Alpacas pine for missing companions
The plight of blind alpaca Bambi has worsened following the theft of his brother, and now a third alpaca’s life could be in danger.
Bambi relied on his sibling Charisma to guide him safely through day-to-day life in the steep gullies of the Dairy Flat paddocks, north of Auckland, that they call home.
But when Charisma was stolen sometime between March 12 and March 20, Bambi was left stranded and unable to move.
Owner Jan Lummis, aware that being alone was stressful and lifethreatening for alpaca, initially moved sheep in with Bambi.
He was happy with the company but the sheep didn’t guide Bambi everywhere and stop him from hurting himself like Charisma did, Lummis said.
‘‘He decided to stay right down the bottom on the flat land.’’
When Bambi did try to be adventurous it could turn bad quite quickly, Lummis said.
‘‘He’ll go walking along and suddenly bash into the fence, go ‘oh gosh’ and turn around and go the other way.
‘‘He lays down most of the time,’’ she said.
Hoping another alpaca could step in as a surrogate for Charisma, alpaca breeder Ross Stevenson of Aristocrat Alpaca lent Lummis an alpaca named Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was introduced into the paddock on Easter Friday, but by Easter Sunday he was stressed out.
‘‘Ronaldo noises.
‘‘He is supposed to be keeping Bambi company to stop him from stressing, but it sounds like he is stressing because he has been taken away from his friends in his paddock,’’ Lummis said. is making funny
On Sunday, Ronaldo gazed longingly at the driveway Stevenson drove away down, issuing a low-pitched keening.
‘‘He keeps looking there as if waiting for him to come back.’’
Lummis now fears for Ronaldo too, as stress takes a toll on alpaca who can die from it within two weeks, she said.
She was not sure if the situation would work out, but was hoping Ronaldo and Bambi would become good friends over the next few days.
Police have been following up on tips from around the country following the theft of Charisma.
These included an alpaca in a trailer linked to Auckland seen driving through Levin, an alpaca carcass spotted floating off Rakino Island in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf, and one that appeared to be abandoned in an east Auckland paddock.
All had turned out not to be Charisma, Sergeant Aaron Iremonger said.
Until new information came to light police had no further leads, he said.
Charisma, aged 13, and Bambi, 15, came as chattels when Lummis and her husband Phil purchased their Dairy Flat property four years ago.
They were now part of the family, she said.
In their glory years with their former owner, they won rosettes and ribbons for the length and quality of their fleece.
Lummis was unsure why the thieves stole Charisma, and she still held out hope he would be found.
She has been checking Trade Me, where alpaca can fetch $500-1500 or more, for any signs of him.
Her message to the people who stole Charisma was if they had a guilty conscience over Bambi’s distress, they could drop Charisma back in the paddock and no questions would be asked.
Lummis was amazed at the reaction by Kiwis and global media to the plight of her alpaca.
‘‘But I believe it has also upset a lot of people because police are spending all this time looking for an alpaca, which I think is great, but obviously other people don’t,’’ Lummis said.