The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between selenium (Se) concentration (which is used as direct method for diagnostics of selenium status) and activity of glutathione peroxidase (indirect method) in whole blood of alpacas and thus compare the suitability of use of these two diagnostic methods. A further objective was to determine Se status in relation to different age groups of alpacas and different Se supplementation. A total of 257 alpacas (196 adults and 61 crias) from 18 farms were included in this study. The farms differed in size and the use of Se supplement. The age of animals ranged from 4 days up to 16 years old. Blood samples were collected for measurement of whole blood Se concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity. The activity of GSH-Px is given in μkat/l of whole blood and μkat/g of hemoglobin. The relation between concentration of Se and GSH-Px activity and the effect of sex, age and feeding pattern on these parameters were statistically evaluated. Mean (±SD) Se concentration was 84.1 ± 35.3 μg/l and ranged from 27.9 μg/l to 225.6 μg/l for all age groups. We found significant difference (P
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