The homeland and pedigree of the alpaca, a description of the appearance, the behavior of the animal, the reproduction of the alpaca, advice on the care and maintenance of exotic plants at home, the cost. Alpaca (Latin Vicugna pacos) is an incredibly beautiful animal created by nature. From the very first day of your acquaintance, this amusing living creature will become you not only a loyal, cheerful friend and companion, but also a kind of decoration for your home, especially if you have a spacious plot and are looking for some original four-footed “neighbor”, as well as its delightful appearance and ease of content captivates.
Alpaca origins and home territories
Alpaca, is a representative of the fauna, the study of which was spent a lot, not only time, effort and material resources. Years passed, and scientists all figured out how it would be correct to classify this miracle of nature. Therefore, in the end, the study of animal DNA came to the rescue. Thus, as it seemed to everyone, a single and correct scientific classification was approved, in which it was said that alpaca belongs to the class mammals, infraclass placentals, the artiodactyl order, the callopods suborder, the camelids family, the vicuna genus and the alpaca species.
Since these mammals are revered as one of the most ancient and established animals on the planet, their homeland remains unchanged. The most abundant alpaca populations are preserved in South America, namely in its highlands. Probably most of these excellent artiodactyls live on the lands of Peru, where they quite comfortably settled in the Andes, where they feel great at an altitude of over 3000-5000 meters above sea level. Large social groups of alpacas are also found in Chile, Ecuador and the western part of Bolivia.
In recent years, these mammals are increasingly being bred, because they are not just cute "animals", but also a very decent source of income. It is very common to breed alpacas in Australia, maybe the microclimate there is more suitable, but it is believed that animals from the Australian continent wear more valuable and high-quality fur than those from South America.
Description of the appearance of alpaca
If you revise some information about these magical mammals, then everywhere everyone repeats that in their appearance they are most similar to a lama, but this statement is only partially true. By the structure of its body, an alpaca is something between a llama and a lamb.
The growth of this animal varies from 75 to 100 cm, body weight is on average approximately 60–80 kg. The entire surface of the body of an alpaca is covered with a layer of thick, soft and curly fur, which in texture is not just pleasant, delicate and soft, many compare it to children's plush toys. Another feature of this mammal is its face, it is so pretty and beautiful that it seems that rays of goodwill and friendliness emanate from it. Their lower lip is forked. On the lower jaw, it is possible to notice powerful and strong incisors, it is thanks to this that the alpaca can quite calmly eat a wide variety of types of plant food.
These good-natured animals were referred to the suborder of calluses for a reason, there is a reason for everything, but all because hooves are completely absent in their anatomical structure, in the place where they should be located, there is only a kind of calloused outgrowth, for an alpaca it serves in quality of the foot. These "animals" move on the surface of the earth, leaning on the finger phalanges, so they cannot trample pasture for themselves. Each of their limbs ends with two fingers, on which there are blunt claws, which have a slightly curved shape.
If we talk about something separately, it's about the wool of this animal. It grows constantly, "without weekends and holidays", on the lateral sides of the body the length of the alpaca fur reaches approximately 25–35 cm. Under the main hair there is an even softer and more delicate undercoat, but it is in no way inferior in length. It is usually the same as the base fur.
As for the color, this also has its own peculiarities, the whole point is that although there are only two subspecies of this soft and fluffy mammal in nature, there are plenty of colors, so alpaca wool products are rarely repainted. The entire color spectrum ranges from white to deep dark brown. There are also such individuals in which a pattern can be seen on the body, which is formed by asymmetric blotches and spots.
Alpaca lifestyle in open area
In their native lands, they are used to living, if not alone, then in very small herds, they prefer to go to the pasture exclusively during daylight hours. When night falls on the ground, the alpaca leaves to rest, by the next day it is necessary to gain strength and energy, and all the food that the animal ate for the whole day must be digested.
