Alpacas pop up in the most unlikely places. While riding down the bike path on Martha’s Vineyard, alpacas can be seen through the trees, tempting anyone to stop for a visit.
At Island Alpaca in Oak Bluffs, the original purchase of eight alpacas in 2004
has grown to more than 80, plus one llama named Lucy. Most visitors want to know what the difference is between a llama and an alpaca. They’re cousins, but llamas are larger and they’re known for their spitting abilities.
Alpacas are gentle and timid with faces that resemble puppies or teddy bears. They have no top teeth in the front and they don’t bite. They will run for food and they’ll run away from any trouble. While goats are known to eat anything, when alpacas graze they eat only the top part of the grass so that it can continue to grow.
The alpacas at Island Alpaca have names like Roberto, Zora, Silver Angel, Dom Perignon, or Captain Jack, embracing their South American heritage, their colors, and pirate names for their new island home. Alpacas boast 22 natural colors from snow white to auburn to coal. Their luxurious fleece creates material that’s lighter and stronger than wool while feeling like cashmere.
Island Alpaca visitors are given the chance to help out with the morning chores, feed the alpacas, and learn how to harness and walk them. If they’re lucky, springtime visitors might get to watch a birthing.
Peru, Bolivia, and Chile are still home to the largest percentage of alpacas in the world but with their ability to adapt to most climates, alpacas are being raised in places like Florida, California, Maine, and even islands like Martha’s Vineyard.
There’s a recent trend of adding goats to books. Why not alpacas? They look like characters to me. As long as I’m still revising my novel, I think I’ll add an alpaca.
To meet the Martha’s Vineyard alpacas, visit Island Alpaca.
Have you ever seen an alpaca? Could alpacas be the new goats? Would you want to be an alpaca farmer? (I’m considering it after reading the article below.)
Sheila Hurst 
Such an informative, healthy post. Martha’s Vineyard. Ahhh.
Hahah – thank you – glad you liked it! Happy to transport you to Cape Cod any time.
I think their cute, but in a goofy kind of way – ha! The bouffant on the top of the head is the BEST!!!
I love the bouffant too. I wasn’t there long enough to get really good pictures, but there are some great ones on the web site with even wilder bouffants. Just looking at some of them makes me smile.
When we were in Minneapolis for a wedding in August, we stopped at the Mall of America. The mall has an Alpaca store where they sell Alpaca wool blankets, coats, slippers, etc. (The animals aren’t hurt for their wool.) Oh my goodness, so, so soft! My kids and I really wanted to bring a blanket home, but at $400 to $500 we decided, “Eh, maybe not.” But we stroked those blankets so much I think the clerk thought we were crazy (though I doubt we were the first).
Loved learning these Alpaca facts. But I’m glad you slipped in some goat-talk, too. 😉
Wow if the blankets are that much then I might really have to become an alpaca farmer! I added the goat talk in there just for you and the goat club. With all our talk of goats and gorillas on Twitter, it seemed about time to throw some alpacas into the mix!
I had to come back because I realized I said blankets when I meant rugs. It was rugs we were stroking. Why your post came to me this morning and why I remembered I said blankets instead of rugs is anyone’s guess. I gave up trying to decipher my brain long ago. But I had to come back and clarify for accuracy. They don’t call me Sheldon for nothing…
You’re so funny! And here I was picturing you stroking blankets all this time. I’ll have to adjust my imagination. Maybe your subconscious was telling you to become an alpaca farmer because then you could be surrounded by those blankets and rugs!
Very cool! Do they shave them and sell the wool?
There’s a very famous series with llama llama, but I’m not sure there are a lot of alpacas in children’s books.
There’s a gift store there that sells the yarn with a picture of the alpaca it came from along with things that are already made like blankets and hats. If there aren’t any alpaca children’s books out there, it sounds like you’ll have to write one! Alpacas are cousins of llamas after all. 🙂
Lots of cool animals out there to write stories about!
That is so neat! I’ve always loved alpacas and have even considered having some of my own in the future, but I just don’t know how much work they would be.
We’ll have to look into becoming alpaca farmers together! It sounds like they’re worth the work because their fleece can make high-quality material and their droppings can be sold as fertilizer (it’s even called alpaca gold). All that and just looking at them makes me smile.
That’s so interesting! I know one house around us has two that are always chilling outside and I just want to stop by and give them a pat on the head 🙂
I’m sure they would like that and at least they don’t bite or spit! 🙂
The Adventures of Dom Perignon the Alpaca! What a wonderful children’s book that would be. I would be surprised to see an alpaca through the trees while riding my bicycle…. Although when I still lived in Paris, I once came across a camel in the park while walking my dog (turns out the circus was in town).
Hahah – that’s a perfect title for a children’s book! Stumbling on a camel in Paris while walking your dog sounds like another great book. It’s making me laugh just thinking about it. I hope your dog didn’t go to crazy after seeing something like that! Mine probably would have.
This is such a great post, Sheila. I had an alpaca wool sweater once that I wore and wore and wore until it passed on. I didn’t know anything much about alpacas until now, though!
Thank you – alpacas are fun! I didn’t know anything about them either until visiting them. Now I suddenly want to become an alpaca farmer. 🙂
I’m not surprised from all the lovely pics!
They are much more cute than llamas. We have a llama farm around the block from my house and they are fun to see, but these little guys in your pictures are adorable.
