If you honestly can’t tell the difference between alpaca and llama, don’t be embarrassed. While it is true that there are several distinctive differences between alpacas and llamas, the truth of the matter is that these differences may not be obvious to a layperson. Thankfully, learning how to spot the differences between alpacas and llamas is pretty easy.
You’re going to want to start your compare/contrast by looking at the ears.
What Are The Differences Between Llamas And Alpacas
Think of the llamas and alpacas as cousins. When you think along these terms, you can begin to see why some people often mistake the two. The first difference between these fluffy-looking creatures will involve that ear factor we mentioned before. The ears of an alpaca are going to be short, almost spear-like in shape. The ears of a llama will be considerably longer, with the shape resembling something along the lines of a banana.
The next difference involves the size. Quite frankly, alpacas tend to clock in at around one hundred and fifty pounds. A llama can prove to be much, much bigger than that. In fact, llamas can reach a weight of as much as four hundred pounds! At their shoulders, alpacas can stand between thirty-four and thirty-six inches. On the other hand, llamas at the shoulders can stand between forty-two and forty-six inches. Simply put, llamas are just a whole lot bigger than alpacas in every possible regard.
Even the faces of llamas and alpacas have some noticeable differences. A Llama is going to have a longer face than that of an alpaca. If you notice that alpacas have the kind of face that could be best described as “smooshed”, then you’re not completely off the mark. There is a bluntness to the faces of alpacas that tend to give them the distinctive faces people learn to spot.
What about purpose? When it comes to this subject, you are looking at yet another major difference between these creates. Llamas are bred for fiber and meat, although they are only bred for meat in very specific parts of the world (such as Peru). With alpacas, their general purpose falls to someone breeding them to be pack animals and/or meat. Alpacas are also notable for producing hairs that one would consider to be much finer than the hairs you would find on the average llama.
Alpacas tend to be herd animals, while llamas are animals that tend to favor being left alone.
