The guanaco is another interesting animal that the Creator has designed to live in unusual surroundings. Pronounced “wa-nah-ko,” 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 13,000-foot, snow-covered peaks of the Andes in Chili and Peru. It lives in family groups which migrate between these winter and summer feeding areas. It is the only large, South American wild animal that feeds on grass and shrubs.
Guanacos often have to survive long periods of dry weather, so God has given them the ability to get all their water from the food they eat. They also have been supplied with padded feet that have two, hard, sharp little hooves, which give them a good grip on rocky ground as well as in sand and snow. Warm, wooly fur insulates their entire body from the cold, and they like to roll in the 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 of them all, 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. Finally, one breaks away, and the winner becomes the acknowledged leader of his company.
Babies are born in December (the beginning of summer south of the equator). They have expressive black eyes, flexible necks and spindly but graceful legs, making these youngsters very appealing. 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 soft and downy, cinnamon-colored coats with white stomachs. Erect ears stand up on small, pointed heads atop long, slender necks. Their faces are mostly soft gray.
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, so far away in those cold lands? The Bible answers this question, saying, “For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven.” Job 28:2424For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; (Job 28:24). Every boy and girl should also think of David’s words when speaking to the Lord: “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding.” Psalms 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-01/22/1984