Llamas are lovers, alpacas are mutants
By Phyllis DeGioia
May 7, 2009
I have loved llamas with all my heart ever since I took “Affection Training” from the folks at Gentle Jungle about 25 years ago. Remember the television show “Daktari” with Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion? Those are the people who offered the class. It was designed to teach you to train exotics for use in film and advertising. Everyone else fell in love with the tigers, leopards, lions, chimps, and so on. Me? Head over heels for the one llama (Fernando), one kangaroo, and the two elephants. Up close and in person, tiger teeth are seriously large. Fernando Llama gave me lots of kisses, nuzzles, and he never spit.
Whether you prefer llamas to alpacas are practically fighting words akin to dog people vs. cat people. I don’t understand why alpaca people say llamas are nastier and llama people say alpacas are nastier (men are from Mars, women are from Venus?). Alpacas have nice temperaments, but for me there is no question: alpacas look like out of proportion mutants and llamas are some of the most beautiful animals on the planet. Have you looked deep into some llama eyes? I mean really looked? It’s akin to a spiritual experience. I confess that I would rather knit with alpaca yarn than llama, but I want any hands-on experience to be with a llama.
My friend Sue, who teaches large animal science at the vet school wanted photos of healthy animals for her lectures, so we went to an alpaca show one weekend and a llama show the following weekend the alpaca show was large with lots of animals being shown and vendors selling yarn, spinning wheels, and alpaca items. The llama show didn’t charge for parking or entrance, there were no vendors, and I think there were about 50 people. There is no question that alpacas are more popular, probably because their fiber is finer, but that doesn’t dampen my appreciation one bit.
I know not everyone prefers one over the other, although I see that most people chose to live with either alpacas or llamas, but often not both. They perform essentially the same tasks, the same ease of care, and both have hilarious ears. Nonetheless, my heart will always be with Fernando and his ilk, not the mutants.
The other thing about alpacas … I wonder if there’s some sort of ostrich-style pyramid thing going on. Remember how ostrich-ranching was going to be the next big thing? People sold breeding animals, and those people sold breeding animals, and then suddenly all these folks had ostriches …. and not enough of a market for their meat. (Which is actually pretty darn good … my “Birds For Dummies” co-author ended up with a herd of ostriches after (as I recall) someone basically dumped them. A couple of the males were very dangerous characters, too much so to keep around the kids. I got some meat after their demise.)
So now the alpaca folks are trying to interest other people in alpacas. There just can’t be that much of a demand for alpaca fur.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — May 7, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
I suspect you’re dead on about the pyramid thing. But weren’t llamas awfully popular about 25 years back? Then suddenly there were free llamas all over. Then pot-bellied pigs, emus etc etc..
There always seems to be a fad animal that will do everything from make you a fortune to cure your psoriasis. A bit like the way that dog breeds go in fads.
Now I like llamas, but if I was going to add a large hoofed mammal to my menagerie this is what have always wanted http://www.springbrook.com/Yak....._page.html
Not going to happen but I have liked the since I met one about ten years ago. :-D
Comment by JenniferJ — May 7, 2009 @ 12:51 pm
This calls for a communal singing of the Llama song!
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/llama
And my vote goes for the Alpaca. Smaller and thus easier to manage, certainly cute. Better body-mass to fur ratio.
As for the Emu, I’ve met a rancher who was almost gutted by one swift kick from a bull emu (ever seen the velociraptors in Jurassic Park? kind of like that) … so despite their delicious meat and giant eggs, no emus on my imaginary menagerie.
Comment by Christopher — May 7, 2009 @ 1:31 pm
I researched a number of different livestock species after we bought our acre. There were these ads for alpacas on tv, so I went to the website. What a scam. The company sells you the alpacas and you have to sell the fiber back to them because…it turns out that there is really no other wholesale market that buys enough to make it worthwhile. And guess who sets the price you’re paid? Indentured servitude late 20th century style.
Producing something to sell, be it wool, spot remover, limited edition prints or soda can whirligigs, is the easy part. Marketing and distribution such that one can make a profit is a whole other thing. Not so easy.
Ostriches- African lions don’t mess with them, why should we?
Comment by Susan Fox — May 7, 2009 @ 3:26 pm
I don’t think alpacas are cute (except for the ears). I think your preference depends on which one you fall in love with first.
Both of them are seriously earlicious.
Comment by Phyllis DeGioia — May 7, 2009 @ 3:32 pm
I am an alpaca person, but perhaps by default. I used to do a fair amount of farm sitting for a couple of small herds. Neither farms had llamas. I also spin and prefer aplaca fiber over llama too. I think alpacas are cuter but I have been around more of them.
I agree, some alpaca farms/businesses are definatly pyramid schemes.
Comment by Marie — May 7, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
I love to knit with alpaca yarn. It is possible to buy a fleece, send it to a small mill and have it spun to your specifications. Etsy is also a good place to find it (or sell it). This link is to only one Etsy alpaca person.
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6542095
Comment by Cate — May 7, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
For 10 or 11 years, up until 2 years ago, I used to farmsit frequently for my state’s largest alpaca breeding operation, and their household pets…multiple dogs, cats, bunnies, salt and fresh water fish tanks, finches and amphibians.
Today’s DNA research pretty much concludes that both Lama glama or LLama and Vicugna pacos or Alpaca descend from a common ancestor that lived 2-3 million years ago. Llamas descend from the wild guanaco, and alpaca from the vicuna. Both share the camel propensity for spitting which occurs most of when you the human are bringing them grain and hay and are caught in the middle of their territorial wars.
