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About Alpacas

Alpacas are one of the camelid species, closely related to the llama. There are four species of South American camelid: Llamas (Lama glama) and Alpacas (Lama pacos) are domesticated and Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) and Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) remain wild and are protected species.

All four are found mainly in Peru in the Andes, with smaller numbers in Chile and Bolivia. Alpacas were domesticated from the wild vicuna into alpaca six to seven thousand years ago. The Incas were very successful in further refining the alpaca for better fibre quality. When the Spanish invaded Peru in 1532, they destroyed the breeding programmes and the alpacas were decimated in numbers and quality in favour of sheep.

There are now thought to be about 3.5 million alpacas in South America and they are now being successfully bred in North America, Australia, Britain, New Zealand, South Africa, China and throughout Europe.

If you are interested in the idea of keeping alpacas, it is important to talk to as many owners and breeders as possible. Visit people who have alpacas to get experience in handling and how to position fencing to make moving the alpacas easier. Attend shows and listen to the judge's comments about good and less good alpacas to learn how to select your herd. Local British Alpaca Society groups provide an excellent way of meeting other owners and gaining basic handling and welfare information.

The British Alpaca Society has a registry of alpacas which are all microchipped and tagged for identification.

Having gathered lots of information, you can then decide if you are going to breed alpacas, or own a group of them for pleasure and the fibre. If you intend to breed, your herd should comprise the best quality females you can afford and possibly a stud male. Alternatively, stud services can be purchased from other breeders. If you do not wish to breed, the cheapest way to set up your herd is by purchasing castrated males.

Alpacas are such wonderful animals that once you own some you will never look back.