identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03928E699A43FFCBD786FD8AF8BEFAD2.text	03928E699A43FFCBD786FD8AF8BEFAD2.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Camelidae Gray 1821	<div><p>Family CAMELIDAE (CAMELS)</p> <p>• Medium-sized to large mammals with forequarters larger than hindquarters, long, small head, slender muzzle with split upper lip, thin neck, padded feet with two toes and nails rather than hooves, and woolly pelage.</p> <p>• 130-410cm.</p> <p>• Palearctic, Afrotropical, and Neotropical Regions.</p> <p>• Desert, semi-arid to arid plains, grassland, steppe, and shrubland; from sea level to 4800 m.</p> <p>• 3 genera, 6 species (including 3 domestic), 9 taxa.</p> <p>• 1 subspecies Critically Endangered, 1 subspecies Endangered; none Extinct since 1600.</p></div> 	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A43FFCBD786FD8AF8BEFAD2	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
03928E699A41FFC8D579FE7AF5F5F837.text	03928E699A41FFC8D579FE7AF5F5F837.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Lama guanicoe (Statius Muller 1776)	<div><p>1.</p> <p>Guanaco</p> <p>Lama guanicoe</p> <p>French: Guanaco / German: Guanako / Spanish: Guanaco</p> <p>Taxonomy. Camelus guanicoe Muller, 1776,</p> <p>Patagonia, Argentina.</p> <p>The Guanaco is a direct descendent of Hemiauchenia, a genus of camelid that migrated from North to South America three million years ago. Two million yearold fossils of L. guanicoe can be found today in Argentine Pleistocene deposits and others in strata dated 73,000 -97,000 years ago in Bolivia. Phylogenetically, L. guanicoe is monophyletic. Historically, four sub-species of Guanacos were recognized, albeit based upon incomplete information on skull measurements, coat coloration, distribution, and body size. However, recent molecular studies using mtDNA cytochrome-b sequences, recognize only two subspecies, placing the Peruvian and northern Chilean populations in subspecies cacsilensis and assigning the remainder of the clade to subspecies guanicoe. A significant biogeographic revision of the two valid subspecies is needed, especially an analysis and classification of populations on a regional and ecosystem basis.</p> <p>Subspecies and Distribution.</p> <p>L.g.guanicoeMiller,1776—Bolivia,Chile,WArgentina(fromJujuytoSPatagonia),TierradelFuego,andNavarinoI.</p> <p>L. g. cacsilensis Lonnberg, 1913 — N Peru to N Chile between 8° S and 22° S. Introduced from Argentina to Staats I (Falkland Is) during the late 1930s.</p> <p>Descriptive notes. Head-body 190-215 cm,tail 23-27 cm, shoulder height 90-130 cm; weight 90-140 kg. Measurements vary because of their wide distribution and differences between subspecies. Guanacos are extremely striking, with their contrasting colors, large, alert brown eyes, streamlined form, and energetic pace. Described by Darwin as “an elegant animal, with a long, slender neck and fine legs,” itis one of South America’s largest terrestrial mammals, reaching its maximum size in southern Chile and smallest in northern Peru. There is no obvious sexual dimorphism in size, color, or structure, except for the presence of large canines in the male. The color of the woolly pelage is similar for all Guanacos, varying from light brown with ocher yellow tones in the north to dark reddish brown in the south. The chest, front of neck, belly, and internal portion of the legs are more or less pure white, the head gray to black. Guanaco wool is prized for its softness and warmth, and second only to that of the Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna). The pelts from “chulengos” (newborns and less than one-year-old juveniles) are particularly soft. Like their domestic descendant the Llama (L. glama), the Guanaco is double-coated, with coarse guard hair (3-5% offleece) and a soft undercoat. The undercoatfibers range 12-17 (average 14-16) microns in diameter. Fiber (strand) length is 35 mm, the same as the Vicuna. Average fleece weights vary from 322 g to 350 g. Fiber diameter increases about two microns from one to seven year of age. Value of shorn, unclean wool is US $ 100-200/kg and US $ 400/kg for cleaned and dehaired wool. Guanacos have “thermal windows” in the front and rear flanks (underarms) that are nearly without wool. Both wild and captive Guanacos may live as long as 28 years.</p> <p>Habitat. The Guanaco inhabits environments from sea level up to 4500 m or more, characterized by highly seasonal weather, with snow cover or dry winters, cold to freezing temperatures, moderate to high winds, and low precipitation. These combine to produce high evapo-transpiration and dry conditions that lead to low primary productivity. At a broad scale, Guanacos inhabit four of the ten major habitats found in South America: desert and xeric shrublands, montane and lowland grasslands, savannas and shrublands, and temperate forests, which botanically include the categories of Puna, pre-Puna, Andean steppe, Chacoan grasslands and shrublands, Espinal, and the southern Pampa. They inhabit flatlands, hilly foothills, and mountainous environments. In the arid habitats of southern Chile, isolated mesic subsystems were the preferred plant community accounting for 85% of female sightings and 60% ofterritorial males. These “vegas” (meadows) were not only preferred for their productive, higher-quality succulent forage, but for females a major influence for their selection was the avoidance ofsites and habitats favored by Pumas (Puma concolor).</p> <p>Food and Feeding. The Guanaco is a non-specialized, opportunistic, intermediate, mixed-feeding herbivore, foraging on a wide variety of plants. It is basically a grazer, but also browses. When the availability of the herbaceous strata decreases or becomes unavailable, especially during winter, Guanacos feed mainly on the shrub or tree strata. This flexibility as a generalist to change diet according to availability or preference extends to eating epiphytes, lichens, fungi, cacti, succulent plants, fruit, flowers, and leaves. Their summer diet in a mixed habitat of southern Chile averaged 62% grasses (mainly Festuca), 15% browse (Nothofagusspp.), and 11% forbs, which were particularly important in the spring. In another study on Tierra del Fuego their diet was made up of 90% grasses and forbs. In austral coastal forests of southern Chile, Guanaco browsing significantly diminishes the rate of regeneration of the commercially important southern beech tree (Nothofagus pumilio) and was a limiting factor on initial growth of seedlings and saplings (89% were browsed), although the Guanaco’s diet was less than 10% shrubs and trees. At Torres del Paine National Park, at the western edge of the Patagonia, vegas were highly utilized in summer (86% ofall feeding observations) and preferred by all feeding Guanacos (n = 1659) in family groups, whereas all other vegetation types were avoided (shrub = 3%, upland = 10%). Adult females in family groups showed the greatest feeding preference for vegas, followed by chulengos, yearlings, and adult males. In Argentine Patagonia, Guanaco densities are low and negatively related to domestic sheep numbers. Guanacos and sheep largely overlap in their forage preferences, with over 80% oftheir diets being identical. Histological analysis of fecal samples revealed that Guanacos and sheep were intermediate herbivores feeding on a wide range of grasses and forbs, capable of changing their diets seasonally, and their food niches greatly overlapped particularly in summer when food resources were more scarce than in spring.</p> <p>Breeding. Nearly all females breed at two years of age and have their first offspring as three-year olds. At Torres del Paine, Chile males began breeding after obtaining a feeding territory when they were 2—4 years of age. Essentially all breeding took place within feeding territories during the summer. A high percentage (88%) of males established a territory for three or fewer years (average 2-3), although some males held territories for as long as eight years. Few solo males became family group males (19%), that is, 81% remained non-reproductive during their territorial tenure. Those males leaving male groups to become territorial, only 35% directly became family group territorial males while 65% became solo territorial males. Like other camelids, Guanacos are induced ovulators. The territorial mating period was from early Decemberto early January (91% of 88 observed copulations), so males defended their feeding territories for nine weeks before and eight weeks after the mating season. Mature female Guanacos give birth to a single offspring each year after a gestation of about 11-7 months (345-360 days). Only three sets of twins were documented in over two decades offield studies at Torres del Paine during which several thousand newborns were observed; in all cases no more than one survived past the first week. Half of all births occur in the last two weeks of spring. The timing of parturition varies with latitude. At Torres del Paine the birth season occurred from late November to early January. Parturition occurs during the day in Patagonia with 78% of births between 10:00 h and 14:00 h, when the young are able to dry during favorable midday temperature conditions. Birth weight averages 13 kg (7-15 kg) and shows marked density dependence, with lower birth weights at higher population densities. Low weight at birth is related to high rates of mortality. Newborns are very precocious. They can stand as early as 5-76 minutes after birth and can run within hours. Young are weaned at 6-8 months and are expelled from family groups by the territorial male when they are 11-15 months old. Dispersing yearling males join male groups and yearling females join family groups or female groups. Monitoring of 409 radio-collared chulengos at Torres del Paine over a seven-year period revealed an average first-year survival rate of 38% (31-55%). Puma predation was the primary cause of mortality of young Guanacos, especially in the first two weeks of life. Relative to their availabilities, chulengos were preyed upon about four times as much as adults. With every centimeter increase in winter snowfall, the risk of chulengo mortality increased by almost 6% because of greater vulnerability to predation. Out of 731 Guanaco skulls collected at Torres del Paine from 1979 to 1988, 33% showed clear evidence of having been killed by Pumas, and that was considered an underestimate. Observations of farmed Guanacos revealed that allosuckling (nursing of non-filial offspring) comprised 6% of all suckling events by 62% of calves and was allowed by 52% of dams. Dams whose calves performed allosuckling exhibited poorer body condition, suggesting juvenile Guanacos allosuckled to compensate for nutritional deficiencies. Preliminary research on the cytochrome-b gene sequence has found no evidence of hybridization between Guanacos and Vicunas.</p> <p>Activity patterns. Observations of both wild and captive Guanacos have shown peaks of eating, bedding, and ruminating in the morning and again later in the afternoon. Wild Guanacos spent a greater proportion of their time moving and less time resting, probably the result of the need to forage more and maintain intraspecific social interactions. At Torres del Paine during the summer, Guanacos in family groups in vega habitat fed 54% of time, rested 45%, and were involved in other behaviors 1% of the time (3084 focal observations). There was no difference in the activity-time budgets of 23 marked solo territorial males compared to family-group territorial males based on social group type, total number of females, total number of Guanacos present, or age of the ter ritorial males. The pattern suggested thatterritorial male behaviors were related to resource defense rather than to any direct ability to attract potential mates. Males, in all categories, spent most of their time foraging (65% of overall time budget). However, based upon habitat type there was a significant difference in time spent in aggressive and in miscellaneous activities (defecation, alertness to observer, scratching). Most aggressive encounters and miscellaneous activity occurred on hilltops of areas dominated by mata barrosa shrubs (Mulinum spinosum). Vigilance patterns were assessed in Chubut, Argentina for Guanacos occupying a tall shrubland covering 40-60% of the area, where 40% of the mortality was from Puma predation. Family group territorial males devoted more time to scanning their surroundings and less time feeding than did females, and both sexes benefited from grouping by reducing the time invested in vigilance and increasing foraging time. Males reduced the time invested in vigilance as the number of females in the group increased, while the presence of chulengos increased territorial male vigilance. However, in closed habitats collective vigilance increased with the number of adults but decreased with the number of chulengos. Although male and female Guanacos differed in their time allocation, results supported the hypothesis that both sexes received significant anti-predator benefits from group living. Adjustments in Guanaco body posture can modify the exposure of body surface area H—22%. Guanacos can decrease and increase body heat loss through radiation and convection by “closing” and “opening” their thermal windows in the axillary and flank regions. Researchers report that when ambient temperatures were 0-10°C, animals used postural adjustments to decrease the area of the thermal windows by 5-7% oftotal surface area. At temperatures greater than 10°C they increased the area of the thermal windows up to 22% to regulate heat loss through radiation and convection. When the temperature was below 0—1°C Guanacos bedded and huddled together, often with their hindquarters into the wind.</p> <p>Movements, Home range and Social organization. Intensively studied Guanaco populations have been either migratory or sedentary. In the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve (Argentina), both occur but most are sedentary, while on the island of Tierra del Fuego (Chile) both occur, but most are migratory. In Argentina populations have been reported to be migratory over short distances, altitudinal-facultative migratory, and strictly sedentary. On Tierra del Fuego sedentary populations were incompletely so, because during the winter when territories were snow covered, many or all of the family group members abandoned the site, leaving the territorial male by himself or only with a few members. The following spring the male regained his group membership. Although some local populations now appear to be sedentary at Torres del Paine, in the 1970s and 1980s the population was completely migratory. In those decades essentially all animals abandoned the summer range and moved in late autumn 8-18 km to where the snow was less deep and browse species were more abundant. The following spring the animals returned to their summer range. Daily movements of family groups on Tierra del Fuego were highly predictable: days were spent in open meadows feeding and nights were spent resting in the adjacent closed Nothofagus forest. In the open habitat of Torres del Paine, the animals spent days on territories and nights on adjacent slopes or hill tops. The social organization of Guanacos is similar to that of Vicunas, except that territorial, resource-defense polygyny is seasonal instead of yearround and there is fluid movement of females between male territories. The social units of Guanacos for the migratory population at Torres del Paine were family groups, male groups, solo males, mixed groups, and female groups. Typical family groups were composed of one adult territorial male, seven females, and four juveniles less than 15 months old. Group size and composition frequently changed. Family groups occupied feeding territories 7-13 ha in size, which were defended by the resident male. With minor adjustments to the center of activity from year-to-year,territory locations were the same, spatially discrete, and non-overlapping. There was no indication of defended sleeping territories as found with Vicunas. Although family groups were “open” in the sense that females couldjoin and leave at will, the territorial male determined whether or not females were accepted into or rejected from the group. In a study of marked territorial males at Torres del Paine, most (73%, n = 60) returned to the same territorial location from year-to-year. Those males (27%) that shifted territorial locations showed no pattern in changes between solo territorial males and family-group territorial males. Male groups were composed of non-breeding, non-territorial, immature and mature males. Group size was highly variable (3-60) and averaged about 25. Male groups lived apart from family groups, in male-group zones. Solo males were mature males with an established territory, but commonly without females; the mean “group size” for solo males was three. Mixed groups formed in winter and included Guanacos of both sexes and all age classes. They averaged 60 animals with as many as 500. Female groups were gatherings of females of all ages and occasionally included a small number of immature males. These groups came together temporarily immediately before and after the winter migratory season. Female group size was highly variable, and could number 10-90 animals. At high population densities, the size of Guanaco territories can decrease significantly. Large female groups and their chulengos can shift daily from territory to territory. The annual cycle of migratory Guanacos at Torres del Paine was divisible into four general socioecological periods: summer territorial, autumn transitional, winter aggregational, and spring transitional. The summer period was the longest, from mid-October to the end of March. This was reproductive season, during which males defended territories and when birth and mating occurred. The summer territorial social units were 35% family groups, 15% male groups, 42% solo male groups, and 8% female groups. Most of the animals (65%) were in family groups; 21% were in male groups, 7% were solo males, and 3% were in female groups. The autumn-transitional period was short, lasting from early April to late May, and Guanacos were mainly in family groups and male groups. During this period the territorial system broke down as the Guanacos began migrating to their winter range. The winter aggregational period extended from early June through late August. In this period, the social units were primarily mixed groups (39%) and female groups (41%) with most of the animals (80%) in mixed groups. The spring-transitional period started in late August and ended in mid-October. At this time all social units were found with equal proportion of Guanacos in family groups and male groups. Differences in the weather from year-to-year, especially at the beginning and end of winter, caused slight variations in the timing of animal movements, formation of social groups, and migration. Snow storms and snow cover were especially important in triggering sudden movements west to the winter grounds.