Alpacas in Peru

Alpacas in Peru inhabit the high Andes above 3,800 m. The alpaca is an animal with an harmonious fine walk and slender body covered with a fiber called vellon. Its main production is the fiber, that has various colors (white, brown, black and gray too).



Fresh Alpaca meat is a high quality raw material for the manufacture of sausages, canned products and to prepare a variety of dishes. The alpaca reproduction begins when they are between 2 and 3 years old and they have a gestation period that lasts 11.5 months. There are two types of alpacas, Suri and Huacaya.

Alpacas can reach a height of 1.50 mts. to the head and a maximum average weight of 64 kg. (about 7 kg. at birth). The Alpaca Huacaya has a dense and spongy fiber, covering most of the body, leaving only the face and legs covered with short hair. The Alpaca Suri has a straight, silky and long fiber that reaches on average about 15 cm. long.

Alpacas are shorn with knives or scissors, usually once every two years, but could also be done once a year, regardless of time or season. You can obtain a fiber vellon of about 1.7 kgs. per animal annually. Peru has the largest population of South American camelids in the world: 4 million alpacas, 1 million llamas and about 125,000 vicuñas.

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