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| Volume 10, Number 6 | November 01, 2002 |
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LLAMAS & ALPACAS- The 'beautiful & intriguing' South American animals are becoming an established Prairie livestock species, under the watchful eye of a U of S world authority -
By Brian Cross If someone had suggested to Gregg Adams 20 years ago that he would base his academic career on the sexuality and fertility of llamas and alpacas, he probably wouldn't have believed it. But after studying the reproductive physiology of South American camelids for much of the past two decades, Adams has earned a reputation as one of the leading experts in his field. "I used to wrinkle a bit at being called the llama expert or the alpaca expert, but now I really enjoy it and I'm really proud of the research that's been done," says Adams, a Professor of Veterinary Anatomy in the U of S Department of Veterinary Medicine. "It's literally taken me all over the world." "I've been to Peru several times, to Chile several times, to Argentina and the Patagonia region. I've given lectures in Australia, New Zealand and England ... and if I wanted to, I could keep busy just giving talks around the world." Adams settled on his area of specialization almost by chance. After graduating from the University of Saskatchewan's Veterinary College in 1982, he eventually moved to the United States to do a clinical residency at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. When he moved to Wisconsin, he had planned on learning more about dairy cattle production, but during his residency there was an increasing interest in alpacas and llamas which were being imported from South America. "During my residency at Wisconsin, we started seeing more and more alpacas and llamas coming through the door," says Adams. "The late 1980s and early '90s is when alpacas and llamas were really becoming popular in North America. "There were a tremendous number of imports and nobody really knew anything about them ... so as the resident at Wisconsin, they gave me the majority of the cases, and it wasn't long before people were coming from all over the United States for advice and information." At the time, there were virtually no North American studies on the reproductive nuances of alpacas and llamas. As a result, much of the work done by Adams was considered pioneering research. During his doctoral studies, Adams spent several months observing alpacas and llamas in the Peruvian Andes before being forced out of the country by guerillas involved with the Shining Path political movement. Later, in collaboration with another researcher from California, he established a baseline physiology for the animals and was part of a team that demonstrated the normal ovarian structure of camelids using ultrasonography. By the time the animals started showing up on Western Canadian farms, Adams was firmly established as one of the foremost experts on camelid reproduction. Today he continues his research at the U of S and maintains a breeding facility a few kilometres east of Saskatoon. Since llamas and alpacas are relatively new to Western Canadian livestock producers, there is ample demand for Adams' expertise. The animals, unlike all other large livestock species, are induced ovulators, meaning females need the stimulus of mating to release eggs and become pregnant. Other livestock species, as well as humans and other primates, are spontaneous ovulators, meaning they have regular reproductive cycles. Much of Adams's current research focuses on the idiosyncrasies of camelid ovulation and seeks to explain why camelids always maintain pregnancy in their left uterine horn, a phenomenon that is not fully understood by researchers. Recently, a study conducted by Adams in Peru determined that ovulation can be induced by an intramuscular injection of male sperm cells. According to Adams, this research could have implications on fertility studies in other species. "We're quite excited about this because ... there is some suggestion that such a phenomenon, which has never been described before, may also exist in cattle, in horses and perhaps even in humans - we don't know for sure." The proliferation of alpacas and llamas across Western Canada has also given Adams the opportunity to share his knowledge with producers and to advise the industry on a wide range of issues such as alpaca health, reproduction, husbandry and selection. "Originally, the rapid growth of the industry really pushed us and it exceeded our ability to react, " says Adams. "But it's nice now because the industry has become more stable. We have a more even distribution of owners and a better understanding of the animals themselves." In South America, alpacas are normally used as pack animals while llamas are shorn for their fibre, which is used to produce clothing and fabrics. The animals are also raised for their meat. In Western Canada, alpacas and llamas are generally used as companion animals or guard animals, and are known for their ability to ward off animals that prey on sheep and other domestic livestock species. The Canadian fibre market is also becoming more established and has helped place a greater emphasis on fibre quality as a measure of an animal's value. North American prices range from a few hundred dollars per animal to tens of thousands of dollars for an import that produces high-quality fibre. "I still get asked by people, 'what do you do with these animals' - and it's a good question," Adams says. "But it's interesting to see that these animals have stuck. People are intrigued by them. They're beautiful animals and I think it's the aesthetics as much as anything that people are attracted to. "I think another reason why they've remained so popular is that women and children can easily handle them. They have a great personality, they're inquisitive and they're really a safe, soft, congenial animal to work with." "It was very exciting when the animals were brand new to North America and commanded a very high price ... but really, from a veterinary and an agricultural point of view, it's much more satisfying for me to see that these animals have established themselves as a legitimate livestock species," he says.
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