</p> <p>Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The [UCN Red List. Northern subspecies cacsilensis is recognized as Endangered on The 2006 IUCN Red List with about 4000 remaining.The Guanaco is the most widely distributed native artiodactyl in South America. It originally ranged from the Andean areas of northern Peru, south to Bolivia and adjacent parts of Paraguay and down to Tierra del Fuego, covering most of Argentina and Chile. Based upon the carrying capacity of the territory Guanacos originally occupied, the pre-Hispanic Guanaco population in southern South America has been estimated to be 30-50 million. Indiscriminate hunting and competition with sheep, particularly during the past century, caused a steep decline in numbers. In the Argentine Patagonia the introduced sheep reached 22 million head within 50 years in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Today, the best estimate of the total Guanaco population is 536,000-840,000 animals. Although still widely distributed, the Guanaco’s current distribution is less than 40% of its original range, with remaining populations often isolated and fragmented. The killing of young chulengos for their soft skins has had a serious impact on Guanaco populations, especially in Patagonia. Some 444,000 skins were exported from Argentina between 1972 and 1979. The number dropped to 10,000 annually by 1984, reflecting decreased availability. Conservation classification and laws regarding the remaining Guanaco populations vary from nation to nation, based primarily upon total numbers and without regard to subspecies. Percentage of total remaining numbers and conservation classification by countriesis as follows: Argentina 87% (considered not endangered or potentially vulnerable), Chile 12% (vulnerable and protected), Bolivia 0-03% (endangered and protection in development), Paraguay 0-02% (endangered and not protected), and Peru 0-62% (endangered and active management being pursued). Thus at the national level, relict Guanaco populations are faced with potential extinction in three out of the five countries where they were found historically. In Argentina management plans are beginning to include utilization of the Guanaco for meat and wool. Today, around 35% of the high density populations identified in Argentina are under programs that call for live-shearing Guanacos for sustained use of their valuable wool. Also in Argentina, the country with the most Guanacos, a National Management Plan has been prepared and endorsed by the provinces with the highest Guanaco densities. However, less than 1% of the area in the Patagonian steppe is estimated to be under effective protection. Guanacosstill have a wide distribution, an apparently stable population trend, and large populations in protected areas. However, it is not uncommon that protected areas are in name only because they contain competing livestock, there are no wardens or guards, and poaching is common. Conservation priorities for the Guanaco include all of the following: improved and accurate population surveys; adequate habitat protection; regulation of hunting quotas; where feasible, live-shearing; protection of remnant populations from poaching (especially in Peru and northern Chile); more explicit goals and policies (for example in southern Argentina and Chile); confronting Patagonian land use practices, which focus on maximizing sheep numbers; addressing the need for unified laws and management schemes between countries; and finally and especially, the implementation of conservation oriented management at local, national, and international levels.</p> <p>Bibliography. Baldi, Lichtenstein et al. (2008), Baldi, Pelliza-Sbriller et al. (2004), Bank et al. (1999, 2002), Cavieres &amp; Fajardo (2005), Franklin (1974, 1975, 1982, 1983, 2005), Franklin &amp; Grigione (2005), Franklin, Bas et al. (1997), Franklin, Jonson et al. (1999), Franklin, Poncet &amp; Poncet (2005), Garay et al. (1995), Gonzalez et al. (2006), de Lamo et al. (1998), Marin, Casey et al. (2007), Marin, Spotorno et al. (2008), Marin, Zapata et al. (2007), Marino &amp; Baldi (2008), Montes et al. (2006), Nugent et al. (2006), Ortega &amp; Franklin (1988, 1995), Puig et al. (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001), Raedeke et al. (1979, 1988), Riveros et al. (2009), Sarno et al. (1999a, 1999b, 1999¢, 2001, 2003), Sosa etal. (2005), Stanley et al. (1994), Wheeler (1995a, 2006a, 2006b), Young &amp; Franklin (2004a, 2004b), Zapata et al. (2010).</p></div> 	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A41FFC8D579FE7AF5F5F837	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
03928E699A40FFCED0DBF7C0FB4BF492.text	03928E699A40FFCED0DBF7C0FB4BF492.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Lama glama (Linnaeus 1758)	<div><p>2.</p> <p>Llama</p> <p>Lama glama</p> <p>French: Lama / German: Lama / Spanish: Llama</p> <p>Taxonomy. Camelus glama Linnaeus, 1758,</p> <p>Peru, Andes.</p> <p>The Llama was selectively bred from the Guanaco (L. guanicoe) for use as a pack animal and producer of meat. It is regarded throughout the world as the premier symbol of South American fauna. With the possibility of more than one center, Llama domestication occurred 4000-4500 years ago in the South-Central Andes (northern Chile and north-western Argentina) and/or 4500-5500 ago in the Central Andes (Junin de los Andes, Argentina). It is often assumed and reported that the Lake Titacaca region was a core of Llama domestication, but supporting data are lacking from early archaeological sites. Osteological remains and DNA analysis document the origin of domestication to be within the range of the northern subspecies of Guanaco L. g. cacsilensis. From its points of domestication, archeological evidence reveals that breeding and herding of Llamas spread widely throughout the Andean region to intermountain valleys, cloud forest on the eastern slope of the Central Andes, southern coast of Peru, to the mountains of Ecuador. Llamas closely resemble their progenitor the Guanaco in almost all aspects of physiology, behavior, general morphology, and adaptability to a wide range of environments. There are no subspecies, but two distinct phenotypic breeds: Short-Woolled and Long-Woolled Llamas.</p> <p>Distribution. Llamas are found at 3800-5000 m above sea level in the Central Andes, from C Peru to W Bolivia and N Argentina. Llama distribution reached its apex during the expansion of the Inca Empire (1470-1532 ap), when pack trains were used to carry supplies for the royal armies to S Colombia and C Chile. Although originally indigenous and endemic to South America, Llamas have now been exported to countries around the world as a companion animal, featured in livestock shows, used for trekking and backpacking, cottage industry and home use ofits wool, and in North America increasingly utilized as a guard animal for protecting sheep and goats from canid predators.</p> <p>Descriptive notes. Head-body 180-229 cm, tail 18-22 cm, shoulder height 102-106 cm; weight 110-220 kg. Llamas are the largest of the four cameloids and tallest of all Neotropical animals. Classical, camelid-body shape with long slender necks, long legs, and small head compared to the body. Their pelage can be white, black, or brown with all intermediate shades occurring and a tendency for spots and irregular color patterns. Wild-type Llamas occur with Guanaco coloration. There are two distinct phenotypic breeds. SHORT-WOOLLED LLAMAS: Slim and long-bodied, with short coats and visible guard hairs, Short-Woolled Llamas are typically the breed utilized for carrying cargo and are the more common of the two. In the Altiplano regions of La Paz, Oruro, and Potosi Departments the proportion of Short-Woolled Llamas varies between 65% and 83%, while in the Peruvian highlands they represent 80% of the total Llama population. The fleece is low density, low weight (1-3 + 1-1 kg biennially), and relatively thicker fibers with high medullation of 77-88%. Medullation refers to the presence and degree of medulla at the center of the fiber, and high medullation is “undesirable” because the greater the medullation, the bigger the fiber in diameter and so less fine. LONG-WOOLLED LLAMAS: The less common (17-35%) of the two, this breed is compact, short-bodied, and the pelage has fewer guard hairs. Their wool is longer, covering the entire body, generally uniform, and soft to the touch. The fleece is heavier (2-8 + 1-1 kg), denser, and has finer fibers (26-28 microns) with medullation of 26-33%, and on the average wool coarser than the Alpaca (Vicugna pacos). Genetic studies have revealed that 40% of the Llama population shows signs of hybridization with Alpacas. Intentional hybridization has been especially common during the past 25 years both in South America and abroad with the aim of improving wool quality, fleece weight, and economic value. Unfortunately the outcome has been a major loss of pure genetic lines. Indigenous Quechua peoples in the Andes subdivide hybrids into “llamawari” (Llama-like) and “pacowari” (Alpaca-like) based upon physical appearance. Llama ears are banana-shaped (distinctively curved inward) and relatively long (14-16 cm). They are docile, intelligent, and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. Mature Llamas weigh an average of 140 kg with full body size reached by four years of age. There are no obvious differences between the sexes, but males tend to be slightly larger. The male prepuce is slightly bent down and directed posteriorly for urination. The female vulva is small, located immediately below the anus, with a nose-like structure pointing out from the base; the compact udderis in inguinal area with four small teats. Llamas are long-lived with a life span of 15-20 or more years. The Llama is woolly in appearance; individual fibers are often coarse, not homogeneous, and have a wide variation in diameter. Its fleece is the heaviest (1.8-3. 5 kg) of the four cameloids, but often of uneven quality. As with the other cameloids, Llama fleece lacks grease,is dry, highly hygroscopic, and naturally lanolin free. Through selective breeding and/or hybridization with Alpacas, some Llama bloodlines have finer-fibered fleeces. The typical Llama fleece is dominated by external guard hair covering (c.56% offleece with fiber diameter 50-70 microns) with an internal undercoat of smaller diameter fibers (c.44% with 25-30 microns). Llama wool is more variable in color and diameter than Alpaca wool. Due to its relative coarseness, [Llama wool has little textile value and is worth half the value of Alpaca wool. Llama woolis rougher to the touch, but with greater felting properties since the cuticle scales protrude more. However, because Llama wool is characteristically strong and warm, it is commonly used by indigenous families for making blankets, ponchos, carpets, rugs, shawls, rope, riding gear, sacks, and “costales"—bags tied to the back of Llamas and used for carrying cargo. Only c.40% of the Llama population is shorn annually because producers want heavy fleeces with long fibers to sell commercially. Some Llamas are not shorn for years because the fleece pads the back for carrying cargo. Annually there are c.1,122,667 kg of Llama wool produced in Peru (60%), Bolivia (34%), and relatively small amounts from Argentina and Chile. In Bolivia an estimated 70% is sold commercially and 30% used for home use. Although the textile industry prefers white, Llama fleeces are of different colors (47% solid, 27% mixed, 25% white). A major problem with Llama woolis its high medullation: without (20%), fragmented (37%), continuous (39%), and kemp/hair (4%). If the fleece wool is separated from different parts of the body and coarse fibers are removed, a favorable proportion of fine wool is obtained. There are no sustainable plans for genetic selection of animals with fine diameter of high value. Although the population of Llamas in Argentina is relatively low, fiber diameter is fine: 48% at 21 microns or less and only 16% at 25 microns and more.</p> <p>Habitat. In the Andean Altiplano where large numbers of Llamas are raised, the animals are a central part of the agro-pastoral system and the lifestyle of many people, since Llamas are heavily relied upon for carrying cargo and produce. In general these high-altitude grazing lands are low producing with annual production at 200-600 kg/ha for plains and mountainous zones and 600-2450 kg/ha for bofedales. The bofedal habitat is especially important for foraging Llamas during the dry season, yet fragile and susceptible to erosion if overgrazing is permitted.</p> <p>Food and Feeding. [lamas are considered by their indigenous herders to be extremely hardy because of their ability to prosper in desolate-Andean environments. They have similar feeding habits to Alpacas, but distinct enough to make joint husbandry compatible and possible. Herders view the land andits forage as a single valuable unit because it feeds their Llamas and Alpacas. Land ownership is not important, but traditional use and designated rights to graze particular areas is critical. Studies in the highlands of Peru and Chile on the botanical composition of the diets of Llamas feeding on wet (bofedales) and dry (gramadales) meadows found a high overlap with Alpaca and sheep feeding habits, but significantly differed from Alpacas in the summer (61%) and winter (74%) because the two camelids were managed by herders to minimize competition. Llamas had higher digestion coefficients than sheep of organic matter, crude protein, dry matter, and fiber fractions of bunchgrasses, important forage for Llamas. These feeding trials comparing the abilities of Llamas vs domestic sheep in digesting organic material ofvarious qualities revealed the coefficients of digestibility for low quality to be 51 vs. 41 (24% difference between the species), medium quality 60 vs. 52 (15%), high quality 73 vs. 75 (-=3%), high fiber 58 vs. 52 (12%), medium fiber 62 vs. 58 (7%), and low fiber 67 vs. 65 (3%). Thus Llamas were significantly more efficient than sheep when forage was low to medium quality and high in fiber. Maintenance energy requirements for a 108 kg Llama is 2% of its body weight, or 2-2 kg dry matter of forage per day.</p> <p>Breeding. The breeding season is from February to May. Males used for breeding are commonly familiar to the females, who when approached sit down in the copulatory position. Unfamiliar males usually have to chase the female and force her to recline. Research and extension agencies encourage herders to use one male with five females for three days, and then remove the male. The male is reintroduced 15 days later and the cycle is repeated until all females are bred. Gestation is 340-360 days. A single offspring is born, although exceptionally twins do occur. The female gives birth standing up, there is no licking of the neonate, and newborns can follow their mother within an hour. Llamas have a high potential for reproduction under good management: 85-95% annual reproductive rate on research and well-managed farms. However, in the Andes due to poor forage conditions frequently available to indigenous herders and the resulting poor condition of animals,fertility has been reported to be as low as 45-55%. In years of severe cold or droughts subadult mortality can be as high as 30-50%. Offspring regularly nurse up to the fifth month and are weaned by the herder at eight months, although if allowed to do so will continue to nurse irregularly until the female gives birth again the following year. Some females breed 8-10 days after parturition, but two to three weeks later is the norm. Mother Llamas are patient with suckling their young and some will accept nursing another female’s offspring. After weaning the young Llamas, some herders separate them from females until two years old, and then segregate them by sex. At three years of age a final selection is made for the best males to be sires with the balance to be used as pack animals or eventually meat. Females are bred at two and half years and not used as beasts of burden.</p> <p>Activity patterns. Daily activity patterns of Llamas are essentially the same as Alpacas. That is, after having spent the night in or next to a rudimentary stone corral adjacent to the family’s residence (often a single-room hut called “choza” made of stones with a thatched roof), the Llamas move out soon after sunrise to feed in the local highaltitude grasslands, moving and grazing often unattended by a herder, then return to the choza as darkness approaches. Activity budgets (percentage of time) of Llamas compared to sheep grazing on native Andean pasture dominated by favorable forage (Festuca dolichophylla), have shown that all other activities were similar, but that Llamas feed more (71% vs. 57%) and rested less (15% vs. 25%) than sheep.</p> <p>Movements, Home range and Social organization. [Llamas (as well as Alpacas) of South America exist within a society of indigenous herders, whose main societal features are seasonal migration, a scattered population without villages or urban centers for permanent residence, and whose social structure is centered around large families with strong ties. Rules and traditions exist within each community that often determines important aspects of herd management. For example, in some systems male [lamas are maintained apart from the female segment in distant community pastures, and then reunited for the breeding/rainy season from January through March. The female segmentis a mixed herd of reproducing and replacement females, young, and one-year-olds of both sexes. When the yearlings are 12-18 months old some herders make a preliminary selection for meat production or future reproduction. Another system used extensively is one in which breeding males are permanently kept with the mixed herds of females year-round. Invariably Llama herders also maintain a flock of sheep that offers an important source of food for the family. A problem, however, is that the sheep compete for forage with the Llamas, reduce the land’s carrying capacity, and increase the probability of overgrazing. Llama herd size averages 40-60 in the more heavily populated communities, compared to 120-180 Llamas in the Altiplano with fewer people. In contrast, average accompanying flocks of sheep average 40-70 animals in both areas.