Review: Alpaca Walk at Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation

Have you ever gone on an Alpaca trek? Well, I hadn’t either until earlier this year when I took part in an animal experience at my local wildlife foundation, Eagle Heights. Although, as most people who know me will tell you, I am a big animal lover I knew relatively little about these strange looking furry creatures until I got to meet them up close and personal.

The Alpaca trek experience started at 10.30 am when our friendly animal expert, Alex, introduced us to their little herd of 5 Alpacas, each with their own personality quirks. Alex told us that Alpacas are a species of South American camelid mammal, similar to the llama. Both species are domesticated versions of wild counterparts. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas and were bred specifically for their wool (fibre) used to make a variety of knitted and woven items.

Amazingly according to Peru, there are 52 natural colours of Alpaca fibre. They are sheered typically once a year in the Springtime and can produce 2-5kg of fibre per Alpaca. The higher the quality of the fibre the more valuable it is.

In general, Alpacas are gentle and intelligent creatures. This was clear to see when Alex allowed us to pick out an Alpaca to walk between 2 people and the Alpacas took being attached to 2 wide-eyed guests in their stride.

Our Alpaca trekking experience lasted for around 90 minutes. As a group, we walked the Alpacas around the boundary of the Eagle Heights centre at a nice leisurely pace. Most of the Alpacas liked a pit stop every few steps to chew on the fresh grass so it was slow going! Throughout the journey, Alex gave us more information about Alpacas and halfway through we stopped for a rest and to give the Alpacas some treats in the form of veggies and fruit. Feeding an Alpaca is just like feeding a horse – flat palm up and they take the food very gently!

Alpacas make really lovely pets if you have the appropriate outdoor space, and make excellent companions for other animals such as horses, sheep, goats, and even chickens.

I really enjoyed my walk with the Alpacas at Eagle Heights and would recommend the experience to anyone looking for a bit of a different day out. Of course, included is entry to the Eagle Heights centre where you can learn and see all manner of birds of prey along with other mammals.

I award my Alpaca trekking experience 5 out of 5 stars.