What Is an alpaca?
Alpacas, cousins to the llama, are native to
the Andean Mountain range of South America, particularly
Peru, Bolivia, and Chile.
Alpacas were first imported into the
United
States in 1984. Since then, the alpaca
industry has grown steadily, according to the Alpaca Owners and
Breeders Association (AOBA), the backbone of the alpaca
industry. Current
estimates total over 100,000 registered alpacas with the Alpaca
Registry, Inc. (ARI) in the United
States and more than 4,000 AOBA members in
North
America.
There are two types of alpacas in the United States today. Although almost physically
identical, what distinguishes the two types of alpacas is their
fiber. The Huacaya
(wa-Ki’-ah) is the more common of the two and has a fluffy,
extremely fine coat.
The Suri is the rarer of the two and has fiber that is silky
and resembles pencil-locks.
Adult alpacas stand at approximately 36 inches at the withers
and generally weigh between 150 and 200 pounds. They do not have horns,
hooves, claws or incisors.
Alpacas are alert, intelligent, curious, and
predictable. Social
animals that seek companionship, they communicate most commonly by
softly humming.
Alpacas are shorn, without harm, every twelve to eighteen
months. They produced
five to ten pounds of luxurious fiber. Long ago, alpaca fiber was
reserved for royalty.
Today it is purchased in its raw fleece form by hand-spinners
and fiber artists.
Knitters buy it as yarn.
Because of its soft texture, alpaca fiber is sometimes
compared to cashmere.
Making the fiber even more coveted, it has the luster of
silk. Alpaca is just as
warm as, yet 1/3 the weight of wool. It comes in 22 natural
colors, yet can be dyed any desired shade.
Containing no lanolin, alpaca fiber is also naturally
hypoallergenic. Most
people who are sensitive to wool find that they can wear alpaca
without the itching or irritation they feel from wool because alpaca
fiber is smooth.
Additional performance characteristics include: stretch,
water repellency, and odor reduction. For travelers, clothing made
from alpaca is desirable because it is wrinkle-resistant.