While as a handspinner and weaver who loves working with the fiber, I learned early on that I didn’t wish to own either variety. The farm I took care of in it’s early days had two gelded males that shared pasture with a small mixed flock of sheep for handspinning and a Baudet de Poitou donkey gelding. All I had to do was make my twice a day appointed feed rounds for the wars to begin.
Nope, don’t care for camelids. Or donkeys.
Comment by Anne T — May 7, 2009 @ 6:56 pm
Curiously, the bactrian camels in Mongolia don’t seem to spit. And they’re fun to ride.
Comment by Susan Fox — May 7, 2009 @ 9:22 pm
Guanaco fiber! Vicuna fiber! Alpaca fiber (especially suri!)! oh that’s all yum! There IS an upswell in demand right now for these fibers, but no love for llama fiber. I agree llamas are cuter. But I loves me some alpaca fiber.
Comment by Georg — May 8, 2009 @ 2:43 am
holy cow - now i want a Yak…
Comment by Sarah — May 8, 2009 @ 6:28 am
I bought a yak wool blanket on my first trip to Mongolia. The amazing thing about it is that as soon as I lay down with it over me, a cat magically appears on top of it.
The Mongols in the northern part of thc country have domestic yaks, but there are also yak/cattle crosses they call “hainang”, which might do ok at lower altitudes. Wild yaks can’t really do well below around 10,000 ft. elevation.
So, Sarah, if you live in the Rocky Mountains….
Comment by Susan Fox — May 8, 2009 @ 7:21 am
There is a bit of a “underground” (as if you aren’t aware you don’t notice them) of knitters and spinners who would give their first born for Alpaca fleece (LLama too…but Alpaca is much more comercially available and it is a softer fiber). I am lucky enough to have a friend who keeps me supplied.
I happen to love Llamas…..They always remind me of the Pushmepullyou from the REAL “Doctor Doolittle” movie with Rex Harrison.
Comment by eastofeden — May 8, 2009 @ 8:19 am
ps: I just really looked at the 2nd photo in Phyllis’s post. That looks to me like a demonstration of LLama Agility…tunnel obstacle! :)
Comment by Anne T — May 9, 2009 @ 2:26 am
Probably no one is watching this thread anymore, but I wanted to put in a few comments. I have 6 llamas and two of my friends are alpaca breeders. Phyllis said that llamas and alpacas perform essentially the same tasks, have the same ease of care and both have hilarious ears. I will agree with Phyllis about the ears but the other two are not really correct. Llamas were selectively bred from guanacos as beasts of burden. They are often double coated and the wool is generally more coarse (great for making sturdy rugs, for example). Some have reasonable wool, but that is not their real claim to fame. Apart from the show world, which is an artificial situation, their real use is that they are used for livestock guardians and packing. They make excellent guardians if your target predatory species are coyotes and sporadic dogs. If you have bears or cougars, you need to use guardian dogs, as these will kill the llamas in addition to your sheep. Alpacas are susceptible to predation by dogs and coyotes and so no one would keep them for guarding livestock, instead, neutered llamas are often kept with alpacas for protection. Llamas are also large enough to do packing and here they are exemplary. Having trained dogs and horses most of my life, I was *astonished* the first time I trained llamas to do packing. Their ease of training and the level-headedness they show on trails and through adversity is incredible. I have not trained any alpacas, but my children, working on an alpaca farm, have and say that they are not nearly as trainable (no dunces, mind you, just no where near a llama), which makes perfect sense because this is not what they were selected for. While their larger cousins were trekking the Andes with loads strapped to their backs, alpacas were selected for some of the most amazingly fine fiber in existence. The true gold of the Incas was not a cold metal but the incredible wool they selectively bred. Studies have shown that the alpaca wool in the time of the Incas was far superior to what is generally grown today and that, by a century after the conquistadors trashed their culture, the alpacas were not being bred with care and the amazing wool quality was being lost (breeders are trying to recreate this now). Alpacas are no good as guardians or packers but boy do they make wool.
You mentioned that the alpaca industry is a pyramid scheme and I agree that a certain amount of that is occurring. But because of the situation with wool production and processing in this country, it is far more complex situation than that (I raise sheep with handspinning wool). If you are interested, I can expand on that point. What I can tell you is this: because of indiscriminant breeding, there are more llamas than there are homes and many are ending up in rescues. And I recently heard of a local alpaca breeder who was looking to give away a few males (didn’t have the best quality wool), so the time of unwanted alpacas is beginning as well. Of the 6 llamas that I own, one was purchased 18 years ago as a guardian for my sheep and all the others are rescues. It takes very little space to give a llama a good home and they are clean and quiet. Many zoning regulations are a lot more lax than you would think (in fact, the Chief of Police in my nearby town has several llamas in his back yard, which consists of a few extra lots surrounded by suburban houses. The neighbors whose houses look out onto the llama pasture love it). Or if you can’t give one a home, please, PLEASE consider donating to a llama rescue or a horse rescue (where the situation is especially dire). Unlike dog and cat shelters, they get no financial assistance from municipalities. What I have written here is just a tiny tip of the iceberg and I could give you more information if interested. I noticed that none of your bloggers are well versed in farm animal issues. If you want to rectify that, well, you have my e-mail address…..
Comment by Jan — May 9, 2009 @ 6:00 pm