Alpaca

Scientific name: Vicugna pacos

Habitat: Alpaca come from the Peruvian Andean Highlands and can cope with the steep terrain of the mountains.

Diet: Alpaca are herbivores and so are quite content munching on the grass in the paddock, as well as a little bit of hay and grains when needing some extra supplements.

Interesting Facts:

• Alpacas spit as a defence.
• Alpacas were domesticated over 6000 years ago by the Incas, for their fleece.
• There are two types of Alpaca; Suri, which have a fleece that grows long and like dreadlocks and the more common huacaya with a woolly dense fleece, the latter are the breeds we have at Woodbine.
• Alpacas and Llamas can be successfully cross bread to produce a huarizo, these are used for their longer fleece.

The Alpaca at Woodbine: Currently at the farm there are 7 alpaca, three boys, one being our brown stud male and the brown cria that was born in July and 4 girls.