The concept of crossbreeding Suri alpacas with Huacaya alpacas
has unfortunately continued to remain a controversy over the past
seven or eight years. As with any controversy, there are a variety
of different opinions held by different alpaca breeders. While some
Suri breeders are thoroughly disgusted with the concept and the
detrimental aspect of the future of the industry, others actually
continue to practice crossbreeding. There is yet another subset
of Huacaya breeders who are apathetic to the situation. It is becoming
obvious, however, that the failure to address a situation that can
become so deleterious to one aspect of the industry will ultimately
have a profound effect on the industry as a whole, despite one's
personal position in the industry.
Mahogany Prince Offspring
The ARI Midwinter National Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada held in
February of 2003 offered alpaca breeders the opportunity for exposure
to and participation in timely presentations regarding the Suri
Alpaca industry as a whole. We were provided with excellent presentations
which outlined in detail the very distinct differences in fiber
characteristics and head conformation between the two phenotypes
of Suri and Huacaya alpacas. My question to the panel of experts
at that meeting was simple and I would certainly like to pose the
question to the entire membership as well: "Does anyone see
any reason whatsoever to intentionally and adversely increase the
variability and decrease the predictability in the North American
Suri alpaca industry by intentionally crossbreeding the Suri and
Huacaya phenotype?" Basically, why would we ever consider doing
this to ourselves? This resulted in a unanimous decision on the
part of the panel of experts and of the membership against the crossbreeding
of Suris to Huacayas.
Let us now review some of the concepts involved and the historical
perspectives. First I would like to state that my degree in Zoology,
and my doctorates in both Medicine and Dentistry do not make me
an "expert" in alpaca breeding. I have developed some
general conclusions regarding this concept based upon my ten years
of experience and observations in this industry This article is
an expression of my ideas and opinions only, and should not be considered
an official doctrine. Further, these conclusions may not necessarily
be fact, as they are only my opinion and observations at this point
in time regarding our current understanding of the phenotypic expression
of alpaca genetics.
The development of the alpaca industry in North America has taken
tremendous strides in the past ten years since we at Park View Alpacas
purchased our first animals. It is now time to take a critical look
at the future of the North American alpaca industry. As a developing
industry we should take pride in our significant accomplishments,
yet at the same time realize that the direction and the success
of the future of our industry may inherently depend upon the breeding
decisions we make today.
It is extremely important to realize that we are not the
same industry as that of our South American or Australian colleagues.
I strongly believe that we need to look at our own industry and
set and accomplish goals that are specific to us, and not necessarily
follow the policies and practices of other countries. It is not
that I have any criticism of their goals and ideals, but we should
definitely design breeding programs that are specific to our own
unique business environment. If we raised alpacas in South America
we would undoubtedly have certain opinions. If we raised them in
Australia we would have others. However, w e are not breeding and
raising animals in South America, or Australia for that matter.
Rather, we are breeding animals that came from South America.
The long-term goal of the development of the Suri industry in
North American should be: Purification of the Breed.
If we realize and accept this as out goal, breeding decisions become
much more clear and focused, while breeding to the contrary to create
greater variability, less predictability, and less quality simply
makes no sense whatsoever.
Suri Genetics
A premise to the development of breeding decisions requires an
understanding of the genetics of the Suri phenotype. I will try
to keep this basic, realizing that most current and future alpaca
breeders may have limited education in genetics.
Several publications have apparently noted the relative dominance
of the Suri gene over the Huacaya gene. My personal observations
and conclusions were developed separately from these but I understand
it is similar with some modifications. The Suri-dominant theory
allows for animals which carry both the Suri and the Huacaya genes
to appear to be Suri alpacas, even though they carry the Huacaya
gene. However, the exact pattern and mechanism of Suri vs. Huacaya
inheritance is currently unknown. A genetic model based on simple
Mendelian inheritance, which I as well as others had previously
proposed and published, appears to be too simplistic. As Albert
Einstein once stated: "Keep it simple but don't try to make
it too simple." The genetic model previously proposed appears
to have done just that. A recent evaluation of the ARI data by the
Suri Network has resulted in a possible nullification or modification
of the previous simplistic hypothesis.
Data collected has revealed the occurrence of an occasional documented
Suri cria out of all DNA-proven Huacaya parents. Based on the accuracy
of this data, it is no longer possible to consider the Suri gene
as simply dominant over the Huacaya gene, or it would not have been
possible to create a Suri cria out of two Huacayas.