And they don’t spit like those crazy llamas. They’re really soft to touch too. The llama they have at this farm (Lucy) acts as a guard because she’s much bigger than the alpacas. I hope those llamas near you don’t spit at you! 🙂
They might, but my car doesn’t mind.
I guess going through a gauntlet like that could be some kind of a crazy car wash.
Llama farms seem to be popular around the US these days. The one you took a photo of is absolutely adorable!
I like how they look like they’re smiling. I think that one must have been posing. 🙂
Haha. They do seem to love the camera. The ones we saw in Peru would always pose for us! (And they are so much nicer than camels).
That’s great that you were able to see them in their home territory! I guess I’ve never tried to befriend a camel, but these alpacas did seem very friendly.
We stumbled upon an alpaca farm when we were in Maine. I’m not sure how or why, but we left the place thinking that we might want to raise alpacas, too. We don’t.
Maybe we should go in on an alpaca partnership. 🙂 They make me think of puppies or teddy bears and so it seems like they would be a lot of fun.
Awesome article! You sound like me. You see something that really intrigues you or is really interesting to you, and suddenly you have this great new passion and want to do the same completely new thing to you! I have seen alpacas, but never very close. Also, someone I knew when I was living in Pennsylvania said she raised alpacas and that I should stop by her farm, but alas, life got in the way, and I regretfully I never did. I wish I had after reading your article, though!
I do like to throw myself into things. It might also be because I’m getting tired of revising and querying. Alpacas are looking like an attractive alternative right now. 🙂 I hope you get to visit that farm in Pennsylvania sometime! That would be great to get an inside view of everything and you’d probably even get to help out with those morning chores.
Interesting post , Sheila. They look adorable 🙂
Thank you for sharing. groetjes Francina
Thanks Francina! They really remind me of teddy bears and they do have great smiles.
We have quite a number of alpaca farms around here in NH and Maine. And they are fun to visit and admire. My husband used to work with a man who sold alpaca clothing, and he got great discounts. I own a pair of alpaca socks that have never let me down in the most brutally cold weather. I swear by alpaca wool!
My brother and his family live on the vineyard. I’ll have to ask him if they’ve ever been to Island Alpaca, although they live in West Tisbury, which I think is on the other side of the island? Dunno.
That’s good to know about the alpaca socks. My feet are always cold so I’ll have to give them a try. I guess West Tisbury is on the other side, but it isn’t too far. If I lived nearby I think I’d be there all the time! They could go watch a birthing in the spring or help with the morning chores. 🙂
Their little faces are so sweet! 🙂
They really are. If there isn’t such a thing as alpaca teddy bears out there already, then someone should start making them.
They are definitely friendlier than their bigger cousins. I try to stay away from animals that want to spit at me. 😉 And you’ve just made me realize that there are no animals in my time-travel manuscript. Hmm, I wonder if I could work in an alpaca or two…. 🙂
We’ll have to start an alpaca book trend! Lots of books have goats or dogs in them but I bet there aren’t many with alpacas. Or in the future maybe there would be different kinds of animals. I keep wanting to write a novel that’s not based on any kind of reality at all so maybe some strange futuristic animals should be included.
They are much cuter than llamas and I love their hairdo! I have never seen one “in person” and would love to visit Martha’s Vineyard, too, Sheila! It sounds like a magical bike ride! xo
Come on out and I’ll show you around. I’ll even throw in an alpaca or two! xo
Sounds good! I’ll let you know when I’m en route! 🙂
Alpacas vs. goats…it’s like Sophie’s choice! However, and please don’t tell the goats this, I do feel that alpacas win in the fro category.
Hahah! Some of the hairdos are even wilder than these. That alone might make them more fun than goats. But since you’re an official member of the goat club, I’ll understand if you’re partial to goats. 🙂
I’d love to be an alpaca farmer. They seem like such lovely animals. I’ve met a few at petting farms. I never knew about this place, sounds like an awesome jaunt for the family. 🙂
The more I think about it, the more I’d like to be an alpaca farmer. Just being around those smiles would be fun. I’m guessing Wisconsin would be a good place to raise them too.
They scare me, don’t know why… you’re a real adventurer! Wonderful read! Merry Christmas dear! Faithfully Debbie
That’s funny! They’re very gentle but I suppose that smile could be thought of as a little sinister when looked at in a certain way. 🙂 Thank you and Merry Christmas hugs to you!
Sheila they sound like the perfect cuddly pet to me, I did wonder were they like their cousins Llama’s and have had an experience with the spitting variety before, which left me with a new fear for animals that spit. Thanks for enlightening me.
Hahha – yes spitting animals can be messy! I thought of you and your picture books while writing this because alpacas and llamas could make great characters and it’s kind of funny that they’re cousins. I know you’re already overflowing with lots of ideas though!
I think alpacas are entrancing. But they’d be miserable where I live – it’s just so wet. Maybe if we move to the east coast some day, I can have a few! And ducks, for my husband 🙂
It can get pretty wet and dreary around here so they might not mind as long as there’s a nice warm barn around. Ducks and alpacas would be fun! I like how ducks always sound like they’re laughing at us.
🙂 Last night I tried to talk a neighbour who has goats into having alpaca – his teenage daughters were delighted, apparently they’ve been suggesting it for a while. Fingers crossed!
That’s great! Alpacas could be the next goats after all! 🙂
Very well written and informative. Its nice to learn about different animal species these are not found in India. Thanks and cheers 🙂
Thank you! Maybe alpacas will make their way to India someday. I’m glad you could virtually enjoy them for now though.
🙂