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Funny Habits of Alpacas
(Voir cette page en français)
If you notice your healthy alpaca laying dead still, on his side, belly facing the sun, don’t panic. He may just be sunbathing. They do this often, especially in warm weather when a cool breeze on the belly would feel nice for anyone. On some occasions your alpaca will be so lost in his own little world that you can walk right up to him before he will jump to his feet and run away.
When alpacas get upset they will "drop their lip". The bottom lip will become all droopy and fall away exposing the bottom teeth and gums. Some alpacas will take pieces of hay, grass or leaves into their mouths and just hold it there for extra effect. Saliva will sometimes drip from the bottom lip as well. If all this sounds rather pathetic, it is. They are sulking. Don't worry about it. They have probably just come off second best in a disagreement with another alpaca and they will get over it in a few minutes. (Often the sulking alpaca will have a few globs of green spit on their face as evidence of the disagreement...!).
Alpacas love to roll. There will be spots in the paddock which become bare patches over time and your alpacas will line up to wait for their turn (except the bossy ones, that is. They just barge right in...!) If it's been raining, those bare patches will be mud baths - they roll anyway!.
If you are doing some planting, fixing a fence or just messing about, it won't be too long before you have an audience. Alpacas like to know what's going on and more often than not, they will all be there lined up along the fence checking out your handy work. Likewise if you leave an item in the paddock, like a tool or a piece of clothing, each alpaca will ensure the item is thoroughly looked over, sniffed and tasted before being delegated to their "boring items" list. They will revisit the item every now and again in case it might become edible.
Some alpacas really love water and like to keep cool when it's hot. They will dance in a sprinkler or dunk their feet in a water trough. If the water trough is big enough or if you have a dam... they'll sit in it!.
Alpaca crias (babies), like to play rough and will test their moms to the limit. A favorite game is to get as far away from mom as possible, then turn and run straight back at her at top speed. Mom's nice soft fleece is like a big pillow for the cria to bounce into. The moms seem to tolerate this game quite well. A cria who chooses the wrong mom to run into, however, will receive a face full of air spit for his trouble.
They are "Super Sleuths". Adult alpacas like to play games as well. If you're walking in the paddock they'll play detective and sneak up behind you. You know they are there because you can hear them, but if you turn suddenly, every alpaca will be head down grazing or looking off in another direction - just so you won't know they were following you.
Alpacas will most likely put a smile on your face!
Source: Intrepid Alpacas - Tasmania, Australia
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