The study of documented pedigrees also reveals another fact that
opposes a simplistic genetic concept. Of all the documented "intentional
crossbreeding" of Suri and Huacaya parents in the current ARI
registry, the resultant offspring have exhibited only 38.6% Suri
phenotype. This is far less than we would expect from a simple Suri-dominant
inheritance pattern. I have personally spoken to Dr. Julio Sumar
about his ongoing research in Peru and he informs me they are obtaining
similar data. His recent lecture entitled "Suri-Huacaya Crossbreeding,
the Road to Catastrophe" emphasizes these findings. Interestingly,
although crossbreeding Suris and Huacayas can produce Suris, a proportionately
higher percentage of Huacayas have been produced by such breeding
practices. This serves to further promote the argument against intentional
crossbreeding to attempt to produce Suris, and only serves to reinforce
the concept of breeding "purely Suri."
I now realize that a model based on simple Suri genetic dominance
may be an over-simplification, as there may actually be multiple
genes for each genotype, and/or variable expressions of these genes
may result in intermediate phenotypes. I would like to emphasize,
however, that my observations over time continue to reveal that
the original basic genetic concept may indeed have some significant
merit in designing a breeding program which functions to produce
"pure Suris." Despite it's possible over-simplicity, it
continues to serve as a basic working hypothesis, and continues
to function well in the Suri aspect of the Park View herd.
Historical Perspectives
The first importation of Suri alpacas into the United States from
Bolivia in 1991 marked a milestone in the development of our alpaca
industry as a whole. These rare and strikingly beautiful animals
were finally available for breeding programs throughout the country.
Although they may not have been as initially well-received as the
cute teddy-bear-like Huacaya were, many breeders began to develop
a growing appreciation for their exquisite beauty, and began to
appreciate them for the living art-form that they really are.
Along with the availability of the Suris for breeding came the
opportunity to educate ourselves about the characteristics that
differentiate a suri from a huacaya. We soon learned to improve
the lock formation and luster of the animals, to buy and breed the
best females to the best males, and to continually strive to develop
a better generation of suri for the future of the North American
alpaca industry.
Other opportunities also arose: to crossbreed the Suris with the
Huacaya alpacas. The reasons for this were twofold: (1) to breed
color into the Suris and, (2) to add luster to the fiber characteristics
of the Huacaya.
1. Breeding color into Suris
The first two importation's of Suris into the United States consisted
predominantly of white animals. The few exceptions were very light
fawn. The Suri alpacas in South America, as well as many of the
Huacaya, were predominantly white, thus we also had white animals
through our importations. In an attempt to develop the full spectrum
of color into the Suri population, colored Huacaya females were
bred to white Suri males. Many of the offspring had Huacaya fiber
and many had Suri fiber, but all were carriers of the Huacaya gene.
In the breeding of the possibly rare homozygous (pure) Suri males
with Huacaya females, all may or may not have had Suri fiber but,
again, all were carriers of Huacaya genetics. The "Purification
of the Breed" concept, as described below, was actually being
taken in the opposite direction. Current ARI date actually demonstrates
a preponderance of Huacayas produced (38.6%) from the previously
registered Suri-Huacaya crosses.
I feel this was an honest attempt to improve on the North American
Suri population by providing them with color. At that particular
point in the development of our industry, it was something that
these breeders felt needed to be done.
Times and opportunities change, however, and subsequent importation's
of colored Suri alpacas from Peru, Bolivia and Chile negated the
need for breeding colored Huacaya females to white Suri males. We
must certainly realize, however, that the lineage of the imported
animals was unknown. That is, the imported males may very well have
been the product of the very crossbreeding that we are now criticizing
in this country, but we certainly needed, at that point in time,
to start somewhere. Through the process of selective breeding, we
now have up to six generations of colored Suris in North America.
These animals are domestic-born, documented colored Suris. Further,
we are producing them in the full spectrum of colors. In the interest
of "Purification of the Breed," we simply do not need
to attempt to develop colored Suris from Huacaya.
2. Breeding fiber quality into Huacaya
It is my understanding that the crossbreeding of Suri and Huacaya
alpacas has been performed with the intention of improving upon
the fiber quality of the Huacaya. The introduction of the superior
luster and hand of the Suri fiber into the Huacaya seemed like an
exciting concept. Other countries, such as Australia, have also
noted this, and it is my understanding that they have been utilizing
this concept to improve the luster of their Huacaya herds. Again,
however, times change, as do opportunities. With the arrival of
Peruvian and Bolivian imports, and with them their superior fiber
genetics, we now have tremendous density and fineness in our Huacayas
without the intentional introduction of Suri fiber genetics. Likewise
we have a vast array of colors from our Chilean imports. There still
remains a controversy as to the management of the heterozygous Suri
offspring produced by such crosses. Crossbreeding for this purpose
is hopefully obsolete in this country. Again, the North American
alpaca industry should be considered its own unique industry.
