Alpacas Amiable: Creation Unit Study - Alpacas
Alpacas Amiable: Creation Unit Study - Alpacas
Alpacas Amiable: Creation Unit Study - Alpacas
Alpacas
www.CreationIllustrated.com
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Amiable Alpacas
Creation Unit Study – Alpacas
© Creation Illustrated 2020
Table of Contents:
Reading – 3
Educational Videos – 3
Bible Study – 6
Geography – 7
Math – 9
Art – 12
Extra Learning – 19
Family Adventures – 19
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Reading:
Read and refer to the information and facts on alpacas from these articles.
Read the story “Amiable Alpacas” in the digital Fall 2020 issue of Creation Illustrated, Vol. 27, No. 3 —pages 14 – 21
https://go.epublish4me.com/html/creation_illustrated_fall_2020_edition_wads/10104157#.X39ZM1NKjOQ
Virtual Alpaca Farm Tour Part 1 Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm https://youtu.be/ypMqTKK-7pM
Part 2 https://youtu.be/p2Dn-7gu1pE
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History of the English Word
Alpaca
The history of the English Word Alpaca can be
traced to the Andean mammal name that comes from the
Spanish word alpaca that probably comes from Amymara
alpaca, which is related to the Quechua (Inca) word p’ake
meaning “yellowish-red.” The al is perhaps from the Arabic
definite article which is a common element in Spanish
words similar to the word almond.
Here are some ideas of what you might like to write about:
1. Write about what it might be like to raise alpacas on your own farm.
2. Write about showing your prize alpacas in the National Alpaca Show.
3. Write about the steps in making an alpaca fiber garment from the sheering to the carding to the spinning to the
weaving to the finished garment.
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Vocabulary & Spelling
Study, write, and learn to spell these words that are all found in the “Amiable Alpacas” story in the Fall 2020
edition of Creation Illustrated. Spelling tests may be given for groups of words or for select words to younger
students.
Vocabulary Definitions
Write the correct word from the lists above next to the appropriate definition below:
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Bible Study
Alpacas are not mentioned in scripture, but their close cousins played a major role throughout biblical
times. Alpacas are from the Camelidae family and are closely related camels. Camels are referred to in the Bible 59
times—53 in the Old Testament and 6 in the New Testament.
1. In the Old Testament the Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon reference for camel is H1581 gâmâl. There are four main uses of
this word: as property = P, as beast of burden = B, for riding = R, forbidden for food = F.
Look up the following Old Testament texts and place the correct letter that best illustrates it.
A. Genesis 12:16 = _________
B. Genesis 24:61 = _________
C. Genesis 37:25 = _________
D. Leviticus 11:4 = _________
E. Deuteronomy 14:7 = _________
F. I Samuel 30:17 = _________
G. I Kings 10:2 = _________
H. 2 Chronicles 9:1 = _________
I. Ezekiel 2:67 = _________
J. Job 1:3 = _________
K. Isaiah 21:7 = _________
2. Which of these four uses of the camel also fits the use of the alpaca? ________________________________________
3. In the New Testament the Strong’s Greek Lexicon reference for camels is G2574 kamēlos which occurs in six verses.
Clothes = C, Spiritual Illustration = SI. Look up the following New Testament texts and place the correct letters
next to the text that best illustrates it.
A. Matthew 3:4 = _________
B. Matthew 19:24 = _________
C. Matthew 23:24 = _________
D. Mark 1:6 = _________
E. Mark 10:25 = _________
F. Luke 18:25 = _________
4. What are some spiritual Christian traits that alpaca demonstrate? _________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Attribution Link - https://freevectormaps.com/world-maps/WRLD-EPS-01-0014?ref=atr
Alpaca Geography
The majority of alpacas (94 percent) live in South America Andean highlands. Peru has around 3.8 million
alpacas which is 87 percent of the world’s alpaca population. The annual production of alpaca fiber in Peru is over
4,500 tons with exports surpassing $68 million. The main destinations of the Peruvian alpaca fiber exports are China
and Italy. Today there are more than 200,000 Alpaca Owners Association (AOA) registered alpacas living in 19
countries. The United States and Australia have the largest number of registered alpacas.
