Orcas Island Klickitat
ARI # 814524
gelding b. 4-8-1999 ... d. 1-4-2011
Steptoe x Inca King Tux
Klick was our resident alpaca. Klick didn't particularly wish to ally himself with any particular human, but Jim laid claim to him. His fleece, however, once separated from his "person", became community property.
Although Klick was originally acquired as a companion for Lummi, he continued to serve an important role as educator — to us and others — about alpacas. Klick also excelled at evoking laughter with his athletic antics, particularly at feeding time. What we learned from Klick was enormous, and led to a number of important refinements in the Get Connected! approach.
Klick's untimely death left us with two final lessons. First, the extreme strength of the herd-bound instinct in times of vulnerability — Klick was in severe pain and could hardly move, but he made sure that last morning that he somehow stayed with the llamas. Second, that our fight against the toxic plant (Anthemis cotula) that stunted and then killed Logan and then Taiga is not over — necropsy results showed extreme cumulative liver damage (not by parasites) and the chemistry profiles pointed strongly to our nemesis ... again. We can only surmise that Klick's smaller size (coupled with his drive to eat constantly, which is a common lama trait) combined to end his life.
"Klickitat" is the name of a native tribe that dwelled in the Columbia River Gorge near the present-day location of The Dalles. "Klickitat" was not, however, what the tribe called itself, but rather the name it earned from its neighbors — "Klickitat" means "robber" or "thief"! When Klick was younger, he was definitely a robber of anything edible that he wanted, and a right scoundrel and pest. With age, he mellowed, but the name still fit — when he gave a hug, you knew he was a real heart-thief ... and when it was time for crazy pasture games, Klick definitely stole the show!