Guest blog by B-Twin
When Robin first mentioned that she was hoping to have a few more guest blogs to help lessen the workload now that PEGASUS has decided to go on a Take No Prisoners Rampage I felt quite confident. After all, I have a farm. There is always something to talk about. (And yes, I talk to the sheep, horses and dogs an awful lot! Haha) But then I was caught. Yikes. What do I talk about? However, Robin being Robin she had a sneaky plan* which, quite frankly, ranks fairly high on the Tricksy Evil Cow Plot Rankings.
She asked if I could blather** on about alpaca or something. “What are they like?” she asked. “What sort of personalities do they have?” Innocent enough questions at the time, I thought. But she was actually researching. For the Damarian camelids in BELLS OF MAZAHAN (one of the “third” Damar stories)^. Of course PEGASUS is making sure that BELLS stays well under the covers at this stage but I am all for enabling its creation. So, a guest blog on alpaca it is!
First up, in case you aren’t really sure about the differences between Alpaca and Llama then please pay attention now.
In a nutshell: The main differences between Llama and Alpaca are that Llamas are bigger, have curvier ears and were originally bred as pack animals. There are several fleece types. I like to think of Alpaca as the “sheep” of the Andes. They were bred for their fleece (two major types) as well as for meat. Alpaca and Llama can crossbreed (the results of which are treated with disdain). They are the two domesticated species of the South American camelid group (the other two being Vicuna and Guanaco).
Alpaca and spitting: Alpaca do eject the contents of their modified rumen in what we would call “spit”. It’s half digested grass and it smells vile. However, 95% of spit cases are alpaca-alpaca. Which means that if you are spat on it is because you a) got in between 2 alpaca having “issues” or; b) you got too close to a very protective mother with her cria or; c) you happen to be near the alpaca which is the 1 in 100 that is a Grumpy Sod. ^^
And, technically, the plural of Alpaca is … Alpaca…. Just like sheep. ;)
Llama (Lama lama) (more pics behind the Clicky Llama Link)
Alpaca (Vicugna pacos- although it used to be Lama pacos)
*****
Donny At The Show.
Wandering about the farm trying to think of an anecdote that wasn’t just funny to me^^^, I remembered the time I took Donny to the Show.
Back in the Dawn of Time I started working with alpaca. Well – the ‘dawn of time’ relative to when alpaca were becoming very popular in Australia. I had acquired a young male called Donatello from where I worked. Please note that he was so named because of the artist and not the cartoon Ninja Turtle. (You would be surprised how many people at the time – in the 90s – thought it was because of the blinkin’ turtle!!)
Donny was the product of a grumpy mother and a sweetie-pie father. He had a lovely temperament even as a cria§. This was what he looked like just after he was born:
Baby alpaca do inspire a certain amount of squee don’t they? :D His markings were so artistic – like flicks of a paintbrush. I tried to convince my boss, who owned him at the time, to name him after a particular painter – can’t recall exactly who – but it was a no-go. In desperation I went for Donatello. Yes, I know he was primarily a sculptor§§ but she liked the name so I was happy.
As he grew he was turning out quite nicely and so I decided to take him to a show that was near Melbourne. It was going to be quite a long trip (at the time it seemed like a long trip) and I wasn’t confident at that stage to borrow the work vehicle and trailer just to haul one alpaca to this show. What to do? In South America they have this system of restraining alpaca that involves letting them sit down and then looping a rope around their hind end so that they can’t extend their back legs and therefore stand up. Since they stand by lifting their hind legs first then this is enough (usually) to restrain them. Alpaca also have a neat trick of sitting down when they travel. The grand plan was to make him sit, wrap the rope around and then place him on the back seat of my little sedan – a Datsun Bluebird§§§. Well the plan was grand. The execution was….. errr… rather a process. Wrestling an alpaca onto the back seat of a car, restrained or not, is awkward and tricky. But by then (6am on the day of the show) I was committed to the course of action. (It was not one of my brightest ideas I’ll admit.)
Eventually he was safely ensconced on the back seat and off we set. He sat there the whole trip and whined. Yes, alpaca whinge. It sounds just a person – “nnnnnnnnnn”. Often with rising inflection at the end. I suspect he wasn’t all that thrilled with the winding road we were on. Either that or it was the alpaca version of “Are we there yet?!” !! (The chance he might throw up never occurred to me as alpaca don’t vomit unless they are extremely ill. It is very rare.)
And no, I don’t have a picture of this….. I recall being busy at the time!
But we arrived safe and sound§§§§. He behaved beautifully in the ring and we walked out with a Reserve Champion sash. At the end of the day the other exhibitors generously assisted me in loading him back in the car.
We stayed overnight at a relative’s place. The next day was an unexpected challenge. I had to get the alpaca into the car by myself. This had not been counted on. I thought that there would be other helping hands. Ooops. A lot of cussing and sweating ensued. Oh, and to compound the situation it was drizzling rain. Wet alpaca in a car for a 3 hour trip was not something I wanted. However, loading was achieved eventually and we set off homeward bound. This time I decided it best to avoid the “scenic route” since he had not enjoyed the bends. As we travelled along one of the main roads in Melbourne he looked out the passenger window (and whinged) at all the cars going past. At one particular set of lights I noticed a car full of young men behind me. Their eyes were almost out on stalks. All they could see of course was the fluffy head and fluffy neck sticking up from the back seat of a Datsun. I thought it was funny. LOL
Nowadays Donny is a grumpy old boy, defending the lambs from predators in the paddock. He wouldn’t win any shows now and he avoids cars… unless the vehicle involved is delivering food.
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* a downright ferrety plan if truth be told!
**possibly an exaggeration. I’m not quite as talented as Robin in the writing department. Although this entry does have Robin-inspired footnotes – for the sake of continuity.
^ Ooops! Spoilers! Muahahaha
^^ If you happen to have the misfortune of being caught in the crossfire then you need to have a shower immediately otherwise the smell will follow you around….. And soak your clothing in Napisan for 24 hours. Half digested grass stains dreadfully.
^^^ hopefully.
§ baby alpaca
§§ I read one commentary that said later in his life his technique resembled brush strokes. ;) Works for me!
§§§ Actually, that little Bluebird saw some pretty serious action in the animal transportation department. The first case it had was when I had a pet lamb called Petal. She and her sister (Rose) were only very small when their mother died. I had Petal with me at work where I lived. I used to take her to Melbourne perched on the front passenger seat. I suppose I used to put a towel on the seat to protect the velour but I can’t recall exactly. There was only ever one minor “toiletry incident” that occurred too. Now, of course, I shudder at the memory of travelling nearly 200km with an unrestrained lamb on the seat! She was very good though. There was one truck driver who, when stopped at a red light, looked down and did a double take to see a lamb on the front seat of a sedan. Hehe.
There were several times also when cria were transported between home and work. They were put in the back seat. Although it was always difficult to get them to stay there. Like all pets they wanted to be up front with “Mum”!
§§§§ With no “accidents”. Of any kind. Alpaca don’t do that when they are sitting. Handy, eh? ;) There was always the risk he may start spitting though. I can’t remember exactly but I probably reasoned that a) he wasn’t an animal inclined to spit and b) he most likely didn’t get dinner the night before so there was nothing to actually spit. Or else I never thought of it and boy was I lucky!!
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