alpaca facts
Alpacas are native to the mountains of Bolivia,
Chile, and Peru, but many of them have recently made Australia,
Europe, and North America their home. For hundreds of years
it was illegal to export alpacas from South America, but in
the 1980's the restrictions were lifted and the first alpaca
farms were established outside of South America.
Alpacas look similar to llamas but are slightly smaller.
Both llamas and alpacas have been domesticated for over 5,000
years; however, llamas have been bred predominately as pack
and guard animals and alpacas have been bred for fiber. Alpaca
fiber is very valuable, incredibly fine and soft, and comes
in many natural colors.
Because the industry is so young, there is a relatively small
North American herd (approximately 40,000 in 2004). That rarity
combined with the unique qualities of alpaca fiber and their
wonderful dispositions, translates into great personal and
financial rewards for breeding these amazing animals. We encourage
you to read the following articles if you are interested in
learning more about alpacas.
further reading
To learn more, read the following articles:
1. Introduction
2. A Brief History of Alpacas
3.
The Alpaca Lifestyle
4.
Environmentally Friendly Alpacas
5.
Investment Potential
6.
Who Buys Alpacas?
7.
Supply & Demand
8.
Alpaca Values
9.
Capital Requirements
10.
Hands-on Ownership
11.
Financial Observations
12.
Tax Consequences
13.
Financing
14.
Creating a Herd
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