Alpacas and People, Crowds Alike

It's striking how a large crowd of any type of mammal tends to resemble any other group of mammals.  When we feed the main herd, we typically kick everyone out of the barn so we can clean and feed in relative peace.  This leads to an inevitable scrum of alpacas at the gate, pushing and shoving to get in and find the choicest morsels.  Ever found yourself waiting to purchase concert tickets at a ticket counter?  It's much the same thing.  The heightened tension, the elevated tempers, the inevitable disappointment when things aren't run exactly as you think they should be.

Once the girls get inside, the parallels continue.  There really isn't much in the way of variety in the average alpaca's diet.  It's always alfalfa, first cut hay, second cut hay, and grain.  So, without the possibility of differing in food choice that humans and other omnivores enjoy, they much differ in their manner of eating.  Some pick the best hay out with their prehensile lips, pulling the grassy first-cut out of the stack no matter how I try to hide it with second-cut on the outside.  Others just dive in, the gluttons of the bunch invariably.  Others eschew the grasses entirely, opting to munch loudly on the grain (followed by much belching and coughing most times).  Sounds like quite a few teenagers I know.  Then there are what we affectionately call the bottom feeders.  They, for whatever reason, believe the best hay is to be had at the bottom of the pile.  These can easily be distinguished by their ever-present toupee of green alfalfa leaves.  Our Sweet 16 happens to be one of these.

Alpacas or people, it's always fun to see the differences and the similarities.