Photo= Happy (right) and Candy (left) show their slender builds after having their hair shorn as a prevention measure against the heat. The right photo shows their winter appearance (Blumen Hugel, Hino Town, Shiga Prefecture)

Alpacas also coolly survive the fierce heat. At the farm park "Blumen Hugel" in Hino Town, Shiga Prefecture, the two popular alpacas got their hair trimmed all over their bodies to combat the heat. Although alpacas are characterized by fluffy wool, they are transformed with their cool "hairstyle." The cool appearance doubles their loveliness and prompts smiles from visitors.

As alpacas are grazed in the highlands of South America, their place of origin, they have lowest heat tolerance among the animals at the farm park. The female alpaca, "Candy," and the male alpaca, "Happy," lost their appetites in mid-July, so the breeding staff sheared off all their hair with hair clippers.

The neatly cropped Happy shows his amazingly slender build. Candy, with the hair on her head cutely remaining, has plentiful charm. A visitor gazed at them, saying, "I had a different image of alpacas, but this is also pretty." Their hair is expected to grow back by winter, returning them to the original style.

The entrance fee is 800 yen for junior high school students and older, but free for elementary school students and younger during the month of August. For more information, contact Blumen Hugel at 0748-52-2611.