Alpacas grazing in Peru's Andes dying amid brutal cold snap
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this July 11, 2016 photo, Agustin Mayta Condori shows his sick alpaca that he predicted would die the next day due to sub-freezing temperatures in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. The indigenous families that make a living from shearing the fiber earn as little as $1,200 a year. There have been several attempts to give alpaca herders a bigger share of the $150-million industry. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 10, 2016 photo, Felipa Catunta and her husband Modesto carry what remains of their alpacas that died due to sub-freezing temperatures in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Every alpaca that dies represents a major financial loss. The couple butchered their dead alpacas to cook for their family and feed to their dogs which scare off foxes that prey on baby alpacas. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 11, 2016 photo, Vicentina Javier rests inside a relative's adobe home as she recuperates from a respiratory illness in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Authorities relocated Vicentina, 77, from her home to this village because she was in a even more sparsely populated area where there's no doctor nearby. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 8, 2016 photo, an alpaca lays dead in the snow, after being placed there by a villager, in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Peru's government has declared a state of emergency in the southern Andes and promised $3 million in relief, but locals say say promised food and corrals haven't arrived in large enough numbers to protect them from the bone-chilling cold. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 9, 2016 photo, a student waits for class to start at his public school in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Due to the recent sub-freezing temperatures, the start of the school day has been delayed to 9am. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 11, 2016 photo, Ruth Aguilar holds her daughter Chaska, which translates as "Star" in the Quechua language, as a doctor inspects the baby suffering a respiratory infection in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Every year, an estimated 14,000 children in the Andes suffer from respiratory illnesses and 105 died last year alone, the majority in the Puno region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 9, 2016 photo, children play after school in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Every year, an estimated 14,000 children in the Andes suffer from respiratory illnesses and 105 died last year alone, the majority in the Puno region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 11, 2016 photo, villagers eat dinner at the town's only general store in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Peru is the world's largest producer of alpaca wool, and the rural hamlets in this area is where the white-furred alpacas have been raised for centuries. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 8, 2016 photo, Maria Quispe holds her dog named Colmillo Blanco while shepherding her alpacas and sheep in her snow covered fields in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. At almost 16,400 feet (5,000 meters), and after three days of heavy snowfall that blanketed the rugged Andes, alpaca breeders are watching their alpacas die due to sub-freezing temperatures. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 10, 2016 photo, camelid breeders ride in the back of a pick-up tuck with cooking gas and oats for their alpacas and sheep, as they return to their village of San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. The passengers got the 30 minute ride from the nearest town of Cambria to their town from a friend since they don't own their own vehicle, the case of most locals. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 9, 2016 photo, a cross stands in a snow covered cemetery in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru, where people raise alpacas and sheep for their wool. "Every year with the winter freezes and cold temperatures the plants and animals die," said Miguel Hadzich, head of a group affiliated with Peru's Catholic University that on its own has built 600 homes with heating for farmers. "A scandal breaks out and then the state looks the other way. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 10, 2016 photo, Valeria Chuquibanca holds her head as she suffers a headache triggered by the heat reflected from the snow, one day after a heavy snow in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru. Valeria said that sticking coca leaves near her eyes helps alleviate the pain. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)
In this July 8, 2016 photo, icicles hang from the roof of an adobe home in San Antonio de Putina in the Puno region of Peru, where farmers raise alpacas and sheep for their wool. Every winter freeze destroys the tough grasslands the animals feed on and almost no crops can survive in the nutrient-poor soil. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) (Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistribu)