Alpacas are a domestic member of the camelid family, closely related to llamas. They originate from the Andes region in South America, where they were domesticated over 6,000 years ago from the wild vicuña. Alpacas are widely kept for their wool, which is highly valued for making textiles and clothing and comes in a variety of colours including white, brown, grey and black.
Due to their social and friendly nature, they prefer to live in groups, called herds. Baby alpacas are known as “cria”. Alpacas make a humming noise to communicate but may also spit as a defence mechanism. Their diet mostly consists of grasses, and only having lower front teeth makes them very efficient grazers. The average lifespan for an alpacas is around 15-20 years.
