Alpacas - Behaviour part 1

Alpacas are social herd animals and should always be kept with others of their kind. They are gentle and elegant, inquisitive and observant. As they are a prey animal, rather than a predator, they are cautious and will understandably be nervous if they feel threatened. They like their own space and don't appreciate another alpaca (or human) getting too close, especially from behind. They will warn the intruder away by threatening to spit, or by spitting, or by kicking. Some alpacas kick, some don't – but yes, they all spit.

Spitting is reserved for other alpacas, not for humans, but sometimes the human can get in the line of fire, or the alpaca aims badly and misses the intended target. The spit is not pleasant: it is the contents of the stomach – green (regurgitated grass) – and smells foul.

Alpacas don't like their heads being touched. Once they know their owners, and feel confident around them, they will probably allow their backs and necks to be touched, but they won't appreciate being grabbed, especially by boisterous children. If an owner need to catch an alpaca, the neck offers a good handle – and holding the neck firmly between the arms is the best way to restrain the animal.

To help alpacas control their internal parasites they have a communal dung pile, which they do not graze. Generally, males have much tidier dung piles than females who tend to stand in a line and all go at once!

Sheep baa, cows moo and alpacas hum. Different animals have different voices, but basically it is a "mmm" sound. However, they make other sounds as well as humming. When danger is present they sound the alarm call, a high pitched shriek, for instance. Some breeds are known to make a sound similar to a "Wark" noise when excited, and they stand proud with their tails sticking out and their ears in a very alert position. Strange dogs – and even cats – can trigger this reaction. (They recognise domestic cats for what they are – a relation of the puma, a natural predator of the alpaca in South America.)

When males fight they also scream, a warbling bird-like cry, presumably intended to terrify the other combatant. Fighting is to determine dominance, and therefore the right to mate the females in the herd, and it is triggered by testosterone. This is why males are often kept in separate paddocks – when two dominant males get together war breaks out!


source : hydroponicsearch