An alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a
domesticated species of
South American
camelid.
It resembles a small
llama in
appearance.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the
Andes of
southern Peru,
northern
Bolivia,
Ecuador,
and northern
Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
above sea
An alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a
domesticated species of
South American
camelid. It resembles a small
llama
in appearance.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the
Andes of
southern Peru,
northern
Bolivia,
Ecuador,
and northern
Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
above sea level, throughout the year.[1]
Alpacas are considerably smaller than
llamas, and unlike llamas, they were not bred to be
beasts of burden, but were bred specifically for their fiber.
Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, similar to
wool. These
items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety
of textiles and
ponchos
in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts
of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as
classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified
in the United States.[2]
In the
textile industry, "alpaca" primarily refers to the hair of Peruvian
alpacas, but more broadly it refers to a style of fabric originally made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.[citation
needed] In trade, distinctions are made between
alpacas and the several styles of mohair and luster.
An adult alpaca generally is between 81 and 99 cm in height at the
withers.
They usually weigh between 48 and 84 kg (106 and 185 lbs).[3]
Background
Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years. The
Moche people of northern Peru often used alpaca images in their art.[4]
There are no known wild alpacas, though its closest living relative, the
vicuña
(also native to
South America), are believed to be the wild ancestor of the alpaca.[5]
The alpaca is larger than the vicuña, but smaller than the other camelid
species.
Along with
camels and
llamas,
alpacas are classified as
camelids.
Of the various camelid species, the alpaca and vicuña are the most
valuable fiber-bearing animals: the alpaca because of the quality and
quantity of its fiber, and the vicuña because of the softness, fineness
and quality of its coat.
Alpacas are too small to be used as pack animals. Instead, they are
bred exclusively for their fiber and meat. Alpaca meat was once
considered a delicacy by Andean inhabitants. Because of the high price
commanded by alpaca on the growing North American alpaca market, illegal
alpaca smuggling has become a growing problem.[6]
Alpacas and llamas can successfully cross-breed. The resulting
offspring are called
huarizo,
which are valued for their unique fleece and gentle dispositions.
Behavior
Closeup of an alpaca's face
Alpacas are social herd animals that live in family groups consisting
of a territorial
alpha male, females and their young. Alpacas warn the herd about
intruders by making sharp, noisy inhalations that sound like a
high-pitched bray. The herd may attack smaller predators with their
front feet, and can spit and kick.
Spitting
Not all alpacas spit, but all are capable of doing so. "Spit" is
somewhat
euphemistic; occasionally the projectile contains only air and a
little saliva, although alpacas commonly bring up acidic stomach
contents (generally a green, grassy mix) and project it onto their
chosen targets. Spitting is mostly reserved for other alpacas, but an
alpaca will occasionally spit at a human.
For alpacas, spitting results in what is called "sour mouth". Sour
mouth is characterized by a loose-hanging lower lip and a gaping mouth.
This is caused by the stomach acids and unpleasant taste of the contents
as they pass out of the mouth.
Physical contact
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Most alpacas do not like being grabbed. Some alpacas tolerate being
stroked or petted anywhere on their bodies, although many do not like
their feet, lower legs, and especially their abdomen touched or handled.
A Bolivian man and his alpaca
Hygiene
Alpacas use a communal dung pile, where they do not graze. This
behaviour tends to limit the spread of internal parasites. Generally,
males have much tidier, and fewer dung piles than females, which tend to
stand in a line and all go at once. One female approaches the dung pile
and begins to urinate and/or defecate, and the rest of the herd often
follows.
Because of their preference for using a dung pile, some alpacas have
been successfully house-trained.[citation
needed]
Sounds
Alpacas make a variety of sounds. When they are in danger, they make
a high-pitched, shrieking whine. Some breeds are known to make a "wark"
noise when excited. Strange dogs—and even cats—can trigger this
reaction. To signal friendly or submissive behavior, alpacas "cluck," or
"click" a sound possibly generated by suction on the soft palate, or
possibly in the nasal cavity.
Individuals vary, but most alpacas generally make a humming sound.
Hums are often comfort noises, letting the other alpacas know they are
present and content. The humming can take on many inflections and
meanings.
When males fight, they scream a warbling, bird-like cry, presumably
intended to terrify the opponent.
Reproduction
Females are "induced ovulators"; the act of mating and the presence
of semen causes them to ovulate. Females usually conceive after just one
breeding, but occasionally do have troubles conceiving. Artificial
insemination is technically difficult, but it can be accomplished.
Alpacas conceived from artificial insemination are not registerable with
the Alpaca Registry.[7]
A male is usually ready to mate for the first time between one and
three years of age. A female alpaca may fully mature (physically and
mentally) between 12 and 24 months. It is not advisable to allow a young
female to be bred until she is mature, as over-breeding a young female,
before conception is possible, is a common cause of uterine infections.
As the age of maturation varies greatly between individuals, it is
usually recommended that novice breeders wait until females are 18
months of age or older before initiating breeding.
The gestation period is 345 ± 15 days, and usually results in a
single offspring, or
cria.
Twins are rare, occurring about once per 1000 deliveries. After a
female gives birth, she is generally
receptive to breeding again after about two weeks. Crias may be
weaned through human intervention at about six months old and 60 pounds,
but many breeders prefer to allow the female to decide when to wean her
offspring; they can be weaned earlier or later depending on their size
and emotional maturity.
