Trivia question for Sep-06-2011

Olivia saw these cuddly furry creatures and instantly asked if she could some day have one… after she digested the answer, she decided to feature them in her trivia.  These are mainly domesticated animals; first breed 5,000 years ago.  It only occurs as semi-wild stock in a remote region.

These guys are social herd animals that live in family groups consisting of a territorial alpha male, females and their young. They warn the herd about intruders by making sharp, noisy inhalations that sound like a high pitched bray. The herd may attack smaller predators with their front feet, and can spit and kick. These animals use a communal dung pile, where they do not graze. This behavior tends to limit the spread of internal parasites. Generally, males have much tidier, and fewer dung piles than females who tend to stand in a line and all go at once. One female approaches the dung pile and begins to urinate and/or defecate, and the rest of the herd often follows. Because of their preference for using a dung pile, some of these animals have been successfully house-trained

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what this animal is and where they can still be found as a semi-wild species?  Also, tell us what one of their main predators are which like to stalk them while they graze?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Hannah Almeida for being the first with the correct answer. The furry critter we featured is the Alpaca. Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance. Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 11,500 ft to 16,000 ft above sea-level, throughout the year, which is the only area where you can still find ‘semi-wild’ alpaca’s.

In their natural range, Alpaca have to be on the lookout for Puma’s who have learned to stalk them and to attack while they graze. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber.  Here is more on these wooly mammals: Alpaca

Thanks for playing along 😉