Her baby weighed in at seventeen pounds. Many births later, the challenges of alpaca breeding continue to fulfill Donna and Carole today. I always thought it was the same as a llama. I was wrong. In fact a llama weighs about 300 pounds and an alpaca only about 150.
Alpacas are also only half as tall as llamas, standing about thirty-six inches at the withers.
The animals were a sacred treasure to the ancient Incas, whose royalty wore robes woven out of its wool. Alpacas are timid and gentle, but very curious, as I found out when Velveteer waltzed right up and put his face in mine. He also made a kind of ducklike sound as he sniffed my pen and pad of paper. But you cannot own them as you would a puppy. They are not effusive and affectionate.