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There are four South American camelid cousins - the vicuña, the guanaco, the alpaca, and the llama. Camelids, including alpacas, are pseudoruminants, which means they have three stomach compartments, can digest vegetable protein, and regurgitate rumen. (Rumen is what an agitated alpaca lets fly when “spitting”).
There are two types of alpacas - huacaya and suri. The major difference between the two types is seen in the fiber. Huacaya fiber shorter with very characteristic crimp. Suri fiber is longer, straighter, typically finer and more lustrous. Huacayas are typically shorn annually, and suris are typically shorn once every two years. Conformational differences between the two types are basically limited to their size. Huacayas are typically larger animals, with a more dense body structure. Suris are usually smaller and more slender. Alpaca genetics are not yet fully understood at this time, however, geneticists theorize that huacaya and suri alpacas are separated by only one gene.
The lifespan of the alpaca is about 20 years and gestation is 11 months. Alpacas eat grasses and chew a cud. Manure cleanup is easy since alpacas deposit in only a few places in the paddock. They are about 36” tall at the withers and weigh around 150 pounds. They are gentle and easy to handle.
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