{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.alpaca","code":"thing-q81564","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q81564/","name":"alpaca","alternateNames":["Suri alpaca"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A domesticated New World camelid (Vicugna pacos; still treated by some checklists as Lama pacos), derived mainly from the wild vicuña with later llama introgression, kept as a high-Andean fibre, meat and dung animal and, outside the Andes, as a fleece, companion and occasional guardian livestock species distinct from the larger packing llama.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise an individual alpaca, assess its welfare and husbandry needs, and determine which handling, care, breeding or fibre-management actions are appropriate.","scope":{"in":["Individual identification and evidence that the animal is an alpaca","Life stage, reproductive state and dependent offspring","Body condition, behaviour and signs requiring assessment","Herd relationships and suitability of the immediate care environment","Fleece condition, shearing readiness and individual husbandry history"],"out":["Llamas, vicuñas and other camelids as separately modelled animals","Herd-level breeding programmes and population genetics","Farm infrastructure, pasture management and business operations","Harvested fibre, yarn and textile products","Veterinary diseases, medicines and clinical procedures as independent models","Alpaca-branded software, financial services and organisations"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Establish camelid identity from the combination of padded two-toed feet, long neck and split upper lip; fleece alone does not distinguish an alpaca from a sheep.","Compare ear shape, head profile and adult build with a llama: relatively short, spear-shaped ears and a smaller build support alpaca identification, but are not sufficient individually.","Check recorded domestication and breeding provenance when distinguishing an alpaca from a vicuña; colour and fine fleece alone are insufficient.","Use documented parentage or appropriate genetic assessment to resolve suspected alpaca-llama ancestry when appearance cannot establish the boundary.","Recognise both crimped Huacaya fleece and hanging Suri locks as compatible with alpaca identity; coat presentation alone must not exclude either type."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"alpaca-identity","name":"Alpaca identity","description":"Establishes what animal this is and how confidently it belongs to the registered kind.","layers":[{"id":"camelid-boundary","name":"Camelid boundary","description":"Tests alpaca identification against similar animals and uncertain ancestry.","findings":[{"id":"species-and-ancestry-evidence","name":"Species and ancestry evidence","description":"Records the observations and documents supporting alpaca identification without treating visual traits as definitive.","questions":[{"text":"Which observed traits and provenance records support identifying this animal as an alpaca?","id":"species-and-ancestry-evidence-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What evidence would be needed to resolve possible llama, vicuña or hybrid ancestry?","id":"species-and-ancestry-evidence-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"individual-and-fleece-type","name":"Individual and fleece type","description":"Connects an identifiable animal to its records and characteristic fleece presentation.","findings":[{"id":"record-to-animal-match","name":"Record-to-animal match","description":"Maintains evidence linking identifiers, physical markings and recorded Huacaya or Suri type to this individual.","questions":[{"text":"Which microchip, tag or documented markings link this alpaca to its records, and when was the match checked?","id":"record-to-animal-match-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is its Huacaya or Suri classification documented, observed from fleece structure or unresolved?","id":"record-to-animal-match-q02","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"body-condition-and-health","name":"Body condition and health","description":"Represents nutritional condition and meaningful changes in bodily function.","layers":[{"id":"growth-and-nutrition","name":"Growth and nutrition","description":"Interprets weight and body condition against age, reproductive demands and feeding access.","findings":[{"id":"condition-beneath-fleece","name":"Condition beneath the fleece","description":"Records weight trends and palpated condition separately from visual impressions of body size.","questions":[{"text":"What are the current weight and body-condition score, and which method or scale produced each?","id":"condition-beneath-fleece-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"How have these changed alongside growth, lactation, forage availability or competition at feeding?","id":"condition-beneath-fleece-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"functional-health-signals","name":"Functional health signals","description":"Tracks departures from this alpaca's usual feeding, elimination, breathing and movement.","findings":[{"id":"clinical-observations-and-escalation","name":"Clinical observations and escalation","description":"Keeps symptoms, test results and professional interpretations distinct while supporting timely assessment.","questions":[{"text":"What changes are observed in appetite, cud chewing, droppings, urination, breathing, gait or ability to rise?","id":"clinical-observations-and-escalation-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which observations require veterinary contact under the animal's current care plan, and what action has been taken?","id":"clinical-observations-and-escalation-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"herd-life-and-handling","name":"Herd life and handling","description":"Connects social