</p> <p>Status and Conservation. Bolivia has most (58%) of South America’s ¢.3-91 million Llamas, followed by Peru (37%), Argentina (4%), and Chile (1%); nearly all of which (99%) are found in indigenous communities. The total number of Llamas has increased 12% during the past decade. In Bolivia 370,000-500,000 families raise Llamas, in Peru 297,414, Argentina 2803, 80% of which have fewer than 90 animals. There are no known wild or feral populations. Llamas were intertwined with the rise and spread of the Inca Empire since its beginning in the Peruvian Andes in the early 1200s. With the help of Llamas, the Incas built sturdy walls, buildings, irrigation systems, and some 8700 km of roads throughout their empire. These roads eventually extended around 2500 km from Ecuador south to central Chile and parts of Argentina. Before the Spanish Conquest of Peru, Llamas numbered into the multimillions, but were severely decimated during the post-conquest period. While early Spanish chroniclers recorded the “virtual disappearance” of these animals within a hundred years, that was obviously an exaggeration. Indigenous and endemic to the South America, [Llamas have now been exported to countries around the world as a companion animal, featured in livestock shows, used for trekking and backpacking, and increasingly utilized as a guard animal for protecting sheep and goats from canid predators. In the USA there were 162,000 registered Llamas in 2010. Export of Llamas (as well as Alpacas) has increased international interest in these species, stimulating research in the medical, nutritional, reproductive, and disease disciplines. In the Andes, Llamas are viewed and described by native herders by masculine terminology. During ceremonies in which Llamas are being honored or sacrificed, they are referred to as “brothers” and when higher rank or importance is expressed, they are called “fathers.” Indigenous Llama terminology is based upon fleece color, patterns and patches, sex, reproductive status, age, size, shape, wool quality, and behavior. The combinations of these descriptive characters amount to over 20,000 words, forming a rich nomenclature used to identify and distinguish individual Llamas as well as Alpacas. Llamas have long been important beasts of burden for the Andean cultures and nations. Cargo-carrying Llamas have made it possible for peoples of the Andes to successfully inhabit this rugged-mountain environment. Extensive and ritualized prayers are said before departure of a Llama caravan, requesting permission and protection from local deities for the journey, safe passage, and that no incident will befall the Llamas or family members while traveling. Only men of the family travel with the Llama pack train, walking behind the animals. Castrated male Llamas are used primarily, and depending upon their maturity, size, and training, individuals are capable of carrying up to 25-30% of their body weight, or 25-35 kg, and traveling 20-30 km in a day for up to 20 days. The cargo is carried in a sack tied to the Llama’s back with a rope made from coarse Llama wool. Males are castrated at two years of age and training begins by accompanying the older animals on trips. Individual Llamas in the traveling caravan are not tied together, but follow the lead of two to three “Llama guides.” Such lead Llamas traditionally were adorned with colorful halters, frontal tapestries, and even a family or national flag atop its back. Animal leaders are given names to reflect their status, such as Road-Breaker, Condor Face, and Champion. Lead Llamas prevent junior animals from usurping the front position, and guide the way when fording rivers, crossing dangerous bridges, and when negotiating narrow paths along steep ravines. If the lead Llama stops, the entire caravan waits until it resumes traveling. At the end of the day, Llamas are unpacked and turned loose to graze and water. If available, they are kept in stone corrals for the night, otherwise they are grouped together with a rope running around them at neck level. Llama caravans use traditional trading circuits in the Altiplano, some descending into the Andean valleys, the Pacific coast to the west, or the Amazon jungle to the east. Goods are sold, purchased, and traded along the route as needed. From the coastal agricultural valleys fresh produce was obtained in exchange for corn, potatoes, wheat, and barley that were grown and carried down from the mountain agricultural valleys. In times past Llama trains traveled hundreds of kilometers to obtain highly prized salt from inland, natural-salt deposits and mines, some types of which were used for human consumption, others for animals. Today, the world of the Andean Llama herdsmen is rapidly changing with goods and produce now primarily transported by trucks and rail. Still, Llama caravans continue to be used and are especially important for transporting goods to remote regions of the Andes. Secondarily Llamas are used in South America for meat, fuel, and wool. Llama meatis often dried and stored as jerky, typically made by alternative freeze-drying during the Andean winter when nights are freezing and days sunny. With a dressing percentage of 44-48% yielding 25-30 kg of fresh meat, 12-15 kg ofjerky are produced. Jerky is not only a convenient form for long-term storage of meat, but is an excellent source of protein (55-60%). Llama hides are used for making shoes, ropes, and bags. Their fecal matter is valuable as fuel in regions where wood is scarce. It should be noted that despite the presence of many animals, the diet of Andean herdsmen is based upon agricultural produce. They eat little meat and drink no milk. Goat or cow cheese is consumed by some, and when meat is eaten,it is in the form of cameloid jerky or fresh sheep meat. Outside South America the Llama’s cargo-carrying ability has been discovered by hikers, hunters, and forest-work crews in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Llamas are quiet, gentle, unobtrusive, and easy to manage. Their hardiness, surefootedness, and trainability make them excellent pack animals and trail companions. The Llama’s agility allows them to negotiate terrain that would be difficult or impossible for other pack animals, and because of their padded feet and ability to browse, they have minimal impact on trails and mountain meadows. In North America Llamas have been used highly successfully as guard llamas for protecting sheep and goats from coyote and feral dog predation. Livestock owners report that their annual sheep losses dropped from 11% to 1% after the introduction of a guard llama, and more than half reported 100% reduction in predator losses. Single, gelded males are typically used, although females work equally well. In 2006, they were found across Canada as well as in every USstate. In the USA there were over 11,000 guard llamas in use on some 9500 sheep operations. Remarkably, half the sheep ranchers in Wyoming have guard llamas and they are common on sheep ranches in Colorado (39%), Montana (28%), and Utah (23%). In the Plains States, 23% of sheep producers in North Dakota and 21% in South Dakota use guard llamas. In the Midwest and the Eastern States, Missouri (23%) and North Carolina (24%) lead the way, respectively. Although not a panacea, guard llamas have proven to be a viable non-lethal alternative for reducing predation, requiring no special training and minimal care.</p> <p>Bibliography. Bravo et al. (2000), Cardellino &amp; Mueller (2009), Flores Ochoa &amp; MacQuarrie (1995), Franklin (1982b), Franklin &amp; Powell (2006), Gonzales (1990), Kadwell et al. (2001), Marin et al. (2007b), Novoa (1984), Quispe et al. (2009), San Martin (1989), Sumar (1996), Van Saun (2006), Wheeler (1984, 2006).</p></div> 	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A40FFCED0DBF7C0FB4BF492	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
03928E699A46FFCCD5D0F3E6F6E9FE05.text	03928E699A46FFCCD5D0F3E6F6E9FE05.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Vicugna vicugna (Molina 1782)	<div><p>3.</p> <p>Vicuna</p> <p>Vicugna vicugna</p> <p>French: Vigogne / German: Vikunja / Spanish: Vicuna</p> <p>Other common names: Argentine Vicuna (vicugna), Peruvian Vicufa (mensalis)</p> <p>Taxonomy. Camelus vicugna Molina, 1782,</p> <p>Chile, “abondano nella parte della Cordigliera spettante alle Provincie de Coquimbo, e di Copiap6” (Cordilleras of Coquimbo and Copiapo in northern Chile).</p> <p>The separation of the Vicuna and the Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) occurred 2-3 million years ago. Palaeontological evidence suggests the genus Vicugna evolved from Hemiauchenia, a North American immigrant to South America, in the lowlands east of the Andes some two million years ago, with widespread distribution as recently as 10,000 -13,000 years ago in lowland grasslands of Bolivia, Paraguay, Patagonia, and Tierra del Fuego. Then 9000-12,000 years ago, during the last Pleistocene glacial advance and the subsequent establishment of the Holocene climate, Vicugna moved from its lowland distribution to its present day, high-elevation habitat. Today, two subspecies are recognized, distinguished on the bases of genetics, habitat, and morphology. Northern subspecies mensalis is closely related to the domestic Alpaca (V. pacos).</p> <p>Subspecies and Distribution.</p> <p>V.v.vicugnaMolina,1782—WBolivia,NWArgentina,andNEChilefrom18°Sto29°S.</p> <p>V. v. mensalis Thomas, 1917 — SE Peru, W Bolivia, and NE Chile from 9° S to 19° S. Ecuador has a small population (c.3000) introduced from Peru, Chile, and Bolivia in the 1980s.</p> <p>Descriptive notes. Head-body 125-190 cm,tail 15-25 cm, shoulder height 85-90 cm; weight 38-45 kg. The body color of the soft, woolly coat is pale cinnamon to reddishbrown, with insides of the legs and underside white. There is a bib of coarse white hairs 20-30 cm long on the chest at the base of the neck in the northern subspecies, which is short to almost unnoticeable in the southern subspecies. The body is slender with a long neck. The head is small and wedge-shaped; the ears are slender and pointed. The Vicuna has unique rodent-like incisors. Males and females weigh approximately the same, look alike, and are sexually indistinguishable in the field. Southern subspecies vicugna, sometimes called the “ Argentine Vicuna,” is ¢.15% larger (c. 45 kg vs. 38 kg), length of molars longer, taller at the withers, substantially shorter chest-bib hair, lighter colored, larger white underside countershading, and in general exhibits higher levels of genetic diversity than the northern subspecies mensalis, sometimes referred to as “Peruvian Vicuna.” Vicuna wool (often called fiber) is among the finest in the world at 12-5 + 1-5 microns (Cashmere goat fibers measure 14-19 microns; Chiru, Pantholops hodgsonii fiber is 9-12 microns). The shorn fleeces of 30,391 Vicunas in Peru averaged 220 g /animal. With its silky texture, Vicuna woolis highly prized, retailing for US $ 250/0z in the USA and in 2004 selling at wholesale for US $ 566,/kg from certified liveshorn animals. World prices for Vicuna wool ranged from US $ 350/kg to US $ 900/kg over the past decade, promoting reference to it as the “Gold of the Andes.” The adaptations responsible for the animal’s outstanding physical endurance at high altitudes include lightweight insulating fleece, which protects against cold and the sun’s ultraviolet light, and high blood-oxygen affinity (highest of all mammals investigated). Full saturation of the blood with oxygen occurs at the lower partial pressure of oxygen that is found at high altitudes. The Vicuna’s heart muscle capillary densities are exceptionally high for a mammal of its body size. Its ability to load and unload oxygen is improved by a relatively high oxygen transfer conductance because ofits small red blood cells, and it has low blood viscosity due to a relative low percentage of red blood cells. Both are advantageous for maximum cardiac output. The Vicuna’slife span is 20 years, with a maximum age of 24 years and nine months recorded in captivity.</p> <p>Habitat. Vicunas are restricted to the Puna and Altoandina biogeographic provinces of the Andes.The Vicuna is the highest-altitude ungulate in all of South America, living in a unique montane zone from 3200 m to 4800 m above sea level called the Puna, a high-altitude, equatorial grassland that is above the tree line but below the snow line. Summer precipitation is typically in the form of rain or hail, rarely snow. It is a dry and cold environment with summer nights hovering close to freezing. Winter nights plummet well below freezing, 10-20°C below the daytime highs. Two distinct habitats with different levels of precipitation can be found within this dry-Andean ecosystem: the high-elevation moist or semi-humid high-Andean Puna and the lower elevation dry or semi-arid Puna habitat. The dry Puna is an extremely dry belt called the Andean Dry Diagonal, a north-west/south-east transition zone between two major hemispheric wind belts centered at the junction of north-west Argentina, south-west Bolivia, and north-east Chile. Within the Dry Diagonalthere is essentially no precipitation, no lakes, and no glacier formation. The distribution of subspecies vicugna is within the Dry Diagonal. Subspecies mensalis is found to the north of it. From a landscape perspective the Puna is characterized by peaks and pronounced slopes, the typical elevated plain that defines the region (Puna or Altiplano), and the intermediate piedmont fringes of smooth slopes. Vicunas use the habitats within the Puna and piedmont zones. The most common habitats in the Puna are xerophytic shrub steppes that are often mixed with an understory of sparse short grasses and forbs (typically not an important habitat for Vicunas); bunchgrass steppes (variable importance); open rocky areas with sparse vegetation (not important); short grass and forb areas on lower slopes, gentle slopes, and plains (important); and wetlands of short plants with high ground cover associated with high ground water, surface water, streams, and lagoons, regionally called bofedales, mojadales, and vegas (important). Bofedales (around 4500 m elevation in Peru) are perennially green sedge communities typically dominated by Eleocharis albracteata and Carex ecuadorica with vegetative cover of ¢.22% grasses, 42% sedges and reeds, and 33% forbs, and a crude protein content of 12%. Short-grass forb areas on lowerslopes (around 3190 m in Peru) are dominated by the grass species Festuca dolichophylla and Muhlenbergia fastigiata with a vegetative cover of 66% grass, 13% sedges and reeds, and 6% forbs, and a crude protein content of 10%.</p> <p>Food and Feeding. As with other ungulate herbivores, Vicuna habitat and forage selection is based not only upon availability, but heavily influenced by climate (wet vs. dry years), population density (high vs. low), and the social status and ranking of individual animals (high vs. low). Thus for studies done at different locations, landscapes, and animal densities,it is not surprising to see variable results. For example in Peru at the Pampa Galeras National Reserve, Vicunas were observed to be strict grazers on grasses and forbs, whereas in Argentina at the Laguna Blanca National Park, Vicunas showed some diet plasticity by being grazers on grasses 16-19% ofthe time and browsers on shrubs 59-72% of the time with two grasses (Panicum chlorolewcum and Distichlis spp-) representing nearly 50% of the diet. Feeding preference in productive habitats dominated by grasses has been documented in several areas of the Vicuna’s distribution. Of the two main habitats (grass steppe and vegas) at the Ulla-Ulla Vicuna Reserve in Bolivia, Vicunas preferred vegas. In the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve of Argentina Vicunas were more abundant on the grassland plains. In Pampa Galeras National Reserve Vicunas preferred to forage in grass steppe communities characterized by Festuca nigesens or by Calamagrostis vicunarum, the latter being the dominant species in the vegetative type known as Excrement Influenced Vegetation (EIV). EIV is the result of long-term defecation-urination by Vicunas on dung piles; the resulting fertilization and accumulation of organic matter accelerates soil and plant succession over a long period of time. The third sere is an isolated “putting-green,” an island of short, abundant plants in rocky terrain downhill from a single or series of dung piles. The top soil is deeper and the plants grow thickly, close to the ground. EIV covered 18% of the total surface area of Pampa Galeras National Reserve, andits third sere had the highest productivity and was the most preferred forage vegetation. The general pattern of Vicuna habitat selection for grass-dominated communities, especially those of high nutritional value, is consistent with the results of diet studies that found Vicunas forage mainly on grasses (Poaceae) and grass-like sedges (Ciperaceae). When Vicunas coexisted with domestic livestock (sheep, goats, donkeys) in Argentina, they were spatially segregated, had a high overlap in diets, and used preferred habitatless than expected. The native Vicuna and exotic domestic animals coexisted because Vicunas were able to utilize suboptimal habitats while herders kept livestock in the richest habitats. A sympatric population of Vicunas and Guanacos in the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve, Argentina, revealed that the diet of both species was similar, but Guanacos utilized more tall grasses and Vicuna fed more on forbs and short grasses.</p> <p>Breeding. Vicunas are strong seasonal breeders. Males reach sexual maturity at 3-5 years of age, and become reproductive after obtaining a feeding territory and recruiting females. Most females first mate as two-year-olds. Breeding is almost an unnoticeable event except for a short chase before mating, because the prolonged copulation takes place with the mating pair in sternal recumbency. Females show no unusual behavior to indicate they are in estrus and males do not persistently smell the female’s hindquarters as is common in other ungulates. There is no prolonged preoccupation or tending that ungulate males traditionally show for females in heat, because a territorial male has exclusive and immediate access to females within his territory. In Pampa Galeras National Reserve mating was observed from the end of February to the end of May, but peaked in April (3 matings/100 hours of observation), followed by May (1-8) and March (1-3). Almost all matings were in the morning and within the family group’s feeding territory. Gestation averages c.11-3 months (330-350 days). Females within a few weeks of parturition are visibly pregnant. At the start of the birth season at Pampa Galeras over a three year period, a high percentage of females two years of age or older were pregnant: 85%, 95%, and 85%. The non-pregnant females were mostly two-year-olds because only 20% of one-year-olds mated. Rectal palpation by experienced veterinarians of captive adult Vicunas in Puno (Peru) revealed 99% of females pregnant. Most (90%) births occurred from the last week of February through the first week of April with 75% of the births in March. February is the reported peak birth season for subspecies vicugna in Argentina and Chile. Nearly all (96%) births occurred in the morning and within the feeding territory. Females give birth to one offspring, with twins not reported or observed. Morning births are likely a behavioral adaptation to the stormy weather typical of Andean afternoons. In summer and early autumn, daily storms regularly start around noon. Young born during the afternoon storms of rain and hail would not be able to dry their soft-insulating wool before entering the nearfreezing nights. Wet newborns would have little chance for survival. A female aboutto give birth separated herself 15-25 m from the group. During the usual one-hour labor the female looked back to inspect her hindquarters, laid down and stood intermittently, changed positions, and walked a few steps every few minutes. Parturition occurred while the female stood. The labor and birthing behaviors were subtle and not easily noticed, as females commonly continued to feed during the process— surely to avoid attracting potential predators in this wide-open habitat. The mother immediately smelled and inspected the head and muzzle of the newborn, but licking did not occur (thus no assistance with the newborn’s thermoregulation) nor was the afterbirth eaten (the latter two behaviors common in other ungulates). Other members of the group frequently came over to smell and inspect the newborn. Newborns weighed 4-6 kg, were on their feet and able to walk in a wobbly way 15-20 minutes after birth, and began nursing when they were 30-45 minutes old. Vicuna young are “followers” as opposed to “hiders” and stay close to their mothers, especially in the first few months. Most young are weaned during the dry season in July and August, when they are 4-6 months old. During the first four months after birth 10-30% of newborns died. The cause was undetermined, but predation by Culpeos (Pseudalopex culpaeus) and Pumas (Puma concolor) was suspected. Reproductive success as measured in August by the ratio of young to adult females ranged 35-70 young per 100 females in different regions of the Pampa Galeras National Reserve. In Chile, density dependency seemed to be operating: the more females in a family group the lower the number of young per female. Very little research has been conducted on the physiology of Vicuna reproduction, but a noteworthy study on reproduction in captive male Vicunas in the Puna of northern Chile found higher levels of plasma testosterone, large testessize, greater size of seminiferous tubules, and large diameters of Leydig cell nuclei beginning in February, a month before the summer breeding season started. In the winter month of August spermatogenesis was in the regressive phase. Both findings suggested photoperiod as the mechanism for when males are sexually effective. Insight can be gained from studies on the Vicuna’s domesticated descendent, the Alpaca: an experimental study on Alpacas demonstrated that the continuous association of females and males exerted an inhibiting effect on male sexual activity. After continuous association of two weeks, there was no mating activity by the male even though receptive females were present. However, when mature males were separated from females and reunited at two week intervals, mating occurred. These observations shed light on why nonpregnant Vicunas (and other cameloids) are not bred during non-breeding seasons of the year.