Tiny Parasite
Causes
Deadly Illness
in Alpacas,
Goats, Sheep
Becky Crabtree
S
mall snails or slugs seem fairly harmless. Likewise,
white-tailed deer are not scary. Both can cause crop
damage and often munch on flowers and vegetables but
these creatures are not usually ranked high on the wanted
list for killing other animals. The dreadful truth is that
they are vital links in the life cycle of the meningeal worm,
Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, a parasite that causes a terrible
death to small camelids such as goats, sheep, and alpacas.
Moose are highly susceptible as well.
Our experience was with Meean, one of two alpacas
our creative daughter gave us for Christmas. When the
inevitable “What do you want for Christmas?” question
surfaced, I thought I had her stumped by saying alpacas.
Not so. She and her husband found two young males and
drove across four states to bring them to us. I fell in love
with the alpaca’s cartoon expressions and strange gaits in
the first hour. They are such gentle creatures; it makes
their lack of resistance to these deadly parasites even
harder to bear.
continue life in the snail or slug’s body )չѥ