Alpacas: The fluffy inhabitants of South America
Alpacas originally come from South America. They are famous for their warm and cuddly wool. In South America, the wool is even called the “fleece of the gods”. This is still the main reason they are bred.
The smaller relatives of the llamas now live all over the world. But we still get the wool for our fashion from the alpacas that live in South America. Here they live in a species-appropriate social group with their herd in the area around Callalli, where they can graze to their heart's content on huge plateaus. All of the pictures in this journal article are our own. We took them on our trip to the alpacas in Peru in 2020.
Attitude & Living Places
The alpacas in Peru are kept in a way that is very appropriate to their species and adapted to their origins. They have large pastures at their disposal where they find their food. The undemanding animals are perfectly adapted to the climate in the high plateaus of the Andes - thanks to their thick wool, they even enjoy the cold temperatures.
traditions
The Incas considered alpacas to be sacred animals. Among the Q'eros, an Andean people of Peru, it is still a tradition that every newborn alpaca is assigned a child from the family as a godfather. According to the tradition, the child takes care of the alpaca and the two remain connected for life.
special features (plus differences)
The first alpacas were bred and domesticated from the vicuña, which belongs to the camels. They are particularly nice animals - even though they can spit. If they are angry or scared, alpacas can spit with pinpoint accuracy up to four meters away.
They come in 22 different colors, whether black, white, dark brown or light brown. The furs also differ in their texture. There are two breeds with different fur structures. The Huacaya alpaca has fluffy hair and when the wool is really thick, it looks very similar to a teddy bear. The second breed is the Suri alpaca. These are characterized by long, wavy hair. There have never been truly wild alpacas. For our productions, we use yarn made from the wool of both types of fur.
Differences between Alpaca and Llama
Alpacas are often confused with their larger relatives, llamas. There are two differences you can look out for to clearly distinguish the two species.
- Size: Alpacas grow to a maximum height of 90 centimeters. Llamas can reach a height of up to 120 centimeters. Because of their size, llamas are often twice as heavy as alpacas - this is also reflected in the animal's stature.
- The ears: It is easy to determine whether the animal is an alpaca or a llama by looking closely at the ears. The ears of an alpaca run straight upwards in a slightly oval shape. The ears of a llama are significantly longer and curved in a sickle shape. This sometimes reminds one of a banana.
Species-appropriate husbandry for responsible fashion
At Manuela Bedford, we attach great importance to the fact that our alpaca fashion is produced sustainably. In our opinion, this also includes keeping the alpacas in an animal-friendly manner. They are raised in the heart of Peru, in the middle of the beautiful mountains of the Andes, and can enjoy their lives to the fullest as part of a herd. And because they are kept in a species-appropriate manner, our alpacas even live to a very old age.
