Sunday, August 31, 2008

Alpacas and Llamas
























Yesterday Beth, her son, John, and I went to Lansing to the LlamaFest which is a show for llamas, but they were also showing a few alpacas. There were some vendors there selling products. We visited a while with my dear friend, Kathy. She is making some very stylish hats and purses from alpaca fiber.

Today it occurred to me that many people confuse alpacas and llamas. Until yesterday, I would just say that llamas are much bigger - sometimes up to 500 pounds. But folks are breeding miniature llamas now which are in the same 150 to 200 pound range of alpacas. Probably the best way to tell them apart is the shape of their ears. You can see by the picture above that Gunny's ears are erect and sort of a spear shape, but the llama below and on the left has ears that tip in toward each other.


They are similar in many ways. Both are members of the camelid family.
Their gestation is about 11 months and they have similar life spans. Both llamas and alpacas are induced ovulators which means they can be bred just about any time. Most folks think that alpacas and llamas originated in South America, but studies have shown that these camelid were originally from North America and migrated south.
It's a stretch of my imagination to realize that these cuddly creatures are family members of the camels.




6 comments:

Cary ~ My Wool Mitten at Serenity Farms said...

I'm glad to see you back, Maple.

With hugs, Cary

Critter Lover said...

Good educational overview of the camelid family, Maple! John and I enjoyed our day at Llamafest with you!

Vtknitboy said...

gunny looks like he has ear muffs on the side of his cheeks!

Doaks Creek Farm said...

I just found your blog and it seems we have several common bonds. We are grandmothers, love alpacas, and are widows. Being a widow for 6 yrs, I can tell you the future is ROUGH but you will get through with the support God provides - family - esp. grandchildren, and friends. Pressing on (Phil. 3:12-14) Cindy Chappelear

Kim said...

Thank you for differentiating between the two.

Prayers for you, your family, and all of those wonderful folks that have helped!

Anonymous said...

Plus the llama isn't wearing a cute scarf!

Best wishes to you and your family.

Map