Lynx and alpacas

[Ann Marie]

In Scandinavia lynx is something some people worry about very much. I have heard about lynx taking alpaca crias but so far no evidence that healthy adult alpacas also are at risk. Lynx can take bigger animals then alpacas but I wonder (without having any scientific evidence for my thoughts!) if they are not weakened by disease or injuries making them an easy target.

My question now is if anybody in this forum know for sure about any adult alpaca killed by lynx? Do you have lynx in the US by the way? Or in other parts of the world apart from Europe?

[Marty McGee Bennett]

I know nothing about lynx's but I do know that there are large cats all around where I live and other than the odd incident camelids are not part of a cougars diet. If a big cat does decide to be more adventurous in his dining there is not too much you can do to fence them out or protect them using livestock guardians be they dogs or llamas although I love llamas as guards and I think they do represent a psychological deterrent for predators. To answer the specific question I do know of a healthy adult alpaca being killed by a cougar about 4 miles from where I live-it happened about 10 months ago and nothing since...I don't think they caught the animal. I don't stay up nights worrying about it.
Our big guard llama Nordica just passed away and when I find a suitable replacement (that is going to be the challenge big toenails to fill!) we will get another llama and hopefully that will be before our alpacas babies arrive in the early summer.

[Ann Marie]

Thanks Marty. At least lynx is mainly night active as far as I know so if you keep the alpacas in the stable with closed door after dark you probably can avoid most problems. But it is interesting that people are so afraid of lynx attacs even though there seems to be not one documented case on healthy adult alpacas.

[Marty McGee Bennett]

I have a friend who had a big cat problem in California and she did a version of what you suggest and that was to build a "Fort Knox" maximum security pasture with very high fencing with electricity on the top and whenever she wasn't home she put her animals in this very small but very secure pasture.
I am an advocate however of not worrying about things that are not likely to happen--- on the other hand if you are losing sleep this is a good alternative.

[NinaFaust]

While lynx mainly eat snowshoe hares and other small prey, the literature says that they can take a larger animal like a deer. We have lynx in the area here. The alpacas have been face-to-face with a lynx when I was with them, and the silly Poos wanted to go investigate. I intervened, of course.

One night in early December, I was out in the alpaca pen and noticed that the boys were very nervous and staring over toward the bean compost pile. I was out with my headlamp. As I walked toward the pile with my buckets, I noticed two huge, yellow eyes looking at me from next to the poop pile. I took a few more steps closer so I could fully see what I was looking at.

A lynx was chowing down on two snowshoe hares just behind the poop pile. It just kept munching away as I watched. I did not chase it away as we do want them to eat the hares because of the hare population explosion. The hares have damaged a lot of our trees. However, I was happy that I have an 8-foot fence with electric lines on it.

Now with all the snow, only 4-feet of fence is above the snow. I just reconfigured the electricity to feed the top line and turned it back on. I don't think the lynx will bother my alpacas, but there are loose dogs, coyotes, wolves, and wolverines. It is my only line of defense.

[Ann Marie]

You seem to have the whole package, Nina, but what about bears...?

[NinaFaust]

There are bears here, yes. Right now they are hibernating. Come spring, when they emerge from the den is when I get a bit nervous about bears with so much snow. Every year is different as to snow, but I feel a bit better having added a third electric fence wire on the top of the 8-foot fence. The electric fence does work with the bears. Many of the wildlife viewing camps are using electric fences around the camps on eco-tours these days to keep bears and people safe.

Two years ago, I did not have that top line. Made me very nervous. The bears were out in April with only 4 feet of fence uncovered and all my electric wires under snow. I was shoveling a heck of a lot of snow that year as I have a pretty big pen. With the new top line, I can isolate it and just keep it hot.