It is not a clear how much alpaca fiber is produced in the US. This is because there is a large number of
alpacas that are non-registered—approximately 250,000. If you add this number to the registered number and
calculate 5 pounds of fiber per shearing per alpaca, the amount of alpaca fiber would come to approximately 1.25
million pounds. According to the AOA database, the five states with the highest alpaca population include:
Ohio = 27,000, Washington = 19,000, Oregon = 18,000, Colorado = 17,000, and California = 14,000. Additional facts
for these questions can be found in the History and Culture article on page 10.
1. On the map above label and color the four main countries that developed the alpaca breed.
a. _____________________, b. _____________________, c. _____________________, d. _____________________
2. From what elevation do the alpacas originate? _____________________
3. With a brown colored pencil draw a line that follows the ridge of the Andes Mountains in South America.
4. List the first five countries where alpacas were exported in the 1980s. Put an “A“on the map of each of these
countries.
a. __________________, b. _________________, c. _________________, d. _________________, e. __________________
5. What are the two countries that import the most alpaca fiber? Color yellow and put the letter “I” on the map of
these two countries. a. __________________, b. _________________
6. List the five states in America that have the largest alpaca population and color them on the map and place
numbers 1 through 5 on them in the order of the highest alpacas population.
a. _____________ = 1, b. _____________ = 2, c. _____________ = 3, d. _____________ = 4, e. _____________ = 5
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Alpaca Science & Facts
Here are some alpaca facts to learn from the articles and videos in this study. Draw a line to match the
biological classification of the alpaca to the proper Latin name and meaning.
Biological Classification: Latin Name: Meaning:
Kingdom = Tylopoda calloused foot
Phylum = Camelidae even toed
Class = V. Pacos share a genetic heritage, able to create offspring
Order = Artiodactyla herbivorous even toed
Suborder = Animalia animal
Family = Chordata animals having flexible spinal column
Genus = Vicugna genus of two camelids: vicuna and alpaca
Species = Mammalia warm-blooded with mammary glands
_____________________________________________________________________________
Subspecies = Huacaya Alpacas, Suri Alpacas (fiber type not scientific)
2. If each alpaca yields an average of 8 pounds of fiber a year, how much money would a herdsman take in for the
year if the fiber sold for $14 per pound, and he had 15 alpacas?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How much money did the above herdsman make if the cost of upkeep for each alpaca is $169 per year and the
shearing fee is $20 per alpaca?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How much money would the above herdsman make if he sold the processed alpaca yarn for $120 per pound?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. If a female alpaca cost $3,500, and she produced 9 babies (one per year)—2 sold for $650 each, 3 sold for $1,100
each, and 4 sold for $4,000 each, how much profit was made over her initial cost?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Now subtract from the above profit the annual upkeep of the female of $190 per year for 9 years, plus the
breeding fee of $750 to produce each baby.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Alpaca History and Culture
Camels, alpaca, vicunas, llamas, and guanacos are believed to be the only survivors of the camelid species
found in the fossil record. In the Peruvian highlands region of South America, alpacas were first domesticated from
wild vicunas by Andean hunter-gatherers, herders, and farmers. Vicuna at that time were commonly hunted for
their fiber and meat. Using selective breeding, herders refined the species to develop the alpaca. Today’s genetic
research, dental study, and fossilized remains of alpacas from over a century ago show that the selective breeding
produced the finest fleece.
Archaeologists have found mummified alpacas buried under floors of ancient home sites to be used for
offerings in worship practices. Scientists call them preconquest alpacas. Shortly after the worldwide Flood, humans
started to develop an economy based on herding of both the alpacas and llamas in the 13,000 to 16,000-foot-high
Central Andes of Peru. Later during the Inca Empire (1438–1533) alpaca breeding became imperatively important to
the people and their fiber industry.
