The guanaco is another interesting animal that the Creator has designed to live in unusual surroundings. This charming, yet sometimes unpleasant, wooly animal lives at the lower end of South America. It has adapted to the sea-level plains of Argentina and Patagonia, as well as to the cold, wind-swept islands of Tierra del Fuego and the snow-covered peaks of the Andes in Chili and Peru. It lives in family groups that migrate between these winter and summer feeding areas. It is the only large, South American wild animal that feeds on grass and shrubs.
The guanaco often has to survive long periods of dry weather, so God has given it the ability to get all its water from the food it eats. It also has been given padded feet that have two hard, sharp little hooves, which gives it a good grip on rocky ground, as well as in sand and snow. Warm, wooly fur insulates the entire body from the cold, and it likes to roll in dust to help keep it fluffed up.
While closely related to the more northern llamas and vicunas, the five-foot, 250-pound guanaco is the largest and most graceful, but it is not used as a pack animal as is the llama.
When adult males fight, they move close to each other on stiff legs, then suddenly charge, rising on their hind legs and slamming their chests together. They also bite each other’s necks and spit at one another. One finally breaks away, and the winner becomes the acknowledged leader of the herd.
Babies are born in December (the beginning of summer south of the equator). Called chulengos, they are playful and have mock battles, jumping at each other and wrestling with their long necks. They like to tease the patient adults too. The young have downy, cinnamon-colored coats with white underparts.
Only one day after birth, the chulengo can run swiftly, but the mother nurses it for a year or more before chasing it away. The females join other groups, but bachelor males band together until about five years old and then establish their own families.
Do you think God pays attention to these guanacos in those cold lands? The Bible answers this question: “He [looks] to the ends of the earth, and [sees] under the whole heaven” (Job 28:2424For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; (Job 28:24)). Each of us should also think of David’s words when speaking to the Lord: “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding” (Psalm 119:7373JOD. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments. (Psalm 119:73)). When a request for understanding is sincerely made, God will surely give it and will delight also to show the way of salvation through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever made this request?
ML-08/03/2008