Island Alpaca welcomes its newest baby

0
Photo by Marie Clare Grove

Visitors to Island Alpaca in Oak Bluffs received an unexpected treat Sunday. The farm was open to the public at the same time that Twilight, the first cria, or alpaca baby, of 2013 arrived.

“Snowmass Nova’s Twilight gave birth to a very handsome brown boy with loads of curls, at 10:37 am, Sunday,” farm owner Barbara Ronchetti said in an email to The Times. “Early signs and stages of labor were noted by Island Alpaca assistant Ashleigh Plante of West Tisbury, who stayed with her throughout the whole 30 minutes until the birth.

“…He came into this world with one final push and he was a little slow to start, but within a short 20 minutes he was standing and nursing. A fast learner! Twilight was very patient with him as he got used to his long legs and searched hard for her milk. He has amazingly soft and dense fleece that has beautiful curls in it.”

The as yet unnamed baby weighed exactly 22 pounds. “Quite a hefty size as normally they are 13 to 18 pounds at birth on average, Ms. Ronchetti said.

Adam Zimmerman Diaz, 11, of Rochester won the farm’s birth guessing game contest with his entry of 7 am, June 23.

For more information, call 508-693-5554 or go to islandalpaca.com.