Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Peruvian Animals

Thanks to the Andes Mountains, the Amazon River
and the Pacific Ocean, Peru has the one of the
greatest bio-diversities in the world. One of the
17 countries on earth that is home to 80% of the
total world biodiversity, Peru is host to 53
protected areas. These shelter over 1,800
species of birds of which 120 are endemic to
Peru, hundreds of mammals, including pumas and
bears while the coast has a great deal of marine
life including sea lions, penguins and other
seabirds.

Among the best known of members of the Peruvian
wildlife family are the bespectacled bear, the
llama, alpaca and vicuna, the condor, viscachas,
the puma, tapirs and otters. Found in high, rocky
areas deemed largely unsuitable for agriculture
is the bespectacled bear. It is predominantly
black or brown in color with shading around the
chest and neck in white, cream or orange with
each eye encircled by a ring, which gives it its
name. It is a relatively small animal with the
males weighing about 175 pounds and the females
about 135 pounds. Its feet have five sharp, short
and powerful claws which are used for climbing
and tearing trees apart. It eats wild fruits and
particularly enjoys eating figs, as well as
leaves, insects, small animals, herbs and
grasses. It lives in tree tops and builds a nest
every night for sleeping.

The llama, alpaca, vicuna and guanaco are members
of the camelid family and are characterized by
having no horns, being cud-chewing and having an
even number of toes and padded feet. Llamas are
bigger than alpacas, typically with a height of
40 to 45 inches at the withers and 5½ to 6
feet at the head. Their average lifespan is
between 15 and 30 years and they weigh between
280 and 450 pounds. Alpacas, on the other hand,
weigh about 100 to 175 pounds and have a height
of 36 inches at the withers. Their life span is
from 15 to 25 years.

There are many similarities between alpacas and
llamas. They use their posture and ear and tail
movements to communicate, with aggressive modes
of communication being stamping, kicking and
spitting. They are very social animals and are
best when pastured together. They differ not only
in size but in ear shape, hair, fleece and
curvature of the back. Alpacas have symmetrical
pear-shaped ears and shorter noses while llamas
have ears that are longer and shaped like a
banana. The shape of the alpaca's back has a
slight upward curve while the back of the llama
is straight. Llamas are descendants of the
guanaco while the alpaca was domesticated from
the wild vicuna.

Vicunas are the smallest of the camelids,
weighing between 70 and 90 pounds and having a
height of about 36 inches at the withers. The
color of the wool is light brown on the dorsal
side and white on the belly and chest. Both
vicuna and guanacos are not domesticated animals.
The guanaco has a slender body with a wooly,
thick and short coat that is brown in color. The
legs are also brown with a necklace of white
hair. They grow to 46 to 68 inches in height and
weigh between 200 and 300 pounds.

Viscachas are a type of chinchilla that are about
the size of a rabbit with large hind limbs for
leaping and dense, soft fur. They have relatively
large heads and range in color from gray to
black. Not including the tail, they are between
11.8 and 23.6 inches long with the tail being
between 2.9 and 10.5 inches long. They typically
weigh between 1.1 and 19.8 pounds and live in
rocky outcrops, scrub and grasslands.

The Andean Condor is one of the world´s
largest birds with a wingspan up to 12 feet wide.
They are brown when young, changing to
predominantly black as an adult with a white
collar and often white coloring on the tops of
the wings. The head and neck are bald, and the
birds are ungainly when on the ground. In the air
however they seem to glide effortlessly on
thermals and make for an impressive sight.

The animals described above are largely found in
the Andean region of Peru. Much of Peru however
is made up of the Amazon basin which is of course
the world's most biologically diverse region and
teeming with wildlife. Wherever you choose to
visit you are sure to encounter at least some of
Peru's rich fauna.

----------------------------------------------------
Gary Sargent is the Managing Director of the tour
companies Escaped to Peru and has lived in South
America since 1998. Gary is passionate about life
here, the people, customs and places. Visit
Gary's website for more Peru travel advice or to
book your next Peru vacation at
http://www.escapedtoperu.com

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