Alpaca

     The Alpaca is a domesticated South-American Camelid that lives high in the Andes mountains of South America. It’s closely related to the Vicuña, which is thought to be its wild ancestor. Alpacas also resemble small Llamas in appearance, but unlike llamas, they weren’t bred to be beasts of burden. But were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpacas’ woolly coats are well known around the world since they are frequently used for a variety of woven products.

     There are two types of Alpacas, the ‘Huacaya’ and the ‘Suri’. The main difference between the two types is the length and fineness of the wool-like fiber. The Huacaya Alpaca has a more compact fleece, with shorter fibers, while the Suri Alpaca has very long fibers as silkie dreadlocks. In general, both types or subspecies are of the same weight and do have the same characteristics of the Alpacas (the slender body, the small face and ears, and the long neck and legs). However, the ‘Huacaya’ subspecies is much more common than the ‘Suri’, and accounts for more than 90% of the total population of the Alpacas.

     The Alpaca lives in large herds that consist of a dominant male and several dams with their young. Males are ready to mate when they are about 3 years of age, and for females it can be as early as 1-year old. Alpaca dams give birth to their young after a gestation period of 11.5 months, and as other New World Camelids, they are ready to breed after few weeks from giving birth.

     The white, black and brown are very common colors for the Alpaca. But the animal can appear in a wide range of recognized color-verities that exceed 50 natural color. Alpacas are typically sheared once per year in the spring and each shearing produces approximately 2.2 – 4.5 kilograms of fibers.

     In many regions, the Alpaca and the Llama are intentionally bred to produce a hybrid called ‘Huarizo’. The ‘Huarizo’ offers a very good quality of fleece that allows the breeder to get better money when he/she sells it.