What do people mean when they talk about bloodlines?
When alpacas were first brought into the United States in the early 1980s, the early importers sought the finest animals that they could find to start the North American herd. With each successive generation of alpacas, improvements in conformation and fleece quality were sought. Because genetics were traceable and improvements in quality were somewhat predictable with each generation, the pedigree, or family tree became a point of intense interest. Today, the industry will generally refer to this as a bloodline. Bloodlines will usually refer to animals that have been the foundations of the North American heard.
