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of burden carried
the load for native
peoples of the
high-altitude
Altiplano in South
America, and they
continue to do so
today. On the
other side of the
globe, dromedary
and Bactrian
camels performed
the same tasks,
trekking the
deserts of Asia
and the Middle
East in long
caravans, a vital
part of commerce
for centuries.
The alpaca is not a transporter,
though the alpaca is a clothier. Despite
the fuzzy, cute image of the huacaya
breed alpaca, or the graceful elegance
of the suri breed, these alpacas are every
bit as “tough” on the inside when it
comes to survival. Alpacas are born of
sturdy stock, and though not bred for
a strong back, they ask no more from
the planet than the llama or camel.
Few know that the alpaca/ llama/camel
prehistoric precursor “camel” orginated
in North America. The alpacas’ return
is a bit of a homecoming.
When the Spanish arrived in South
America, they brought with them many
merino sheep. We know the impact the
Conquistadores had on the original
South American human inhabitants,
but many don’t realize the deliterious
impact made by the arrival of the sheep.
For centuries, the alpaca provided
indigenous people with a wonderful,
functional source of cloth. Cave
drawings in Peru, dating back 5,000
years, show carefully depicted drawings
of llamas and alpacas. History finds
the alpaca highly prized and pastured
on the best of the best coastal land.
Alpacas were actually considered cur-
rency by royalty. That all ended when
the Spanish arrived and made room
for their sheep. The alpacas of the lush
lowlands were slaughtered, forcing
survivors to relocate to the remoteness
of the steep, arid Andes mountains.
Being of sturdy camelid stock, how-
ever, the alpaca made the retreat to the
high Altiplano, where they adapted and
survived. They lived at altitudes only
exceeded on Earth in the Himalayas.
They grazed in a dry, harsh, cold land
that yielded little more to eat than
scant patches of native grasses. The
vast majority of the world’s alpacas
remain there today.
With the merino invasion, and alpaca
exile to the Andes, something was gained
and something was lost. The alpaca
adapted to its circumstances, and herd
sizes regrew, but the quality of fiber fine-
ness eroded. Analysis done on the fine-
ness of ancient alpaca garments entombed
with royalty revealed micron counts on
the cloth fibers that
are much lower
than most alpaca
being produced
today. That the
post-Spanish alpaca
adapted for sur-
vival is clear, but
not clear is what
happened to the
fineness. Perhaps
the finer-fibered
stock was slaugh-
tered, did not
adapt as well,
or that ancient
husbandry skills
were lost. Today,
through modern
selective breeding,
we are returning this lost fineness with
each successive generation.
For centuries, it was not legal to
export alpacas out of Peru. In the
mid-1980s, however, pragmatic
government agencies relented and
allowed alpaca exportation to begin –
starting first in Chile and Bolivia,
then later in Peru. The bulk of
migrating alpacas went to North
America and Australia. Herds on
those two continents now number
over 150,000 head.
The main food alpacas consume
is grass or hay, and not much of it –
approximately two pounds per 125
pounds of body weight per day. As a
general rule, alpacas need only 1.5% of
the animal’s body weight daily in hay or
fresh pasture. A single, 60-pound bale
of hay, for example, can usually feed a
group of about 20 alpacas for one day.
Grass hay is best, while alfalfa should
be fed only sparingly, due to its overly-
rich protein content. Alpacas are pseudo-
ruminants, with a single stomach divided
into three compart-ments. They produce
rumen and chew cud, thus they are able
to process this modest amount of food
very efficiently.
58
Alpacas
Magazine
It may seem almost counterintuitive
that wearing something luxurious
as an alpaca garment can also be
earth-friendly, but it’s true.
© 2009 Ed Kinser