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More About Alpacas ...
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The Alpaca is one of two domesticated breeds of South American camel-like ungulates, derived from the wild huanaco or guanaco.
Alpacas are kept in large flocks which graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an elevation of from 3500 to 5000 meters above the sea-level, throughout the year. They are not used as beasts of burden like llamas, but are valued only for their wool, of which the Indian blankets and ponchos are made. The colour is usually dark brown or black and the coat of great length, reaching nearly to the ground. In stature the alpaca (Lama huanacos pacos) is considerably inferior to the llama, but has the same unpleasant habit of spitting.
In the textile industries "alpaca" is a name given to two distinct things. It is primarily a term applied to the wool, or rather hair, obtained from the Peruvian alpaca. It is, however, more broadly applied to a style of fabric originally made from the alpaca wool but now frequently made from an allied type of wool, viz. mohair, Iceland, or even from lustrous English wool. In the trade, distinctions are made between alpacas and the several styles of mohairs and lustres, but so far as the general purchaser is concerned little or no distinction is made.
The four species of indigenous South American wool-bearing animals are the llama, the alpaca, the guanaco and the vicuna. The llama and the alpaca are domesticated; the guanaco and the vicuna run wild. Of the four the alpaca and the vicuna are the most valuable wool-bearing animals: the alpaca on account of the quality and quantity, the vicuna on account of the softness, fineness and quality of its wool. In the early days of the 19th century, the usual length of alpaca staples appears to have been about 12 inches, this being a three years' growth; but today the length is little more than about half this, i.e. a one to two years' growth, although from time to time longer staples are to be found. The fleeces are sorted for colour and quality by skilled native women. The colour of the greater proportion of alpaca imported into the United Kingdom is black and brown, but there is also a fair proportion of white, grey and fawn. It is customary to mix these colours together, thus producing a curious ginger-coloured yarn, which upon being dyed black in the piece takes a fuller and deeper shade than can be obtained by piece-dyeing a solid-coloured wool.
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Taxonmony
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Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
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Source: Wikipedia Read more about Alpacas
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| Alpacas |
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