Origins of the camelids - Claire Waring discovers the fascinating history of these South American animals

They originate in South America but what is their history and how did they end up in herds all around the world?

Firstly, we should perhaps have a quick look at the four different species which make up the South American camelids. The largest are the guanaco (Lama guanicoe) and llama (Lama glama), followed by the alpaca (Vicugna pacos) and the vicuña (Vicugna vicugna). They are modified ruminants, which means that they chew the cud but they have a different digestive system to that of cows and other true ruminants. They have soft pads on their feet rather than hooves and are induced ovulators rather than being spontaneous ovulators. In spite of the fact that they can all interbreed and produce fertile offspring, they are regarded as separate species. This possibility of interbreeding means that it is impossible to tell the purity of an animal simply from its appearance. It is considered that 40 per cent of llamas carry alpaca/vicuña genes and 80 per cent of alpacas have llama/guanaco genes.

The llama was bred from the guanaco. Both species weigh 90-160 kg with the largest llamas being larger than the biggest guanacos. The llama's size and strength make it suitable for use as a beast of burden.

Guanacos are mainly found in the southern Andes, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego with the majority of the estimated population of 600,000 living in Argentina. Their colouring is always brown with a black or grey head and even markings on the underside. The coloration in llamas can vary. Both llamas and guanacos have two coats with the finer undercoat being protected by a layer of hair which usually contains significant guard hair, particularly in older animals.

The origin of the alpaca was a subject of much debate until the use of DNA microsatellite techniques in 2000 proved that it came from the vicuña. This resulted in a change in its Latin name from Llama pacos to Vicugna pacos.

Vicuñas have not been successfully domesticated. They are smaller than alpacas, weighing around 40 kg, but are similar in height being 86-96 cm at the shoulder. Listed as an endangered species since the 1960s, they produce the finest fibre of all the camelids. Living in the high Andes, mainly in Peru, it is estimated that there are now more than 120,000 vicuñas. From 1994, it has been legal to round them up to shear them. This is known as the Chaku and occurs every two years. The yield is only around 500 gram but this is economically viable because of the value of items made from the extremely fine fibre.

Larger than the vicuña, the alpaca weighs 45-84 kg and is around half the size of the llama and guanaco. It is bred for its fleece which comes in a wide range of colours from pure white to pure black. Commercially, fleeces are sorted into 22 separate colours. Within the camel family, alpaca fibre is second only to that from the vicuña. With the alpaca species, there are two types: the huacaya with a crimped, dense fleece, and the suri with long, straight, lustrous locks with no crimp.

Some 11 to 9 million years ago, the ancestors of the South America camelids evolved in North America. A wild form, known as Hemiauchenia, migrated to South America about 3 million years ago. The Lama (wild guanaco) and Vicugna (wild vicuña) are the only surviving wild forms of the genera. As the glaciers retreated at the end of the Pleistocene, guanacos and vicuñas moved up to the high altiplano where they continue today.

The Incas valued the camelids. They used the llamas for transport and the alpacas for their fibre. Both were used as meat. There was a daily sacrifice of a llama or alpaca in Cusco and "shrine herds" were bred with an emphasis on pure colour, particularly brown, black and white for sacrifice. No intentional interbreeding was allowed as the resulting offspring were likely to be smaller than the llama and hence not as useful for carrying loads, and to have a coarser fleece than the alpaca. Excavations at El Yaral in the dry high desert area of Peru revealed some mummified alpacas and llamas more than 1,000 years old. Interestingly, these revealed the quality of fibre available to the Incas. The diameter of the alpaca fibres averaged 23.6 microns for the fine fleeces and 17.9 microns for the extra fine fleeces. There was little guard hair apparent and what was there was not significantly coarser than the undercoat fibres. The fleece was very lustrous and remarkably uniform across the animal. In Peru, the fibre mills class the finest fleece as baby alpaca with a fineness of 19-22 microns.

Unfortunately, much of the fineness of the alpaca fibre in Inca times was lost as a result of the Spanish Conquest. While the fibre and cloth made from alpaca and vicuña were status to the Incas, the invaders were more interested in gold. The Inca court counted its wealth in cloth and this was also the currency used to pay the army. If an army was forced to retreat, it would burn its cloth stores rather than let them fall into enemy hands. While commoners wore clothes made from llama or guanaco, important officials wore alpaca and vicuña was used by the nobility. Woe any commoner found with vicuña fibre as he would be executed.

With fibre and cloth being so important to the Incas, the textile industry was strictly controlled by the state. Herd records, including the number of animals, their colour, size and sex, were kept, not on paper but on quipus. These were a knotted recording device made from alpaca fibre.

When the Spanish arrived, the pastoral way of life was disrupted. Great numbers of animals were seized and take to Lima to be sold for a pittance. Likewise, the cloth was taken and sold for very little. Large numbers of animals were also killed. It is estimated that before the Conquest the Incas has tens of millions of alpacas and llamas. Within 100 years, this was reduced by 90 per cent. However, in the mid 1980s, Europeans were made aware of alpaca fibre and its qualities when Sir Titus Salt purchased some bundles of fibre on the docks at Liverpool. When he processed it, he found it made a wonderful fabric with a superb feel and great lustre. In due course, English investors established processing mills in Arequipa, Peru, that still operate today although now owned by Peruvians and multinational groups. Alpaca became established as a luxury fibre.

Most of the alpacas were owned and kept by the local Aymara and Quecha people and this continued through the nineteenth century. However, wealthy businessmen began to acquire large areas of prime alpaca grazing land and by the 1960s they owned the largest herds. Land reform was introduced in 1969 but the local people did not have the necessary husbandry and management skills to look after large numbers of alpacas and many animals were slaughtered. From an estimated 4 million in 1967, the number of alpacas in Peru declined to around 3.8 million in 1972. The advent of the Shining Path terrorists contributed further to the alpaca's decline and by 1992 there were some 2.1-2.5 million animals. In 2001 it was estimated that the total had fallen further to around 1.7 million.

But how did llamas and alpacas become established world wide? Large-scale importations of llamas into the USA took place in the 1970s and 1980s but those of alpacas did not begin until 1983/4. This was followed by a rapid rise in exports from South America, initially to Australia, England and Switzerland. After this, animals were sent to Canada, New Zealand, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Israel and South Africa. Associations for alpaca breeders, including the British Alpaca Society, were established as exports continued. The Alpaca Registry was set up in the USA and by 1990 almost all of the 60,000 alpacas there were registered. The Registry is a means of avoiding hybridisation as the criterion for registration of a cria is that its DNA is comparable with both registered parents. However, this left the question of registration for imported animals and an import screening protocol was drawn up. To be admitted to the Registry, an imported animal must meet the screening standards. The other alpaca associations have adopted similar registries and screening procedures which can be used to continually improve alpaca conformation and fibre.

So, the camelids, particularly the llama and alpaca, have come a long way. The goal for alpaca owners must be to try to recreate the quality the Incas had. It is likely to be a long process but, according to international alpaca fibre expert Cameron Holt on his visit to the UK in 2007, significant progress has already been made.