Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It
resembles a small llama in superficial appearance. Alpacas are kept
in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador,
southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude
of 3,500 m to 5,000 m above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas
are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas
were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for
their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven
items, much as wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters,
hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in
South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other
parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors
as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as
classified in the United States.
