The San Diego Zoo received its first breeding pair of guanacos in 1968. We have been working hard for this species' preservation ever since. Today, the Zoo has both guanacos and llamas in Elephant Odyssey. The guanacos live with capybaras and Baird’s tapirs. Keepers say they are a “pretty happy and relaxed group." We also have a llama animal ambassador that you may meet strolling the grounds with a keeper.
The guanacos get different browse materials for enrichment, such as leafy mulberry and acacia branches. Tree guards on all the trees in the exhibit keep the guanacos from eating the bark. Keepers have trained them to stand on the scale and get a dose of fly spray. They get sheared at the Zoo every few years; rolling and rubbing helps them shed in the interim.
There used to be about 50 million guanacos in the world. Today there are less than 600,000, with about 90 percent living in Argentina. Human activities resulting in habitat loss are the main threat to their survival. People consider them pests in parts of South America because they graze in certain regions where farmers keep their sheep.