Day 4

Causes of Death

• There are no major predators for the alpaca. But they will sometimes come across domestic dogs, Andean foxes, condors, pumas, coyotes, wolves, and large cats.

• There is a pecking order for male alpacas. They compete to stand near the females and will sometimes use their fighting teeth.

• Llamas and alpacas are affected by a wide range of neurologic diseases, including listeriosis, polioencephalomalacia, encephalitis caused by West Nile virus and equine herpesvirus, and meningeal worm.

• Alpacas can also die by heat exhaustion.

Competition

• Within the species there may be fighting between males over herd dominance and mating rites

• Alpacas are pretty peaceful animal's and do not compete with other animals outside of their species.

• In their species they compete over standing close to the females and dominance.

• The invasive aspergillosis is a disease that affects their respiratory system. There are no invasive species to the alpaca.

IUCN Rating

• Least Concern (LC)

• Population: there are about 4 million alpacas

• There is an upward trend in alpaca population

Impact of Humans

• Humans use alpacas for their hair, and once they are no longer wanted for their coats, many are slaughtered for food.

• Human raising and shearing them can pose a danger for the future of their health because there are some alpaca farms that mishandle them.

• Alpacas have lived alongside humans for over 6000 years and were historically domesticated for their ultra-fine fiber. 

• Alpaca pastures are used to keep the alpacas safe with fencing and security, as without this their only defense is to run.