Alpaca Facts

Alpacas are members of the South American Camelid Family. This family is comprised of the vicuna, guanco, llama and alpaca. Unlike the llamas, which were primarily used as pack animals in South America, alpacas were raised for their cashmere-like fiber, once reserved for Incan royalty. They have been domesticated for over 5,000 years.

The average adult alpaca weighs between 100 and 175 pounds and stands about 36 inches at the withers. The average life span of these herd-oriented animals is about 20 years. Alpacas are timid and gentle, yet curious. They are easy to care for, readily trained and adapt well to all climates. Instead of hooves, they have padded feet with two toes making them gentle on the land. As ruminants, they efficiently convert grass and hay to energy, eating significantly less than most other animals.

Female alpacas start breeding between 14 & 18 months of age and can be re-bred as early as 2 weeks after delivery. Male alpacas can begin to breed at 2-3 years of age. Average gestation is 335 days (11 1/2 months) but can range from 320-376 days with single births the norm (twins are extremely rare, and typically do not survive). A newborn alpaca (cria), typically weighs between 15 and 19 pounds. Babies stand and begin nursing within 30 minutes after delivery.

An alpaca is sheared once annually. The fiber can be used in many different ways to make sweaters, dresses, all types of outerwear, rugs, wall hangings. Currently in the United States there is only a cottage industry for the fiber. Many breeders market their fleeces to local spinners. A fiber co-op has recently been developed to manage the pooling and processing of fleeces to manufacture end products for sale.

The Alpaca Registry (ARI) has been established to help ensure accurate records and has a state-of the-art system to document bloodlines. In fact, alpacas must be blood typed in order to be registered. Thus, virtually every alpaca in the U.S. is registered. Alpaca owners enjoy a strong and active national organization. The Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA), with a growing number of Regional Affiliates and AOBA sanctioned national committees addressing every aspect of the industry.