Never heard of alpacas before?  Many people haven't.  Here's some basic information which will introduce you to these wonderful creatures.

Alpacas are part of the camelid family along with bactrian camels, dromedaries, llamas, guanacos and vicunas.  While a type of "lama" they are not actually "llamas".  They are native to the Andes Mountains of South America and are raised mainly for their fleece.

With a diet consisting of grasses and grains, alpacas typically grow to be 150-200 pounds, somewhat smaller than their more widely known cousin the llama.

An alpaca's gestation period is generally between 11 & 12 months.  The babies, called "crias", usually weight 15-20 pounds at birth and will usually stand and try to walk and nurse within minutes.

Alpacas are wonderfully graceful and typically very quiet creatures.  They have quite a range of vocal sounds, but mostly they hum.

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