Alpacas compete in KC, including the social media famous Oliver: MOPACA
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Invitational Alpaca Show drew alpaca owners and fans from around the region to Kansas City this weekend.
Hundreds of alpacas competed for ribbons at Hale Arena inside the American Royal building. Judging is based on color, body composition and fleece quality.
9-month-old Oliver is a champion in lots of ways.
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Not only did he win a prestigious ribbon, but Oliver is also social media famous.
Oliver’s owner Kerri Harting has bonded with her alpaca and takes him everywhere, including down giant slides and through drive-thru restaurants and coffee shops in Wisconsin where they’re from.
“Oliver is a bottle baby,” Harting said. “Unfortunately he lost his mama at the time of birth. He and I have become very bonded. I think he thinks you’re his mama. He does think I’m his mama. He loves to give me kisses.”
The popular alpaca’s owner says you can tell an alpaca is happy when it hums. Harting says Oliver was humming the entire way down a slide because he loves the wind in his face.
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This may make some want an alpaca for a pet. But breeders say if you’re going to start an alpaca business, you need at least three alpacas to keep each other company because they’re very social animals. And you need at least an acre of land.
The competition is going on until 4 p.m. on Sunday inside West Bottom’s Hale Arena and is free of charge.