Alpacas highest quality fiber during this period became one of the most prized commodities in a civilization
based on textiles. The Inca people made everything from bridges to roofs from fibers supplied by alpacas, llamas,
and cotton. They recorded their wealth in patterns of knots, and among the Andean people, cloth was their
currency. Alpaca fiber was of the highest value, and even their armies were paid with alpaca textiles. Because of
this system, the alpaca thrived, and it is believed that some 50 million head of alpaca were raised at this time.
In 1532 the Spanish Conquest started, and their method was to dismantle and destroy anything the Incan
civilization valued. Herds that they had spent 100 years breeding and organizing into fiber color and quality were
killed in mass. Nearly 90 percent of the alpacas were lost. Spaniards did not recognize the value of the fiber and
instead used sheep’s wool, which is sad because alpaca fiber is three times warmer than sheep’s wool.
The alpacas that did survive where taken to the Andean Plateau where the Quetcha people were able to
keep them safe from the Spanish.
The history of alpacas remained stagnant for three centuries. Then in 1800s during the Industrial
Revolution, a textile industry boomed. Sir Titus Salt was an English mill owner, and in 1836 he visited a warehouse
in Liverpool where he found some bales of alpaca fiber. He immediately noticed the high quality of the fiber and
bought all that he could and began to manufacture clothing from the rare material.
Salt designed his mills around the processing procedures needed to work the alpaca fiber, and thus held
a monopoly on the market and brought alpaca fiber to prominence. The upscale alpaca garment industry still exists
today. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert even owned two alpacas and wore fine woven alpaca garments.
During the mid-twentieth century, the alpaca fiber boom slowed due to the discovery of synthetic fibers and the lack
of a good process and procedures to export the fiber from the alpaca raising countries of South America—Southern
Peru, Northern Chile, Western Bolivia, and Ecuador.
During the 1980’s things began to change as these countries had trade agreements with the US, UK, Canada,
Australia, and Israel to allow for the import of alpacas. The US received a large amount of imported alpacas from
Peru from 1984 to 1998. They were issued from the Alpaca Registry certificates by the Alpaca Owners Association
(AOA). This is an important document that traces the alpaca’s lineage in detail (fiber, color, birth dates, etc.). All
alpacas are blood typed with their DNA being used to verify various information. This important detail helps
guarantee and preserve the quality of alpacas by aiding breeders in keeping the fiber at the highest quality possible.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
This brief history was consolidated and condensed from the following references:
http://www.bonnydoonalpacas.org/factshx.html
https://epicalpacas.com/alpaca-history/
http://www.highlandairsalpaca.com/pages/4822/the-history-of-alpacas
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Answer the following questions based on the alpacas in the history and culture article.
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Alpaca ART:
Follow these step-by-step instructions on how to draw an alpaca.
http://www.supercoloring.com/drawing-tutorials/how-to-draw-an-alpaca
Here is a link to the same instructions as a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zi1mHl7ebY
You might also like to draw what you have learned would be the perfect farm for alpacas including other animals
that might live with alpacas.
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Alpaca Word Search Puzzle:
Find the words below in the puzzle and circle each one.
