ALPACA

Alpaca (Lama pacos); related to llamas closely enough that they can interbreed; but quite a bit smaller than a llama.
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They are related to camels and likely descended from them. The story I remember is that camels originated millennia ago in what is now Arizona, North America. Some populations moved south into South America and evolved into the wild vicuña and guanaco which are found there today...others migrated north into Asia and then Africa across the land bridge during the ice ages...and evolved into the Bactrian (Asian) and Dromedary (African) camelids.  They simultaneously disappeared from North America.
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Both alpacas and llamas are believed to have been domesticated from the wild vicuña and guanaco and likely would not exist as we know them without the interference of humans in cross-breeding them to get desired traits...such as increase in size to be used as pack animals.
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