## 4 Discussion  
### Diurnal Activity Patterns  
For this study we used speed, based on animal positional rate of change as a measure to determine diurnal activity patterns of alpacas and sheep, with high and low levels of speed indicating high and low levels of activity. To our knowledge the diurnal activity patterns of alpacas cohabitating with lambing ewes has not been previously investigated. However, the diurnal activity patterns of alpacas housed together were reported by [PERSON] et al. (2018), who found that alpacas increased activity (based on acceleration) at 03:00 h and ceased activity at 18:00 h, with five peaks over this time. This pattern is very similar to the activity periods shown by the alpacas in our experiment. Alpacas are classified as pseudo-ruminants (having a three-compartment forestomach) ([PERSON] et al., 2019) and therefore we might expect alpacas to share similar diurnal activity patterns as ruminant species, such as cattle and sheep that also have multi-compartment stomachs. These species are known to show a daily pattern of three to five peaks of grazing activity ([PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019). These results matched our observations with alpacas increasing their activity levels at the same time as the lambing ewes and exhibiting similar activity peaks throughout the day. It is possible that both species shared similar diurnal activity patterns as they share the same cues for grazing and rest, triggered by diurnal light fluctuations including dusk and dawn ([PERSON] et al., 2019). Shared activity patterns are common in flocking species, such as sheep, due to nutritional requirements after bouts of rest and in response to social facilitation where initiation or increase in a particular behaviour, such as grazing, can be prompted by increases in the same behaviour by other flock mates ([PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019; [PERSON] et al., 2019). Sharing the same activity patterns over the day as sheep could be seen as beneficial in relation to guarding as they are active at the same time as the flock and exhibit corresponding movement levels in their environments at the same time. Shared activity patterns also suggest that the alpacas were integrated and grazing with the flock, which is a desirable characteristic of a guardian animal to demonstrate within a flock they are protecting. It is unclear as to why both the alpacas and ewes decreased their daily distances travelled over the period of the study. The animals did move to different fields due to pasture availability. It has been reported that the distance grazing animals travel on a daily basis can be influenced by pasture quality and quantity; for example the distance cattle travel will increase if pasture quantity decreases ([PERSON] et al., 2019). We did not examine the difference in pasture quantity over time however due to the progression of spring, it is possible that the fields progressed from low to higher pasture quantity over the study  
Figure 6: Mean grazing and resting patterns of alpacas (\(n=2\)) over a three-day observation period. Observations occurred for 40 min out of every 60 min (divided into \(2\times 20\) min observation sessions) from 05:30 to 19:30 h. Note: each hourly time period represents \(2\times 20\) min observations for a total of 40 min of observation time per hour. period and therefore animal foraging distance decreased. It is noted that both species exhibited the same decreasing foraging pattern and therefore are assumed to share similar grazing behaviour. The results of this study also indicate that alpacas demonstrate a greater distance travelled per day and a greater movement speed per hour when compared to ewes. This difference is likely to be due to body size differences. Alpacas have comparatively long limbs; for example the vicuna, a close relative of the alpaca, has limbs that are two-thirds of the length of its back [31].