behaviour, resource access and responses to human contact.","layers":[{"id":"social-placement","name":"Social placement","description":"Represents companion relationships and the individual's actual experience within a group.","findings":[{"id":"companionship-and-exclusion","name":"Companionship and exclusion","description":"Records affiliation, conflict, isolation and whether other animals obstruct essential resources.","questions":[{"text":"Which alpacas does this individual associate with, and what happens when they are separated?","id":"companionship-and-exclusion-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does herd behaviour prevent this alpaca from reaching forage, water, shade or shelter, and what adjustment is indicated?","id":"companionship-and-exclusion-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"human-contact","name":"Human contact","description":"Records context-specific handling responses and constraints for necessary care.","findings":[{"id":"handling-tolerance","name":"Handling tolerance","description":"Distinguishes observed reactions to approach, haltering and restraint from assumptions about temperament.","questions":[{"text":"How does this alpaca respond to approach, haltering, leading and examination, including avoidance, spitting or kicking?","id":"handling-tolerance-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which handler skills, companion arrangements and restraint limits are required for the proposed procedure?","id":"handling-tolerance-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"fleece-and-physical-care","name":"Fleece and physical care","description":"Represents fleece management, weather exposure and routine physical maintenance.","layers":[{"id":"fleece-and-weather","name":"Fleece and weather","description":"Connects fleece type and condition to shearing decisions and protection afterwards.","findings":[{"id":"individual-shearing-readiness","name":"Individual shearing readiness","description":"Assesses shearing as an animal-care action with condition, handling and environmental prerequisites.","questions":[{"text":"When was this alpaca last shorn, and what fleece coverage, matting, contamination or skin concerns are present?","id":"individual-shearing-readiness-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Given its health, handling needs and expected weather exposure, what arrangements are needed before and after shearing?","id":"individual-shearing-readiness-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"feet-mouth-and-skin","name":"Feet, mouth and skin","description":"Tracks structures requiring direct inspection rather than inference from fleece or general activity.","findings":[{"id":"maintenance-needs","name":"Maintenance needs","description":"Connects nail, foot-pad, dental and skin observations to appropriately qualified care.","questions":[{"text":"What nail growth, foot-pad damage, chewing difficulty, visible dental abnormality or skin lesion has been observed?","id":"maintenance-needs-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which findings justify routine maintenance, further examination or veterinary treatment, and who is qualified to perform it?","id":"maintenance-needs-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"reproduction-and-cria-dependence","name":"Reproduction and cria dependence","description":"Represents reproductive evidence and care relationships across pregnancy, birth and early development.","layers":[{"id":"reproductive-evidence","name":"Reproductive evidence","description":"Separates reproductive capability, mating history and confirmed pregnancy.","findings":[{"id":"breeding-and-pregnancy-status","name":"Breeding and pregnancy status","description":"Records reproductive status and its evidence without equating exposure to a male with pregnancy.","questions":[{"text":"What records establish sex, intact or castrated status, mating exposure and any pregnancy assessment?","id":"breeding-and-pregnancy-status-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What individual health assessment and breeding authorisation must be satisfied before mating or changing reproductive-group housing?","id":"breeding-and-pregnancy-status-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"dam-cria-care","name":"Dam-cria care","description":"Connects birth observations, nursing, growth and separation decisions.","findings":[{"id":"offspring-dependence","name":"Offspring dependence","description":"Represents the cria as a separate individual whose care remains linked to its dam or substitute caregiver.","questions":[{"text":"Which dam-cria relationship is documented, and what birth, early feeding, nursing and weight observations are available?","id":"offspring-dependence-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What evidence of health, growth and independent feeding is required before weaning or separating this cria under its care plan?","id":"offspring-dependence-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of alpaca this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Monitor an alpaca's feeding, weight and health for its keeper.","Read ear tags or microchips and report them to the registered keeper.","Report signs of heat stress, injury or illness to a veterinarian."],"mustNot":["Keep an alpaca alone, since it is a herd animal that suffers in isolation.","Shear, handle or transport an alpaca in ways that cause injury or avoidable distress.","Give medicines a veterinarian has not prescribed.","Breed alpacas outside the keeper's plan or registry rules."],"requiresHuman":["Euthanasia, castration or other surgery.","Selling or moving an alpaca to a new keeper."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Alpacas are social animals whose welfare depends on company and space.","Andean herding communities depend on alpacas and their fibre."],"affectedParties":["The alpacas","Keepers and herders","Andean communities"]},"owners":{"steward":"The registered keeper; national livestock or breed registries record animals where they exist.