are likely born that way. Ironically, these males are not often particularly good breeders, they are easily distracted during copulation and are often more interested in what other males are doing than in breeding. Camelids that rely on aggression for every situation are almost always the same ones that have difficulty interacting with people. These males are not confusing humans with herd mates, they simply meet every encounter with aggression regardless of who is on the receiving end.
It is extremely important to re‐shape the behavior as early as possible. The single biggest problem when dealing with males is the human practice of cornering, grabbing and holding camelids to catch them. The practice (fortunately or unfortunately) works most of the time in that most animals will eventually submit and allow themselves to be caught, haltered, and managed to some degree or another. BUT the ones that will not submit to the corner‐grab‐hold approach, are exceedingly difficult to deal with and the more they are handled physically the more adept and comfortable they become interacting physically with humans. These males are management problems, and since they may be passing their temperament along to future generations, they should be used for breeding with caution. Castration helps with this problem, but the tendency to resist physically instead of submitting persists, and these animals are not suitable for new owners.
Observing and understanding behavior is necessary for proper management. However, returning like behavior (spitting back, wrestling, kicking or other dominance approaches) to misbehaving animals is easily misinterpreted by the recipient and may be dangerous to the human particularly when it comes to breeding animals. Communication between animals is incredibly nuanced and relies at least in part on having the proper anatomy.
To manage males successfully, you must manage their environment and work in a way that does not frighten them into behaving aggressively. Good animal management – laneways, catch pens, good fences and handling skills are the same things that also make managing males easy. With intact males, these things are essential. Cornering an adult male camelid and trying to wrestle him to a standstill will scare him so he may respond in kind and it will have nothing to do with dominance and everything to do with self‐defense.
Berserk Male Syndrome or Novice Handler Syndrome?
Berserk male syndrome (BMS) is a phrase that has been around for a long time. Llama Breeder Paul Taylor originally used the term BMS in an article in late 1980 or early 1981. Paul said, “It seems to be the end result of a series of confusing and negative interactions with humans, beginning with the breakdown of the normal standoffishness that herd raised llamas show in their relationship to humans. A male llama that has been bottle fed or constantly petted and fondled as a baby will show no hesitation about initiating contact with humans, as in the mild case of the pushy llama who runs up to be petted or bumps with his chest against people in the pasture with him. Such a llama is apt to be pushed or slapped to keep him away. This conflict can escalate over a period of time, possibly with changing owners or eventually the use a whip or club to keep the animal at bay. The final result seems to be a tangled combination of normal llama behavior for dominance assertion, breeding and defense.”[8]
The term “Berserk male syndrome” is outdated and does not reflect the true cause of the adverse behavior, the human. While this behavior is more prevalent in intact males, the behavior is not restricted to males.[9] It is also important to note that this is not a condition that happens exclusively in camelids; similar aggressive tendencies toward humans are observed in all domestic species (cattle, cats, dogs, and horses). Dr. LaRue Johnson proposed the term Aberrant Behavior Syndrome for BMS, and today the phrase BMS or ABS is used to describe llamas and alpacas that are anything from innocently engaging in problematic behavior for which they have been reinforced to those animals that are completely out of control and dangerously aggressive, which can become confusing.
In order to decide how to prevent aggressive behavior, it is important to be aware of what causes it. It is also important to be able to recognize the early warning signs of what could become problem behaviors and take action at that time.
The Novice Handler Syndrome
The cause of inappropriate aggression in most animals is multifactorial. Camelids are born with different personalities and tendencies. Humans have different behavioral styles, levels of confidence and experience. Environmental factors such as multiple owners/handlers, age of weaning and herd composition also play a part in the behavior of a llama or an alpaca. The number one cause of behavior issues in camelids is due to inappropriate management and interaction by people. “Novice Handler Syndrome” is a more accurate and descriptive term describing these inappropriate behavior tendencies than BMS or ABS. One especially important facet of the “Novice Handler Syndrome” is the tendency of the human to misinterpret what animals do and why they do it or … how behavior works and why animals repeat some behaviors and not others.
A common scenario that leads to this inappropriate behavior is a novice owner who has a small herd and their first llama or alpaca cria, and it is a boy. His instincts tell him to play, wrestle, bite, and bump. In this typical scenario, there is not a lot of room to run and not much to do, and the other animals in his environment do not want to play, in fact they rebuff him when he tries to mount or chest butt. This young animal is seriously bored. The high point of his day is when the owner comes out and sits with him. He starts investigating the owner by interacting with her. From the owner's point of view, everything that this baby does is cute, and she encourages this interaction. As time goes by the owner continues to interact with him and he becomes increasingly comfortable with being close to this human companion. Often, he picks at her clothes, puts his nose in her face and rubs against her. This common scenario, though cute when the cria is young, can become dangerous when he is an adult weight, as these animals will try to chest bump, rearing up, and wrapping the front legs around human caretakers. This is a typical example of instinctive adult behavior that was shaped and encouraged by the novice human caretaker.
Young camelids are going to explore their environment and check out what behaviors net them something they want, what behaviors are neutral and not worth repeating and which behaviors are frightening or result in discomfort. In a herd environment, where humans are occasional visitors to the pasture, behavior is shaped almost entirely by conspecifics. When humans are new to camelids consumed by their interest in them and spend hours in the barn, they have a much greater influence on the behavior of young alpacas and llamas. Young llama or alpaca babies that rub, lean, stand closely, walk right up and put their nose in your face or crotch and a fail to yield space when you move toward them have been encouraged to do these behaviors by receiving attention when they do them. These behaviors are NOT indications of love or friendship they are simply behaviors that were tried on humans just as they were tried on other herd mates and reinforced by someone who had no knowledge of where the behavior would likely lead. These trial behaviors can become dangerous to human caretakers and because of that, dangerous for the wellbeing of the animal. It is in the animal's best interest to guide him in a different direction.
The FIRST and best solution is do not encourage behavior that you do not want. Remember that behavior that seems harmless in a 20‐pound baby is not going to magically go away when the animal is full‐grown. Teach animals that they do not touch you and be respectful of them by handling them in a catch pen and using balancing techniques, not physical force. Mutual nose greetings are the only allowed physical contact. When you have neonates around, watch them from outside the pasture for the first few days. Do not encourage them to approach you and, if they do approach you, participate in a quick nose to nose greeting and walk away. If you have a young animal that is overly interested in humans try closing all animals, including the youngster, away from you when you clean the pastures. Do not do ANYTHING that encourages these youngsters to follow, sniff or play with you. You are going to be too interesting, particularly if the baby has no other babies to play with. The adult females in the herd, as well as
