What is an alpaca?
The alpaca is a South American camelid, closely related to llamas and camels. DNA studies show that the modern alpaca is probably descended from the vicua, a South American wild animal that roamed the Peruvian Andes. This domestication was presumed to have dated from 6000 to 7000 years ago. Alpacas are about 3 feet tall and weigh between 110 and 200 pounds. Alpacas tend to be gentle and have a gentle hum that they often use for communicating. Alpacas are most prized for their soft fleece. The fleece from alpacas must be sheared yearly and it is used in a similar fashion to sheeps wool. However, alpaca fleece tends to be stronger and softer, and comes in 22 natural colors. Often people who are allergic to wool clothing have fewer or no sypmtoms when wearing alpaca clothing, due to less lanolin in the alpaca fleece.
” The easiest (and most common) way to answer that question is that alpacas are like ‘small llamas.’ Llamas are undoubtedly the most familiar of four closely related species of the camelid family, also including the domesticated alpaca and their wild ‘cousins’ vicunas and guanacos. But to describe the alpaca as a ‘small llama’ is unfair to these unique and beautiful animals as they are a species in their own right – not really “small anythings.” So, let’s see if I can come up with something that does them justice! The first known records of alpacas are in drawings on cave walls in the Andean Mountains; domesticated for over 5000 years, they are kind of the ‘domestic cattle’ of South America, perhaps the world’s first domestic animal. In the times of the Andean Indians and the Incas alpacas were considered to be legal tender because of their valuable fleece. The heaviest concentration of alpacas today is in the Altiplano – the high altitude regions of southern Peru, Bolivia and Chile. A
An alpaca is a beautiful animal. A cousin to the llama, known for its luxurious fiber, and a member of the camelid family. The business of breeding alpacas is one of the fastest-growing livestock industries in the United States today. People from all walks of life are giving up traditional jobs for the easy-going and thoroughly enjoyable business of raising these gentle creatures. Alpacas are native to South America, particularly Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. They were first imported into the United States in 1984. Physical Characteristics Two kinds of Alpacas: Huacaya (pronounced wah-KI-ya) and Suri (pronounced surrey). Huacaya fiber is short, dense, crimpy and gives a woolly appearance. Suri fiber is silky and resembles pencil-like locks. Short and low set tail. Have soft padded feet with two toes. Do not have horns, hooves or claws, incisors, or upper teeth. Eat grass and chew cud. Adult alpacas generally weigh between 150 and 200 lbs. Average height is 36 inches at the withers. Have th
