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Camelids are even-toed ungulates, and they comprise two groups of mammals: the true camels (Africa and Asia) and the New World camels (South America).
The dromedary and the Bactrian camel (usually called camels) belong to the group of the true camels.
The llamas, alpacas, guanacos, vicunas belong to the second group, and their members can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
The members of the camelidae family are all very useful to man as beasts of burden and for transportation. They have an exceptional tolerance to cold, drought, and high altitudes,
and camels and dromedaries are able to live and go without water for long periods of time thanks to their humps.
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The camel
The Bactrian camel, or simply camel, is a large ungulate native to the steppes of Central Asia, where it is used as working and transportation animal.
The Bactrian camel has two humps on its back.
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The dromedary
The dromedary, also called Arabian camel or Indian camel, is a true camel with one hump on its back.
Dromedaries are found mainly in Asia and in Africa where they are domesticated as beast of burden and for transportation.
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The llama
The llama is a South American camelid, widely domesticated for its meat and its soft wool. The lama is usually not used as beast of burden because due to its physical constitution it can hardly carry 20 Kg.
Unlike their cousins the camels, llamas do not have humps. A baby llama is called “cria” (Spanish and Portuguese word for a baby animal).
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The guanaco
While llamas exist as domesticated animals, guanacos live in the wild. They can be found in the arid, mountainous regions of South America,
from Peru to Tierra del Fuego, in herds composed of females, their young, and a dominant male.
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The alpaca
The alpaca is a domesticated species of the New Orld camelids. It is native to the heights of the Andes, where it is kept in herds and bred for its fiber (wool).
Though they do not like being grabbed, alpacas are used in animal-assisted therapy in some European countries like Germany, due to their social and calm behaviour.
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The vicunha
The vicuna is the smallest of the camelidae species and one of two wild camelids of the New World; the other being the guanaco.
The vicuna is raised for its fine wool, which is nevertheless thick enough to protect it from the freezing temperatures of the high mountainous Andes, from Ecuador to Chile.
Vicunas live in family-based groups made up of a dominant male, females, and their young.
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Dulce Rodrigues |
