Alpaca Suri at Pacavillage. Questions and Answers                         Back Home

The alpaca

When the Spanish conquistadores run through the Incan empire in the 15th Century, they took all the gold they could and whatever else was integral part of the life of the Inca. Protected, treasured and declared sacred by the Incan emperors but hunted and ill-treated since the great conquest, alpacas quickly declined and were on the verge of extinction in the second half of the twentieth century.

Today they recovered some of their numbers and are counted at about 4 million around the world. A very small proportion to the other well known wool producing animal, the sheep. Yet, in all ways, alpacas surpass in beauty, intelligence, cleanliness, health, curiosity, patience and ease of care almost any other domesticated animal. You will always see alpacas avoiding - for years - the spots they use as common toilets; give them a little ash and you will see them have a ball of a time, for example. Distinct sign of natural  protection against bugs and unpleasant illnesses.

These animals can be trained like dogs, taken for walks, jump obstacles and will respond to the humour of the owner, the tone of his voice and any hand signal he will make. They are too elegant to carry any weight and can get stubborn if you want them to do things they do not consider worthwhile, but they produce an average of 4.5 kilos of fantastic wool each year (the Suri alpaca fleece is used for baby and intimate clothing by people who are allergic to any other class of wool) with a finess and warmth that in their first year is quite similar to cashmere (the alpaca is a direct descendant of the vicuna which produces the finest possible fleece) and in later years it is always below the average finess of sheep wool. Alpaca garments were found intact in 3000 years old graves and this speaks for fleece durability.

It takes about 15 cashmere goats to produce the equivalent amount that one baby alpaca can produce in his first year. Alpacas display 22 natural, recognized colours (from the very rare black to white, passing through red and rose) making the use of artificial colouring obsolete (artificial colouring is a normal practice in the wool producing business; consequences such as sharp increase in allergic reactions are for all to see).

Alpacas, classified as cameloids together with llamas but of much more manegeable size, come in two different species. The Suri, which represents only about 4% of all alpacas, with its distinct long fleece elegantly stretching along its body, and the Huacaya with its teddy bear, curly fleece resembling a puddle full of vitality.

Pacavillage is the only breeding (village) in Italy that specializes in Suri alpacas and that holds a line of black alpacas, the rarest colour in the world.

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