These calluses with especially valuable fur have chosen not the most comfortable conditions for their permanent residence, but this does not in any way affect their well-being and cheerfulness. Their places for pastures are also not quite ordinary, since for this they choose areas in the most severe mountainous regions, where snow is already flaunting at arm's length. It is clear that in such locations there is not always an abundance of food, so people living nearby try to sow these areas with vegetation, so that these cute and valuable "animals" never go hungry.
The alpaca is not just a cute and friendly animal, it is also very sociable. Among themselves, mammals find a common language very well, in the literal sense of the word. In the process of communication, they use not only sound signals, but also their own, incomprehensible to anyone, body language. Every certain movement of the neck, ears, and even this or that pose means something, but if you are not an alpaca, then you cannot figure it out. But science does not stand still and maybe after some time we will still know what is on the mind of these cute creatures.
But, unfortunately, not everyone revered, loved and appreciated these artiodactyl representatives so much, in their natural habitat there are also such “persons” who can eat alpacas for lunch without remorse and do it with great pleasure. Most often these creatures are attacked by cougars and cheetahs, if a not so large and strong predator met on their way, then the alpaca will not get confused and will begin to fight off the enemy, using strikes with the front limbs and spitting. In addition, in the process of such a battle, the animal never forgets about its relatives, with shrill and loud sounds it notifies everyone about the danger.
Mating season and offspring of alpaca
These mammals can already be considered sexually mature at the age of two years. In the alpaca population, there is no specific mating season, it usually lasts all year round. The gestation period is approximately 320–335 days, at the end of this period of time one cub is born. Twins may occasionally be born. The female becomes pregnant only once every two to three years.
The body weight of a newborn alpaca is approximately 5–8 kg, after an hour and a half from the birth, the baby is already on its feet. Whatever color the female is, all the children have their fur painted exclusively in cream shades, after a while the color changes.
Babies feed on mother's milk for 5-6 months, but these periods are very relative, since it is believed that these young animals can already be fed with adult food when their weight is more than 30 kg.
Maintenance and care of alpaca at home
Looking at the above historical information that these amazing creatures were kept as pets long before the Egyptian pyramids were built, we can conclude that there is nothing supernatural in their content. Since in those days they could not even think about any new technologies, artificial feed, or even about veterinarians. So if the Indians were able to cope with such an animal as the alpaca, then you will definitely be able to do it. In general, this is a rather unpretentious creature, if it lives quietly in the harsh mountainous areas, then our variable climate will certainly not frighten him.
Since these camelids belong to those creatures that are used to living in small herds, albeit in small ones. And if possible, it is better to start three individuals at once, in extreme cases, a couple. Firstly, animals, therefore, adapt to new conditions much faster, and they will not get bored.
Taming. If we talk about this mammal, then this is actually the sweetest and kindest creature. They can be stroked and squeezed calmly, without fear, the main thing is not to make sudden movements and not to approach your pet from around the corner unexpectedly, otherwise you can get hit with the front limb from the alpaca, he will not do it on purpose and not out of malice. It's just that by their nature they are very shy and, in a state of fear, they can begin to use self-defense. Do not be afraid if your child approached the pet - the animal never attacks, and even more so on children, but in the event that it is deliberately provoked, it can violate its principles and kick it well. So if children are allowed to come to this comrade, then only under the supervision of adults.
Alpaca cage. Such a kind of pet is great for keeping in a country house; for its comfortable living, it will be enough to build a spacious lawn. It is up to you to install some shelters or other structures in this place, if you do not do this, nothing terrible will happen, for such a pupil the main thing is that he has a place where he can hide from rain and snow, and everything else this is already a deal. For the period of winter cold, the alpaca can be placed in some kind of warm room, but be sure that it will feel good on the street under a canopy, because nature has awarded it with such a fur coat in which the pet is not afraid of the wind, cold, or even fierce frosts. Only, wherever the animal has a chance to spend the winter, you need to make sure that the floor in this place is dry, warm and as soft as possible. So it's a good idea to cover it with a wide layer of straw.
