Meet Tuscany, Warrior and Smurf

Hi everyone! I hope you have had the chance to stop by the Orkin Children’s Zoo to meet our newest friends, the Huacaya (pronounced wah-KI-ah) alpacas! We welcomed Tuscany, Warrior and Smurf to Zoo Atlanta in late spring, and they have settled in splendidly. The whole Zoo was ecstatic to welcome them and made sure to stop by and say hi. We watched as they explored their new habitat, smelling all the scents, listening to the sounds, and observing all the new surroundings.

One of my favorite behaviors that the alpacas display is when they lie on the ground and start to roll in the dirt to get their daily dirt bath, and sometimes, way more than just once daily! Despite rolling in dirt all day long, the alpacas are still very soft. This is why the main product humans get from alpacas is their fleece. Alpacas are shorn once per year and can produce anywhere from five to eight pounds of fiber!

If you haven’t seen them yet, you should stop by and see the amazing alpacas. If you are lucky you may hear their adorable vocalizations as they communicate to each other!
Adrianna Lenz
Keeper I, Ambassador Animals

(photo by Stephanie Earhart)