Alpacas Stock Photography

Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Ecuador,southern Peru,northern Bolivia,and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m 11,483 ft to 5,000 m 16,404 ft meters above sea-level,throughout the year.Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas,and unlike llamas,alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber.Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items,much as sheep`s wool is.These items include blankets,sweaters,hats,gloves,scarves,a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America,and sweaters,socks,coats and bedding in other parts of the world.The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru,12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States.Alpacas and llamas differ in that alpacas have straight ears and llamas have banana-shaped ears.Aside from these differences,llamas are on average 1-2 feet taller and proportionally bigger than alpacas.