I said 'Alpaca' not 'Maraca'! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Camelidae

Alpacas are in the group of camelids. Other members of this group are camels, llamas and dromedaries.
The group of bovids includes for example sheep, antelopes and bison.
Cervidae include ruminant mammals such as deer, elk and moose.
The word 'Llamaidae' does not exist, I just made it up.

Answer: The Andes mountains of South America, mainly Peru, Bolivia and Chile

Alpacas have already been domesticated over thousands of years by Native American tribes of the higher regions of the Andes. It has now also become more and more common to domesticate alpacas all over the world.

Answer: False

It is generally understood that these days there are no more alpacas in the wild, thus the wild species of all Camelidae families are listed on the IUCN's Red List.

Answer: For their wool and meat

Due to the high quality attributes of the alpaca fleece fibre, as it is very soft to touch and cosily warm, there is a high demand for it. So, they are mainly farmed for this reason all over the world, however in their regions of origin, they are also still bred for a high protein, low fat meat supply.

Answer: hay

Alpacas are mainly grazers, but if there is no fresh grass available due to seasons for instance, alpaca keepers feed them primarily hay plus a small amount of a commercial alpaca food mix. However this food mix is only meant to be an additional vitamin and mineral supply, not as a main feed.

Answer: Yes, usually once a year

Alpacas usually only need to be shorn once a year, and the best time for it is in spring for the obvious reasons: to let them keep their cosy warm fleece over the cold winter months and then take it all off before the hot summer season starts.

Answer: false

All members of the family Camelidae are known for spitting. However they usually do not spit at people, rather more at an object or fellow alpaca the 'spitter' might find irritating or upsetting. When spitting, they eject their stomach content which is generally chewed grass. Once an alpaca has spit, it will exhibit its legendary 'sour-mouth', open mouth with limply hanging lower lip.

Answer: Approx. 20 years

Typically alpacas live up to around the age of 20 years, but some have also been known to out-live this age by many years.

Answer: Cria

In the first year of its life, an alpaca baby is called 'cria', and it will then be called a 'tui' after one year of age. A female alpaca is called a 'hembra' and usually gives birth to one young at a time. On rare occasions when a hembra gives birth to twins, it is highly likely that one of the crias will not survive. Male alpacas are referred to as 'macho' or 'stud'.

Answer: Horse

Alpacas are usually pregnant for about 11 months, just like mares (female horses). A cow's gestation period is about 9 months like us humans, a camel is pregnant between 13 to 15 months and an elephant cow's gestation period lasts for approximately 22 months.