Elderwood’s Prince of Thieves — the smiling alpaca who found a following far beyond Elderwood Farms.
Born at Elderwood Farms in Millington, Tennessee, Prince quickly became memorable for something that had nothing to do with the show ring: that face. His almost permanent little smile made him a favorite on our social media and eventually caught the attention of people well beyond our farm.
Prince’s photo was selected for use in Mazuri marketing and social media, where his unmistakable smiling face was shared with a much larger animal-loving audience. His image has also appeared across alpaca-related social media, pages, and profiles over the years.
His smile even traveled internationally.
In 2017, a New Zealand artist discovered Prince through our social media and contacted Elderwood Farms asking permission to use his photograph as inspiration for her artwork. Prince was subsequently hand-drawn and became part of her animal artwork and greeting card collection — giving our Tennessee-born alpaca a little reach all the way to New Zealand.
But before he was a model, an artist’s muse, or Elderwood’s “famous smiling alpaca,” Prince was one of ours.
Prince was bred and born at Elderwood Farms, a son of our foundation female Clio The Muse and our grey herdsire Aladdin. With Aussie Rockford in Clio’s pedigree, we knew the genetics for grey were there, and the pairing produced the nearly spotless light silver grey male we had hoped for.
Prince has since been sold and no longer resides at Elderwood Farms, but his story remains an important part of ours. His photos continue to surface years later — a reminder of one little alpaca, one unforgettable smile, and just how far an animal born at Elderwood can travel without ever leaving a photograph.
Some alpacas collect ribbons. Prince collected fans.