Alpaca in Britain gets mirror for company after pen mates die

An elderly alpaca living at an animal sanctuary in Britain has been given mirrors to alleviate its loneliness following the loss of its companions, who died of old age.

Eighteen-year-old Giovanni lives at Screech Owl Sanctuary & Animal Park in Cornwall, Wales, with two other alpacas, but they died recently. Alpacas generally have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.

Being naturally social herd animals, park workers recognised that Giovanni needed company while they search for new companions.

“He was in need of a special treat and a sense that there’s somebody else around,” the park’s operations director Gary Zammit told British broadcaster BBC.

So, they put up a call on their social media accounts for people to donate mirrors as a short-term measure “to cheer him up”.

“Mirrors are a really good form of enrichment for alpacas as they provide a sense of companionship,” the Jan 21 post on both Facebook and Instagram said.

The response was overwhelming, with the sanctuary flooded with “plenty” of mirrors, said Mr Zammit.

A mirror was installed at Giovanni’s enclosure to mimic the presence of another herd mate, and he seemed “quite happy” seeing his reflection.

“He’s been pretty good, but it’s even better when he’s got that (mirror) there so he can see another alpaca as far as he, hopefully, thinks in the paddock with him,” the BBC quoted Mr Zammit as saying.

Still, Giovanni will not be alone with his reflection for long.

Mr Zammit said a regular visitor to the sanctuary has offered to donate two female alpacas to keep Giovanni company.

“We would hopefully be looking at picking them up as soon as possible, and then hopefully quarantine, once all the tests are done, (it) won’t take long at all,” he added.