Camera Critters #118: The Pushmi-pullyu

Genus Pushmi-pullyu, species alpaca

It was Open Farm Weekend at Cedar Brook Alpaca Farm in Irasburg, so I took Ironman and Catgirl. They had seen alpacas before, but never a pushmi-pullyu  so they had quite a treat.  This particular pushmi-pullyu was two toned: gold on one side and white on the other Talk about exciting — pushmi-pullyu breeders are becoming more creative as their breeding stock grows!

If you don't know about the pushmi-pullyu (pronounced "push-me-pull-you"), it is a "gazelle-unicorn cross" which has two heads (one of each) at opposite ends of its body. When it tries to move, both heads try to go in opposite directions. Dr. Dolittle meets it on his voyage to Africa to save monkeys (See: The Story of Doctor Dolittle). In the 1967 film, the pushmi-pullyu was instead portrayed as a double-headed llama. The more recent Eddie Murphy film has a brief scene where it is walking in the background while Dr. Dolittle talks to the tiger in the cage. This is in keeping with the fact that this movie version was only loosely based on the books. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org.

American breeders have expanded this pushmi-pullyu definition so that just about any species of animal can be one. Or part of one.

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Heads or Tails: A Dog That Shakes Off Predators

This very large Turkish guard dog protects the alpacas on the Cedar Brook Alpaca Farm from predators. He patrols the paddocks all night and sleeps all day. He was awake on Saturday because it was Open House at the farm. The dog chases off coyotes and other predators that attack alapacas. He has a large warm barn and a large run for the day time. There are signs on his fence warning people to stay clear of him because he is very protective of his alpacas.

My Cedar Brook Alpaca Farm Set on Flickr.

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Camera Critters: An Alpaca

This was Open House weekend at alpaca farms all over the country. We visited the Cedar Brook Alpaca Farm in Irasburg. This female alpaca (a hembra) just had a drink of water. In her paddock were only females and crias (babies).

My Cedar Brook Alpaca Farm Set on Flickr.

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Technorati Tags: hembra, alpacas, Cedar Brook Alpaca Farm, Irasburg, Vermont
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