#1 One Of The Alpacas On My School Farm Gave Birth Yesterday. Nugget The Chicken Is Her Godmother
Talking about the sweet nature of alpacas - they're gentle with people and easily trainable, which allows them to work as certified therapy animals. Several organizations throughout the United States breed and train alpacas to be used specifically for therapeutic purposes. And though we haven't tried it yet, we have no doubts that cuddling these charming animals would relieve anxiety and fatigue one hundred percent.
Besides being so stinkin' cute, alpacas also have a vast library of hilarious sounds used for communication:
- Humming: humming is mainly used between a mother alpaca and its baby, just like singing a lullaby!
- Snorting: alpacas employ a high-brow snort when other individuals are invading their personal space.
- Grumbling: just like an old person, alpacas grumble when someone stands too close to them.
- Clucking: like hens, alpacas tend to cluck when they are worried for their babies.
- Screaming: as a good scream should be, the one emitted by an alpaca is extremely deafening and disturbing. Alpacas will scream when displeased with handling or threatened by a potential enemy.
- Screeching: if screaming isn't enough, alpacas choose their final weapon, which is a bird-like cry. This sound is mostly used when male alpacas are fighting over territory or the ladies. When a female alpaca tries a screech, it comes out more like a growl, which is even more terrifying.
#7 Here's A Photo Of Two Extremely Photogenic Alpacas To (Hopefully) Brighten Up Your Day
One of the less obvious reasons for keeping alpacas as pets or farm animals is their ability to perform as livestock guardians. Who could have guessed that these sweet-natured camelids are more than capable of protecting flocks of sheep by keeping small predators like foxes at bay. Fierce!
Alpacas are also one of the cleanest livestock animals - they don't have any strong smell and have a curious way of 'waste disposal.' Alpacas use something called a communal dung pile where all of the individuals poop and never graze. Male alpacas are tidier in forming their dung piles, while all the females in the herd defecate simultaneously, forming a line of poop. Anyway, this bizarre behavior allows alpacas to be house-trained.
Alpacas carry their babies, or cria, for about 11 months - it's usually just one baby, with twins being very rare. Right after the birth, both the baby and the mama start humming to each other, thus forming a bond. Crias can stand on their own wobbly legs about an hour after birth. Though alpacas don't stay as babies for a long time, they can keep you company for about 15 to 20 years, as it is the expected lifespan.
