About Alpacas
Alpaca (Lama guanicoe paca or Vicugna pacos) is a camel – animal which is related to the llama of the South American Andes. There are no wild alpacas. Alpacas are domesticated versions of the threatened species, vicuñas, South American ruminants that live high in the Andes.
Humans started domesticating alpacas about 5-6000 years ago and bred them for their wool. Thus far Europeans have been using the wool for handcrafts. There is still almost no industrialized processing of the wool. Quiet and peaceful alpacas with characteristics of pets are also used in Germany for animal-assisted therapy.
Characteristics:
The alpaca’s body form is relatively long. They have slim legs, a long, thin neck and a small, triangular shaped head. The alpaca has a two-toed foot with a pad and 2 claws. It can be 80 -100 cm at the withers and weigh between 55 and 70 kilograms. The colours vary from pure white to beige, brown, reddish brown, grey and black, with many nuances. There are even mulit-coloured animals in many variations.
Habit and Lifestyle:
Like all camels, alpacas are social animals and live in herds. They can die of grief if they live alone
Alpacas are herbifores and get all their nutrition almost exclusively from grass, or hay and ensilage. Their three-part stomach eases digestion. The gestation period of an alpaca is slightly more than 11½ months (+/- 2 weeks). The mare is normally paired two weeks after a birth and thus will give birth to a foal every year( “Cria” in South America).
