Alpaca

For a long time, the alpaca was regarded, alongside the domestic llama, as the second domesticated form of the Guanaco. However, DNA analyses have shown that the alpaca is descended from the Vicuña.

Alpacas are shorn once a year. The wool yield is between 3.5 and 5 kilograms per shearing. Depending on the breed, the wool is coarser or finer. The wool exported from the approximately 3.3 million alpacas is a significant economic factor for Peru.

To ward off intrusive conspecifics and assert their place in the hierarchy, small camels spit out liquid stomach contents. In doing so, they demonstrate remarkable accuracy. Domestic llamas and alpacas rarely spit at people. The greenish ‘spit’ is foul-smelling but harmless.