LLAMA/ALPACA:THE DIFFERENCE

It was market day at  Berry. The two llamas and two alpacas were in their pen. The two alpacas had a sign hanging from each of their necks which read ALPACA. The two llamas had a sign hanging from each of their necks which read LLAMA. Our first visitor of the day approached, looked at the animals for a while, smiled, frowned and then turned towards me and said in an apologetic voice: “it may sound a silly question but would you help me. What is the difference?”  Silly or not the question was repeated throughout the day as it has, and no doubt will be, wherever alpacas and llamas are viewed throughout Australia by the non owning public.

And as if that visitor’s confusion was not enough a kid appears in a stroller pushed by his mother. He  points towards our pen with wavering finger, and cries out. “Look mum. Look. Camels”! This exclamation also was repeated throughout the day.

The kid is right of course.  In the beginning, millenniums ago,  there were probably only camels and they  roamed the plains of North America until, suddenly somewhere in time they  all migrated.  One group travelled  north across the land bridge between Russia and Alaska, which is now the Aleutian Islands, into Asia and another variety appeared in the highland country of western South America. The second group were humpless, sandy coloured, and a little over a meter high. Actually there seem to have been two varieties, one slightly bigger than the other, known, respectively, as guanaco and vicuna and collectively as camelids. Through a process of domestication which continues today, some of the larger guanaco became the llama and some of the smaller vicuna became the alpaca.

But it gets more complicated!

Ask an alpaca owner to describe an alpaca and you will be told there are several different kinds, some with short muzzles some with long probably depending on whether they originated in Chile or Peru; some have bunchy fibre coats like sheep while others have lanky dreadlocks like cashmere goats and they have different names huacaya and suri. Likewise, a llama owner will talk about short hair (ccarra) and long hair ( cha’ku.) and, yes, even of lanky, dreadlock suri. In case you are not confused enough both llama and alpaca owner may then make reference to some cross breeding between species and start talking about huariso and misti.

So to be too technical here may not serve any useful purpose identification of difference. Therefore, lets keep it simple!

Start with the size. Alpacas rarely grow bigger than 100 kg while llamas rarely grow smaller than 110 kg, commonly weigh in at 140 kg and sometimes as much as 200 kg.

Llama owner Wendy Fandry of Perth, interviewed by a TV reporter, summed up llamas as being “eye level animals” because everything about a llama is bigger than an alpaca It is also longer and straighter – its head, its back, its legs, its neck, its ears although these last disobey the rule of straightness and have a charming tendency to bend inwards banana like occasionally even touching at their tips, a condition no self respecting alpaca would tolerate. There is an elegant yet imperious aspect to the llama which can be daunting to potential new owners and extremely threatening to four legged intruders of the canine and vulpine variety, but with that comes a pride of bearing and the tag handsome. 

Alpacas, on the other hand, tend to be tagged as cute. Their lesser size, making the neck and legs appear shorter in relation to the rest of their body, tend to give a more humble  presentation while a certain roundness of body shape surmounted by triangular ears that are almost pixie like give a cuddly look not perhaps associated instantly with the llama.

So size is the first big difference. Size also is the key to the second great difference – their use.

Traditionally in South America camelids were bred to be eaten, grow fibre, and carry loads. Although both llama and alpaca, I am told,  taste the same to eat, and, I vouch, feel the same to wear, inevitably, the larger animal, the llama,  became used for transportation and the smaller animal,  the alpaca,  stayed home to grow that fleece. And so it is today.

A llama serves man by its athletic prowess, an alpaca by the quality, colour and quantity of fibre on its back. The sight of several hundred alpacas in a paddock (carrying several hundred fleeces) makes sense whereas several hundred llamas could raise the question why. There is a rich variety of colour in llama and alpaca fleeces but the last thing alpaca breeders wants is more than one of those colours on any one of their herd at a time, whereas llama breeders may rejoice in the whole spectrum of colours on any one of their herd at a time.  The alpaca’s smaller physical size also can have handling advantages at shearing time.

Llamas are designed for work.. They pull carts and carry packs, both activities disadvantageous to alpacas with their smaller size, heavy fleece, and closer proximity to the ground, the fleece running the additional risk of being damaged in the work place. Moreover, because llamas work with man their upbringing is different to alpacas. Llamas are trained to be more individual, more understanding and tolerant of human eccentricities, to serve man individualistically, and to share a relationship with him or her, whereas alpacas live as a herd and think as a member of that herd.

Which should you own?

Ah! The answer to that may require an analysis of what makes YOU different!

Berry Carter