Animals

1. Llama

   Usage

   The big pack camelid. Ask the owner before photographing one; a fee is usually expected

2. Paqucha

   Alpaca

   Usage

   Kept for fleece; smaller than a llama with shorter ears. Useful when asking about the fibre in woven souvenirs

3. Wik'uña

   Vicuña

   Usage

   A protected wild camelid and a figure on Peru's coat of arms; its fleece is the world's finest. Herds are seen from altiplano roads

4. Wanaku

   Guanaco

   Usage

   A wild camelid, larger and darker than a vicuña, and much less numerous

5. Quwi

   Cuy (guinea pig)

   Usage

   A traditional Andean delicacy raised in kitchen corners and served at festivals; decline politely if you would rather not eat it

6. Kuntur

   Condor

   Usage

   The most revered bird in Andean culture; seen riding morning thermals in places like the Colca Canyon

7. Wallata

   Andean goose

   Usage

   The black-and-white bird seen in pairs on highland wetlands. Said to mate for life, it appears in songs as a symbol of couples

8. Atuq

   Fox

   Usage

   The Andean fox; in folk tales the cunning trickster who always comes off worse, a fixture of children's stories

9. Puma

   Usage

   Rarely seen, but in Inca cosmology the animal of the earthly world; the old centre of Cusco is said to be laid out in its shape

10. Ukumari

    Spectacled bear

    Usage

    South America's only bear, living in cloud forest; a masked character of the same name appears at festivals

11. Taruka

    Andean deer (taruca)

    Usage

    A highland deer of rocky slopes, now protected as numbers have fallen

12. Allqu

    Dog

    Usage

    Every village house has a guard dog. If one barks at you on a trek, stop; do not pretend to pick up a stone

13. Michi

    Cat

    Usage

    Kept in houses to keep the mice down

14. Kawallu

    Horse

    Usage

    Borrowed from Spanish caballo; sometimes hired to carry packs on treks

15. Asnu

    Donkey

    Usage

    From Spanish asno; still working as a pack animal

16. Waka

    Cow

    Usage

    From Spanish vaca. Do not confuse it with wak'a, with an ejective k', which means a sacred place

17. Uwiha

    Sheep

    Usage

    From Spanish oveja; herded on highland slopes, often by children or older women

18. Khuchi

    Pig

    Usage

    The kh is aspirated. Aimed at a person the word is an insult, so keep it about the animal

19. Wallpa

    Chicken / hen

    Usage

    In every yard; chicken soup is the standard remedy when you feel unwell

20. K'anka

    Rooster

    Usage

    The k' is ejective; in villages they start well before dawn

21. Pisqu

    Bird

    Usage

    The general word for birds when you do not know the species

22. Challwa

    Fish

    Usage

    Fish from Lake Titicaca and highland rivers; trout (trucha) dominates the menus

23. Ukucha

    Mouse / rat

    Usage

    Use it to report one at your lodging

24. Masu

    Bat

    Usage

    Common in warmer valleys; do not handle them

25. Añas

    Skunk

    Usage

    Nocturnal and found around fields; keep your distance

26. Mach'aqway

    Snake

    Usage

    Almost absent at high altitude but present in lower valleys. The ch' is ejective

27. Hamp'atu

    Frog / toad

    Usage

    Lake Titicaca has a large endemic frog; it is protected, so decline if anyone offers to sell one

28. Ch'uspi

    Fly

    Usage

    Comes up in markets and street stalls. The ch' is ejective

29. Sisi

    Ant

    Usage

    They gather if food is left out

30. Kusi kusi

    Spider

    Usage

    A reduplicated name. Highland spiders are essentially harmless

31. Piki

    Flea

    Usage

    You can pick them up sleeping near livestock; useful if you are worried about the bedding

32. Pillpintu

    Butterfly

    Usage

    Variety increases sharply as you drop into the valleys

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