Alpaca Mythology:
They are only here for a time. How long we are blessed with the gift of the Alpaca depends on how well we care for and respect them. The ancient Andeans believed the Mother Earth or “Pachmana” gave the Alpaca to humankind at the mountain Ausangate in Peru. Today it is widely believed that these gentle, noble creatures are truly a gift from God and must be properly cared for or we might lose them. In many ways, the Alpaca is a living, breathing example of the relationship between all of God’s creatures and humankind.

Hercules and Juniper

Alpaca History:
The entire Andean civilization (including the Tiawanaku, the Wari, and the Incas) was based on the fiber of the Alpaca, the llama and cotton. Among the Andeans, cloth was currency and that made from the alpaca most prized. In fact, the fleece from the vicuna, a wild relative and ancestor of the domesticated alpaca, is said to be more valuable than silver.

We have co-existed with the alpaca for over 5000 years. In fact, the alpaca was central to the Incan civilization which clothed their royalty in garments made from the valuable fiber and conducted religious ceremonies surrounding the noble animal.

Unfortunately, the Spanish conquistadors thought more of gold and silver, and preferred the wool from their sheep to that of the alpaca and vicuna. Wholesale slaughter and heretofore unknown diseases introduced by the Spaniards and their livestock led to a steady and alarming decline in the populations of these valuable creatures.

Although the Spanish colonists passed a law in 1777 forbidding the killing of vicuna, the slaughter did not end and eventually poachers drove these camelids to near extinction. The plight of the alpaca mirrored that of the vicuna and as late as 1991 there were only a few thousand alpacas outside of South America.

The Council of National Camelids of South America now manages camelid agriculture. Vicuna are tagged, counted, shorn and released protecting them from poachers for whom a shorn vicuna holds no value. Since 1991, when the exporting of alpacas become legalized, over 100,000 alpacas now live outside of South America.

There are four types of camelids living in South America: the domestic llama and alpaca and the wild vicuna and guanaco. Llamas are primarily pack animals, while the alpaca is valued for its fleece. Both, however, in some instances have been used as a source of food. All are related to the camels of Africa.