These curious camelids were domesticated thousands of years ago by the Incas. Alpacas are smaller than their cousins, the llamas, but larger than their ancestors, the beautiful vicuna. Alpacas are prized for the quality of their fiber. Alpaca fiber is ligfhtweight and warm - and comes in many natural colors and tones of brown, black and white.
These gentle animals require only small amounts of pasture to graze. Their padded feet make little impact on the land they roam.
The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated breed of South American camel-like ungulates, derived from the wild vicuña. It resembles a sheep in appearance, but is larger and has a long erect neck.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas and unlike them are not used as beasts of burden but are valued only for their fiber (wool), used for making blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarfs, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, blankets, socks and coats in other parts of the world.
The fiber comes in more than 22 natural colours. Alpacas and llamas differ in that llamas have banana shaped ears and long tails and alpacas have straight ears and stubby tails.
In the textile industry, "alpaca" primarily refers to the hair of Peruvian alpaca, but more broadly it refers to a style of fabric originally made from alpaca hair but now often made from similar fibers, such as mohair, Icelandic sheep wool, or even high-quality English wool. In trade, distinctions are made between alpacas and the several styles of mohair and lustre. However, as far as the general purchaser is concerned, little or no distinction is made.
Alapaca Prices
The price for alpacas can range from USD$100 to USD$500,000 depending on breeding history, sex, and color. It's possible to raise up to 10 alpacas on one acre (4,047 m²) as they have a designated area for waste products and keep their eating area away from their waste area, which helps to avoid diseases. But this ratio differs from country to country and is highly dependent on the quality of pasture available.
Alpaca Facts
Female alpacas weigh approximately 100 to 150 pounds at maturity.
Gestation period is generally 334 days.
Average lifespan is 20 years.
Alpacas provide from 5 to 10 pounds of fleece at each yearly shearing.
There are 22 documented colors of alpaca fleece.
Alpaca fleece is lanolin free.
Alpaca fiber is medulated, which makes it extremely lightweight and warm.
The Alpaca lifestyle draws people from many backgrounds. There are tax advantages to becoming a breeder and the potential for profit has remained steady over many years due to strict control of the industry by the Alpaca Registry.
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