It was well known in England in the 1600's that Francis Drake was a privateer, and a good one at that!
Being a thoughtful and generous person, he shared his bounty with the Queen who then rewarded him with his knighthood.
It came to be that Sir Francis received a Letter of Authorization from Her Grace, to stop any and all Spanish ships to relieve them of their gold...
Common practice was for such vessels to be boarded and the ships contents confiscated. The vessels were of course then set afire... Pillage then burn, don't you know.
On one such mission, Sir Francis happened upon a ship on its return to Spain from the New World. Amongst the bounty were what Sir Francis thought to be strange looking sheep. They were of such color that he was sure he would gain favor from Her Grace yet once again.
Upon closer examination Sir Francis discovered that these long neck-ed beasties were not sheep but were the now rare alpaca that the Spanish had all but annihilated from the Andes Mountains of Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
Upon returning to England Sir Francis made a gift of these delightful creatures to the Queen for her menagerie, once again gaining her favor.
The local townsfolk soon realized that the fleece from these wonderful creatures was finer, stronger and warmer than the wool of any sheep. They set to work making fine yarns, felts and garments of a quality that had never before been seen.
Children found the beasties were friendly. The alpacas were shy at first but once time passed became like pets and allowed the children to lead them around the grounds. The children were even able to dress the alpacas and parade them in costume!
As luck would have it, these graceful creatures were all male. It was not possible for them to become established as livestock in Olde England for many centuries.