Alpaca family
Reporter Zhang Qian of this newspaper took a photo report
Hello everyone, I am an alpaca "Bao'er", living in Cangzhou Zoo. I was born on August 31, 2021, as a girl, not very pretty, but fairly handsome. On September 26 of that year, my sister-in-law was also born. After the aunt was born, she stunned the breeders and all the family members. Because my aunt and I look a lot like twins.
Today, I would like to share with you the colorful life of our alpaca family.
Fierce grandpa "Taotao"
First of all, I would like to focus on my grandfather "Taotao". That day, a reporter came to interview our family. This was supposed to be a very happy thing for us, but it was almost stirred up by Grandpa.
At that time, my grandmother, mother, and aunt were leisurely grazing and playing in the playground. Grandpa "Taotao" was locked up in the other side of the event venue because of his fierce personality.
Seeing strangers coming, we were a little nervous and scattered. Grandpa was different, not only chasing people, but also grinning at people's teeth. At this moment, Grandpa ruined our "cute" image.
In fact, Grandpa is still very handsome. The hair on its body is yellow, the hair on its face, neck and limbs is white, its eyes are large, and its figure is very standard. It's just that the contrast between its personality and appearance is too great.
My grandfather came here in 2017. At that time, the zoo introduced 6 South American alpacas, two males and 4 females. My grandfather "Taotao" is one of them.
At first, the keepers put 6 alpacas in an outdoor playground, and Grandpa soon became the leader. The other 5 alpacas came to an unfamiliar environment, nervous, always hiding aside. But my grandfather was different, he looked like he wasn't afraid all day. Whenever a stranger approached, the other alpacas would run away in fright, and only my grandfather would run after the stranger and grin his teeth.
Because of this, the breeders named it "Taotao".
"Bao'er's grandfather" "Taotao"
Scrambled grandmother
As their bodies matured, Grandpa wanted to get married. At that time, there were only two male alpacas, Grandpa "Taotao" and "Little Black", and they both looked up to my grandmother "Old Girl".
You might say that at this time, my grandmother will face a major choice in life.
Wrong, the choice is not in my grandmother's hands at all. We follow the law of the jungle, the strong win, the weak are eliminated, and the war between the male alpaca for a mate is very fierce. In order to be able to reproduce their next generation, the male alpaca will use the more vicious methods of the animal kingdom to defeat competitors.
When Grandpa and "Little Black" fought for my grandmother, they experienced a fierce war. Alpacas are not like other animals, you punch me and I punch you, but directly attack the opponent's key position.
In the end, the tough grandfather won the war. Since then, "Little Black" has faced my grandfather with a rage and dare not speak.
Grandpa and Grandma were successfully married. After a while, the keeper deduced that my grandmother was pregnant, and carefully prepared hay, fruit and other foods for her to supplement nutrition.
Alpacas are monotons with a gestation period of about 11 months. In the spring of 2019, my mom "Little Girl" was born. In the days that followed, Grandpa defeated "Little Black" again and joined forces with Grandma.
A year later, my grandmother gave birth to a son, my uncle.
The birth of my mother and uncle brought a lot of joy to the alpaca family. The environment in the zoo is very good, and with the careful care of the keepers, they are increasingly fond of life here.
"Bao'er" (left) and aunt "Little Girl"
My aunt and I were born one after another
There are more female alpacas and fewer male alpacas in cangzhou zoo. Starting in 2020, breeders began to intervene in the union of our family. Because, if we continue to unite freely, there will be a situation where close relatives marry.
In 2020, my mom "little girl" was emotional. The breeder carefully deduced the pedigree of our family, allowing my mother to combine with the unrelated "Little Black".
Unexpectedly, the "little black" who was defeated by my grandfather became my father. The union between dad and mom went well, and soon mom became pregnant.
The breeders began to take good care of my mother's pregnant life.
Shortly after my mom became pregnant, the breeder got another piece of good news. My grandmother was also pregnant, and of course the baby was still from my grandfather. My mom was the first child and was extra careful. Although my grandmother was also pregnant with the baby, she still took care of my mother as much as possible.
At two o'clock in the afternoon of August 31, 2021, I was born in the eyes of all. When I was born, I was about 30 centimeters tall, most of my hair was dark brown, and the hair on my face and neck was white. The breeder gave me a name, "Bao'er".
After I was born, my mother took good care of me, and I never left my mother for a moment. Grandma was also very nice to me and we lived together every day.
On September 26, 2021, My grandmother's body reacted, and at 10 o'clock in the morning, my little aunt "Little Girl" was finally born.
The family was surprised because my aunt and I looked almost exactly the same. When the keeper saw it, he was even more surprised and happy, and called us twins.
Family life is colorful
The birth of my sister-in-law and I brought a lot of joy to the family and the breeders. I grew slower and my aunt grew faster, so that we were both more alike. The keepers often took pictures of us, and my sister-in-law and I tried to get together as much as possible to get them to take the perfect picture.
I especially like to play with my aunt, we not only look alike, but also have similar personalities, both are more shy. Every day, Grandma, Mom, Auntie, and me, 4 of us, no, 4 alpacas, inseparable. We ate together, played together, played and chased together, very happy.
Of course, there are many vignettes in our lives. That is, my grandfather "Taotao" was defeated by his father "Little Black". Grandpa was beaten a little badly, and his leg was injured for a long time.
Before, Grandpa was too fierce and often bullied other male alpacas, even my uncle. The keeper put Grandpa alone in an outdoor playground to hone his character. And the rest of the alpacas live with us. Although my dad "Little Black" often drove us away, he was not as strong as grandpa. Without Grandpa's oppression, Dad's personality gradually became stronger. Later, it no longer feared Grandpa.
No, the keeper put Grandpa on our side that day, but it went mad again. Dad couldn't bear it anymore and started a fierce battle with Grandpa.
What Grandpa did not expect was that this time it lost, was beaten very badly, and its leg was bitten by dad, and it took more than half a month to treat it.
The keeper had to put Grandpa in another playground.
With this experience, Grandpa's temper has narrowed.
I was a little upset with Grandpa, but who made it so fierce? As a big parent, it should take good care of us.
Well, without saying, they all say that the ugliness of the family cannot be publicized, and I can't tell you these unhappy things. In fact, the life of our alpaca family is still very happy, eating well, playing well, and living a colorful life every day.
I love my extended family!