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Alpacas

The alpaca is part of the New World Camelid family and originally bred from the wild Vicuna. They are seen mainly in Peru, Chile and Bolivia and are normally kept in large herds on the high Andean plains known as the Altiplano. Alpacas usually browse over huge areas of poor grazing to get the nutrition they need.

The Alpaca is a fleece animal and we believe they produce the finest natural fibre in the world. The yarn produced from alpaca fleece is super soft, fine and its four times more insulating than sheep’s wool and because it has no lanolin it is also hypoallergenic.

Alpacas come in two different breeds, the Huacaya (pronounced with a W) that has a bright and crimpy fleece which stands out from the body, by far the most common of the two breeds with its teddy bear looks. The second and the breed that we specialise in is the Suri Alpaca. The Suri has a lustrous hanging dreadlock like fleece which has lovely lustre which comes through in the garments that are made from Suri yarn, our favourites.

We keep around 100 Suri alpacas as a bloodstock breeding herd here at West Wight Alpacas and also use them to walk with and allow you to get to know these lovely animals and learn more about them. Click here to learn more about Suri Alpacas