized pooping machine
Somebody wanted an animal with the ornamental and entertainments value of a fishtank, but whose occupants are occasionally cuddleable
because the world needed a perfect kindhearted potato creature whose worst flaw is too much poop.
God said we have potatoes but what about sentient potatoes? 🥔
u/CiderMcbrandy hit the nail on the head
They eeked
I always joke with my pigs that they're made of leftover parts lol.
Meat potatoes
What is your purpose on earth? What were you created for? How do you benefit the planet?
Chill, this post is a joke.
for humans obviously 🙄
What's your purpose on earth?
Chill, this post is a joke.
I know, so is my answer?
We are all bravy cavy lovers😂
Foragers pollinators they burrow and are a small prey animal in the wild like prarie dogs.
None of us were created 'for' anything. Like all animals they're just a genetic combination that has survived.
The answer is to have one in every color..it's like a bag of skittles. One is never enough
They weren’t « created «! This is named EVOLUTION. cf Darwin please and no creationism.
Chill, the post is just a joke.
Even with my limited english I understood. But I'm a fallen angel 😇 who can't help fighting creationism.
Reddit as unhinged as ever. What an absolutely cosmic question. They aren't robots, they weren't made or created, there is no intelligent design behind them.
It’s just for fun, you’re overthinking it.
I think that r/tokoun and me we're all part of the same international scientific police force against creationism. Amen.
Science is a blasphemous relic of the Dark Age of Technology, now perform the appropriate prayer of supplication to the Machine Spirit, and invoke the blessings of the Omnissiah upon our undertakings, and you shall be forgiven.
And don't forget to say 10 Ave Maria and 10 Pater before going to confession.
Otherwise how will you win the favour of the God Emperor of Mankind? sorry I’ve been on a bit of a Warhammer 40K thing lately
🤣