A HERD of alpacas in Co Clare is proving to be as big a tourist attraction as local sights like the Cliffs of Moher.
Tour buses of US and European holidaymakers in the Burren region in Co Clare have been stopping off to take snaps of the animals, which are native to Peru but have been imported to the rugged limestone area.
An academic-turned-farmer, Damien Dyar now hopes to develop his 70-alpaca farm near Fanore to accommodate school trips visiting the Burren.
"The tour buses pull into the gate and the next thing is you see tourists coming out with their digital cameras," said Mr Dyar.
The trained psychologist now wants to help school children who want to learn about the distinctive alpaca animal in tandem with the Burren landscape.
"I have a little microcosm of the Burren here on the farm so there is a lot of education and learning there for schoolkids.
"The alpacas will be an added attraction because they're so unusual compared to the regular livestock you see in fields in Ireland."
Related to the camel, alpacas have long necks, large eyes and a haughty appearance.
The young, called cria, are just a few weeks old on Mr Dyar's farm.
One of Mr Dyar's male alpacas recently won the top prize in his category at the Co Galway Agricultural Show. The animals' natural habitat is on plains 5,000 metres above sea level on the shores of Lake Titicaca in Peru.
Mr Dyar lectured in behavioural sciences at the National Institute for Higher Education in Limerick in the 1970s before becoming an international management consultant. He later spent several months reclaiming his farm near Black Head on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.
- (PA)