</p> <p>Activity patterns. During a year-round, 3-5yearfield study in Pampa Galeras National Reserve, home to a population of the northern subspecies mensalis, Vicuna family groups showed a predictable daily activity pattern in the large open valleys they occupied. Having spent the night on the upperflat ridges in small sleeping territories, within an hour after sunrise they moved as a group down to their daytime feeding territories. They spent the day on these lower slopes or flat plains, feeding at a constant rate. The sleeping territories, on higher ground, were warmer at night than feeding territories and were away from the streambeds where nocturnal predators hunted. The adult male Vicuna in the family group actively defended both territories by challenging and chasing away trespassing Vicunas. If human disturbance did not cause an early retreat back up the slope, the group returned to its sleeping territory in midto late afternoon. In the winter dry season, when small springs on the slopes dried up, groups left their feeding territory and moved to the center of the valley floor to drink from streams. Solo males holding a territory showed similar patterns. Male groups moved randomly and unpredictably through the area. In a separate study at Pampa Galeras National Reserve conducted during the March—-May breeding season, females spent significantly more time grazing than males (54 vs. 45 minutes/hour) and lactating females fed more than non-lactating females (56 vs. 53 minutes/hour). In general females fed 91% of the time; territorial males fed 75% of the time. In Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve above Arequipa, Peru, there was a positive correlation between frequency of alert behavior per adult and the number of offspring in the family group, and at the Laguna de Pozuelos Biosphere Reserve in Argentina, solitary Vicunas spent more time standing and being vigilant and less time foraging than did members of groups. In Abra Pampa (Argentina), territorial males spent more time being vigilant and less time feeding as the size of their family group increased, but not more time in territorial defense (walking, running). At the Laguna Blanca Reserve in Argentina, which is extremely arid, daily activity patterns during the dry season were similar to the patterns of family groups at Pampa Galeras in the same season, with morning feeding on slopes, midday movement to a river on the flat, and a return to the slope and more feeding in the afternoon. At Pampa Galeras there was no significant difference between the amount of time males spent in territorial behavior and the number of female group members or the total group size. Studies at Laguna Blanca on the other subspecies, however, found a substantial decrease in amount of time males spent foraging when the number of females in their group increased.</p> <p>Movements, Home range and Social organization. All Vicuna populations of both subspecies studied to date were sedentary and non-migratory. However, as described above, daily activity patterns and movements are greatly influenced by the need to drink water. Several studies have shown that water distribution and availability can have a major effect on local movement of Vicunas. Despite being well adapted to living in arid conditions, the Vicuna is an obligate drinker and needs to drink often, especially in the dry season when it seeks water daily. Visits to small streams often include water bathing accompanied by dust bathing in dust bowls. The home range of a family group encompasses the area where the group is typically found, thatis,its sleeping territory, feeding territory, and the space in between, as well as those areas it commonly moves through during the dry season on its way to drinking water. The two territories are defended by the male and exclusively occupied by the family group, but the balance of the home range is not;it overlaps and is shared with other groups. These are neutral zones, especially the corridors that groups move through on their way to water. The social units ofVicuna are family groups, male groups, and solo males. A characteristic family group is composed of one adult male, 3-4 females, and two juveniles. Although the permanent territorial family group is the classic Vicuna social unit occupying good habitat containing semi-permanent water, other groups found within Vicuna populations may include marginal territorial family groups occupying secondary habitat types without water, and temporary mobile family groups that lack a territory. Permanentterritorial family groups occupy a year-round feeding territory averaging 18-4 ha (2-56 ha), and sleeping territory averaging 2-6 ha. This is highly unusual for an ungulate. Territorial males defend their sites passively (standing guard near borders) and actively (walking towards, chasing, fighting, biting, etc.) multiple times daily. The territorial system is based upon resource-defense polygyny in which the territorial male defends food resources essential to females. This attracts females to the site, providing them with guaranteed forage in a food-limited environment, within which they can raise their offspring in a socially stable unit free from harassment. The family group male regulates group size by more often than not rejecting outside females, preventing resident females from leaving, and annually forcibly dispersing male young at 4-9 months and expelling female young at 10-11 months of age. The young malesjoin male groups and the females eventuallyjoin another territorial male. Family group size is significantly correlated with feeding territory size and total forage production within the territory. Vocalizations are most commonly used by territorial males, who give a loud alarm call when disturbed by strange objects or a frightening situation: people on foot, herders with dogs, or potential predators such as Culpeos and Pumas. Group size and territory size are density-dependent, decreasing with increasing population size. In extreme cases the system can appear to be more monogamous than polygynous. Male or bachelor groups are bands of 2-155 non-territorial males. The size fluctuates widely; 75% have fewer than 30 males, with 5-10 the most common group size. Male groups frequently invade the family group zones from which they were forced to leave, by individually or cooperatively attacking territorial males. Solo males are sexually mature individuals with an established territory or on the move looking for an available site to establish a territory. In Pampa Galeras, up to 16 months elapsed before solo males were able to attract or forcefully obtain females to form a family group. In intensely studied populations, 32% of all adult males were territorial and family groups made up 75% ofall social units. Territorial boundaries, albeit invisible to the human eye, were well defined and as narrow as one meter. The system was not perfect, as neighboring males were continually testing boundaries. Dung piles were abundant throughout the area. Adults and young of both sexes defecated and urinated only on dung piles, alwaysfirst smelling the dung pile. The primary function of dung piles appeared to be for intragroup orientation, i.e. for assisting members to stay within their territory and neutral zones. If a female inadvertently left her territory she was vehemently chased back by the neighboring territorial male. Dung piles did not keep non-neighbor outsiders out of a territory if the resident male was absent. Thus, the dung piles functioned more for keeping insiders in than outsiders out ofterritories. The highest frequency of dung pile use was when Vicunas were leaving their territories and when groups moved through neutral corridors as if “checking” their location, again suggesting individual self-orientation to avoid aggressive attack by adjacent territorial males. At Pampa Galeras the estimated age that males became territorial was 3—4 years; they remained territorial for at leastsix years. In studies with tagged animals at Aguada Blanca, the average age of solo males was 11-5 years, males in male groups averaged less than three years old, and the average age ofterritorial males was 9-5 years, suggesting significantly longer tenure than Guanaco territorial males.</p> <p>Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I, except the populations of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile (I Region) which are included in Appendix II. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List due to its total numbers, wide range of distribution, and occurrence in a number of protected areas. The genetic diversity of the northern subspecies mensalis is relatively low within populations and high between populations, a pattern commonly observed in threatened species with formerly large ranges that became isolated from each other and then suffered drastic demographic contraction. Total area occupied by Vicunas is around 250,000 km?. The distribution of the two subspecies can be seen as a continuum of scattered and fragmented groups that become less frequent north to south. The small populations of the subspecies vicugna in the south have survived in the Dry Diagonal, an extremely arid zone in the high Andes, where they show a genetic signature of demographic isolation. To the north, the subspecies mensalis populations underwent a rapid demographic expansion in the late Pleistocene due to increased precipitation and the subsequent appearance of highaltitude short grasslands. However, the Dry Diagonal is believed to have prevented both the expansion southward of the northern, moist Puna-adapted forms and the expansion northward of the southern, dry Puna-adapted forms, resulting in the two subspecies found today. The subspecies vicugna is most closely related to the basal taxon,i.e. the species’ primitive extinct ancestor. Both subspecies occur in Bolivia and Chile, but the subspecies mensalis has the highest numbers (73% ofall Vicunas) and widest distribution of the two subspecies. Relative abundance of the southern subspecies vicugna in Bolivia is 34% of 112,249 Vicunas (data from 2009) and in Chile 7% of a minimum 15,544 Vicunas (data from 2007). Majority of the world’s Vicunas in zoos and private collections are of the southern subspecies. The trend for the Vicuna’s general population is increasing. However, as recently as four decades ago, the Vicuna was threatened with extinction. The total population size was as low as 5000-10,000 individuals due to unrelenting poaching for the Vicuna’s valuable wool. In southern Peru the Pampa Galeras National Reserve was established in the late 1960s to protect the largest remaining population. The first international treaty, The Vicuna Convention, was initially between Peru and Bolivia and in 1974 signed by Chile and Argentina. It established national parks, reserves, and private lands for the protection of Vicunas, with the goal of requiring live animals to be shorn. Since that time, programs for the sustainable harvest of Vicuna wool have been successfully applied and Vicuna populations began to increase. Ownership of the wild species varies between countries. In Peru and Bolivia they are the property of the state, while in Chile and Argentina no one owns wild Vicunas. Current population densities vary from 0-9 ind/km* to 1-8 ind/km? for Lauca National Park in northern Chile to as high as 87 ind/km* in Pampa Galeras, although optimum estimated density for Vicuna in Pampa Galeras National Reserve is 40-43 ind/km?. The total number of Vicunas is about ¢.421,500, with 52% in Peru, 27% in Bolivia, 17% in Argentina, 4% in Chile (not including the small number in Ecuador). Threats remain for the wild Vicuna: poaching; the fact that some protected areas are only “paper parks;” a lack of national management plans; competition with and overgrazing by domestic livestock; mange/scabies infections from domestic animals; crossbreeding of Alpacas and Vicunas for commercial purposes; and management of Vicuna as captive populations. Overall, conservation programs and their tight control at local, national, and international levels are critical for the conservation of this species.</p> <p>Bibliography. Arzamendia et al. (2006, 2010), Bonacic et al. (2002, 2003), Borgnia et al. (2008, 2010), Bosch &amp; Svendsen (1987), Cassini et al. (2009), Cajal (1989), Cardellino &amp; Mueller (2009), Davies (2003), Franklin (1969, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1982, 1983), Gordon (2009), Hack (2001), Hoffman &amp; Fowler (1995), Jurgens et al. (1988), Kadwell et al. (2001), Koford (1957), Lichtenstein et al. (2009), Lucherini et al. (2000), Marin et al. (2007), Novoa (1984), Renaudeau d’Arc (2000), Sarno et al. (2005), Stanley et al. (1994), Urquieta et al. (1994), Vila &amp; Cassimi (1993, 1994) Vila &amp; Roig (1992), Vila et al. (2009), Villalba (2003), Wheeler (1995a), Wheeler &amp; Laker (2009), Wheeler, Chikhi &amp; Bruford (2006), Wheeler, Fernandez et al. (2003), Yacobaccio (2009).</p> </div>	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A46FFCCD5D0F3E6F6E9FE05	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
03928E699A44FFC1D0A7FD9EF7A7FE66.text	03928E699A44FFC1D0A7FD9EF7A7FE66.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Vicugna pacos (Linnaeus 1758)	<div><p>4.</p> <p>Alpaca</p> <p>Vicugna pacos</p> <p>French: Alpaca / German: Alpaka / Spanish: Alpaca</p> <p>Taxonomy. Camelus pacos Linnaeus, 1758,</p> <p>Peru.</p> <p>The Alpaca is a domesticated camelid indigenous and endemic to South America, well known for the characteristics of its fine-diameter wool: soft, silky, high luster, lightweight, and warm. Alpaca woolis used for luxurious blankets, sweaters, and cloth. The species was long classified in the genus Lama, but recent DNA studies (mtDNA sequences and nuclear microsatellite markers) have established that the Alpaca was domesticated from the Vicuna subspecies V. vicugna mensalis, showing significant genetic differentiation to warrant a change in its genus to Vicugna and its designation as a separate species. Archeological digs at the Telarmachay site in the Central Andes of Peru indicate that the Alpaca was domesticated 5500-6500 years ago by a hunter-gatherer society. These early indigenous herders selected for an animal with a docile nature while maintaining the fineness of its progenitor’s wool. No remains of Alpaca have been found to date at archeological digs in the south of Central Andes (northern Chile and north-western Argentina), but only early domesticated Llamas (Lama glama). The Alpaca has no subspecies, but two distinct breeds are recognized: the Huacaya and Suri.</p> <p>Distribution. Alpacas are found in the Central Andes from C Peru into mid-Bolivia and N Chile. In the 1980s—1990s Alpacas were imported into the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Europe. There are no known wild/feral populations of Alpacas.