MLP Q&A No. 1: Alpaca vs Llama

Jun 3, 2010 | Posts from the past | 1 comment

Today we’re launching the long anticipated MLP Q&A series!
Days of wandering in the mountains gives you plenty of time to come up with outrageous “what if’s?” and “I wonder why’s?”.  In these little snippets we’ll do our best to enlighten you, and answer those pressing questions that come upon you while you are adrift in the woods.  NOTE: Accuracy and/or correctness is absolutely, in no way at all, guaranteed even a little tiny bit.  But we like to think that Wikipedia never lies!

Enjoy,  S.

MLP Q&A No. 1: Alpaca vs Llama

Q:  What is the difference between an Alpaca and a Llama?

A:  Quite a lot!  Both are species of South American camel (ungulates of the family Camelidae), however they are two very distinct breeds.  The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) has been domesticated for over 5000 years and is primarily bred for its fine coat and meat.  It is the smaller of the two animals, and wild populations are not believed to exist.  The llama (Lama glama), on the other hand, has been bred for about the same amount of time to be a sturdy pack animal.  It has two coats, a corse outer and soft inner coat.  Llamas are reportedly quite intelligent, social animals that can readily learn simple tasks.

Despite their differences, Alpacas and llamas can successfully cross-breed. The resulting offspring are called huarizo, which are valued for their unique fleece and gentle dispositions.

1 Comment

  1. D
    D on June 19, 2010 at 11:23 am

    I believe the original LAMA GLAMA was actually first sighted in Harlem around 1972 and found to have a soft inner coat of rhinestones.

    Called “Bling” by his hip urban contemporaries he went on to a successful music career in Peru; finally slipping into obscurity after organising a drug tainted series of extreme fighting championship bouts using local Andean guinea pigs…

    I could be wrong though….