Alpacas can live for up to 20 years.
Diet
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Alpacas require much less food than most animals of their size. They
generally eat hay or grasses, but can eat some other plants (e.g. some
leaves), and will normally try to chew on almost anything (e.g. empty
bottle). Most alpaca ranchers rotate their feeding grounds so the grass
can regrow and fecal parasites may die before reusing the area.
Alpacas can eat natural unfertilized grass; however, ranchers can
also supplement grass with low-protein grass hay. To provide selenium
and other necessary vitamins, ranchers will feed their domestic alpacas
a daily dose of grain.[8]
Free-range alpacas may obtain the necessary vitamins in their native
grazing ranges.
Digestion
Alpacas have a three-chambered stomach; combined with chewing
cud, this
allows maximum extraction of nutrients from low-quality forages.[9]
Alpacas will chew their food in a figure eight motion, swallow the
food, and then pass it into one of the stomach's chambers. The first and
second chambers are where the fermentation process begins digestion. The
alpaca will further absorb nutrients and water in the first part of the
third chamber. The end of the third chamber is where the stomach
secretes acids to digest food, and is the likely place where an alpaca
will have ulcers, if stressed. The alpaca digestive system is very
sensitive and must be kept healthy and balanced.
[10]
Poisonous plants
Many plants are poisonous to the alpaca, including the
bracken
fern,
fireweed,
oleander, and some
azaleas.
In common with similar livestock, others include:
acorns,
African rue,
agave,
amaryllis,
autumn
crocus,
bear grass,
broom snakeweed,
buckwheat,
ragweed,
buttercups,
calla lily,
orange tree foliage,
carnations,
castor beans, and many others.[11]
History of the scientific name
The relationship between alpacas and vicuñas was disputed for many
years. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the four South American
lamoid
species were assigned scientific names. At that time, the alpaca was
assumed to be descended from the
llama,
ignoring similarities in size, fleece and dentition between the alpaca
and the
vicuña. Classification was complicated by the fact that all four
species of South American camelid can interbreed and produce fertile
offspring. The advent of
DNA
technology made a more accurate classification possible.
In 2001, the alpaca genus classification changed from Lama pacos
to Vicugna pacos, following the presentation of a paper[5]
on work by Dr. Jane Wheeler et al. on alpaca DNA to the
Royal Society showing the alpaca is descended from the vicuña, not
the
guanaco.
Fiber
A knitted scarf made from alpaca wool
Main article:
Alpaca fiber
Alpaca fleece is a lustrous and silky
natural
fiber. While similar to
sheep’s
wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and bears no
lanolin,
which makes it
hypoallergenic.[12][13]
Without lanolin, it does not repel water. It is also soft and luxurious.
In physical structure, alpaca fiber is somewhat akin to hair, being very
glossy. The preparing,
carding,
spinning,
weaving
and finishing process of alpaca is very similar to
the process used for wool. Alpaca fiber is also flame-resistant, and
meets the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's standards.[14]
Prices
The price for American alpacas can range from US$100 for a castrated
male (gelding) to US$500,000 for the highest of champions in the world,
depending on breeding history, sex, and color.[15]
According to an academic study,[16]
though, the higher prices sought for alpaca breeding stock are largely
speculative and not supported by market fundamentals, given the low
inherent returns per head from the main end product,
alpaca fiber, and prices into the $100s per head rather than
$10,000s would be required for a commercially viable fiber production
herd.[17]
Breeding stock prices in Australia have fallen from A$10,000–30,000 head
in 1997 to an average of A$3,000–4,000 today.
It is possible to raise up to 25 alpacas per
hectare
(10 alpacas per
acre).[citation
needed] as they have a designated area for waste
products and keep their eating area away from their waste area, but this
ratio differs from country to country and is highly dependent on the
quality of pasture available (in
Australia it is generally only possible to run one to three animals
per acre due to drought). Fiber quality is the primary variant in the
price achieved for alpaca wool; in Australia, it is common to classify
the fiber by the thickness of the individual hairs and by the amount of
vegetable matter contained in the supplied shearings.
Livestock
Alpacas need to eat 1-2% of body weight per day, so about two 60 lb
(27 kg) bales of grass hay per month per animal. When formulating a
proper diet for alpacas, water and hay analysis should be performed to
determine the proper vitamin and mineral supplementation program. Two
options are to provide free choice salt/mineral powder, or feed a
specially formulated ration. Indigenous to the highest regions of the
Andes,
this harsh environment has created an extremely hardy animal, so only
minimal housing and predator fencing are needed.[18]
The alpaca’s three-chambered stomachs allow for extremely efficient
digestion. There are no viable seeds in the manure, because alpacas
prefer to only eat tender plant leaves, and will not consume thick plant
stems; therefore, alpaca manure does not need composting to enrich
pastures or ornamental landscaping. Nail and teeth trimming is needed
every six to 12 months, along with annual shearing. Similar to
ruminants, such as cattle and sheep, alpacas have only lower teeth at
the front of their mouths; therefore, they do not pull grass up by the
roots. Rotating pastures is still important, though, as alpacas have a
tendency to regraze an area repeatedly. Alpacas are fiber-producing
animals; they do not need to be slaughtered to reap their product, and
their fiber is a
renewable resource that grows yearly.