Alpacas make their mark

Alpacas are curious, fluffy animals with large eyes. Although native to South America, Alpacas have been living in the Netherlands for 25 years and their general cuteness and calming manner have made ‘walking with an alpaca’ a popular activity here. Let’s find out more…

Mayke Engels, owner of River Forelands alpaca farm (Wamel, Gelderland) offers several activities with alpacas, but the most popular is going on a walk with the animal, attracting customers from across the country. Engels explains that alpacas walk at a slow pace and allow you to enjoy your surroundings and the location of her farm is also part of that calming experience. “We are living near the river,” she says, “and there is nothing; no cars, no traffic.”

People visit River Forelands to get away from it all. “[Our customers] tell me they feel like they are in the South of France, and it is so relaxed with the animals,” says Mayke.

Walking with an alpaca is also a calming exercise because the animal acts as a mirror to the handler. “When people are too hasty, I can see it in the animals,” Engels explains. When she sees an uncalm alpaca, she explains to the handler that their stress is transferring to the animal. “If you are calm, then the animal will be calm as well,” she says.

Although the ‘alpaca walk’ activity continues to gain popularity and attract frequent – and repeat – visitors throughout the year, there are also other opportunities to see the alpacas. “From March until October, we have baby alpacas on the farm,” says Engels. “They are very cute and are born with a lot of wool and very big eyes.” Engels explains that alpaca mothers are okay with people visiting their babies and are quite used to visitors. “You can get very close to them during the experience,” she adds.

Visiting River Forelands

It starts with coffee or tea and then the chance to feed the breeding females and babies if they are there. That is followed by an introduction and a one-hour walk near the river in the forest. Visitors are matched with an alpaca that is used to the activity. “We have special alpacas for the walking experience,” she Engels. “There are other alpaca breeders who are doing these types of tourist activities, but there are not many that do both breeding and tourism,” says Engels.

Breeding alpacas

“We started with a breeding programme because we would like to improve the species in the Netherlands,” says Engels. This is a long-term commitment because alpacas’ pregnancy takes one year. Engels started her business 10 years ago with just two alpacas and now has approximately 40 in her herd. Because alpacas are social animals, she only sells a minimum of two alpacas per sale, also because the animals require a lot of space.

One of Engel’s customers is Amber Dekker who purchased three alpacas for pets. The idea to purchase them came about when she noticed that the fruit trees on her urban farming land created a lot of rubbish. At first, she thought about getting goats or horses but then decided against it as horses can destroy grass, and goats can destroy everything, including trees! “About three years ago, we went to an alpaca show and met Mayke with her alpaca,” says Dekker. During this show, her children also got to walk with one of the baby alpacas and that is when the love for the animal began. Dekker’s alpaca family are Bink (four years old), Tasman (three) and Kenyi (one). “They are very kind to one another,” she says, “and always playing with each other.”

On her farm, Dekker’s alpacas move between three grass areas, so they always have fresh food. Her neighbours also enjoy the animals, and some people can even pet them. “They are very independent however, and decide if someone can pet them or not,” says Dekker. “We never force them.” This was a lesson that she and her family learned first-hand. “In the beginning we tried to pet them, but then they would not approach us anymore. Now they approach us all the time.”

Although Dekker enjoys her alpacas, she warns that world-be buyers attracted by the cute looks should really invest in getting information before buying an alpaca because they are very shy animals. “They are not the pets everyone thinks they are,” says Dekker.

Did you know?

There are no wild alpacas. Every alpaca belongs to a farmer, who raises them so that their wool can be made into clothing. Alpacas are related to more than llamas – they belong to the Camelidae family, which also includes camels.

Look here for information about Pets in the Netherlands.

About the author

California-native Olivia van den Broek-Neri works as Project Coordinator Communications & Events at Holland Expat Centre South in Eindhoven and was previously an ACCESS volunteer.