Mara
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia.
Mara
(mâr`ə) [Heb.,=bitter], in the Bible, punning name taken by Naomi out of sorrow.The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia™ Copyright © 2013, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Mara
(Dolichotis patagond), a mammal of the family Caviidae (guinea pigs) of the order Rodentia. It has a body measuring up to 70 cm long and a short tail (up to 4.5 cm). The snout is blunt, and the ears are rather long. The mara is brownish gray, with a light spot at the base of the tail known as the mirror. It is found in South America, dwelling in deserts and thicket-covered steppes. Active during the day, maras live in pairs or small groups. They are fast runners, sometimes leaping 2 m when pursued. Their home is a shallow burrow, in which the female gives birth to two or three offspring twice a year. Maras feed on plants. Their meat is edible.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.