Alpaca Yarns! Northern Rocky Mountain
Alpacas
An Inside Look At This Exciting Niche Industry ...
Introducing Dennis Dueñas, President of Montana
Alpaca Ranching Association
What the heck is an Alpaca, Dennis?
The alpaca is one of four species of South American camelids. The other three are the llama which is
also a domestic animal and the vicuna and guanaco which exist only in the wild. All are browsers and
grazers and, being similar to ruminants, chew their cud. They share the camel’s even toed, padded
foot and unique style of lying (kushing) down with their front legs bent and directed backwards. Camelids are smaller than camels and lack the latter’s distinctive hump. The alpaca is the smallest of the
domesticated South American camelids and is known for its abundant, fine fiber and gentle nature.
Until quite recently alpacas were almost non-existent outside of their native land, and few persons
in this country could do more than associate the word “alpaca