The Tale of Two Fleeces

Building on our exploration of alpaca fiber history, let’s look at another fascinating aspect of these animals’ wool:

Alpaca fleeces come in two distinctly different varieties that look so different you might think they come from entirely different species. The more common type is Huacaya, which gives alpacas their characteristic fluffy, cloudlike appearance similar to a Corriedale sheep. The other type is Suri, where the fiber grows in long, straight locks that fall to each side of the body, much like a Lincoln sheep’s wool.

What makes this particularly intriguing is the puzzling way these traits are inherited. When two Huacaya alpacas mate, some of their offspring might unexpectedly turn out to be Suris. Similarly, two Suri parents can sometimes produce Huacaya babies. Occasionally, you might even see animals with intermediate characteristics, which breeders call “chili.”

Today, Huacayas make up about 90% of all alpacas, while Suris are relatively rare. This isn’t due to modern breeding preferences though – archaeological evidence from the El Yaral site in southern Peru shows that both types existed 900-1000 years ago. This means pre-Hispanic peoples successfully maintained these distinct varieties for thousands of years, managing a complex inheritance pattern we’re still trying to fully understand today.

Source: Wheeler, J. C. (2012). South American camelids – past, present and future. Journal of Camelid Science, 5:1-24.