Camelids Mixture Trivia Quiz

Answer: Camel

Dromedary camels only have one hump, while Bactrian camels have two. Dromedaries are indigenous to the Middle East and parts of Africa, and Bactrian camels are native to Central Asia. Both species are domesticated and used for their milk and meat.

Answer: Guanaco

The guanaco's conservation status according to the IUCN is of least concern with stable population trends. They are native to the mountains of South America. The few domesticated guanaco can be found in U.S zoos, along with a few private herds that have been registered.

Answer: Llama

Certain regions have high populations of predatory animals like the coyote. In the 1980s, sheep herders in the U.S. began using llamas, normally geldings, to guard their herds. The llamas bond with the livestock and instinctively protect them. They can also be used to guard herds of goats.

Answer: Guanaco

The word 'guanaco' comes from the Quechua word 'wanaku'. Young guanacos, called chulengos, are able to stand up about five minutes after birth and begin to follow their mother. Guanacos have one baby at a time, and give birth every other year during the summer.

Answer: Alpaca

Alpaca fiber is similar to wool, but it is hypoallergenic since it doesn't have lanolin. It is also soft, silky, and flame-resistant. The alpaca was bred from the vicuna, which is another South American camelid, with the first true breeders being the Pukara, though the Incas refined alpaca breeding.

Answer: Camel

Male dromedaries have dullas. A dulla is an organ found in the camel's neck and it will hang out of his mouth when in rut to show dominance and attract a mate. This unusual organ is an inflatable sac that looks somewhat like a swollen tongue.

Answer: Llama

The Moche, a pre-Columbian Peruvian culture, would bury parts of the llama with the dead for use in the afterlife. The Incas did have alpacas, but the llama was the only animal they used as a beast of burden. The llama has also been important for its fiber and meat. Urcuchillay, an Incan god, was depicted as a multicolored llama.

Answer: True

Alpacas use a communal dung pile, which actually helps cut down on the spread of parasites. Males in the herd tend to be neater than the females because the females in a group of alpacas tend to go use the pile at the same time. Because of this hygienic tendency, some alpacas have been successfully house-trained!

Answer: Camel

The U.S. used camels on an experimental basis in the 19th century. During World War I, the British developed two camel corps, the Imperial Camel Corps and the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps. The Egyptian Corps was used to transport supplies to troops in the Sinai desert.

The Spanish used a camel corps called the Tropas Nomadas in the Western Sahara from the 1930s to 1975 to patrol and guard outposts.

Answer: Alpaca

Huacaya alpaca have soft, dense, crimpy fiber, while the Suri have locks that resemble dreadlocks, but without being matted. Suris are prized for their long, silky fibers, and are thought to have been reserved for Incan royalty. Huacaya fibers can be shorn every year, but Suri fibers are shorn every two years.