As a rugby-mad youngster, Rory Matthews likes to train every day. Unfortunately, he lives on a farm and does not have anyone his own age to play with.
But he's not worried - because he's got Chicky the alpaca. Chicky, a fellow resident at the Children's Animal Farm near Melbourne, has proved a formidable sparring partner for eight-year-old Rory.
"I don't have any brothers and sisters to play rugby with, so Chicky helps me out," said Rory after another tough session with the brown and grey South American animal.
"He's picked up the basic idea - I run with the ball and he charges at me and tries to knock me off my feet. Sometimes I manage to knock him over but that makes him even madder. He's helped me far more than a human could. I can't tackle dad when he's around because he's too fast.
Anyway, I don't think dad likes to knock me over, whereas Chicky thinks it's good fun."
So that's the story! I've seen this picture floating around the internet. People have been using it to further the notion that alpacas "tackle" and "attack" children. Obviously this family has their own reason for encouraging this behavior.
ReplyDeleteOn most farms this behavior would be discouraged so that the alpaca does not tackle people when he's 180 lbs. Boy alpacas love to play. When young male alpacas want to play like this my son would love to do what this boy is doing and play along.
Thanks for sharing!