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Knitting the Natural Way
The Animal Vocabulary
Although called an angora goat, the fiber which the animal produces is called mohair, sometimes referred to as the Diamond Fiber.
Cashmere derives its name from the region of Kashmir, India, where the cashmere-producing Pashmina goats are raised.
Alpacas are social animals, living in family groups composed of an alpha male, females and their young.
Bison are sometimes erroneously referred to as buffalo, though that name properly belongs to the African buffalo and water buffalo.
The guanaco, whose name is derived from the Quechua word huanaco, is one of the largest of wild South American mammals.
The term "camel" is derived from the Latin word camelus, the Greek kamelos and the Hebrew gamal.
The term cria, used to describe a baby llama is Spanish for baby. Llamas have been raised by Andean peoples since pre-historic times.
There are over 200 sheep breeds, deriving their names from a multitude of places, including Rambouillet, France, where King Louis XVI first raised Rambouillet Merinos.
In Inukitut, musk ox is called Oomingmak, which means 'the bearded one', referring to the large beards which hang down beneath their massive jaws.
Though the largest population of vicuñas live in Bolivia, the vicuña is the National Animal of Peru and diplayed on the Peruvian Coat of Arms.
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