1. AMIABLE 10. GRAZE 18. PERUVIAN
2. ANDES 11. GROOMED 19. QUIRKY
3. CAMEL 12. HABITATS 20. RESILIENT
4. CARDED 13. HERD 21. SHEER
5. CONGREGATE 14. HOOVES 22. TEXTILE
6. DEMEANOR 15. LIVESTOCK 23. VICUNA
7. DOMESTICATED 16. LLAMA 24. WOVEN
8. FIBER 17. PASTURES 25. YARN
9. FLEECE
Q R E L I T X E T L R A E W R I R
W D O E T A G E R G N O C D Q C E
N O D N Y Z H D T H A B I T A T S
O M E D A C E R O G R A Z E D O S
I E A S R E E H S H P S X S F L S
T S D W G D M Y G A L W C E W M O
C T H W E G J E S E A M I A B L E
T I Y D R K S T D R S B C A M E L
V C R E T O U E L I V E S T O C K
I A E H C R B W D L U P W F Q J V
C T S L E E I Z S N E O F H U K V
U E I S L T E E C R A I E G I L X
N D L R D A V L U Q B R D E R W F
A V I U Q O M V F E D W F U K E I
S F E Y O U I A R V Q R G O Y Q A
D G N H L A Y G R O O M E D V A P
E O T S N Q Z N E V O W C N R A Y
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Alpaca Unit Study
Answer Keys for Teachers & Parents
Vocabulary Definitions:
1. having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner Amiable
2. a process that disentangles, cleans, and intermixes fibers Carded
3. gather into a crowd or mass Congregate
4. be a part of a whole Constitute
5. an outward behavior or bearing Demeanor
6. to put on an item of clothing Donning
7. to search widely for food or provisions Forage
8. the fiber that is sheared from alpacas Fleece
9. extract (information) from various sources Glean
10. to eat grass in a field Graze
11. the environment of an animal, plant, or other organism Habitat
12. investing money for profit Investment
13. peculiar or unexpected traits Quirky
14. able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions Resilient
15. a person or animal’s natural height when standing upright Stature
16. a type of cloth or woven fabric Textile
17. a distinguishing quality or characteristic Traits
18. being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else Unique
19. a change or difference in condition Variation
20. interlacing threads of material into a whole Woven
2. Which of these four uses of the camel is also correct for the alpaca? As property, and forbidden for food
3. In the New Testament the Strong’s Greek Lexicon reference is G2574 κάμηλος kamēlos
Occurs six times in six verses. Clothes = C Spiritual Illustration = SI Look up the following New Testament texts
and place the correct letter next to the text that best illustrates it.
A. Matthew 3:4 = C D. Mark 1:6 = C
B. Matthew 19:24 = SI E. Mark 10:25 = SI
C. Matthew 23:24 = SI F. Luke 18:25 = SI
4. What are some spiritual Christian traits that the alpaca demonstrates. Gentleness, Meekness, Companionship
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Geography Key:
1. On the map above label and color the four main countries that developed the alpaca breed.
a. Peru (Blue) b. Bolivia (Red) c. Ecuador (Green) d. Chile (Orange)
3. With a brown colored pencil draw a line that follows the ridge of the Andes Mountains in South America.
4. List the first five countries where alpacas were exported in the 1980s. Put an “A“on the map of each of these
countries.
a. USA b. UK c. Canada d. Australia f. Israel
5. What are the two countries that import the most alpaca fiber? Color yellow and put the letter “I” on the map of
these two countries. a. China b. Italy
6. List the five states in America that have the largest alpaca population and color them on the map and place
numbers 1 through 5 on them in the order of the highest alpacas population.
a. Ohio = 1, b. Washington = 2, c. Oregon = 3, d. Colorado = 4, e. California = 5
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Science Key:
Draw a line to match the biological classification of the alpaca to the proper Latin name and meaning
Biological Classification: Latin Name: Meaning:
Kingdom = Tylopoda calloused foot
Phylum = Camelidae even toed
Class = V. Pacos share a genetic heritage, able to create offspring
Order = Chordata animals having flexible spinal column
Suborder = Animalia animal
Family = Artiodactyla herbivorous even toed
Genus = Mammalia warm-blooded with mammary glands
Species = Vicugna genus of two camelids: vicuna and alpaca
_____________________________________________________________________________
Subspecies = Huacaya Alpacas, Suri Alpacas (fiber type not scientific)
1. From what creature is the alpaca domesticated? Vicuna, a member of the camel family, Camelidae
2. What is the average weight and height of an alpaca? 150 lbs., 4’11”
3. How do alpacas communicate with each other? They mostly use subtle body language but also hum or snort,
cluck, or screech. When alpacas are born, the mother and baby hum constantly.
4. What are the two breeds or subspecies of alpacas? Huacaya and Suri
5. Which of these breeds has the largest population at 90 percent? Huacaya
6. Which breed is found at lower elevations? Suri
7. What is the life span of an alpaca? 15 to 20 years
8. What is a baby alpaca called? cria
9. How many babies does an alpaca have each year? One
10. Are twin alpacas common? No
11. How much food do alpacas consume? They consume about 1.5 percent of their weight per day which is about
10 to 12 pounds of hay per day and about a 100-pound bale of grass hay per month per adult alpaca.