</p> <p>Descriptive notes. Head-body 114-150 cm,tail 18-25 cm, shoulder height 85-90 cm; weight 55-65 kg. Alpacas have long necks; relatively short, straight ears (c. 15 cm), thin and agile legs, and fluffy-appearing bodies because of their long wool. When shorn, however, the bodyis slender and Vicuna-like. There are two distinct breeds. HUACAYA ALPACA: Huacayas are the more common (¢.90%) of the two breeds. Its body, legs, and neck are covered by wool that is long, fine (27-5 microns), and wavy; the head and feet are covered by short wool. Wool grows 5-15 cm/year depending upon nutrition and decreases with age. Huacaya wool is crimped (regular and successive undulations) and similar in appearance to Corriedale sheep wool. Huacayas are bigger in size, have shorter and relatively coarser wool, and lighter fleeces than Suris. There are three general categories of wool: “Baby Alpaca” (20-23 microns some as low as 16-17 microns)is the finest and most expensive wool from recently born animals; “Tui” wool is from the first shearing at 12-18 months; and “Standard” Alpaca wool (c.24 microns) is from animals of two years of age and older. White Huacayas are the most common (c.80%), especially on large commercial Alpaca ranches, compared to 30% white animals in indigenous flocks. White wool accounts for over 80% of the total annual Alpaca wool production. Although most Alpaca wool has little cortex in its fibers,it can be easily dyed just as sheep wool, giving woollen mills greater flexibility with white Alpaca wool. Huacaya Alpaca crossed with a Vicuna produces a Paco-Vicuna, which resembles a large-bodied Vicuna and has 17-19 micron wool. Resource managers are concerned that accidently escaped Paco-Vicunas could have harmful genetic consequences on populations of pure Vicunas. SURI ALPACA: Suris arise from a very small percentage (2%) of Huacaya x Huacaya crosses, thus the origin of the breed. Because of their long-hanging wool, phenotyically Suris are quite distinct from Huacayas. Suri wool is silky (24-27 microns), straight, without crimp, generally finer, longer, more lustrous, softer to the touch, less elastic, less resistant to tension, and faster-growing compared to the Huacaya. The wool parts on the animal’s back create a mid-body line that is capable of growing up to 15 cm /year. Some individual Suris, called “wasis” by Andean herders, are not shorn for years, resulting in the fleece growing until it touches the ground; only a few such special animals are kept and are revered by the indigenous people. Around 17% of the offspring from Suri x Suri crosses produce Huacaya types. In their South American homeland, Suri Alpacas are considered to be longerlived, more delicate, less hardy, and to have lower fertility than Huacaya Alpacas. Recent research has found thatjuvenile mortality is high because of lack of wool coverage on the midline. However, when given the right management and equally good pastures, they thrivejust as well and with similar fertility as Huacayas. During lactation Suri Alpacas lose weight more than Huacayas because they produce more milk (udders are larger on Suri females). As a result, Suri young are heavier than Huacayas because they have a greater availability of milk. Body wool is uniform or multicolored; 22 natural colors have been categorized, ranging from white to black, with intermediate shades of grays, fawns, and browns. The upperlip is split for grasping forage. The eyes are large, round, and slightly forward looking. The feet have soft-padded soles and two toes, each ending with large pointed nails. Testes are small, oval-shaped and located in the perineal region under the tail. Life span is 15-20 years. The cuticle on individual wool fibers is made up of poorly developed, elongated, and flattened cells. While such rudimentary cuticle scales without ridges results in poor felting qualities, it makes the Alpaca wool extraordinarily smooth and soft to the touch. Still, Alpaca wool is 3-6 times stronger than human hair. Based upon strand diameter and morphology, the fleece (pelt) of this ungulate is made up of two types of hair: wool and hair. Similar to fine sheep wool, the medulla can be non-existent in unusually fine Alpaca wool, but has been observed in Peruvian Alpaca fibers averaging 17 microns. Such pure Alpacas are considered “one coated” because their fleece consists only of the fine undercoat hairs and lack the outer coarser guard hairs. As the proportion of medullation increases (as it does with age), wool diameter increases and fineness decreases, thatis, the proportion of the medulla progressively increases with the thickness of the individual wool strand. Woolis of the cortex type of fineness, and hair is of the medullar type with larger diameter. Hair is especially common on the chest, face, and extremities, but it is not unusual to find individual hairs intermixed throughout the fleece. This is especially common in “Huarizos,” hybrids between an Alpaca female and a Llama male. Huarizos show intermediate physical characteristics of the two parents, and relatively coarse wool (c.32 microns in diameter). Their fleeces contain as much as 40% guard hair. Huarizos are considered undesirable by the Alpaca wool industry and are being selected against on commercial Alpaca farms. Nearly all (90%) Alpacas on large farms are shorn annually and done indoors with shearing scissors or by mechanized clippers. In indigenous family herds in the Andes only half of the animals are shorn each year, and done under rustic conditions in the out-of-doors with hand shears. Shearing of males, geldings, non-pregnant and some pregnant females takes place in November and December, while new mothers with young, yearlings, and thin males and females are done in February to April. Annual shearing yields 1.5-2. 8 kg of wool per Alpaca in South America (enough to make four sweaters), and up to 3-6 kg in USA and Australia. Fineness of Alpaca fleeces vary from farm to farm in Peru (24-7-32-3 microns, averaging 28-9 microns), but in other countries where it has been introduced, 16-24 microns is more typical. In the Andes Alpaca wool increases in diameter from 17-4 microns to 27-5 microns from the first shearing at ten months to six years of age. Large Alpaca farms in Peru are able to practice better husbandry through pasture management, selective breeding, and health care. Of 3762 shorn Alpacas on one such farm in Puno, Peru, in the 1980s, wool was sorted and classified into the following five quality categories: X 3% at 19 microns, AA 52% at 25 microns, A 17% at 37 microns, LP 23% at 44 microns, and K 5% at 49 microns. Still, nearly half was considered “thick” relative to the Alpaca’s potential for producing fine wool. Now, two decadeslater, better management and selection is beginning to improve wool quality. Alpaca wool production and quality is strongly influenced by artificial selection (genetics) and nutrition. Seasonally wool production varies under the extreme conditions of the Alpaca’s high-altitude habitat: fiber or strand length has been shown to be 25% longer during the rainy season in the Andean highlands, reflecting the percentage of crude plant protein that decreases from 11% in the wet season to 3-5% in the dry season. Wool quality decreases (increase in diameter) when Alpacas are grazed on high-quality pasture compared to native range of poor to very poor quality. For example during a 15month feeding trial relative to controls, Alpacas on diets in Andean rangeland vs. managed pastures of alfalfa, increased the body weight of mothers and young 10 kg and 22 kg respectively, fleece weight 0-4 kg and 0-8 kg, staple length 2-3 cm and 1-8 cm, fiber diameter 5-2 microns and 6-9 microns, and yield 4-1% and 10-8%. In another study adult Alpacas on high-feeding regimes resulted in increased stand diameter (fine 21-22 microns to thick 27-28 microns), but wool production per head/year increased from 1-1 kg to 2-4 kg. But, because there is little commercial difference in value per kilogram in the two wool diameters, total monetary value was doubled on the higher feeding regime. Contrary to the long-time belief that Alpacas produce finer wool at higher elevations in the Andes, recent studies with controls have shown that when on the same diet wool quality was similar. Commercially, the majority of Alpaca wool is made into carded and semi-carded thread. In the textile industry it is often blended with merino sheep wool to be made into overcoats and high-fashion knitwear. In general, Alpaca wool quality in the Andes is lower than its potential due to poor management and the extensive Alpaca/ILlama hybridization that has occurred over the past 400 years since Spanish colonization. DNA studies have revealed that today’s Andean Alpaca population shows a high (80-92%) level of hybridization. Along with a significant reduction in Peru’s Alpaca population during colonization, pure colored animals significantly decreased to the point that they became rare. The difference between Alpaca and Llamas and between Huacaya and Suri Alpacas has also been impacted. Alpaca husbandry is now addressing these problems. Additionally, in the 1970s the Alpaca population in Peru dropped resulting in a 40% decline of wool production due to land and agrarian reforms. A number of revealing physiological parameters have been measured in Alpaca. Body temperature of normal adult males (n = 50) and females (n = 50) is the same (38-7°C), pulse rate/minute in males (83-2 + 2-2) is higher than females (76:6 + 1-9), and respiration rate/minute is similar for males (29-2 + 1-1) and females (28-3 + 0-79). For young Alpaca 10-12 months old (n = 50) body temperature is 38-5 + 0-04, pulse rate 83-8 + 2-9, and respiration rate 33-1 + 0-19. For femalesin the last days of gestation body temperature (38-3 + 0-07) is the same as non-pregnant females, but pulse rates (83-5 + 2-3), and respiration rates (34-8 + 1-9) were higher.</p> <p>Habitat. Alpacas are raised in the Andean highlands; regionally known as the Altiplano and Puna. The Puna ecosystem is rolling grassland and isolated wetlands typically at c.3500-5200 m altitude with two marked periods: the rainy season from October to April and the dry season from May to September. Most (75%) precipitation falls from November to March in the form of both hail and rain. In Peru the annual precipitation varies from 800 mm in the south to 1200 mm in the central mountains. The mean annual temperatures are less than 10°C and nocturnal frosts are common, especially during the dry season. Diurnal fluctuations can be as much as 20°C in the mesic Altiplano and even greater in the dry or desert Altiplano. The short growing season, as determined by moisture and night-time cloud cover, occurs between December and March. Vegetation is dominated by herbaceous grasses and forbs. Few trees exist and shrubs are only locally abundant. Perennial bunchgrasses are common including the genera Festuca, Poa, Stipa, and Calamagrostis, as well as the grass-like sedges Carex and Scirpus. High-quality forage is more abundant during the rainy season and scarcer during the remainder of the year. A critical habitat and principal source of forage for Alpacas in the Andes that allows intensive-localized foraging are bofedales or mojadales. Providing lush forage and moist vegetation that Alpacas thrive on, bofedales are localized islands of perennial greenery with deep organic soils moistened by subterranean and considerable surface water often forming small pools. Both natural and artificial bofedales exist, some man-made ones dating back to pre-Inca times. These high-altitude marsh areas can provide year-round forage, allowing herders and their animals to remain in the same area for extended periods. Depending upon water availability, they are productive only during the rainy season or throughout the year. As a result, their carrying capacity is highly variable, from 2-8 Alpacas/ha/year. Natural mojadales compared to irrigated artificial ones, typically have greater plant cover with more palatable and nutritious forage. Vegetative composition of bofedales in the humid Puna varies between several dominant species, including Distichia muscoides, Eleocharis albibracteata, Hypochoeris taraxacoides, Hidrocotilo ranunculoides, Liliaopsis andina, and others. A percentage cover of 64-72% of desirable species (Werneria nubigena, Werneria pymaea, Hipochoeris stenocephala, Ranunculos sp., Carex fragilaris) is excellent Alpaca forage. Reported total accumulated bofedal forage (dry weight) from January to August was 1021 kg /ha that grew at an average rate of 4-2 kg/ha/day. Protein ranged 8-3-13-4% and crude fiber 19-2-34-1%. Annual bofedal growth varies with season: 60% during the summer growing season (January-April), 21% during the transition to the dry season (May-June), and 19% in the dry season (July-December). Wet artificial bofedales have greater sustained productivity than natural bofedales with 10-11% protein in both the wet and dry seasons and capable of supporting 3—4 Alpaca/ha/year. Continuous year-round grazing of native grasslands is the most common grazing management practice used by indigenous herders, but technicians are encouraging enhancement of rangeland conditions through rotational grazing and reducing stocking rates of Alpacas and competing sheep. Recommended stocking rate for Alpacas on Andean native pastures is 2-7 animals/ha/year on excellent range, 2 good, 1 average, 0-33 poor, and 0-17 very poor. However, intensively managed, irrigated pastures of grasses and legumes at 3850 m altitude can support 25 Alpacas/ha/year. Research indicates that despite the high elevations and low night-time temperatures, it is possible to increase considerably the sustained carrying capacity of Andean rangeland by the introduction of improved forage species. Managed pastures of irrigated ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and white clover (Trifolium repens) with application of nitrogen fertilizers can carry up to 30 adult ind/ha compared with the usual rate of 1-1-5 ind/ha on natural grasslands. On Andean rangelands grazed by Alpaca,tall grass communities are commonly set on fire during the dry season (June—October) by native indigenous herders. The objective is the destruction of bunch grasses that will encourage the growth of ground forage preferred by Alpaca and sheep. However, studies have shown that annual burns are not beneficial because they not only stimulate the rapid regrowth of bunchgrasses, but promote hillside soil erosion and encourage the growth of undesirable invasive plant species. Burning every third or more years during the wet season is a more effective approach for improving Alpaca range and habitat.</p> <p>Food and Feeding. Historically, an Alpaca was considered to be equivalent to three sheep, but modern animal nutritionists in Peru consider that Alpacas consume 1-2—-1-5 times as much forage as one sheep. Alpacas are selective for these familiar Altiplano plants: Compositae/composites 31 4% (Hipochoires stenocephala, Werneria novigena), followed by Cyperaceae /sedges-rushes 26-1% (Eleocharis albibracteata, Carexsp.), Gramineae /grasses 19-1% (Calamagrostis rigescens, Festuca dolichophylla), Rosaceae /roses 14-6% (Alchemilla pinnata, Alchemilla diplophylla) and minor percentages of Ranunculaceae / buttercups 5:6% (Ranunculus breviscapus), Leguminosae/legumes 1-7% (Trifolium amabile) and others. Plant leaves,stalks, and flowers with protein content as high as 17-4% are selected by Alpaca when feeding in quality bofedales in the rainy-growing season. Year-round feeding studies on the chemical composition of ingested forage with fistulated Alpacas in Peru and Bolivia yielded the following: dry matter 9-9%, organic material 88-8%, minerals 11-2%, total protein 15-1%, ether extract 7-4%, crude fiber 27-5%, nitrogen-free extract 38-:8%, and detergent neutral fiber 61:6%. General apparent digestibility of bofedal nutrients was dry matter 64-9%, organic material 64-1%, and total protein 64-8%. Total digestible nutrients (TDN) of bofedal forage eaten by Alpacas was similar between the rainy (54-1%) and dry (66:5%) seasons, as was the average energy from TDN at 60-3%. Average daily weight gain per Alpaca grazed on typical (control) bofedales was 0-093 kg, but experimentally at low stocking rates (2 Alpaca/ha/year) weight gain was 0-101 kg/day, medium stocking (4 Alpaca) 0-084 kg/ day, and high stocking (6 Alpaca) 0-079 kg/day. Although the carrying capacity is around one Alpaca/ha/year, overgrazing occurs at 1-8-2-5 Alpaca/ha/year, lowering the quantity and quality of available forage. In indigenous Andean communities where herders own the animals but not the land and the communal grazing lands are used through permission from the community, overgrazing of the natural grasslands is not uncommon. Although efforts are being made to counter the situation, a long history of bofedal overuse by traditional Alpaca herders has frequently resulted in low live (50 kg) and carcass (25-5 kg) weights, reduced fleece weights (1-2 kg), low fertility (35%), and high juvenile mortality (30%). Like Vicunas, Alpacas need frequent water intake. Water consumption by Alpacas grazing on bofedales was high during the dry season at 3-08 kg/animal/day and less in the rainy growing season at 2-04 kg. In another Peruvian study digestibility of high-altitude forage by Alpacas in both Altplano and bofedal habitats was lowest (50-62%) in the winter-dry season and highest (66-76%) in the spring/summer-wet season. Comparative feeding trials measuring the coefficients of digestibility revealed that when fed dry forage low in protein (less than 7-5%) Alpacas were 14% more efficient than sheep, but at high protein levels (greater than 10-5%), sheep were slightly (2%) more efficient. Other studies have reported that Alpacas have a digestion coefficient 25% higher than sheep, particularly on low-quality forage. Maintenance-energy requirements for a 60 kg Alpaca is 2% of its body weight, or 1-2 kg dry forage per day. Alpacas in Peru forage more selectively than Llamas. Diets are highest in grass during the wet and early dry season. As the dry season progresses, the diets of Alpacas in bofedal habitat became largely sedges and reeds (81%). Animals in dryer habitats consume more grass (68%). A study of live weight changes of Alpaca adult males, females, and their progeny, was conducted for three seasons under continuous grazing on natural grasslands on the Mediterranean range of Central Chile. Live weight changes were highest in spring (100-200 g/day), moderate during winter (50-100 g/day), and negative only at the end of summer and in autumn (-110 g/day to — 150 g /day). Weight gains of newborn Alpacas were greatest (110-150 g/day) in the first 90 days after birth and then decreased slightly, reaching values of 75 g /day at 8-5 months old. Weight gainsstabilized at 10-20 g/day at three years of age.</p> <p>Breeding. Alpaca females in Peru reach puberty at 60% (33-40 kg) of their adult weight, or at c.12-14 months of age when being grazed on native pastures. Although such young females exhibit sexual behavior, ovulation, fertilization, and embryonic survival similar to adults, most breeders waitto first breed females at two years of age when they have reached greater physical maturity. Male Alpacas in Peru are first used for reproduction at two to three years of age, because the penis is still adhered to the prepuce in one-(84%) and two-year-olds (50%), with all males adhesion free at three years old. The rate of detachment is dependent upon the level of testosterone secreted from the testes. The breeding season is from January to April using several different husbandry techniques. If the females are unfamiliar with the breeding male, they most likely will not accept him. Such males become familiarized by staying with the females in the same stone corral or encircled together by rope for a number of hours each day for 20 days; pregnancy rate is as high at 85% using this method. The most common technique is to run four to six breeding males per 100 females together, year-round. Artificial selection is less controlled by this approach, so males with desired traits are chosen (typically white colored, dense and good quality wool, and normally developed testes 4-5 cm long and 2-5 cm wide). On large, Peruvian Alpaca farms no more than 200 females are run with 10-12 males, half of which are rotated in one-week intervals for two months during the breeding season. Males work well for one week, but then begin to fight with each other and establish hierarchies and harems, thus the rotational system. Alpaca breed and give birth seasonally. When males and females are kept together year-round, births only occur during the rainy season from December to March. The continuous association of the sexes produces an inhibiting effect on the sexual activity of the male. But when males are separated from females and only brought together for breeding, births are year-round. Copulation occurs with the female in sternal recumbency, and lasts 20-50 minutes. Non-pregnant Alpaca have no well-defined cyclical sexual activity (estrus), but are always in the follicular phase and state of receptivity until ovulation is induced by copulation. There is no period of sexual inactivity in Alpaca and other cameloids, nor a relationship between size of ovarian follicle and sexual receptivity. Ovulation occurs ¢.26 hours after copulation. Ovulation can be also be induced by the injection of chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and then occurs c¢.24 hours later. Following ovulation the corpus luteum forms and reaches maximum size and secretory activity at approximately eight days. With no gestation the corpus luteum regresses within 12-18 days after mating, giving way to the formation of new follicles. With conception and gestation, the corpus