Two Guanacos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Attitude and altitude. Two Guanacos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Featured in today's image are guanacos in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. They are a fascinating camelid native to South America, and they're the wild cousin of the llama! Unlike llamas, guanacos sport a more uniform coat colour, usually a warm light brown to dark cinnamon, with a white underside, a grey face and small, straight ears. They can live up to 28 years in the wild, making them some of the longest-living land mammals of their size in South America. Guanacos are one of the continent's largest land animals today, sharing their megafauna status with South American giants like tapirs, marsh deer and jaguars. Guanacos munch on grasses, shrubs and even cacti, using a fascinating digestive process like, but distinct from, ruminants.

A member of the same family, camels are mostly domesticated. There are feral populations of them in places like Australia, India and Kazakhstan. Wild camels, however, are confined to the Bactrian camel population in the Gobi Desert. Throughout history, camels have played a significant role in military operations across Africa and the Middle East, and their use continues today in India, where the Border Security Force employs them for patrolling and border security.