Alpaca Behavior & Body Language: What Your Alpacas Are Telling You

Alpacas are prey animals that live by the rules of the herd. Once you can read their signals, you’ll spot stress, illness and conflict long before they become problems.

Ears

Tail and posture

• Tail raised over the back: dominance or aggression (often males), or a female rejecting a male.
• Tail clamped down: submission or fear.
• Head held high, nose up, ears back: a warning, typically before spitting.
• Kushed (lying with legs folded under): resting — or, for a female near a male, readiness to mate.
• Lying flat on the side, legs out: sunbathing or relaxing. Brief periods are normal; prolonged lying with other signs may mean colic.
• Head low, neck stretched toward another alpaca: submissive “crouching” by youngsters.

Sounds

• Humming: the everyday voice — curiosity, mild worry, contact between mother and cria. Constant humming may mean stress or a separated animal. More about humming.
• Alarm call: a loud, repetitive, braying shriek when a predator (often a dog) is spotted. The whole herd stares in one direction.
• Clucking: a soft tongue click, often from mothers to crias or friendly males.
• Snorting: mild irritation, often over food or space.
• Screaming: during fights between males, or when cornered.
• Orgling: the gargling song of a male during mating.

Spitting

Spitting is mostly alpaca-to-alpaca communication: arguments over food, defending personal space, and pregnant females rejecting males. People usually get hit only when standing between two arguing animals. See do alpacas spit?.

Herd behavior

• Alpacas follow a leader and move as a group. Move one and the others want to follow — use this when herding.
• There is a pecking order, especially at feeding time. Watch that low-ranking animals get enough to eat.
• Communal dung piles are shared by the herd; new animals learn quickly.
• At least one animal usually stays on watch while others rest.

Signs something is wrong

• stands or lies apart from the herd,
• stops chewing cud or stops eating,
• lies down when the others are grazing,
• hums constantly or seems restless,
• strains at the dung pile,
• breathes with its mouth open,
• walks unevenly or wobbles.

Start with the symptom checker and take a rectal temperature.

Frequently asked questions

Why do alpacas stare at me? They are watchful prey animals; staring with ears forward means curiosity.

Why does my alpaca lie flat on its side? Usually sunbathing or resting. If it stays down, won’t eat, or rolls repeatedly, check for colic.