This is a picture from when I brought some of my friends out to the farm for my 15th birthday. I’m in the middle, holding Louie’s halter. Harley just had to get in the picture too!
Over the years I’ve helped out with the zoo, I found that many people could not tell the difference between a llama and an alpaca. To someone who has never encountered these animals, it’s really understandable to be a bit confused. When Louie, the llama, was still with us, we would sometimes take both him and the alpaca (Harley) to different places. People would guess that Harley was Louie’s baby. This was funny to us because we knew that both animals were male, but it was fairly common for people to make assumptions about animal familial relations based on their sizes. People have even remarked that the box turtle must be the sulcata tortoise’s baby, but that is getting a little off topic.
Both llamas and alpacas are members of the camelid family, but they are not even in the same genus classification. They are more like cousins than siblings as scientists do not think they have a common ancestor. And yes, llamas and alpacas both are able to spit like camels. There is a ton of information about caring for these animals, and like always, it’s important to do your homework before you decide to get one. A few good places to start are the Southwest Llama Rescue’s website, this page from Michigan State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and the Mount Airy Alpaca Company’s website Caring for a farm animal takes more effort than caring for a house pet, so make sure you have the time, knowledge, and facilities to provide a good life for these wonderful animals.
This is a llama and its cria (baby llama). Photo courtesy of Stuart Mills Farm’s website. Click on the picture to check out their website, which is full of useful information on llama care and helpful links.
Easy-to-spot Differences Between a Llama and an Alpaca
The most obvious difference to the untrained eye is the difference in size. Fully grown llamas are almost twice the size of alpaca adults. Llamas usually weigh between 300 to 400 lbs when fully grown, and alpacs usually grow to be between 100 to 200 lbs. With a younger animal, it might be a bit harder to notice the size difference, especially if you can’t tell whether or not the animal is fully grown. There are other tell-tale signs, however, such as the shape of their ears. Llamas’ ears are a bit longer and noticeably more curved, whereas alpacas have a bit shorter and straighter ears.
Fur and Fiber
One of the biggest differences between these animals is a direct result of the origins of each species. Alpacas were specifically bred for their thick, high thermal quality fiber. And, no, it’s not technically wool; it’s called fiber because it’s not the same as sheep’s wool, even though it is used for much the same purpose. Llamas were bred for strength as pack animals, and they have vastly different fur. Llamas actually have two coats: a long, coarse overcoat for protection against the weather, and a soft undercoat close to their bodies to keep them warm in the mountains where they first originated. Alpacas only have a single thick coat of soft, fuzzy, warm fiber. As a result, the shearing practices are different between the two animals.
This is a huacaya alpaca (one of the two types, Harley is this type). The photo comes from the Mount Airy Alpaca Company’s website. Click on the picture to check them out. They have a ton of information about alpacas.
Personalities
Please bear in mind that I’m talking about my personal experiences with individual animals, so this is by no means a blanket statement or guarantee that all animals will have similar personalities. That being said, Louie was one of the sweetest animals I ever had the honor of knowing. We were pretty close, and it was very hard to lose him. He would always make my day better, and sometimes he would reach over with his nose and give me kisses. He was extremely gentle, but people were sometimes afraid of him because of his size. I’ve heard people say that llamas are supposed to be more aggressive than alpacas, but I did not find that to be true. Sure, they may be commonly used to protect herds from predators because of their impressive loyalty and defensive abilities (they can kick in 360 degrees around their bodies in addition to spitting and having “fighting teeth”). Louie was very easy to lead, very cooperative, and very patient with excited children.
Harley, on the other hand, seems to just be a little keyed-up and skittish. He has gotten more and more used to people being close to him and petting him, but he still isn’t a big fan of getting lots of attention. That’s just the way he is. He is very easy to startle, and he absolutely loathes having his head touched in any way. The fluffy mass on top of his head that doesn’t get sheared is such a magnet for people because it looks so soft. He’ll dodge people’s hands and try to get away, and if people don’t get the hint he will spit at them. We always try to tell people before it becomes a problem, but some people choose to ignore our warning and keep trying. It’s silly too. He’s perfectly fine with being petted on his neck or his back, but he just doesn’t like anything else.
Petting Zoo Tales 