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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Alpacas have no upper front teeth.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Alpaca
- Scientific name
- Vicugna pacos
- Japanese name
- アルパカ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Camelidae
- Genus
- Vicugna
The alpaca is a domesticated animal thought to have been bred from the vicuña, a wild member of the camel family.
It is a domestic animal kept on high ground in the Andes mountains of South America.
It has been bred so that its wool never sheds and keeps growing all its life, making the wool easier for people to use.
It lives in herds, and other kinds of animals, such as goats and sheep, may be part of the herd too.
How the Alpaca lives
In the Andes, they graze on grass from mountain slopes and valleys. Mothers make clucking sounds to their young. They share places where they deposit dung and urine.
Smithsonian National ZooUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 120–225 cmShoulder height: 94–104 cm
- Weight
- 55–65 kg
- Diet
- Grass
Where the Alpaca has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アルパカ
- 简体中文
- 羊驼
- 繁體中文
- 羊駝
- 한국어
- 알파카
- Español
- Alpaca
- Français
- Alpaga
- Deutsch
- Alpaka
- Português (Brasil)
- Alpaca
- Italiano
- Alpaca
- हिन्दी
- अल्पाका
- العربية
- ألبكة
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Alpaka
- Tiếng Việt
- Alpaca
- Русский
- Альпака
- Türkçe
- Alpaka
- ไทย
- อัลปากา
- বাংলা
- আলপাকা
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — アルパカChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Lama pacosChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian National Zoo — AlpacaChecked: 2026-11-05
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Alpaca, look for this
- Look for their large, pointed ears.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Alpaca
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Camelidae
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