luteum continues its secretory activity and thereafter the female is not sexually receptive. Pregnancy is assessed by sexual behavior of the female in presence of a new male. Studies have found that at least 85% of the females that ovulate in response to the coital stimulation have at least one fertilized ovum within three days of mating. However, in Peru there is 34% embryonic mortality during the first 30 days of gestation, seriously affecting the annual birth rate of Alpacas. Nearly all (95%) of the pregnancies are in the left horn of the bifurcated uterus, although both ovaries are equally active. Thus, transuterine migration from the right to the left horn of the uterus is common, as evidenced by the corpus luteum in the right ovary and the fetus in the left horn of the uterus. The placenta is simple-diffuse and of the chorial epithelium type. Reproductive studies in Peru on Alpaca mothers (n = 1684) showed that age of the female, year of birth, and the quality of diet were important factors influencing the length of gestation and date of birth. First time mothers at two years of age and those 15 years and older had longer gestation periods (403 and 401 days respectively) than middle-aged females four to twelve years of age (380-390 days). Females grazing on higher quality, cultivated pastures had longer gestation periods than those on native rangelands (389 vs. 379 days). Also in years with favorable vs. poor range conditions, gestation was longer (392 vs. 381 days) and newborns weighed more (8-7 vs. 8-1 kg). The explanation for this may be that females on good forage can afford longer gestations, give birth to a larger young, and be assured that favorable forage will be available for costly lactation. In contrast, females on poor forage have shorter gestations, cannot afford long gestations because of the potential cost of lowering their own health, and need to start lactation as soon as possible while there is at least some forage available before the dry season begins. Age of the Alpaca mother and date of parturition also influenced offspring survival in the Peruvian studies. In a curvilinear fashion, survival of young born to mothers two and three years of age was lower than those with mothers 9-11 years old (82% vs. 91% survival), but declines to 88% for mothers 15 years of age. In Australia, the gestation of spring-mated females is ten days longer than fall-mated females. Birth weight of Alpaca neonates averages 8-4 kg in Peru, with significant variation as indicated among femaleage groups. The importance of good maternal nutrition is critical for such a species with an unusually long gestation. At 180 days or almost half way through gestation the fetus weighs 600 g, only 7% of its eventual 9 kg at birth. Some 93% ofits growth takes place in the last half of gestation, and at 230 days or two-thirds of the way into gestation, a remarkable 72% ofits growth is yet to be gained. The heavy energy demands of lactation lasting 6—8 months, mostly coincides with the Andean rainy, or growing season. Even though multiple ovulations occur c¢.10% of the time, Alpaca twins are extremely rare in Peru and in the USA; only one out of ¢.2000 births. If neonatal twins do occurthere is a significant difference in size, e.g. 4 kg and 6 kg, with the smaller one typically in the right horn of the uterus dying during gestation resulting in the death of the other. After giving birth the female comes into estrus within 48 hours, but only with initial follicular growth. Follicular size and activity capable of ovulation in response to copulation is observed from the fifth day, but the higher rates offertility begin ten days after parturition with the highest fertility 20-30 days postpartum. The Peruvian Alpaca birth season is from December to May. Females are not separated from the herd due to the lack of space. The umbilical of the newborn is treated with iodine or an herb solution to prevent infection and diarrhea. Newborns are watched closely by the herder to assure first nursing is successful (first milk is high in colostrum, rich in antibodies). Parturition in indigenous herds averages a low 50% and juvenile mortality is high (15-35%); itis estimated that no more than half of the female Alpaca of reproductive age produce young every year. Young born during the birth season also had higher survival than those born late. Additionally, juvenile survival is curvilinearly related to birth weight. Neonates weighing 9-11 kg had an average 92% survival but those weighing 4-5 kg survived at a rate of 30-50%. When pregnant females (n = 424) and their young were monitored,it was found that newborn birth weight, and weight and width of the placenta increased with age of the dam reaching a peak at nine years and then declined progressively. Placental efficiency also increased with female Alpaca age, showing a bimodal shape and peaking at 6-11year-old females; more young died from two-year-old females than any other age; and dead neonates weighed less (6-4 kg) than those that survived (7-8 kg). In indigenous herds, young-of-the-year are usually not weaned due to the lack of extra pastures and the labor involved. Instead, young nurse beyond one year of age, including up to the time the mother gives birth again. To impede the yearling from competing with the newborn for nursing, herders will sometimes temporarily pierce the yearling’s nose with a stick. In commercial Alpaca herds weaning occurs in September through October, sometimes until November, when young are 6-8 months old.</p> <p>Activity patterns. The daily routine or activity pattern of indigenous Alpaca family flocks is quite consistent. After having spent the night in a stone corral or next to the family house (usually a stone hut called a choza), the animals are released or move out on their own to graze for the day soon after sunrise. While the family’s sheep flock is tended by a herder, the Alpaca flock is not accompanied by a herder. Instead,its daily movements and activity patterns while grazing are self-directed within 1-2 km of their home base to local bofedales and other feeding areas of their choice. As sunset approaches, the flock returns to the home site by themselves without being escorted by a herder. Daytime activity budgets (percentage of time) of Alpacas compared to sheep while both species grazed on native-Andean pasture dominated by the favorable forage Festuca dolichophylla, have shown that while other activities were similar, Alpacas fed more (71% vs. 57%) and rested less (11% vs. 25%) than sheep.</p> <p>Movements, Home range and Social organization. Seasonal patterns of Alpaca movement are determined by herders as influenced by the availability of forage, varying from one locality to next. One common annual movement of Alpacas in the Andes is to graze herds during the rainy season (generallyJanuary to April) in lower mountains (3600-4100 m) areas characterized by pampas, slopes, and rounded ridges. Then in the dry season (generally May to December) they are moved up to the high altitudes (4100-5200 m) to find favorable forage, bofedales, and water. When the rainy season begins, they are moved back to lower areas where grasses are beginning to grow and to avoid severe hailstorms and other weather at higher altitudes. Herders, however, without access to two seasonal sites maintain their animals in the same area year-round. Indigenous families that raise livestock in the Peruvian Andes on the average have 70 Alpacas (30-120), 30 Llamas (4-50), and 50 sheep (10-80). More importance is placed upon Alpacas because they offer greater economic diversity. Most (90-95%) of the Alpaca woolis sold, the balance used for home use. Many of the young males one to two years old are sold for meat production, and old animals are culled to make jerky. In three Peruvian Alpaca farms that were cooperatively, family, and individually owned, percent herd composition was females: 60/ 65/ 70; gelded males: 25/30/25; breeding males: 3/4/5; white animals: 70/70/90; and colored animals: 30/30/10. With Alpacas that are owned as private property, each member of the family owns animals but herd control is under the family. Ownership is designated by ear markings or colored yarn. Animals are often given as presents or ceremonial gifts. They play an important role in the rituals, symbols, mythology, and ceremoniesin the life of Andean people. Individual animals are recognized and described by physical characteristics and usually given a name. Alpacas have feminine attributes in the Andean cosmic vision oflife and the world, and generically referred to as “mothers” and “dear mothers.” Alpacas are highly social with strong herding behavior, making them easier to drive when necessary. In small, mixed-sex herds, dominance is clear with a few adult males as the leaders. Alpacas are more skittish and shy with strangers than Llamas. When a free-ranging flock is approached on foot, they will distance themselves more quickly than a herd of Llamas. Once they become familiar with you, however, they are docile and easier to handle than sheep. There are no known unmanaged or feral populations of Alpaca that would allow us to assess their social organization and full repertoire of behavior. However, a number of subtle-contrasting characteristics exist in Alpaca behavior that turn out to be, not surprisingly, very similar to the Vicuna: tighter grouping, vocal communication more common, less communicative with their tails, love water and bathe regularly, greater susceptibility to heat stress, higher site fidelity, males more protective of females, less cooperative, and more distant and stand-offish.</p> <p>Status and Conservation. Alpacas and Llamas were important to ancient Andean civilizations such as the Tiwanaku Culture that dominated the Lake Titicaca region from ¢.300 BC to 1000 Ap, and the Inca Culture that dominated the Central Andes in the 15% and 16" centuries. When the Incas captured the cameloid-rich kingdoms near Lake Titicaca and south, they acquired giant herds of Llamas and Alpacas. The Incas then sent “seed herds” throughout their empire and commanded that they be reproduced. State-controlled husbandry of Alpacas produced vast herds that numbered into the millions. The Incas placed special emphasis on avoidance of crossbreeding with Llamas and selective breeding of pure-colored Alpacas (brown, black, and white) for quality wool and sacrifice to deities. The Spanish invasion in the 16™ century destroyed that advanced management system and there ensued a breakdown of controlled breeding. Today, the raising of Alpacas in the high altitudes of Peru and Bolivia contributes substantially to the economy of the region. However, animal production is limited by the low level of technology, adverse climate, disease, herders with scarce resources, and frequent over utilization of native rangelands. The Andean grazing system is extensively based upon utilization of native high-altitude grasslands by mixed herds that include not only Alpacas, but sheep and Llamas as well. Pastoralism and mixed agropastoralism form the subsistence base for the agricultural segment of the high Andes. Indigenous communities control the greatest number of camelids and sheep, as well as half of the native rangelands, which comprise ¢.95% ofthe land area above 3800 m. The Alpaca population in South America is c.4-5 million, down some 20% since the mid-1960s, but up 25% from the early 2000s. Today, numbers are at least stable, if not increasing. Most Alpacas are in Peru with 91%, followed by Bolivia 8% and Chile 1%. Few Alpacas occur in Argentina because of the lack of moist Puna and the dominance of the dry Puna. More than 73-87% are in southern Peru (Arequipa, Cuzco, Moquegua, Puno, and Tacna), with nearly half of the world’s Alpaca in the Department of Puno. Females represent c¢.70% of the total Alpaca population. A high percentage (85-95%) of Alpacas are owned and managed by native herders in small flocks ofless than 50 animals, but some commercial Alpaca herds are as large as 30,000 -50,000 individuals. Although indigenous herders raise most Alpacas, productivity traditionally has been the lowest due to over stocking, improper health care, and inbreeding. Peru has ¢.789,775 producers raising Alpacas; Bolivia has 13,603, and Chile 916. Starting in the early 1980s Alpacas were exported from Chile, Bolivia, and Peru to the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, where cottage industries in Alpaca wool have developed. In the USA the Alpaca Owners &amp; Breeders Association numbered over 4500 members with 143,000 registered Alpacas in 2010. Peru exports c. US $ 24 million worth of Alpaca products (wool, tops, yarns, woven fabrics, and knitwear) annually to countries around the world, especially China, Germany, and Italy. Annual Alpaca wool production in South America is 4-1 million kg (90% from Peru), yet only represents 0-6% of the world’s fine-fibered wool production (fine sheep wool is ¢.90-95% followed by cashmere at 5-10%). Because of a high market demand for white wool from Huacaya Alpaca, which can be dyed to any desired color, the Alpaca population has become dominated (80-87%) by white individuals. The result has been a scarcity of individuals with pure natural colors and a reduction of genetic diversity in the species. Pure black Alpacas are the rarest. The problem has been recognized and pure natural colors are now beginning to recover. Alpaca wool prices were at their peak from the 1960s-1980s then declined due to land reforms and competition from synthetics. Prices, however, still remain high at four times the value of sheep wool. In North America in its raw state, an ounce of Alpaca varies from US $ 2 to US $ 5. Each stage of the process (cleaning, carding, spinning, knitting, finishing, etc) adds more value to the wool. As a finished garment, it can sell for US $ 10/0z. In addition to its importance as a producer of fine wool, Alpacas have been a valuable source of meat and hides in South America. In the late 1990s some eleven million kilograms of Alpaca meat were produced annually in Peru, representing 10-15% of the country’s total Alpaca population. The best yield and tenderest meat is from animals 1-5-2 years old, but most are slaughtered at 7-8 years old because their wool has become too coarse for economic production. Alpaca meat is healthful, rich in protein and low in cholesterol and fat. Prime cuts are 50% of the carcass and sold either fresh or frozen to meat markets, restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets. Hides are tanned for soft leather products or sold with the fleece intact as wall hangings, rugs, and toys. For indigenous peoples that raise most Alpacas, family income from these animals is primarily from meat (44% fresh, 16% dried) and secondarily from the wool (31%). Despite its excellent quality, the price received for Alpaca meat is 50% less than that for sheep and beef, due to long standing prejudice towards camelid meat. Beginning in the 1960s Peru was the world leader in quality Alpaca research, especially by the progressive staff and visiting scientists working at the La Raya Research Station from Cuzco University. With the export of Alpacas around the globe starting in the 1990s, serious science on this longneglected species and family expanded to a number of countries. Universities in the USA and Australia pursued vigorous research programs into reproduction, disease, genetics, and nutrition. The future for the Alpaca is encouraging. Wide opportunities exist for improved successful Alpaca production in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia, especially if the stewardship of the Alpaca’s principle habitat, bofedales, is improved towards sustained and balanced use.</p> <p>Bibliography. Allen (2010), Bravo &amp; Varela (1993), Bravo, Garnica &amp; Puma (2009), Bravo, Pezo &amp; Alarcén (1995), Bryant et al. (1989), Bustinza (1989), Calle Escobar (1984), Cardellino &amp; Mueller (2009), Castellaro et al. (1998), Fernandez-Baca et al. (1972a, 1972b), Flores Ochoa &amp; MacQuarrie (1995), Florez (1991), Gonzales (1990), Groeneveld et al. (2010), Hoffman &amp; Fowler (1995), Huacarpuma (1990), Kadwell et al. (2001), Moscoso &amp; Bautista (2003), Munoz (2008), Novoa &amp; Florez (1991), Orlove (1977), Quispe et al. (2009), San Martin (1989), Sumar (1996), Sumar et al. (1972), Tuckwell (1994), Villarroel (1991).</p></div> 	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A44FFC1D0A7FD9EF7A7FE66	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
