If you're ever traveling in South America, you might see something that looks like a moving mass of fluff darting up a slope. Don't be startled. It's just an alpaca! Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years. Humans value them for their soft wool, which the Incas called “the fiber of the gods.” Alpaca wool can be turned into soft, warm fabrics that would have been very useful to people living at high altitudes in the Andes mountains. Alpacas are still herded in the foothills of the Andes. Most alpacas live in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. They eat hay and grass, but they'll try to eat anything. Within the herds, they live in family groups dominated by one male, plus females and babies. They are social animals and interact with each other frequently. They make different sounds to show anger, fear, and happiness, or to warn other alpacas of enemies. They will fight to defend their families. When they fight, they use their front feet—and they spit! Alpacas are part of the Camelidae family, which includes camels and llamas, among other animals. Alpacas look very similar to small llamas. They are usually about 100-200 pounds and three feet high at the shoulder. That's shorter than most human beings. They are different shades of white, black, brown, or gray. They may be solid or have spots of different colors. Their thick wool can make them look chubby, but when shorn you can see that they are thin and long legged. They have large features. They can often look like they are making kissing faces under their big eyes! These interesting and unique animals have been part of human culture for thousands of years, and we're still using them in the same ways today! 若你有朝一日到南美洲旅遊，你可能會看到一團像絨毛的東西衝上山坡。別嚇到了，那只是一頭羊駝！ 羊駝已被馴養了數千年之久，人類因其柔軟羊毛而重視牠們，印加人將其毛皮稱為「神的纖維」。羊駝毛可以變成柔軟且溫暖的布料，這對住在安地斯山脈高海拔處的人們非常有用。 人們仍在安地斯山腳下放牧羊駝。多數的羊駝都生活在秘魯、玻利維亞及智利。牠們的主食是乾草和牧草，但牠們什麼東西都會吃吃看。牠們過著以家庭為單位的團體生活，在羊駝群中通常有一頭公羊駝作為主導，再加上幾隻母羊駝和羊駝寶寶。牠們是群居的動物，彼此互動頻繁。牠們會發出不同的聲音來表示憤怒、恐懼，和快樂，或者是警告其他羊駝有敵人接近。牠們會奮戰保衛家人。牠們打架時會使用前腿，而且牠們還會吐口水！ 羊駝屬於駱駝科，駱駝與駱馬也屬於駱駝科。羊駝看起來很像小駱馬，牠們通常約一百到兩百磅重，肩膀離地有三英尺高，比多數人類還矮小。牠們的毛色是深淺不同的白色、黑色、棕色，或灰色，可能是單色或者有不同顏色的斑點。厚重的羊毛使牠們顯得胖嘟嘟的，但當羊毛剃光時，你就能看出牠們其實很瘦小，腿也很長。牠們的五官很大。在大眼睛的下方，牠們的表情看起來時常像是在親吻。 這些有趣且獨特的動物數千年來一直是人類文化的一部分，我們現在仍以同樣的方式使用牠們！ | 
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