How do vicunas graze in a way that minimizes damage to the altiplano ecosystem?
Answer
By using continuously growing lower incisors to clip grass
Vicunas possess specialized lower incisor teeth that grow continuously throughout their lives, similar to the teeth of rodents. This dental adaptation allows them to clip grasses very close to the ground surface without uprooting the plant. This grazing method prevents soil erosion and promotes the rapid regrowth of the sparse, foundational grasses of the high-altitude grasslands, making the vicuna a far more sustainable browser than livestock that pull grass out by the roots.
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