03928E699A49FFC0D040FC84F6FFF24B.text	03928E699A49FFC0D040FC84F6FFF24B.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Camelus bactrianus Linnaeus 1758	<div><p>5.</p> <p>Bactrian Camel</p> <p>Camelus bactrianus</p> <p>French: Chameau / German: Kamel / Spanish: Camello bactriano</p> <p>Other common names: Two-Humped Camel, Double-Humped Camel, Asiatic Camel, Wild Bactrian Camel</p> <p>Taxonomy. Camelus bactrianus Linnaeus, 1758,</p> <p>habitat in Africa. Restricted to “Bactria” (Uzbekistan, Bokhara) by Thomas in 1911 based on domestic stock.</p> <p>Bactria and Bactriana were the Greek and Latin names for the ancient Persian provincial capital Baxtriya in Central Asia. Aristotle (384-322 Bc) applied the term “Bactrian” to the domestic camel associated with this eastern region of the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which prospered from Bactrian Camel caravans that transported goods between the East and West over the famed Silk Road. The question of the relatedness and genetic distinctiveness of wild and domestic Bactrian Camelsis actively being pursued. Scientists argue variously that: 1) the wild Bactrian is the progenitor of today’s domestic Bactrian; 2) wild Bactrians are escapees and feral forms of domestics; 3) both derived from a common ancestor now extinct; or 4) both derived from separate ancestors now extinct. Preliminary work by Chinese geneticists first suggested the two Bactrians were sufficiently different to warrant subspecies or potentially even species separation. Recent mtDNA studies by Austrian scientists favor the final argument, estimating divergence between the two camelids at 700,000 years ago in the Pleistocene long before Bactrian domestication (4000-6000 years ago). Some classify the wild Bactrian as Camelus gobi or Camelus bactrianus gobi, while others apply the name Camelus ferus due to a ruling by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature because C. ferus was first applied to the wild species. In this account, the two animals are differentiated at the subspecies level (wild = C. b. ferus and domestic = C. b. bactrianus). Genetic justification for recognizing the domestic form as a separate species is growing, and all workers agree that the critically endangered wild Bactrian is in desperate need of protective conservation measures. Two subspecies recognized here.</p> <p>Subspecies and Distribution.</p> <p>C.b.bactrianusLinnaeus,1758—aridlandsanddesertsofC&amp;SAsiaasdomesticatedlivestock.</p> <p>C. b. ferus Przewalski, 1878 — NW China (C &amp; SE Xinjiang, Nei Mongol, NW Qinghai &amp; NW Gansu) and Mongolia.</p> <p>Descriptive notes. Head—body 320-350 cm, tail 51-64 cm, shoulder height 160-180 cm; weight 450-500 kg. Compared to Dromedary Camels (C. dromedarius), Bactrians have stouter and thicker bodies with relatively shorter legs, and two humps instead of one. Dromedaries are slimmer and taller. In winter the Bactrian’s long, woolly coat is sandy beige to dark brown, shedding in large clumps as temperatures warm in spring. They have a mane and a beard of long hair on the neck and throat, with hairs up to 25 cm long. Long eyelashes and sealable nostrils help to keep out dust in sandstorms. Two broad toes on each foot with undivided soles create a large, flat footpad that spreads widely as an adaptation for walking on sand. Their long face is somewhat triangular, with a split upper lip. Bactrians are well suited to cold and hot temperatures and are suspected to have physiological adaptations similar to those of Dromedaries. Their humps function the same way as Dromedaries’ humps, storing fat convertible to water and energy when there is a shortage of sustenance and enabling the animals to endure harsh desert conditions and periods of travel without water. As the fat depletes, the humps become floppy and flabby. Like Dromedaries, Bactrians rarely sweat, facilitating conservation of fluids. Dehydrated animals are able to drink 135 1 of water in 13 minutes. Although wild and domestic Bactrians have similar conformation and body structure, field observers report obvious differences in behavior, habits, and general appearance. Unlike the ponderous domestic Bactrians, wild ones are relatively lithe. Wild Bactrians are slimmer and smaller-bodied (laterally compressed), with slender limbs. They are sandy-gray-brown rather than predominantly dark brown, with shorter, sparser wool. There is no tuft of hair on top of the head, and the hair on the neck,tail, and knee joints is shorter. They do not have growths on the inner foreleg or callosities on the knees. The wild form has smaller ears and very narrow feet. Notably, their humps are lower, pointed, conical-shaped, and usually about half the size orless of the domestic Bactrian’s. They are timid and elusive.</p> <p>Habitat. Bactrians are adapted for living in plains and hills where vegetation and water sources are sparse. They inhabit some of most inhospitable terrain in the world, centered in the extreme Gobi Desert of Central Asia. Gobi means “the rocky place” and it is primarily a rocky desert covered with small stones. There are low valleys and eroded hills, rocky-mountain massifs, “hamadas” (flat pavement-like stony plains), vast washed-out plains, high sand dunes, and rarely, poplarfringed oases. Summers are torrid, winters are cold. Annual precipitation is 50-200 mm. This is a region of extreme drought and scarce food and water. The Taklamankan Desert is sandy; Lop Nur Desert is both a rocky and sandy desert. Field studies in the Lop Nur Lake region of China revealed a Bactrian habitat preference for riparian communities and piedmont foothills; they were more often found in higher,hilly landscape than in the open. The Bactrians avoided gravel desert substrate and areas with hard, salt-crusted soil or moving sand dunes, preferring moderately hard ground. They stayed away from areas occupied by people. They used locations where the distance between foraging habitats and water sources did not exceed ¢.50-60 km and where there was relatively high coverage of halophytic vegetation, especially along lakeshores. In Mongolia preliminary results of satellite telemetry revealed a weak preference for habitat dominated by saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendrum) and no selection of areas with higher productivity or closer to permanent water sources. Climate change has altered Bactrian habitat by increasing the rate of desertification and reducing water resources and vegetation. Wild Bactrians have few native predators. Contrary to some accounts, Snow Leopards (Panthera uncia) pose no threat, and although Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) predation does occur,its impact is poorly understood.</p> <p>Food and Feeding. Bactrians are opportunistic feeders capable of utilizing low-quality forage when more desirable herbage is unavailable. They are both grazers and browsers. Research on free-ranging domestic Bactrians in wild Bactrian habitat in the Gobi Desert provides the best information available on feeding habits. Those studies found that the camels’ main diet switched from senesced forbs in winter to a shrub in spring and to an increasing dependence on forbs in autumn. Although the shrub Haloxylon ammodendron was the dominant and highest biomass species in this desert community and a staple component of the camels’ diet each season, it was not preferred forage. Still, the shrub was essential when preferred forbs were not available in spring and summer. In autumn preferred annual forbs provided sufficient biomass. New plant growth during the wet season in summer and autumn was vitally important for replenishing the camels’ depleted fat reserves in preparation for winter. Domestic Bactrians are dependent on a year-long forage supply from the fragile and extremely arid environment they occupy. They show a preference for grazing on forbs, but are highly dependent upon browsing on shrubs. It has been reported that Bactrians can utilize salt water, with some researchers stating that salty water is necessary for their survival. When sufficient food is available in spring, summer, and autumn, Bactrians rarely have to drink, obtaining water requirements from plant moisture. In winter they have been observed to eat ice and snow.</p> <p>Breeding. Breeding season is called the “musth” after the thick fluid exuded from a gland on the neck behind the head in adult males. A study of semi-captive wild Bactrians found that females reached puberty after three years and males at 5-7 years of age. Wild rutting males in Mongolia begin forming harems in late autumn (November) and mating in early winter, with most mating in January and February, but occasionally as late at March, or even May. Young males are driven out of the harems by rutting males and form bachelor herds; young females remain with their mothers. Males employ spitting (saliva and pseudorumen contents), kicking, biting, and screaming as offensive and defensive behaviors against each other during mating season. During the rut, wild males stretch their necks, shake their heads while roaring, and make loud noises with their teeth. Simultaneously they are foaming/frothing from the mouth and shaking their lips to throw foam on their head and chests. Occasionally they widen their hindlegs to urinate on their tails, using the tail to spread urine on their hips, hump, and head. The concentrated brown secretion from the 1-5 cm x 5 cm gland behind the head is rubbed on the forehump, giving it a darker color. The penis is 4 cm wide x 13-5 cm long. There is no use of dung piles by either sex. Estrous females are usually receptive in January or February for 4-7 days, at which time they follow males, knocking mating males off females and occasionally urinating. To mate, females lift theirtails after lying down in a sternal recumbancy position. Males typically mate with females 2-3 times in the morning or evening for 3-5 minutes each time. After mating, the genitals of females swell and become pink. Females are semen-induced ovulators. Ovulation occurs 30-48 hours after mating. Gestation of semi-captives in Mongolia was 390-430 days (13-14 months) depending upon the age of the female and the number of previous calves. Females give birth to a single offspring while standing, but only every 2-3 years. Spring birth season is from March to April. Females giving birth isolate themselves from other animals and people, remaining alone for about two weeks. Calves are able to stumble-walk within 15-30 minutes. They weigh 32-34 kg at birth and nurse every 1-2 hours. Body growth levels off at seven years. Domestic Bactrians produce ¢.760 I of milk during 16 months of lactation. Calves are commonly weaned at 10-11 months but may nurse for up to 18 months. In captive Bactrians there is liberal and indiscriminate allonursing (adult females nursing non-offspring); this has been observed about one-third of the time, and was not correlated with the age of the mother or relatedness of the calf. Spring to autumn calf mortality is high, at 50%. Poor calf survival is often the result of drought, sandstorms, and freezing temperatures. Aerial surveys in the early 2000s counted only 3-9 young/ 100 adults,significantly lower than surveys in 1980 and 1998. The remaining Bactrian population cannot sustain itself with such a low calf-survival rate. Wild and domestic Bactrian Camels readily interbreed, producing fertile-hybrid offspring that can be differentiated by genetic testing based upon fixed mitochondrial sequence polymorphism. They can live as long as 35 years.</p> <p>Activity patterns. Activity budgets are an indication of an animal’s welfare since its primary activities are centered on energy acquisition, conservation, or expenditure. Bactrian Camels are diurnal feeders and nocturnal sleepers. In winter they spend less time foraging and more time resting than in spring and summer. There is high foraging activity in spring, triggered by readily available shrubs with minimal walking required. Daily patterns of activity are structured to expend the least amount of energy to obtain food, even when the food is not preferred forage.</p> <p>Movements, Home range and Social organization. Bactrians often move 50-100 km seeking permanent surface water and patches of foraging habitat. Some populations are suspected to be migratory, especially those in the Chinese Lop Nur Lake region where the animals move between lakeside riparian communities in winter and cooler foothills in the summer. Researchers tracked seven wild camels in the Mongolian Gobi for one year, using satellite telemetry. One adult female moved a minimum of 4527 km in a home range of 17,232 km. She spent 75% of her time within 8699 km?. Ground surveys in Mongolia report that the Bactrian population was composed of 82% adults, 12% juveniles (non-reproductive young), and 6% calves (depending upon the time of year). Groups sighted in China numbered 4-40 individuals and in Mongolia from one animal to dozens, with researchers frequently encountering groups of more than 50 animals. From 1982 to 1989, when a total of 2370 wild Bactrians and 675 groups were sighted, average herd size was six (5-3—-6-5) with 6-20 animals/group the most common. Other than sporadic and irregular sightings in the vast Gobi Desert, where low densities of Bactrian Camels occur, we know almost nothing of their year-round social organization. However, it would not be surprising to find that the Bactrian social system is similar to that observed in wild/feral Dromedaries of Australia. Gray Wolves have been cited as a contributing factor to the Bactrian’s decline in both China and Mongolia, but the evidence is weak because it is primarily based upon camel remains in scats, which could have been from scavenging.</p> <p>Status and Conservation. The wild subspecies is classified as Critically Endangered on The IUCN Red List and Endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It is considered by some to be on the verge of extinction. Protected nationally in China and Mongolia. The Bactrian’s original distribution and natural habitat was the entire Asian Trans-Altai Gobi Desert, stretching from the great bend of the Yellow River in north-east China throughout Mongolia to central Kazakhstan in the west, at elevations 1500-2000 m above sea level in an area that encompassed nearly 100,000 km *. Today they are greatly reduced to a few small and fragmented populations in south-western Mongolia and nearby areas of north-western China in a total area ¢. 28,000 km *. Four populations of wild Bactrians survive: the Taklamakan Desert; Altun Mountains and Archik Valley; and Gashun Desert populations in China; and the Outer Gobi Desert population of Mongolia and China, which migrates between the two countries. Overall numbers greatly reduced in the past century because of hunting for their meat and hides, habitat loss due to grazing, and competition for water with domestic livestock (domestic camels, sheep, goats, horses, and cattle), interbreeding with domestic camels, mining activities, and poor reproduction and survival of young. Because of harsh climatic conditions, lack of appropriate aircraft for aerial surveys, and the remote and vast region where the remaining Bactrians live, there is uncertainty as to the total numbers remaining. The famous Russian explorer Nikolai Przhevalsky, who is given credit for discovering the wild Bactrian Camel of Asia during his travels to Mongolia and China, noted in 1876: “According to our informants wild camels are numerous in north-western Tsaidam, where the country is barren, the soil being clay, overgrown with budarbana, and so destitute of water that they have to go several miles to drink, and in winter are obligated to satisfy their thirst with snow. The herds are small, averaging five to ten in each, never more than twenty. Their appearanceis slightly different from the domesticated breed: their humps are smaller, the muzzle more pointed, and the color of the hair gray.” It has been reported that wild Bactrians experienced drastic reduction in numbers and range over the past 10-20 years, but the most recent and reliable data suggests that populations in Mongolia have been relatively stable if not increasing. Actual numbers are unclear and little is known. Estimates of total population size from incomplete ground surveys are as low as 730-950 individuals with projections from aerial surveys in Mongolia of 4335 individuals. Attempts to assist with Bactrian conservation efforts in Mongolia through a captive breeding program have been unsuccessful. In China, the population is suspected to be decreasing in the Taklamakan Desert, because of oil development, but not in the Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve. The wild Bactrian Camel may well be one of the most endangered large mammals on Earth, and our knowledge ofits basic biology and ecology is dismally poor. Research is needed on the comparative genetics of wild and domestic forms, reproductive physiology, population structure and dynamics, and habitat requirements. Bactrian camels need immediate conservation attention, including standardization of methodology for accurate population surveys in both China and Mongolia; development of a comprehensive conservation program; increasing support among local people, including control of illegal hunting; habitat improvement; prevention of hybridization with domestic camels that threatens the gene pool of the Mongolian wild camel population, particularly in the Great Gobi “A” Strictly Protected Area and its associated Buffer Zone; and an increase in the number and size of protected areas. The Lop Nur Wild Camel National Nature Reserve in China, a former nuclear test site, is especially critical because it is believed to contain the most genetically pure individuals of the species.</p> <p>Bibliography. Adiya et al. (2004), Al-Ani (2004), Bannikov (1976), Burger &amp; Charruau (2011), China Statistical Yearbook (2008), Gauthier-Pilters &amp; Dagg (1981), Gentry et al. (2004), Grubb (2005), Guoying (2001), Han Jie et al. (2002), Hare (1996, 1997, 1998, 2008), Indra et al. (2002, 2003), Ji Rimutu et al. (2009), Menglia et al. (2006), Mijiddorj (2002a, 2002b), Mix et al. (2002), Peters &amp; von den Driesch (1997b), Potts (2004), Reading, Blumeret al. (2005), Reading, Enkhbileg &amp; Galbataar (2002), Reading, Mix, Blumer et al. (2002), Reading, Mix, Lhagvasuren &amp; Blumer (1999), Schaller (1998), Silbermayr et al. (2010) Tilson (1986), Tserenbaljid (2002), Tulgat (2002), Tulgat &amp; Schaller (1992), Weidong et al. (2002), Wang Zhenghuan et al. (2002).</p></div> 	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A49FFC0D040FC84F6FFF24B	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
03928E699A4FFFC6D57EFE83F6A8F649.text	03928E699A4FFFC6D57EFE83F6A8F649.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus 1758	<div><p>6.</p> <p>Dromedary Camel</p> <p>Camelus dromedarius</p> <p>French: Dromadaire / German: Dromedar / Spanish: Dromedario</p> <p>Other common names: Camel, Arabian Camel, One-Humped Camel, Single-Humped Camel, Ship of the Desert</p> <p>Taxonomy. Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758,</p> <p>“Habitat in Africae desertis arenosis siticulosis.” Restricted to “deserts of Libya and Arabia” by Thomas in 1911.</p> <p>This species is monotypic.</p> <p>Distribution. A species found in the arid and semi-arid regions of N Africa to the Middle East, and parts of C Asia. A sizeabledfreeranging/feral population in C&amp;W Australia. The Dromedary overlaps with the domestic Bactrian Camel (C. bactrianus) in Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Dromedaries are a domestic species with c¢.50 breeds selected and used for pulling carts, plowing, lifting water at wells, carrying packs, milk production, smooth riding, and racing. The breeds include those in Saudi Arabia (Mojaheem, Maghateer, Wadah, and Awarik), India (Bikaneri, Jaisalmeri, Kachchhi, and Mewari), Pakistan (Marecha, Dhatti, Larri, Kohi, Campbelpuri, and Sakrai), and Turkmenistan (Arvana). The evidence for domestication comes from archaeological sites dating ¢.4000-5000 years ago in the S Arabian Peninsula with the wild form becoming extinct ¢.2000-5000 years ago. No non-introduced wild populations exist. In Asia Dromedaries occur from Turkey to W India and N to Kazahkstan. All camels in Africa are Dromedaries, 80-85% in the Sahel and NE portion of the continent (Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya), with the S distribution limited by humidity and trypanosomiasis. Dromedaries in S Africa show no evidence of loss of genetic diversity within 16 populations and very low differentiation among populations. In Kenyan Dromedaries two separate genetic entities have been identified: the Somali and a group including the Gabbra, Rendille, and Turkana populations. In India two distinct genetic clusters have been described for Dromedaries: the Mewari breed being differentiated from the Bikaneri, Kutchi, and the Jaisalmeri breeds. From the 17" to the early 20" century unsuccessful attempts were made to introduce Dromedaries to the Caribbean, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Namibia, and south-western USA. Successful introductions of camels were made to the Canary Islands in 1405 and some 10,000 to Australia from 1840 to 1907. Camels were important for exploring and developing the Outback of C&amp;W Australia, where they were used for riding; drafting; transporting supplies, railway, and telegraph materials; and as a source of meat and wool. Most (6600) introduced Dromedaries came from India. Three breeds were originally introduced: camels for riding from Rajasthan, India, camels for heavy work from the Kandahar region of Afghanistan, and camels for riding and carrying moderate cargo loads from Sind, Pakistan. The camels in Australia today are a blend of these original imports. By the 1920s, there were an estimated 20,000 domesticated camels in Australia, but by 1930, with the arrival of rail and motor transportation, camels were no longer needed and many were released to the wild. Well suited to the Australian deserts, the camels bred prolifically, spreading across arid and semi-arid areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia, and into parts of Queensland, and today they occupy 37% of the continent.</p> <p>Descriptive notes. Head-body 220-340 cm, tail 45-55 cm, shoulder height 180-200 cm; weight 400-600 kg. Males and females of near equal size, but in some breeds the females are ¢.10% smaller than males. Body is often sandy colored, but can range from nearly all white to black or even two-colored piebald. Body shape characterized by a long-curved neck, long and thin legs, and deep narrow chest. The hindquarters are less developed than the weight-bearing front legs. Large eyes are protected by prominent supraorbital ridges. Facial features include thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, and transparent eyelids that allow partial vision when the eyes close in sandstorms. Thick fine hair in winter for warmth sheds in summer. Hair is longer on throat, shoulder, and hump. The single hump, on the middle of the back (c. 20 cm higher than shoulder)is a reservoir offatty cells bound by fibroustissues, used in times of food and water scarcity. Hump size varies, depending upon an individual's nutritional status. In a state of starvation, the hump can be almost non-existent. The head is small relative to body size. Slit-like nostrils, surrounded by sphincter muscles, can close to keep out dust and sand. Split upperlip with two independently moving halves and a pendulous lowerlip allow for prehensile-like grasping of forage. Upper middle and inner incisors are replaced by a tough dental pad that opposes the lower incisors. Canines, especially the upper, are massive and pointed. Skin is tightly attached to underlying tissues and modified into horny pads at the sternum, elbows, carpals,stifles, and tarsals: these protect the body when a camelis lying down on hot or rough ground. No facial glands, but males have well-developed occipital glands 5-6 cm below the nuchal crest on either side of the neck midline. The glands increase in size with age, and during the rut they secrete a pungent coffee-colored fluid. Small oval erythrocytes may enhance blood circulation and oxygen carrying capacity. Dromedaries are digitgrade each with two dorsal nails and padded feet well adapted for sandy substrates; the front feet are larger than the hindfeet. The mammary gland has four quarters and teats. Adult dental formula: 11/3,C1/1,P 3/2, M 3/3 (x2) = 32 with permanent lower incisors appearing at 2:5—6-5 years and all teeth emerged by eight years. A triangular bone ¢.3 x 2: 5 cm is lodged in the tendinous fibers in the center of the diaphragm, preventing compression of the interior vena cava and distributing muscular pull over a larger surface. Lungs are not lobed. The stomach is complex, with three compartments. When foraging on green and moist plants Dromedaries do not require drinking water. If wateris available in summer, they will drink regularly at dawn. In extreme drought, they need access to waterholes. The Dromedary’s ability to endure severe heat and dryness does not depend upon water storage; instead, numerous mechanisms minimize water loss. In well-watered animals body temperature fluctuates only c.2°C. When necessary, water conservation is aided by heat storage (hyperthermia): camels do not sweat until body temperature exceeds 41-42°C, thus avoiding water loss through perspiration. The body temperature of camels deprived of water can fluctuate as much as 6°C by heating up during the day to 41°C and then cooling at night to 35°C. Dehydrated Dromedaries have a depressed rate of breathing, minimizing water loss through respiration. Paired, fluid-producing sacs connecting the nasal cavities and a pair of lateral nasal glands and sacs serve to moisten incoming dry air. Dromedaries can tolerate water loss greater than 30% of their body mass, whereas 15% lossis lethal for most mammals. Such water loss is from intraand intercellular fluids, and not from plasma, allowing for relatively constant circulation of blood and maintaining the ability to cool. Water loss is ¢.50% greater in shorn compared to unshorn camels. Dromedaries often go without water in the Sahara Desert for seven or eight months, beginning in October, existing only on water content of plants. At temperatures between 30°C and 50°C they can go without water for 10-15 days, and even in the hottest weather need water only every 4-7 days. They can quickly rehydrate by drinking large quantities of water (10-20 1/minute and up to 130 1/minute), consuming up to 30% of their body weight within minutes. Dromedaries can drink salt water in even greater concentrations than seawater. They can consume water containing 19,000 ppm (parts-per-million) in dissolved salt without a decline in condition, compared to sheep, which can consume water at 10,000 ppm and cattle 5000 ppm. Dehydrated camels excrete less fecal water, greatly reduce urine volume, highly increase urine concentration, and recycle urea from the kidneys to the rumen for protein synthesis and water recirculation. Their erythrocytes have high osmotic resistance and can swell to 240% of their initial size without hemolysis during rehydration. Accumulation of fat in the hump instead of subcutaneously facilitates heat dissipation. The gallbladderis absent. The dulla, a pink, tongue-like bladder that hangs out the side of mouth of rutting-agitated males,is actually an inflation ofthe soft palate and unique to Dromedaries. Dulla inflation is typically accompanied by large amounts of saliva foam and gurgling vocalization.</p> <p>Habitat. In Africa Dromedaries occupy the Sahara Desert, known forits long, hot-dry season and a short rainy season. In Australia, Dromedaries favor bushy semi-arid lands and sand plains because of the availability of year-round forage, and avoid heavily vegetated and hard rocky areas.</p> <p>Food and Feeding. Dromedaries are capable of surviving on poor-quality forage under arid conditions, aided by their ability to select high-quality plant species, increase digestion of low-quality forage, cover large distances while foraging, and diversify the nature of their diet by being both browsers (shrubs and trees) and grazers (forbs and grasses). In the Sahara browse and forbs make up 70% oftheir diet in winter and 90% in summer. Over 300 forage plants have been reported, with Acacia, Atriplex, and Salsola common in their diet. In Syria shrubs dominated the diet during the dry season, but camels switched mainly to herbaceous species with the onset of the wet season. In Australian deserts food intake by volume is 53% browse, 42% forbs, and 5% grasses. Dromedaries browse on trees and tall shrubs up to 3-5 m by grasping with their lips and either breaking off branches or stripping leaves. Under extreme cases of limited forage, the Dromedary can not only decrease its food intake, but also reduce its metabolic rate. Compared to sheep and cattle, Dromedaries require less energy for maintenance; their protein requirements are at least 30% lower than cattle, sheep, or goats. Feeding trials have revealed that Dromedaries utilized fed energy for maintenance with an efficiency of 73% comparable to sheep, and for growth with an efficiency of 61% better than sheep and cattle. The relationship of food intake to body size is low. They can live on only 2 kg of dry matter for limited periods, and 8-12 kg are sufficient for a working Dromedary carrying 130-227 kg load for six hours a day at a speed of 5 km /h for a 24day trip. When forage conditions are lush, camels tend to overeat for their immediate needs and store the excess energy in their humps. Dromedaries require six to eight times more salt than other animals, with 30% oftheir diet from halophytes (plants that tolerate and even require salty conditions). High salt intake is imperative for alimentary absorption of water by camels, with salt deficiencies leading to cramps and cutaneous necrosis. Although consumption of grain can cause indigestion in animals unaccustomed to it, working Dromedaries require 2 kg of grain per day.</p> <p>Breeding. The breeding season is variable depending upon latitude and climate patterns. Dromedaries typically breed in winter, except near the Equator, where there can be two mating seasons or even year-round mating. In the Arabian camel, sexual receptivity is triggered by rainfall and subsequent availability of forage. There is follicular activity in the female year-round, but it peaks in winter and spring. Mating induces ovulation, which occurs 30-40 hours afterwards; estrus ceases three days later. An unmated female's cycle averages 28 days;follicles mature within six days, are maintained for 13 days, and regress over eight days. The percentage of females that conceived: 50% after a single copulation, 30% after two, and 20% after three or more, during the first two days of estrus. Left and right ovaries are equally active and alternate in follicle production. Egg migration is common, 50% of left-horn implants form corpora lutea in the right ovary, explaining the long oviductal transport time of six days. Simultaneous ovulation from both ovaries occurs 14% of time, but twin pregnancies only 0-4%. The left horn of the uterus is larger than the right and carries 99% of pregnancies. Normal pregnancy produces one offspring, with twins being extremely unusual. The scrotum is high in the perineal region with testes larger during rut. Penis is covered with a triangular sheath opening pointing posteriorally and directed between the hindlegs. A complete separation of the penis from preputial adhesions prevents erections at 6-10 months before sexual maturity. Female lies down in sternal recumbency during copulations averaging 8-120 minutes involving 3-5 ejaculatory pulses by the male, each stimulated by intracervical pressure on his highly mobile urethral process. Mating females normally ruminate; the male may salivate, inflate his dulla, or gurgle during mating. Gestation averages 377-390 days (range of 360-411 days), regardless of whether the calf is male or female. The typical calving interval is 2-3 years (two in Australia), with estrus occurring 4-5—-10 months after parturition. The mean birth massis 37-3 kg (26-4-52-3) with no difference between sexes. Annual calving rates are low (35-40%) because of high (18-20%) embryonic death, abortions, and stillborns. In free-ranging herds, young remain with their mothers for first two years. Males begin rutting at three years but are not fully active sexually until they are 6-8 years old. They continue to breed until 18-20 years of age. Females are sexually mature at three years and typically first mate at 4-5 years and reproduce until they are 20-25, and some until the age of 30. Puberty is delayed by inadequate body weight caused by insufficient food. Birthing duration is typically 30 minutes, with the female in a sitting position. The mother noses and nibbles, but does not lick her newborn. The main birth season in Australia is June to November, during the rut, but newborns have been observed year-round. Before parturition cows segregate themselves (without their previous twoyear-old calf) from their original group and give birth in seclusion in dense vegetation. Isolation thought to be both an anti-predator behavior and perhaps more significantly, avoidance of infanticide by rutting males. After remaining alone for up to three weeks, when the new calf is fully mobile, the female joins other recent new mothers, forming a new cow group. These core groups remain stable until the calves are weaned at 15-18 months, the length of time depending on environmental conditions. Life span of wild/feral animals is 20-35 years. Domestic Dromedaries live substantially longer, with reported maximum longevity 40-49 years. The first cloned camelid was a Dromedary Camel achieved in 2010 by use of somatic cell nuclear transfer.</p> <p>Activity patterns. Wild/feral populations exist only in Australia, where they show a daily pattern of feeding in the morning and afternoon hours and increased resting in the middle of the day. Midday resting is highest in winter. Elsewhere Dromedaries are domestic and intensely managed and regulated by traditional pastoral communities, often in conjunction with other livestock. In the Sahara, when they are allowed to roam without herders, they form stable groups of 2-20 animals. Dromedaries graze for 8-12 hours per day and then ruminate for an equal amount of time. When forage is especially poor they spread out over large areas and break up into units of 1-2 individuals. Guarded herds feed by day (lying down during the hottest hours) and rest by night, but unguarded, their activity pattern is reversed.</p> <p>Movements, Home range and Social organization. Dromedaries are extremely mobile and capable of using large areas to fulfill their nutritional needs. Depending upon environmental and social parameters, wild/feral populations of Australia may be nomadic, migratory, or move within a home range. They commonly travel 30 km /day even when food is plentiful. In summer, when plants are dry, they comfortably walk up to 60 km to waterholes every second or third day; in winter they drink water only irregularly, some once per month, others less often. In free-ranging Australian populations, social groups are core cow groups, breeding groups, male groups, and solitary males. Core cow groups occur only in summer (October to March/April) outside the breeding season. These groups of about 24 animals consist of females and their calves of similar age; the groups are stable for up to 1-5-2 years until the young are weaned. Summer cow groups are open to all other individuals (cows with and without calves, including younger and weaker adult males). Individuals join for irregular periods of time. Breeding groups are seen in winter (April/May to September). They are composed of one mature male and several cows with their calves; the male defends the females against other males in a classical harem arrangement. Soon after taking over a cow group the rutting male aggressively chases away weaned two-year-old males; these young males join male groups. The rutting male herds cows for 3-5 months, leaves voluntarily, and does not return to the same cow group the following year; thus the rutting male is never the father of the calves in his group. Male or bachelor groups of up to 30 non-breeding males of all ages are present year-round. These are loose groupings that regularly split up as individuals leave the group and join other males. Solitary males tend to be old males. A rutting male shows ritualized postures and patterns, including vigorous biting when fighting with and defending his breeding group against other males. It should be noted that aggressive spitting, as observed in Bactrians and the South American cameloids has not been observed in Australian Dromedaries. However, Dromedaries may vomit when severely frightened or overly excited. Night time hypothermia in a rutting male may increase the duration and success of his daytime fighting before the male overheats. No classical territoriality has been observed in Australia, but short-term home ranges of 50-150 km* and an annual range, commonly of 5000 km?, shows a tendency forsite attachment to home ranges. Dromedaries show amazing plasticity of social organization with extremes in environmental conditions. During two years of extremely high rainfall in the Australian Outback when food productivity was extraordinarily high, animals coalesced into large herds of up to 200. During the rutting season the herd was subdivided into several breeding groups, each with one herding male, all roaming around together. The subgroup holders tolerated each other to a certain point within the big herd and even showed some cooperation in defending their cows when intruding bachelors came too close. However, during two years of virtually no rainfall (although water was always available for drinking) when food became acutely sparse, normal cow groups split up, even to the extreme of only one mother with her calf. In such harsh droughts conspecifics became each other’s strongest competitors. A social system similar to that seen in Australia occurs in Africa at Equatorial latitudes, except the non-breeding season is in winter. Mixed herds (males and females of all age classes), some as large as 500 camels, are more common. In Algeria domestic herds were much less rigid: 46% of the herds were males, females, and young; 21% males and females without young; 18% females and young; and 14% males only. In Turkmenistan domestic populations were divided into the social units similar to those in Australia. In breeding groups of wildferal populations the male directs the movements of his group from behind, while females rotate in the lead. Domestic herds have a natural tendency to walk in single file, especially when moving to water wells. Dromedaries do not use dung piles for defecation or urination. Freeranging camels showed no marking behavior in the Sahara, but males in Israel mark particular areas with poll-gland secretions. They like to roll in sandy locations and will form lines waiting their turn.</p> <p>Status and Conservation. World Dromedary population decreased 15% from 1960 to 2000, with current numbers 18-21 million, including one million camels in Australia. In some countries the decline has been severe over the last century; for example in Syria the population decreased from 250,000 in 1922 to not more than 22,000 in 2010. In Australia Dromedary competition with livestock for forage and water, and significant environmental and infrastructure damage caused by Dromedaries, have prompted culling, with the goal of maintaining a sustainable population for utilization of their meat, hides, and wool. Despite groups of Dromedaries seen moving and grazing without a herder in the Sahara and Arabian deserts, they all have owners. Numbers have drastically declined in Arabian countries during past half century due to modernization and industrialization, forced settlement of nomads, desert forage resources not well developed, low reproductive rate, decreased demand for camel meat and milk, poor genetic selection for breed improvement, and government encouragement of other domestic species.</p> <p>Bibliography. Al-Ani (2004), Arnautovic &amp; Abdel-Magid (1974), Baker (1964), Baskin (1974), Bhargava et al. (1963), Dagg (1974), Dorges et al. (1995, 2003), EI-Amin (1984), Ellard (2000), Gee &amp; Greenfield (2007), Gidad &amp; El-Bovevy (1992), Grigg et al. (1995), Guerouali &amp; Wardeh (1998), Guerouali &amp; Zine Filali (1992), Gauthier-Pilters (1984), Gauthier-Pilters &amp; Dagg (1981), Klingel (1985), Kohler-Rollefson (1991). McKnight (1969), Mehta et al. (1962), Newman (1984), Novoa (1970), Peters (1997a) Peters &amp; von den Driesch (1997b), Saalfeld &amp; Edwards (2008), Schmidt-Nielsen, B. et al. (1956), Schmidth-Nielsen, K. (1964), Schmidt-Nielsen, K. et al. (1967), Singh, U.B. &amp; Bharadwaj (1978), Singh, V. &amp; Prakash (1964), Wilson (1984), Yagil (1985).</p></div> 	http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03928E699A4FFFC6D57EFE83F6A8F649	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Don E. Wilson;Russell A. Mittermeier	Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (2011): Camelidae. In: Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions: 206-246, ISBN: 978-84-96553-77-4, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5719719
