Useful terms and alpaca words are listed below. Spanish is a common language for a lot of alpaca terms and we have also included some less common ones. We would be pleased to hear of any more so we can add them to the list.

huacaya – (pronounced wa-ky-ah)

The most common breed of alpaca around the world with dense, crimpy sheep-like fleece

suri

The more rare breed of alpaca whose fleece is arranged in silky dreadlocks. A heavier, lustrous fibre, this is ideal for woven fleece products. A good example of a suri should have fibre on the neck which is cool to the touch! There are different styles of lock structure within a fleece.

A suri female

macho

the term for a male alpaca

hembra

the term for a female alpaca

punta

a herd of alpacas

A punta of huacaya

wether

a castrated male alpaca

weanling

cria 5 – 6 mths old

yearling

alpaca at 1 year of age

cria

baby alpaca (meaning spanish for creation)

Chalford Calypso – a month  old dark brown cria

orgling

the noise made by the macho when mating

humming

the noise alpacas make to communicate with each other

Calving

giving birth, also known as unpacking or criating