Guanaco

Description

Its coat is reddish with a dark head and white underparts. They are highly prized for their wool, as the quality of the fibre is similar to that of the alpaca and the vicuña. Thanks to their long limbs, they can run at speeds of up to 65 km/h, which helps them flee from predators like the puma. They are also excellent swimmers. 

Ethology

The female reaches sexual maturity at 14 months, whilst the males do not become breeders until they are 12 years old. They live in small herds with a single dominant male, who bleats loudly when he detects danger. After 10-11 months of gestation, they have one calf. They are diurnal and sedentary, except in times of food scarcity. 

Interesting facts

On average, they live for 20-25 years being bred in captivity for their wool. They are ancestors of the llama and the alpaca. They are very clean and leave all their excrements in the same place, called a manure heap. That is where their name in Quechua comes from: “wanu”, which means manure.