THE ALPACA ATTRACTION LOCAL BREEDER KEEPS 25 OF THE WOOLLY CAMEL COUSINS.

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

SAND CANYON - Halle has long, silky, caramel-colored hair and wide dark eyes, but when pestered she won't hesitate to fire a green spitball in your direction.

She's one of about 25 alpacas - South American members of the camel family - living on a four-acre plot in Sand Canyon, where breeder Sonia Marygold earns as much as $25,000 a head selling the exotic pets.

``You can't believe the interest there is - I've been spending all afternoon responding to e-mails about them,'' Marygold said Friday, as she took the day off work as a nurse in East Los Angeles in expectation of an alpaca birth in her front yard.

Marygold and her family are among thousands of alpaca breeders throughout the nation who sell the animals as pets or for their fine fiber. Marygold's interest was sparked after reading about the animals in an airline magazine.

``We literally fell in love with them. We bought two for $50,000,'' she said.

From Pennsylvania to Sand Canyon, breeders express the same type of enthusiasm for the odd low-maintenance creatures that eat hay, enjoy socializing and spit when they're upset. In recent years, alpacas have sold for as much as $325,000, but Marygold sells hers for $15,000 to $25,000.

Alpacas - ``a cherished treasure of the ancient Incan civilization'' - started to be imported into the United States in 1984, according to the Official Website of the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association. They are common in Peru, Bolivia and other regions of South America, where they are raised for their fiber and meat.

The animals, which come in two distinct types - Huacaya and Suri - grow to be about 3 feet tall and weigh more than 100 pounds. Although often mistaken for llamas, alpacas are about half the size and different in demeanor and pelt quality, according to Trish Skelton, who owns an alpaca farm called Snowbelt Alpacas in Edinboro, Penn.

``Alpacas and llamas, while they're both camelids, they didn't evolve from the same species,'' Skelton said. ``The llama is known for a surly disposition where the alpacas don't have that. They're a little more manageable and pleasant to be around.

``Llamas are wonderful guard animals, they just have different qualities.''

There are now an estimated 50,000 alpacas throughout the nation, but imports have been halted, thus pushing the price of females to astronomical levels, Skelton said. ``You certainly can't justify their price for what you're going to get for their fiber,'' Skelton said. ``They're a living collectible. A luxurious pet.''

For Marygold and her family, breeding alpacas has turned into a lucrative business as well as a fulfilling hobby, she said. Last year she sold eight of the animals and she expects to continue breeding until she can quit her job and work with alpacas full time.

``My husband says they're all for sale,'' Marygold said.

Among her favorites are Halle, Spitfire, Iceman, Tiny Bikini and Brittany, who is pregnant and ready to give birth. The gestation period for alpacas is about one month, and crias - baby alpacas - are born one at a time rather than in litters.

``There's some large ranches that just number their animals, but we give them names,'' Marygold said. ``What we see is an animal that is very endearing, friendly and cute.''

For more information on alpacas, visit www.alpacainfo.com, and to read about Marygold's alpacas, visit www.tanglewoodalpacas.com.

Nicholas Grudin, [phone]

nicholas.grudin(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Sonia Marygold strokes Halle, above, a silken-haired Suri alpaca. At top, a Suri alpaca is ready for its close-up.

(3 -- 4 -- color) At far left, alpaca breeder Marygold leads an alpaca out of a stable in Sand Canyon. At left, she displays a pair of socks made from alpaca fiber.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer