A newborn alpaca was up and about just an hour after being born. The unnamed cria was born to first-time mum Storm at 12.20pm on July 12 - and was standing up by 1.20pm. The young male, who is silver in colour, was born at Almond Valley, Livingston, West Lothian, and is in a field with six others. More babies are expected this year, and Storm was born there two-and-a-half years ago. The cria is expected to be running round the paddock by the end of the week. Farm manager Craig Holmes, 35, said: "We normally leave it a few days to announce it but the baby was up on his feet and seemed strong. "He is Storm's first baby, she was also born here. "It is quite a complicated process, they are normally pregnant for 11 months. "You can scan them but it is a lot harder." Instead a process called 'spit off' is used. After having a romp in the grass, the male and female alpacas are then reintroduced a few weeks later. If the female spits at the male it indicates she is pregnant, rather than lying down for another mating session.
