Ears
Forward, back or pinned.
For exampleEars raised toward a person signal interest. Ears laid back with the head lowered signal worry or fear.
Species / Alpacas
Alpacabody language.
Gentle, watchful and always humming, a herd animal who speaks softly and notices everything.
104Signals mapped
21Science-backed references
177Unique scenarios
Start with the animal
Who the alpaca is.
Alpacas are small South American camelids who live in close-knit herds and feel safest with their group in sight. They talk mostly through soft hums and a quiet language of ears, neck and tail.
As prey animals, they often show fear by going very still rather than struggling. Research on alpaca behaviour is still young, so FaunaVera reads them with extra care and tells you when its confidence is lower.
What FaunaVera looks at
The signals we read.
A few of the channels FaunaVera watches and listens to in every alpaca video, weighed together with context and checked against an alpaca-specific ethogram.
Head and neck
Raised or lowered.
For exampleEars pinned back with the head raised and the tail out level can be a warning before spitting.
Tail
Down, raised or level.
For exampleA loose, lowered tail goes with interest. A slightly raised tail can go with fear.
Voice
Hums and alarm calls.
For exampleHums are contact calls between herd members, and each alpaca’s hum is acoustically their own.
Freezing
Stillness under stress.
For exampleAlpacas often freeze during unfamiliar handling such as vet checks, which is easy to mistake for calm.
Herd and handling
Trust and distance.
For exampleAlpacas show more stress signs when shorn than when simply held, and keeping the herd close helps.
Did you know?
Every alpaca has their own hum. A computer model could tell individual alpacas apart from their hums alone about 71% of the time.
Common misreads
- “Alpacas spit at people.”Spitting is mainly how alpacas settle disagreements within the herd. Alpacas used to people rarely spit at humans.
- “Humming means they’re happy.”Hums are mostly contact calls, and some hums are about separation or distress.
- “If they stand still while handled, they’re calm.”Freezing is a common fear response in camelids. Look at the ears, neck and tail too.
Being around an alpaca
Keep their herd mates nearby and move slowly. Calm, predictable handling and reward-based training make life easier for everyone.
See it for yourself
Your alpaca, read in seconds.
Upload a short video and FaunaVera reads the whole picture for you: an Interpretation, Voice of Animal, practical Tips and Ethogram Insights that explain exactly which signals it saw.
Where this comes from
A few of the studies.
FaunaVera's alpaca ethogram draws on 21 science-backed references. Here are a handful of them.
- K. Wierucka & S. T. Leu (2024). Robust encoding of acoustic identity in alpaca hums: a basis for individual recognition. Bioacoustics, 33(6), 498-509. Read
- G. C. Miranda-de la Lama & M. Villarroel (2023). Behavioural biology of South American domestic camelids: an overview from a welfare perspective. Small Ruminant Research, 220, 106918. Read
- I. Windschnurer et al. (2020). Alpaca and llama behaviour during handling and its associations with caretaker attitudes and human-animal contact. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 226, 104989. Read
- T. Kohl et al. (2023). Reactions of alpacas to shearing and accompanying procedures. Small Ruminant Research, 219, 106885. Read
- J. Kapustka et al. (2023). Flight distance at pasture and stress response during shearing in alpacas. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 63, 1-9. Read
