Personality

The alpacas do have personality. As I have gotten to know our three, I have seen some personality emerge.

Victoria appears to be the leader of our group and is the most outgoing. She is the first to walk up to the gate when we come to the barn. She is the only one who has let people pet her. When they walk around the barn and pasture, Victoria is the first to go into the next place (like if they go from the barn to pasture, Victoria is the first to go through the gate).

Snowstorm has turned out to be a great guardian. If there is danger, it is Snowstorm who sounds the call. He sticks very close to Victoria (they do have the same mother which it seems like they know because they are close buddies). Snowstorm is bigger than the girls so he does create a presence of protection. Snowstorm has some fairly big teeth (J says they meet up right in his mouth and do not need to be trimmed yet - alpacas do need their teeth trimmed when their bite no longer matches up). These teeth make him look like he is always smiling. He seems like a happy alpaca (though who knows, maybe he's secretely making fun of me). He is stubborn so haltering him is difficult, especially given how big he is. But he is also very curious. When I am doing something in the pasture, Snowstorm will walk up behind me. As long as I ignore him, he will stay there, if I turn to acknowledge him, he backs off.

Kateri is the shy one. She also seems the most nervous. She's most likely to be humming, but to be standing behind the other two. She seems to get left out when the other two seem to be such buddies. I did once find Kateri laying down with Tiger (the kitten), but Kateri often jumps when Fluffy is around (Fluffy must be too active for Kateri's taste).

Their personalities are all fun in their own way. I enjoy having Victoria walk up to the gate to greet me, and to have Snowstorm watch everything I do, and I enjoy seeking out Kateri to make sure she doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I know what it's like to be the shy one in the back ;)