# 2 Questions about Alpacas **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 21, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461 "2015-01-21T05:46:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/1 "2015-01-21T05:46:20Z")
1. Do they chew their cud? B. Do they have cloven hoofs? ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/2 "2015-01-21T05:51:20Z")
From the wiki page on alpacas: “Alpacas are pseudoruminants and, like other camelids, have a three-chambered stomach; combined with chewing cud, this three-chambered system allows maximum extraction of nutrients from low-quality forages.” From the wiki page on camelids linked from the alpaca page: “They do not have hooves, rather they have two-toed feet with toenails and soft foot pads.” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/3 "2015-01-21T05:53:07Z")
1.- Yes, they’re ruminants. 2.- They’re artiodactyls. Whether that counts as “having hooves” or not apparently depends on language, in Spanish they’re considered as having a pair of hooves (not a hoof with a “slit”). It’s the same arrangement as for pigs. All camelids fall in both categories. You know, I’m reasonably sure we got “artiodactyl” sometime in my Bio Sciences classes, but I sure didn’t remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/4 "2015-01-21T05:55:04Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > From the wiki page on camelids linked from the alpaca page: “They do not have hooves, rather they have two-toed feet with toenails and soft foot pads.” Rats! :mad: Thanks anyway, **Pasta**. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/5 "2015-01-21T06:01:35Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Rats! :mad: Did you have a potion you wanted to cook up, but alpaca blood isn’t going to work because of their foot type? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/6 "2015-01-21T06:03:26Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > Did you have a potion you wanted to cook up, but alpaca blood isn’t going to work because of their foot type? I’m going to guess that he’s a Jew in South America, who wants to try out a local dish. ---
**Author:** ![Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/7 "2015-01-21T06:07:09Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I’m going to guess that he’s a Jew in South America, who wants to try out a local dish. Ah, of course. I’m not too quick on the draw with my kashrut. ETA: …which is to say, I was wholly ignorant of the fact that the restriction on pork was actually a more general prohibition defined in this way. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/8 "2015-01-21T09:14:12Z")
Well, someone over on FB posted a photo of 3 very young alpaca with a caption saying the internet was getting overloaded with kittens, so here are some alpacas. And frankly, they look so cute you could just eat them up. So… I was just wondering if they were kosher. It turns out that a quick and dirty method to tell if a land animal is kosher is to look for horns. If it’s kosher, it has 2 horns coming out of it’s head. Besides the cud and the cloven hoof part, that is. Rhinos don’t count, their horns come out of their face, not their head. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/9 "2015-01-21T09:21:39Z")
> [@Pasta](#): > > ETA: …which is to say, I was wholly ignorant of the fact that the restriction on pork was actually a more general prohibition defined in this way. I don’t think it’s that pork is more repellent than anything else on the land animal forbidden list as much as it’s the most popular critter on the tref list that is commonly eaten. On the other hand, it’s forbidden to touch pig skin, so that might be moreso than other tref animals. I mean, we can still ride horses and pet dogs and cats, we just can’t eat them. You know, this admonition against touching pig skin could explain why you see so few Jewish quarterbacks, centers, running backs, or receivers in the NCAA or pros. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/10 "2015-01-21T11:12:19Z")
At leas you didn’t pose the question on a Friday night. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/11 "2015-01-21T11:32:04Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > the internet was getting overloaded with kittens, so here are some alpacas. > **And they look so cute…** Hey… Don’t we have a rule on this site about alpaca pics? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/12 "2015-01-21T22:13:10Z")
Ok now I have to ask, are rhinos kosher? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/13 "2015-01-21T22:42:36Z")
Maybe. They have hooves, but they’re three-toed. I think the “cloven hoof” prohibition is a reference to even-toed ungulates like pigs and camels (but I am not Jewish and certainly not an expert on Talmudic law, and maybe G\_d uses a different system of taxonomy.) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/14 "2015-01-22T00:53:21Z")
Rhinos are not kosher. They do not have cloven hooves, and they don’t chew their cud. The only mammals that are kosher are ruminant artiodactyls. This might include camelids, however the ancient Israelites weren’t scientific taxonomists, and declared that camels did not have cloven hooves. > **[Bible Gateway passage: Leviticus 11 - New International Version](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2011&version=NIV)** > > Clean and Unclean Food - The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. “‘There are some that... > [@Leviticus 11](#): > > The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. > > 4 “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 6 The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/15 "2015-01-22T01:17:46Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > This might include camelids, however the ancient Israelites weren’t scientific taxonomists, and declared that camels did not have cloven hooves. Obviously they didn’t take a close look at a camel’s toe. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/16 "2015-01-22T02:01:17Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Obviously they didn’t take a close look at a camel’s toe. Strangely enough, a Google image search on “camel toe” does not show a single photo of an actual camel’s toe.😃 [A camel’s foot is divided,](http://www.answering-christianity.com/quran/camel_hoof_6.jpg) but the hooves themselves don’t touch one another. In a [cloven hoof](http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images/cloven_hoof.jpg), the hoof itself appears to be split. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/17 "2015-01-22T02:12:51Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Well, someone over on FB posted a photo of 3 very young alpaca with a caption saying the internet was getting overloaded with kittens, so here are some alpacas. And frankly, they look so cute you could just eat them up. > > So… > > I was just wondering if they were kosher. It turns out that a quick and dirty method to tell if a land animal is kosher is to look for horns. If it’s kosher, it has 2 horns coming out of it’s head. Besides the cud and the cloven hoof part, that is. Rhinos don’t count, their horns come out of their face, not their head. Rhinos don’t have horns at all, it either a [bad hair life, or a horrible manicure](http://www.livescience.com/27439-rhinos.html) > [@](#): > > Rhino horns are made of keratin, which is also the key component of human hair and fingernails. (BTW, this was intended as a joke. There are other components to the Rhino protuberance that aren’t found in human hair or nails.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2015, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2-questions-about-alpacas/710461/18 "2015-01-22T07:12:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Strangely enough, a Google image search on “camel toe” does not show a single photo of an actual camel’s toe.😃 But are they good to eat? Are they kosher?