Alpaca Journal

I have tried to understand how a female begins with a fertilized egg and nurtures life to the point of birth. What is that spark that transfers the responsibility for being from the mother to her newborn? It is easy to understand the mechanics of reproduction and, finally, birth, but that magic moment of vigor and independence that begins with the first breath is still Mother Nature’s mystery. Nothing is more exciting.

This month features a series of photos I took on a recent visit to Peru. I captured a birth from start to finish. I added some text from my new book The Alpaca Shepherd which allows the viewer to watch the birth in the context of the three stages of labor.

View the Slideshow at Alpacas.com

I enjoy the opportunity to write about alpacas, the history of our industry and topics such as genetics and selection. I have recently completed my fourth book, Alpacas in the Americas, about the history of our industry. I make every attempt to thoroughly research the subjects that I write about and to be accurate. Some of what I write is opinion and some articles report on the science of alpaca breeding. I may make an occasional mistake or be of a different opinion than my readers but I intend to continue writing and publishing about the subjects that interest me.

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This is the political season. AOBA and ARI are in the process of conducting their annual elections. I am endorsing the two incumbents for the AOBA Board who are running for re-election: Amy McCroskie and Steve Hull. I believe the current AOBA Board led by Amy has done an outstanding job of leading our industry. We are experiencing record sales, unprecedented alpaca show participation and outstanding membership growth. I especially appreciate the efforts of Amy and Steve to implement a new code of ethics for alpaca judges and to upgrade the training of judges. Amy has worked long and hard to support the new rules against grooming and preparing alpacas for shows. Steve has been active in organizing educational events on subjects such as breed standards. He has also been very good about communicating within the membership. You can read each of their candidate statements by clicking on their names below.

The ARI candidates do not include an incumbent, but we have two fresh faces who, I believe, will be outstanding board members: Ken Madl and Dr. Wayne Jarvis. Ken has the computer skills that will be needed as the registry matures and streamlines its services. Wayne is an expert in animal breeding and genetics who will bring a strong scientific discipline to the board. Both are fiercely independent and will work hard on behalf of our membership. Again, view their candidate statements by clicking on their names below.

Dr. Wayne C. Jarvis - ARI BOD
Kenneth E. Madl - ARI BOD
Steve Hull - AOBA BOD
Amy Wood-McCroskie - AOBA BOD

Clicking on a name will open a PDF file in a new window.  Requires Adobe Reader.