12. What is the alpaca diet? Pasture grass, hay or silage , a daily 1/2 cup of supplemental pellets.
13. Describe the alpacas’ unique digestive system. They have one stomach with three compartments, called a
modified ruminant, where true ruminants like cattle, sheep, goats, and deer have four compartments. They
chew cud, and their three-chambered system allows them to extract the maximum amount of nutrients from low-
quality forages.
14. How often do alpacas need to be shorn? Once a year
15. On average, how much fiber does a mature alpaca produce? 5 to 10 pounds
16. How much warmer is alpaca fiber than wool? Three times warmer
Math Key:
1. If a manatee ate 100 pounds of food each day, how much food would it eat each month, and how much in one
year? 30 days x 100 lbs. = 3,000 lbs. of food in a month 365 days x 100 lbs. = 36,500 lbs. of food
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Math Key:
1. If an alpaca eats 1.5 pounds of food each day, how much food would it eat each week, and how much in one
year? 1.5 pounds x 7 days = 10.5 pounds
1.5 pounds x 365 days = 547.5 pounds in a year.
2. If each alpaca yields an average of 8 pounds of fiber a year, how much money would a herdsman take in for the
year if the fiber sold for $14 per pound, and he had 15 alpacas?
8 pounds x $14 x 15 alpacas = $1,680 in gross income
3. How much money did the above herdsman make if the cost of upkeep for each alpaca is $169 per year and the
shearing fee is $20 per alpaca?
$1,680 – ($169 in upkeep x 15 alpacas) – ($20 shearing fee x 15 alpacas) = – $1,155
4. How much money would the above herdsman make if he sold the processed alpaca yarn for $120 per pound?
(8 pounds x $120 x 15 alpacas) – ($169 in upkeep x 15 alpacas) – ($20 shearing fee x 15 alpacas) = $11,565
5. If a female alpaca cost $3,500, and she produced 9 babies (one per year)—2 sold for $650 each, 3 sold for $1,100
each, and 4 sold for $4,000 each, how much profit was made over her initial cost?
[(2 babies x $650) + (3 babies x $1,100) + (4 x $4,000)] – $3,500 cost = $17,100 gross income for 9 years
6. Now subtract from the above gross income the annual upkeep of the female of $190 per year for 9 years, plus the
breeding fee of $750 to produce each baby.
$17,100 gross income – ($190 upkeep x 9 years) – ($750 breeding fee x 9 babies) = $8,640 gross profit for 9 years
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Alpaca Word Search Puzzle Key:
Q R E L I T X E T L R A E W R I R
W D O E T A G E R G N O C D Q C E
N O D N Y Z H D T H A B I T A T S
O M E D A C E R O G R A Z E D O S
I E A S R E E H S H P S X S F L S
T S D W G D M Y G A L W C E W M O
C T H W E G J E S E A M I A B L E
T I Y D R K S T D R S B C A M E L
V C R E T O U E L I V E S T O C K
I A E H C R B W D L U P W F Q J V
C T S L E E I Z S N E O F H U K V
U E I S L T E E C R A I E G I L X
N D L R D A V L U Q B R D E R W F
A V I U Q O M V F E D W F U K E I
S F E Y O U I A R V Q R G O Y Q A
D G N H L A Y G R O O M E D V A P
E O T S N Q Z N E V O W C N R A Y
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Extra Learning:
After finishing this Unit Study on the alpaca, those interested in even more reading and learning may enjoy
exploring for the books listed below online, at your local library, or in used bookstores.
• Alpaca. Alpacas as Pets. Alpaca book for care, costs, behavior, feeding, health, play and exercise By Clive Summerton
• Raising Animals for Fiber By Christ McLaughlin
• Alpaca Keeping Raising Alpacas By Harry Fields
Family Adventures:
Finding an alpaca farm to tour can be fun as there are many alpaca farms spread around several states that enjoy
hosting tours.
We will also enter your name into a free Unit Study drawing! In the meantime, check out the other fun
Creation Unit Studies at www.CreationIllustrated.com.
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