National Geographic: Spitting Mad - Wild Camel of the Andes Page #2

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must be brought to ground.

But sometimes,

the only contact is the ground.

When they're just a few hours old,

chulengos are easier to catch

and can be handled

with a minimum of stress

to both mother and chulengo.

Wild though they are,

guanacos see scientists

almost every day

and are at ease in their presence.

For two decades,

Bill Franklin has given

dozens of students

the privilege of studying

one of the most interesting animals

on earth,

and he is the world's leading authority

on these-toughest of survivors.

Tagging the chulengos

allows their habits and movements

to be observed and recorded.

And while its mother

looks on anxiously,

her chulengo is weighed and examined.

Much can be learned,

for the health of this chulengo

may be a reflection

of the health of the region

in which it lives.

The chulengos are fitted with

radio transmitters

so their life-and-death struggles

can be followed.

In this way,

Bill has discovered that guanacos

may live as long as 12 years,

but only if they survive

the first year.

The chulengos will be closely guarded

by its mother for the whole year.

But despite this protection,

up to 80 percent of the year's

offspring might be taken by pumas.

Separated from its mother,

a chulengo is confused and in danger,

so Bill is anxious to

return it quickly.

In fact, chulengos will readily become

attached to humans

when they're very young.

And only when they see and smell

their mother again

will the bond be retied.

And Bill watches to ensure this

takes place.

To see the two together again

is a heartening moment,

and mother and chulengo

soon rejoin their family group.

Once all are together again,

the dedicated scientific

work of following

each collared chulengo's struggles

can begin.

Summer and winter,

Bill's students take to the hilltops

to check on the whereabouts

of the chulengos.

The receiver distinguishes

between each collared youngster

and also register

if there is lively movement or not.

So a scientist is able to tell

if a chulengo is alive or dead.

If a mortality signal is received,

the body must be found

and the cause of death determined.

This chulengo was killed by a puma,

for the big cats cover their kills

to hide them from scavengers.

The puma will return to eat its meal

under the cover of darkness.

The cats hunt mostly at night,

so evening is the time to wake up.

And with pumas on the prowl,

night is the guanacos' time

of greatest danger.

Do they have a strategy

for staying alive they move house.

Night's aren't entirely friendly

to pumas either.

A mother with cubs may be ambushed

by a male puma

from a neighboring territory,

so she delays leading her cubs

out of the den

until the light is fading,

and will be careful

as she guides them to the kill.

As night falls,

guanacos climb to the tops

of bare hills,

and the strategy makes sense:

There's less cover up here,

which means that even in darkness,

pumas will have difficulty approaching

without being seen.

The mothers will ensure

that their chulengos are close by

and the male will keep watch

from the edge of the family group.

Staying alive at night

is far more perilous than daylight,

for guanacos need moonlight to see,

while pumas have sharp vision,

even on the darkest nights.

But they still take the precaution

of dragging their meal into thick cover.

This is a tough task,

for the guanaco carcass

may outweigh her

by as much as 200 pounds.

But she must struggle on,

for thick cover

provides a safer place

for her cubs to feed.

The family shares the food amicably,

with the youngsters getting first bite.

And once they fill their bellies,

the cubs can indulge

in some late night revelry.

No doubt this play

helps develop muscles

and hunting skills,

but they also seem to be

just enjoying themselves.

Their mother must recover the carcass,

for it will feed them

all for at least two more nights.

At the first hint of dawn,

the female leads her cubs

back to the den,

barking instructions

to hurry them along.

It's important they are back

in a safe place by daylight,

and the sun is rising fast.

Once the pumas are back at their dens,

the guanacos come back downhill

to the food-rich meadows

they abandon at night.

Joining them is a wealth of wildlife

that floods into the park

during the spring and summer.

Many wildfowl breed here,

including graceful black-necked swans

and the chest-patting ruddy duck.

There is food for all,

especially guanacos.

And though summer is a time for plenty,

the park lies in the wildest extremity

of South America.

And the weather cannot

be taken for granted.

Guanacos must take good care

of their soft woolen coats.

So dust bathing is a daily ritual.

Keeping them in tip-top condition

could mean the difference

between life and death.

For even in summer,

icy winds and snow

can blast down from the mountains.

Winds of 100 miles an hour

have been recorded here.

And driven by these raging winds,

freezing snow showers

can be a killer.

When the weather has

been particularly brutal,

the undertakers of the air

are never far away.

Most chulengos are born around midday.

For those that are born late

have little chance

during hostile summer storms.

And once hypothermia sets in,

death follows quickly.

There is nothing

the distressed mother can do.

The condors will hang on the wind

until a chulengo is still.

But its mother is hesitant

about defend it.

Perhaps she's intimidated

by the condor's impressive bulk.

Only when the condors

begin eating her dead offspring

does she muster enough courage

to chase them away.

Her defense is in vain.

Gray foxes scavenge dead meat, too,

and their hunger

makes them aggressive.

Though some of the meat

will be eaten now,

it is vital to store

some of the scraps for use

in harder times.

So these caches of meat

are hidden underground.

In the dead of winter,

they'll return for

their long-buried meal-

if they can find it.

Summer can be an easy time for foxes.

And like most predators,

their cubs are raised

on the misfortune of others

not just dead chulengos and

the remains of puma kills,

but eggs, birds,

and lots of beetles.

Foxes can raise up to

five cubs each summer.

And though puma-killed guanacos

are an important source of food,

pumas also kill foxes.

So it's best to keep out of sight.

Killing isn't always

a big cat's priority.

Eating a guanaco on

a hot summer's day

is thirsty work.

So she had to abandon the carcass

to find much needed water.

The killer cat

is watched by many eyes.

The crested caracara

is another scavenger

that looks to the puma for leftovers,

and it already has the chulengo

carcass in its sights.

With the foxes frightened off

by the puma,

it too can benefit

from the chulengo's death.

Nothing is wasted

in this hungry land.

As with all birds of prey,

the caracara's hooked beak

and sharp claws

enable it to rip

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