Feeding. In principle, alpaca nutrition is not much different from what ordinary farm animals eat. Moreover, the organism of this exotic is designed in such a way that it is more adapted to food of lower quality. Maybe this is due to the fact that in their native habitats sometimes it is scarce with food and you have to eat everything that comes along the way, or it's all about anatomy - in alpacas, the stomach has three sections, while in other ruminants - four. But this fact does not exclude the regular cleansing of alpaca pastures from weeds and poisonous plants.
The basis of the diet of alpacas should be greens, it can be meadow grass, shoots of young plants and leaves of trees, they especially like the leaves of fruit trees, you can bring your friend and branches of various shrubs, as well as willow, birch, acacia and mountain ash. This exotic will be happy to eat the moss growing in your area. In terms of hardness and rigidity, these animals can cope, probably, with any food, since their incisors grow constantly, like in rodents. And on the pasture, their forked lower lip helps them collect food.
For the period when there is no greenery, the main dish of homemade alpaca should be hay, you can feed the pet with different varieties and harvests, the main thing is that the hay is fresh, without rot and mold. You can also give oats, chopped vegetables, in particular, they are very fond of carrots and cabbage leaves, they will not refuse apple peel. Rye bread and oatmeal are eaten with pleasure. It is good to put salt in the pet's feeder, they love to lick it very much.
On average, an adult alpaca should eat feed per day, the average weight of which is approximately 1–2% of the body weight of the animal itself, which is approximately 25–28 kg of feed per month. The main thing is to make sure that your pet does not overeat, alpaca obesity is very bad for his health in general.
From time to time it is necessary to feed your pupil with special vitamin and mineral complexes, it will also be nice to sometimes add dry kelp to your pet's diet - this is a storehouse of natural salts and minerals. In addition, courses of antiparasitic therapy should be carried out at least once a month.
Hygiene. These animals are not only cute and beautiful, they are also very clean. You don't need to worry about pet's wastes all over the place where your pet grazes. The fact is that it is customary for these smart and neat living creatures to relieve themselves in a specially designated place for this, then, most likely, your pet will choose one of the corners of your site as a restroom and will regularly visit it.
As for swimming, we can say that the alpaca is simply not indifferent to water, it will happily stand meekly while you wash it, watering it with a hose. Even if you just spray her with water, she will also be incredibly happy about it. But such washing will practically not affect the appearance of the wool, except that there will be no dirt on it. In order for her fur to always look beautiful and well-groomed and to be fluffy, it is necessary to regularly clean the wool with sand. Such procedures should be done at least once a week.
Hair and claw trimming. Your pet will have to trim every year as its coat grows at a rate of approximately 14–20 cm per year. Such haircuts should be carried out somewhere around the middle of spring, so that their warm fur coat has already recovered before the first cold weather, but in no case cut them completely bald, as you risk spoiling the future fur.
Also, due attention will need to be paid to the limbs of the animal, at least once every 10-15 days, he needs to trim the claws.
Interesting facts about the alpaca animal
Everyone knows that alpaca fur is very expensive and of high quality, but the fact that in ancient times they supplied people with another very valuable product is another matter. The whole secret is that alpaca is not just a valuable fur and a producer of raw materials for warm clothes. Even the waste products of the animal were in demand, manure was used as fuel.
Under the concept of "Inca gold" was meant alpaca fur, previously it was the local currency, but today it is an expensive export commodity. In the modern world, the animal itself has found application; every day, such a method of treating children with autism or other mental disorders, such as alpacotherapy, is gaining more and more popularity. An animal may not be able to eradicate the problem, but it can give children a lot of new positive emotions - it can, practice has shown that after children communicate with this mammal, their psychological and emotional state reaches a new level.
Alpaca purchase and price
The price for one individual of this mammal ranges from 160,000 to 400,000 rubles.
More information about alpaca in the following video:
