Grazing behaviour of llamas, alpacas and sheep in the Andes of Peru

Pfister, James A.; Martín, Felipe San; Rosales, Luis Alexis Fernando Cuba; Sisson, D. V.; Flores, Enrique; Bryant, Fred C.

doi:10.1016/0168-1591(89)90114-7

Cited by 36 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…These results agree with previous work that reported llamas (the domesticated South American camelids most similar in size to guanacos) consumed only small amounts of dicots relative to the amount consumed by sheep when grazing Andean rangeland (Pfister et al 1989). As on the sown sward, the guanacos avoided dicot species.…”

Section: Nardus Communitysupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Like goats, South American camelids are a potential source of fine fibre for commercial production, with the undercoat of the guanaco Lama guanicoe (L.) Lesson being of comparable quality to cashmere (Russel 1993). While some information is available on the feeding behaviour of the two domesticated species of South American camelids, the llama Lama glama and alpaca Lama pacos (Bryant & Farfan 1984;Pfister et al 1989), much less is currently known about the feeding behaviour of the guanaco, even in its native habitat (Raedeke 1980). There is some evidence to suggest that nutrition has neither a quantitative nor qualitative effect on fibre production from doublecoated animal species such as cashmere goats and guanacos (Russel 1993;Russel & Redden 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Diet of Goats, Red Deer and South American Camelids Feeding on Three Contrasting Scottish Upland Vegetation Communities

Fraser¹,

Gordon²

1997

The Journal of Applied Ecology

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. British Ecological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Applied Ecology. Summary 1. With changes in the agricultural policy for rural areas in the UK there is increased interest in the development of management protocols for indigenous and sown swards in upland Scotland based on grazing by ruminant species other than sheep and cattle, e.g. goats, red deer and South American camelids. 2. Here we describe the diet composition over two seasons of goats, red deer and South American camelids (guanacos) grazing three vegetation types typical of upland ecosystems in the UK: a sown sward (Lolium perenne-dominated), an indigenous grassland (Nardus stricta-dominated) and a dwarf shrub community (Calluna vulgarisdominated). 3. On each vegetation type, all three animal species were selective feeders. The composition of the goats' diet was more variable than that of the red deer and guanacos. All three species were more selective when grazing the indigenous communities than when grazing the sown sward. 4. On the Lolium sward, the guanacos avoided clover and other dicotyledonous plants, whilst the goats and red deer consumed green leaf from all plant categories found at or near the sward surface. 5. On the Nardus community, all three species avoided the dominant tussock-grass and selected green lamina of broad-leaved grasses from the species-rich inter-tussock areas. Between-species differences in minor components included an increased contribution of non-grass monocotyledonous plants to the goats' diet in spring, and a higher proportion of grass flowerstem and grass seed/flowerhead in the guanacos' diet in summer. 6. The diets of the three species of animal on the Calluna community were broadly similar. All generally avoided C. vulgaris and strongly selected graminoid species. Consumption of grass was greater in spring than summer. 7. Species differences in diet composition, particularly on indigenous swards dominated by N. stricta and C. vulgaris, might facilitate vegetation management and improve animal output using multispecies grazing systems.

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Section: Nardus Communitysupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Diet of Goats, Red Deer and South American Camelids Feeding on Three Contrasting Scottish Upland Vegetation Communities

Fraser¹,

Gordon²

1997

The Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…However, both studies indicate that grazing is a key behaviour for alpacas as they spent a large proportion of their time engaged in this activity. This is reinforced by Pfistew et al [38] who found that when alpacas are restricted to grazing during daylight hours only, in both wet and dry seasons, they will allocate 76% of their time on pasture to this activity [38]. This is a considerably greater grazing duration than was seen by the alpacas in our experiment or in Castro-Montoya et al work.…”

Section: Daily Alpaca Behaviourssupporting

confidence: 65%

Alpaca Field Behaviour When Cohabitating with Lambing Ewes

Matthews

Barwick

Doughty

et al. 2020

Animals

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A common strategy to reduce predator attack on livestock is the deployment of guardian alpacas. However, little research has been conducted on the behaviour of this species while housed with other livestock. This study monitored two male alpacas cohabitating with 180 lambing ewes in order to quantify field behaviour in two phases. Phase one assessed diurnal patterns of alpacas and lambing ewes using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) collars recording data over 41 days, in combination with observational recordings. Phase two developed an alpaca behavioural ethogram through continuous observations from 05:30 to 19:30 h over a 3-day period. The two alpacas shared similar behaviours with commonality of distance travelled, and both species exhibited an increase in activity level based on speed between the times of 05:00 and 17:00 h. The GNSS data indicated that the alpacas flocked with the ewes at night sharing the same resting location, however, would spend time during the day on the outskirts of the paddock. Alpacas were observed to spend the majority of the observation period in two behavioural states: grazing (57%) and resting (27%). As a result of this study we were able to catalogue a range and frequency of field behaviours which alpacas exhibit while cohabitating with lambing ewes. However, further research is needed to determine in more detail how these behaviours correspond with the effectiveness of this species as a livestock guardian.

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“…39 Feeding management practices should focus on supporting microbial growth by providing dietary nitrogen sources that enhance cellulolytic activity. 33 However, Sharp et al reported that alpacas in New Zealand show more grazing activity compared with sheep during daylight and less activity at night, but significantly more ruminating activity during the night. 40 Further research is required to better define protein degradability in feedstuffs and appropriate rate of supplementation in the SAC feeding program (see Protein Requirement discussion, Chapter 9).…”

Section: Microbial Fermentationmentioning

confidence: 98%