“Alpacas are cuter than Llamas”
Obviously, those Peruvians didn’t think so either...
Both are found in the rural area I live in, some of the neighbors on this and the next road have one or two watch Llamas as pets-they are great guard animals for livestock and property, just like donkeys are-and like a donkey, they will run down, bite and kick an intruder or a predator-to death, if they can.
I don’t think the Alpacas are cuter-they are just smaller-they are just as bad tempered and dangerous-especially when someone tries to get them on a shearing table-but they aren’t as badass and brave as the Llamas...
The Alpacas are kept in herds on places of 20 acres or more by a few people who believed those TV infomercials about buying a bunch of them, making a fortune easily from shearing and selling their wool-not true, since there are plenty of sheep and Angora goats around here-cheaper, better temperament, smaller and there has been an established wool market for them for well over a century-so most of the Alpaca owners are stuck with a bunch of bad tempered animals whose wool isn’t all that profitable-if I were going to have a pet like that, I’d get a Llama...
They are great guard animals- esp for goats. LOL most critters are pretty good judges of character, too, wrt to 2 legged critters. The males can be aggressive if you don’t- or don’t know how to, establish personal space or whatever. (I don’t & don’t want to mess with it) Obviously, they’re big enough, that it could be dangerous.
Llamas are pretty easy going, as far as camelids go. Like any animal, it probably depends on how much a person interacts with them (which ought to be a lot). & they have personalities, just like dogs, cats, horses, whatever.
The worst thing about them is that they spit & it’s extremely gross, but as long as you don’t irritate them…They spit at each other more than at their owners (lol well, mostly) You can usually kind of see it coming.
Ugh. That’s a bummer about infomercials. Shearing & trimming hooves is just maintenance stuff that has to be done- esp in Texas. They can die from heat, so provisions have to be made for that. There are a few people around who raise herds who will shear them for a fee. And probably people who will scoop poop, too (or add ons that you can put on an ATV or lawn tractor to do that). But anytime animals are “marketed”, it just seems like an invitation to idiots who think “Oh, I’ll just…”, turn them out, & blow them off. & the animals suffer.
It’s not a “piece of cake”. Especially early on.
IIRC, there are “mini” Llamas out there. I don’t think they’re that much smaller & in the case of dogs, genetically altering them for certain traits (like size) hasn’t worked out so well. I’d be leery. I’d rather just have them as they are. Texas has Llamas all over the place. & 2 separate rescue branches. If we’d made it outta town, we would already be there. Someday...