Huacaya is the one of the two breeds that make up the species ''Lama pacos'', commonly known as the alpaca (the other breed is the Suri). It lives on the Altiplano in the Andes, up to above sea level. Its natural range encompasses four South American countries.

Phenotype characteristics

Both breeds are easily identifiable by their phenotypic characteristics. There are no differences in weight, or pup at birth () or the adult specimens, weighing about in males and in females. Alpaca skeleton

Animals of the Huacaya breed have a rounded and bulky appearance. Huacaya fiber grows perpendicular to the body of the alpaca, and is bulky, smooth and dense. Its curls in its sponge-like fibre are shorter and duller compared with Suri, with an absence of

wool grease Lanolin (from Latin 'wool', and 'oil'), also called wool yolk, wool wax, or wool grease, is a wax secreted by the sebaceous glands of wool-bearing animals. Lanolin used by humans comes from domestic sheep breeds that are raised specifically fo ...

that is characteristic of

Corriedale The Corriedale is a New Zealand breed of sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Merino and Lincoln Longwool sheep. The breed was officially recognised in 1911. It has been exported to Australia a ...

sheep. Both alpaca breeds possess a vast array of coat colors, totalling 22 different varieties.

Population

Huacayas far outnumber the Suri population. In Chile, all alpacas are of the Huacaya type, and there is a negligible amount of Suri specimens in

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at the northern border. Peru, which contains the majority of the world's alpaca, has 93% Huacaya as estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Thus of the 3.7 million animals worldwide, more than 90% are thought to be of the Huayaca breed.

Products

Fibre

Huayaca fiber is made up of between 150–170 threads per . At thick, their fiber is thinner that of the Suri, and considerably whiter, on average. Suri fiber is marginally stronger Some of the products that can be made with fine Huacaya fiber include: * Ponchos * Scarves * Vests * Sweaters * Bedspreads

Meat

While huayacas were never bred for meat, their meat is a useful perfectly edible by-product and very high in protein. The carcass weight varies at around 50% of live weight and 23 kilogrammes. Huacaya are thought to produce more meat than the Suri.Huarachi, David. Manual cría de camélidos sudamericanos. Ediciones Kollu Huma. 54 páginas. Alpaca meat has a high protein to fat ratio, with the most common breed containing on average 23% protein.

References

{{reflist Alpacas Livestock Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Chile Mammals of Peru Mammals of the Andes Mammal breeds originating from Indigenous Americans