When our lovely Alpacas – Gaura and Balarama arrived in November 2017, my first impression of them was that they were incredibly timid animals. Whenever I came within 3 to 4 meters of them, they would instantly run away from me.
Since then, they have changed so much that now they will even put their head in their handlers laps. To find out exactly what had caused this extraordinary transformation, I spoke with one of their handlers, Sachi (13 years old).
When I asked him what was the magic theory which had caused the Alpacas to become so much more sociable, Sachi replied with one word- walks. “Since March 2020, when we entered lockdown, we have been taking them for long walks 3 or 4 times a week”. This has created a deep bond between the farm residents and the Alpacas, which in Sachi’s opinion has helped the community psychologically. “I think if it weren’t for them, I would have gone crazy because of the lockdown”, he said.
Being an Alpaca handler certainly has its amusing moments. “Balarama” he said “seems to be funny in whatever he does.” I asked what he meant. After pausing for a moment to smile, he replied “Well, Balarama is such an enigma, that he was trying to eat his leg the other week. We had to put some cream on it.”
I asked him if they will continue to take the Alpacas for walks after lockdown. “Certainly!”, he said. “We will invite members of the public for them too.”
To finish the interview, I asked him if the farm will be getting any more Alpacas, or more ambitiously, cows. He smiled, and said “Maybe”.
About the author
Nimai Thornton was born at our farm in 2006. He loves reading and knows everything about the planes. Recently he has discovered great interest in writing and is hoping to become a journalist and write for big newspapers in due course of time.