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Livestock movement registers","Alpaca breed registries"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q57814795","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.alpaca","Wikidata: Q81564 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81564)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identity and ancestry confidence: documented alpaca; appearance-supported alpaca; suspected hybrid ancestry; unresolved","Fleece type: Huacaya; Suri; unresolved","Age evidence and life stage: birth date or estimated age in months, with evidence; dependent cria; weaned juvenile; adult","Body mass: kg, with date and weighing method","Body condition: score on a named alpaca-appropriate scale, with examination method and date","Reproductive status: recorded sex and intact or castrated status; pregnancy unknown, suspected or confirmed; lactating or not recorded","Social and maternal relationships: herd membership; compatible companions; dam; dependent cria; observed conflict","Fleece burden and condition: last shearing date; coverage; matting; contamination; skin visibility; observed thermal discomfort","Handling response: observed response to approach, haltering, leading, examination and restraint, with context"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A small camelid with a long neck, dense fleece and short spear-shaped ears.","Smaller than a llama, with a blunt face and fibre covering the head."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identify the alpaca and reconcile its physical identifier with ownership, ancestry and care records.","Observe and compare feeding, movement, herd participation, weight and body condition over time.","Assess whether companion arrangements and access to forage, water and shelter meet this individual's needs.","Plan handling, movement and shearing using its condition, previous responses and current environmental exposure.","Flag changes that require veterinary assessment while retaining observations separately from diagnoses.","Track mating, pregnancy evidence, birth and dam-cria dependence to support authorised reproductive care."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Heat stress in warm climates when fleece is unshorn.","Spitting and kicking when handled roughly."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, issued by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, governs the scientific names used for the alpaca without deciding between competing taxonomic placements."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Alpacas are kept in Andean pastoral systems and on farms elsewhere primarily for their fleece.","They are also encountered as companion livestock and in agricultural education, where their social behaviour and husbandry needs guide management."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Alpaca","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca","note":"Species identity, Huacaya/Suri split, size, gestation and lifespan, fibre uses, llama contrast, Kadwell reclassification summary, colour-chart differences, and livestock hazards."},{"title":"Huacaya alpaca","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huacaya_alpaca","note":"Huacaya dominance, withers height, fibre diameter and crimp, diet, parasites, poisons and disease list."},{"title":"Vicugna pacos (Alpaca) | Taxonomy","url":"https://www.uniprot.org/taxonomy/30538","note":"NCBI/UniProt taxon 30538, accepted name Vicugna pacos, and synonyms Lama pacos and Camelus pacos Linnaeus, 1758."},{"title":"Heroes of deserts and highlands, nourishing people and culture. Volume 3: Production, products and services","url":"https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/5f8e655f-24ac-49b1-b4ec-906be730b717/content","note":"Andean husbandry altitude, Peru's majority share of the world flock, meat and fibre uses, and Huacaya versus Suri fibre."},{"title":"Genetic analysis reveals the wild ancestors of the llama and the alpaca","url":"https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2001.1774","note":"Vicuña ancestry of the alpaca and the case for Vicugna pacos rather than Lama pacos (read via the Wikipedia summary of this paper, not the full PDF)."},{"title":"Responsible Alpaca Standard 1.0 (RAF-101c-V1.0)","url":"https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2021/06/RAF-101c-V1.0-Responsible-Alpaca-Standard.pdf","note":"Voluntary farm-to-product animal-welfare and chain-of-custody standard for alpaca fibre."},{"title":"Wikidata item Q81564: alpaca","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81564","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Vicugna pacos","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicugna_pacos","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does the registry intend alpaca to cover living domestic alpacas only, and how should confirmed camelid hybrids be linked?","Which authoritative identification references and ancestry standards should govern uncertain alpaca-llama or alpaca-vicuña boundaries?","Which alpaca-specific body-condition scale, growth references and clinical escalation criteria should be adopted for each life stage?","How should climate, fleece type and individual health determine shearing timing and protection requirements?","Which veterinary and welfare sources should establish reproductive readiness, neonatal monitoring, weaning and procedure-qualification requirements in the applicable jurisdiction?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q81564/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q81564/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T11:14:26Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 7 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}