Alpacas are a domesticated species of camelid originating from South America. It actually look quite like a llama, only smaller. There are currently two particular breeds of alpaca. They're Suri alpaca and Huacaya alpaca.

 

Domesticated

 

Alpacas are usually seen kept in herds on the level heights of the Andes, specifically in northern Bolivia, southern Peru, northern Chile, and some parts of Ecuador. The altitudes where they are raised are usually five thousand meters above the sea level. While they look very similar to llamas, they're not actually bread to be animals of burden. As a matter of fact they're primarily bred for their high quality fiber.

 

Alpaca Fiber

 

Alpaca fiber is mainly utilized for creating knitted and woven items, making it comparable to how wool is used. The products coming from alpaca fiber are hats, scarves, blankets, sweaters, gloves, and different varieties of ponchos and textiles. You get to see these products in South America. In other parts of the world, the fiber is used for making coats, bedding, and socks. Peru presently classifies over fifty natural colors for alpacas for sale while the U.S. has sixteen.

 

Textile Use

 

The textile industry on the other hand actually refers to the term "alpaca" as the hair of the Peruvian gentle beasts. In a more general perspective, it actually refers to the type of fabric made using alpaca hair. However, the term has been widely used to cover other similar fabrics coming from Icelandic sheep wool, high quality English wool, and mohair.

 

Historical Background

 

Though many of those living outside South America aren't familiar with alpacas, these creatures have actually been domesticated for more than a thousand years. One proof are the alpaca images found in Moche art in the northern part of Peru. Interestingly, there is actually no recognized existence of wild alpacas. According to experts, the wild ancestor of the alpaca is the vicu?a, which is a close living relative.

 

Alpacas share the same family with camels and llamas, classified as camelids. But of all the fiber-producing animals, it is the alpaca that produces the most. Fiber coming from the alpaca has the highest quality.

 

They can't be used as pack animals because they are just too small. Because of that, there are only two main purposes of breeding them: for their fiber and for their meat. As a matter of fact, alpaca meat was once a major source of meat and deemed as a delicacy in many Andean inhabitants.

 

Issues of Smuggling

 

As a direct result of the rapidly increasing demand of the alpaca in the North American market, the trend of alpaca smuggling has gradually hurt the industry. The smuggling problem may very well threaten the numbers of alpaca in the world. Read on to find out where to buy alpacas.