Now that we have reviewed some of the history of crossbreeding,
and why the reasons are no longer valid, let us now take a look
at some current concepts and where I personally feel the industry
should be headed.
Fiber Considerations
In the world alpaca fiber market, the relative value of fiber from
the Suri alpaca is greater than that of the Huacaya. The reason
for this discrepancy may be due to the relative rarity of the Suri
alpaca, or may be influenced by a trend toward more refined garments,
for which the Suri fiber with its higher luster and better hand
may be more applicable. This has led some breeders to consider the
crossbreeding of the Suri with the Huacaya for the purpose of increased
Suri fiber production. As the North American alpaca industry develops,
the struggling fiber industry will hopefully continue to develop
as it has in South America. This consideration may therefore develop
into one of more validity. A significant discrepancy exists in the
value of a Suri alpaca bred for quality, beauty, and documented
genetics, and one bred for fiber production only. One would certainly
expect to see a huge discrepancy in the price structure between
Suris bred "pure" and those "fiber animals"
produced by intentional crossbreeding.
Purification of the Breed
In taking the North American Suri industry to higher levels for
future generations, we need to establish our goals and then exercise
the discipline to work toward those goals. "Purification of
the breed" is the concept developed by Park View Alpacas that
hopefully most alpaca breeders in the United States adhere too.
This simply means breeding predominantly true-to-color and certainly
true-to-phenotype.
We, as an industry, are fortunate to now be in a position for this
concept to be exercised to the fullest. We now have an adequate
gene pool from which to draw, and no longer need to rely on undocumented
foundation stock to establish the ideal animals for which we are
all striving.
Our continued breeding of color-to-color and white-to-white will
eventually stabilize and refine our color genetics. Whereas we once
were trying to develop color in our Suri populations, we now have
it readily available. At Park View, we are producing six-generation
documented colored Suris. The consistent production of multi-generation
documented colored Suris on our ranch and many ranches around the
country is proof that this concept can indeed succeed.
I also feel this concept of "purification of the breed' will
definitely reduce the production of Huacaya offspring out of two
Suri parents. It certainly has done so on our ranch! Breeding purely
Suri, combined with the documentation and study of multiple generations
of production, has enabled us to produce a higher percentage of
Suri offspring from our Suri breeding programs. At Park View Alpacas,
we have not had a Huacaya born out of our Suri breeding stock for
many years, illustrating the success of this breeding concept.
Although it appears that we may never totally eliminate the occurrence
of the occasional Huacaya offspring out of Suri parents, the careful
selection and documentation in our breeding program will vastly
reduce it. I am convinced that we can produce a herd of pure Suri
alpacas in the full spectrum of colors. It only takes discipline
within our breeding programs, and time. Unfortunately, the crossbreeding
of Huacaya and Suri phenotypes takes the entire industry in the
opposite direction, by increasing the variability and decreasing
the predictability. Indeed, the only justification I can conclude
is the realization of short-term profits at the expense of the long-term
quality of our industry as a whole. Most of us would like to see
the North American alpaca industry continue to thrive and to improve
long into the future.
Taking Action
I strongly believe that the only values in a documented long-range
breeding program are the actions we take on the results generated
by that documentation. That is, there is no benefit if we cover-up
or ignore the results of our findings of the study of pedigrees.
Problems will occur. They are inevitable in any animal industry.
We all have a responsibility to ourselves and to the industry as
a whole to report and study the presence of any problems that do
arise, and to carefully examine and evaluate any trends that may
occur. Only then will we take the breeding of these wonderful and
beautiful animals to a higher level. Only then will we as an industry
develop, beyond a doubt, the best Suri alpacas in the world. We
are on our way. Let's all keep moving forward, together!
David R. TenHulzen, M.D., D.M.D.
Park View Alpacas
3001 SW Schaeffer Rd.
West Linn, Oregon 97068
Park View All American Alpacas
David, Nancy & Nick TenHulzen 3001 SW Schaeffer Road
West Linn, Oregon 97068
1-888-4-ALPACAS (888-425-7222)
Phone: 503-638-3692
Fax: 1-503-638-PACA (7222)
Email:
