How Much Do You Know About Alpacas?

Several west-side farms are among the hundreds in North America participating in National Alpaca Farm Days the weekend of Saturday, Sept. 28 and Sunday, Sept. 29. The free event aims to educate the public about alpacas — animals that are cousins to the llama and native to the Andes mountains in South America. The United States first commercially imported alpacas in 1984, and there are now more than 160,000 registered alpacas in North America, including 19 at SanGer-La Alpacas in Brockport. I contacted Nancy and Kris Sanger, owners of SanGer-La, to learn more about alpacas, and they graciously invited me and my boys to visit their 18-acre farm. Admittedly, I knew nothing about alpacas before the visit. I was under the impression they were aggressive creatures, and I even pronounced their name wrong (it’s al-pack-a). The Sangers started their herd in the fall of 2004. They quickly fell in love with the animals, which I clearly understood after spending just an hour with them. Although sheepish, especially the males, the Alpacas surprised me with their curiosity, beauty, gentleness and soulful eyes. read more ...