Alpaca (al-pak' a), an animal native to the lofty tablelands and mountains of the Andes in Peru. It is related to the camels of the old world, and is kept as a beast of burden by the Peruvian Indians. The wool is of fine quality, usually pale brown in color; but gray and even black varieties are common. The wool grows about eight inches long, when shorn regularly every year, but grows longer when not clipped. As soon as the animal is shorn its resemblance to a small camel without a hump is evident.
