Vivien
The small, white alpaca
Little Vivi is one of our newly admitted animals in Henndorf. Alpacas are bred not far from Gut Aiderbichl Henndorf. Vivi is just under a year old and has snow-white fur, is very delicately built and has the typical round alpaca snout, a smaller head than the llamas and white, curly fur that grows down over her forehead. Somehow she seems to smile from morning to night.
Vivi has a handicap – she is blind in her right eye
Little Vivi could not have been bred as a blind animal… A walker became aware of Vivi’s fate and immediately contacted Gut Aiderbichl. Under no circumstances did the animal lovers want the alpaca to suffer a bad fate because of a blind eye.
Quietly and timidly, she begins to “flirt” with her new surroundings
Vivi stands in the stable and comes when called. She’s still a little timid, but she’s getting there. In the meantime, she flirts with the goats to the right of her stable and with our brandy bull Stefan to the left.
The Gut Aiderbichl staff have had plenty of experience with blind animals over the years and are confident that Vivi has no problem with her blind right eye. The question is slowly arising as to whether Vivi will live together with the llamas or whether, as a brave alpaca, she would prefer to live with other animals in the barn. The key here is to wait and see.
Alpacas – like llamas – belong to the camel family
Alpacas are the domesticated form of vicuña and were originally bred primarily for their exclusive wool. They feed almost exclusively on grasses. Females are pregnant for almost a whole year, giving birth after 345 days. The “cria” (Spanish for baby) is suckled for up to eight months.
Did you know that there are two types of alpaca? The difference lies in the finely curled hair that is typical of the Huacaya alpaca and the curly, straight strands that belong to the Suri alpaca.
In general, alpacas are intelligent, curious and lovable animals, as little Vivi proves to us every day. She was delighted to discover our dromedaries – Adi, Mahli and Bibi – in Henndorf. Like our dromedaries, Vivi also has cloven hooves, but no hump.
Alpacas and llamas are used for animal-assisted therapy
