ODESSA, Fla. — Alpacas. Freshly shaved, they look like baby giraffes, act like elusive cats, and like their llama cousins, are related to camels.

Why the animal talk?

Because today’s episode of Florida on a Tankful takes us the to Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch in Odessa, Florida.

What You Need To Know

  • Golden Spirit Alpaca Ranch tours in Odessa — today's Florida on a Tankful

  • It's open weekends, some weekdays

  • Alpacas are smaller, softer fluffy versions of llamas, and perhaps a bit more polite

  • Sorry llamas. I said what I said (signed, Virginia Johnson) 

It’s where Brenda Crum is opening up a shelter and inviting her alpacas to come eat.

“Good morning boys! Who wants to go to a new pasture?” she calls out as the alpacas trot past her.

Raised for their soft alpaca hair, the South American camel cousins are cute, but don’t go thinking you are going in for a cuddle.

“Much like cats,” Crum explained, “they have a very elusive nature. They’re gonna do things on their terms, not your terms.”

That’s why Crum does the tours: to demystify these animals for those unfamiliar.

“They don’t understand all the uniqueness about them until they get to experience being with him and learning about their behaviors and seeing those in action,” said Crumb.

And she also gets to show off her natural and renewable resources in her gift shop, with rugs made from the ranch alpacas. Alpacas have neutral colors, and artists can dye the lighter shades.

Crum carries all manner of clothing- the baby socks are so stinking cute they could be a Christmas tree ornament.

And back out in the pasture, freshly cut alpacas look like a mix of baby donkey/lamb giraffes. A tuft of fluffy hair, sometimes curly, crown the alpacas’ heads.

You can watch them roll themselves neck first in the sandy pasture ground like a dog.

And If you stand still with a handful of feed, hand out flat, they will eventually approach, sniff and eat.

They are a herd animal and shy of strangers.

But it’s that close up interaction that Crum hopes will bring humans closer to understanding these animals in our world.

“To see that cute factor is nice,” said Crum, “But to really understand their behaviors and their general nature helps me feel like they’re gonna be a safer animal.”