Weekend show put alpacas front and center

Augusta — You wouldn’t be happy to see the end of winter approaching if you were an alpaca. Over 225 alpacas from 79 farms competed in the 2010 New Jersey Alpaca Show and Sale at the Sussex County Fairgrounds here Saturday and Sunday. “Alpacas are suited for the high plains of the Andes Mountains,” said Robin Gilmore, event organizer and owner of the Illusion Ranch in Boyertown, Pa. “The huacaya alpacas have hair that stands up, giving them a fuzzy teddy bear look. Suris have hair that looks like dreadlocks.” The thermal quality of the fleece well equips alpacas for the cold. “When it is cold and snowy it is not unusual for the barn to be empty and to find all the alpacas outside sleeping in a snowdrift,” said Gilmore. Alpaca fleece is five times warmer than wool from sheep. And, it’s more valuable. “Wool sells for about seven cents a pound while alpaca fiber sells for about $40 a pound,” said Gilmore. A single alpaca can yield from six to 10 pounds of fiber each year. The weekend show included agility tests, where handlers walked a tricky course before performing with their animals. While suited for living in the mountains the alpacas had difficulty with the ramps and stairs on the course. Very few of the animals managed the course without knocking over or completely missing an obstacle. “Being prey animals, alpacas have eyes on the sides of their heads rather than in the front,” said Gilmore. “They have a wide range of vision but no depth perception. They have problems with the steps.” The final event Sunday morning was a costume parade. Judges were looking for “creativity and teamwork between the alpaca and the handler,” said Judge Wade Gease of Wisconsin. Each contestant wrote a story about their costume, which was read aloud by an announcer as the handler and her alpaca paraded around the ring.