History of Alpaca's & Wool
The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.
Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike them are not used as beasts of burden but are valued only for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as sheep's wool is. 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 22 as classified in the United States.Alpacas and llamas differ in that alpacas have straight ears and llamas have banana-shaped ears. Aside from these differences, llamas are on average 1-2 feet taller and proportionally bigger than alpacas.
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industry, "alpaca" primarily refers to the hair of Peruvian alpacas, but more broadly it refers to a style of fabric originally made from alpaca hair but now often made from similar fibers, such as mohair, Icelandic sheep wool, or even high-quality English wool. In trade, distinctions are made between alpacas and the several styles of mohair and luster.
If you are looking for raw Alpaca wool in the spring please contact us.
Cria
A cria (pronounce cree-ah) is the name for a baby alpaca (llama, vicuna, or guanaco also). Our cria are usually born in the spring.
After an 11-month gestation period the cria is born with the whole herd gathering around in an attempt to protect against potential predators. Alpacas give birth standing so life begins with a none-to-graceful flop to the earth. Birth is usually (as for most prey animals) relatively quick and problem free and the whole emergence typically takes less than 30 minutes. Most births take place between 8am and noon – while unproven it is speculated that this birthing pattern is a continuation of the birthing patterns observed in the alpaca's wild ancestors. Alpaca crias typically weigh between 14 and 18 lbs at birth and look like something straight from the imagination of Dr. Seuss – a quaint cross between fawn, lamb and giraffe calf…like all nature's babies utterly adorable and amazingly resilient. Crias and dams begin their bonding rituals immediately after birth, getting to know each other's smell and also sound. One of the most charming bonding methods, in my opinion, is in their quaint vocalizations – mothers and babies will hum back and forth to one another in creaky, kazoolike murmurs. I'm not sure what they are saying but as an enchanted onlooker, or should that be 'onlistener' the sound is somehow soothing and indicative of an 'all's right with the world' general feeling. It is a treat and a privilege to be allowed to listen in!