When was the last time you got up-close-and-personal with an Alpaca? Probably never is a good guess for most. The plush, pastoral lawn adjacent the main dining room of the Coronado Cays Yacht Club proved the perfect grazing grounds for a pair of Huacaya Alpacas who recently made a guest appearance at a weekly meeting of Coronado Rotary. Named Fern and Woodrow, this loveable couple was rescued from an Alpaca farm owned by an elderly widow named Thelma some 400 miles north in Fresno, California. When Kimber Williams, Founder, CEO, and President of Robin’s Nest Rescue in Ramona learned of the fate of not only Fern and Woodrow, but also their 18 other elderly herd-mates, she jumped into action.
Last January, Williams and several of her staff at Robin’s Nest Rescue, made the multi-day roundtrip to Fresno to rescue this herd. “They were in great condition, in a great home, treated very well, and very well loved,” according to Williams. It’s not that their original owner didn’t want to keep them. Instead, upon losing her life partner she faced financial and legal hardships that forced her to sell her farm, putting the fate of these amazing animals at risk. “I couldn’t imagine what would happen to them,” Thelma tearfully explained. “But then Robin’s Nest stepped in. I can’t thank them enough.”
Williams and her Robin’s Nest Rescue comrades skillfully pulled off the rescue of all 20 Huacaya Alpacas, bringing them to Southern California where they were strategically placed in other, loving animal rescue sanctuaries, to live the remainder of their days in close fellowship with their kindred animal friends. Alpacas are herd animals, known to gather in large masses, but will retreat when feeling threatened. Alpacas innately create their own hierarchy of order, settling into relationships amongst themselves for long periods of time. So, to separate a herd of familial Alpacas is disconcerting to this breed, causing consternation to these well-meaning animals, indigenous to Andean highlands of Peru.
Although they are very individual in personality, Huacaya Alpacas are revered for their gentile, docile, and curious nature. With their slender bodies, long necks, smallish heads, and long pointed ears, Alpacas weigh between 110 and 190 pounds, standing proud at approximately three to four feet tall. More importantly, this breed of Alpacas is known for giving kisses, so scores of Coronado Rotarians were literally “kissed by the rose,” as iconic vocalist Seal would say, receiving Alpaca affection in doses as these quiet and humble animals grazed.
Founded in 2021, Robin’s Nest Rescue is home to a miscellaneous menagerie of loving animals whose fates would otherwise have been unfortunate. Their first furry-festooned animals, a trio of adorable chihuahuas named Lily, Alberto, & Julio (the Three Chimigos) arrived at this Rescue not long after Williams and her mother, Sue Williams purchased their five-acre parcel of property on the west end of Ramona. “The property was a bit of a diamond in the rough, but fit my vision almost perfectly,” explains Willaims. “The property was formerly a pig rescue and was already outfitted with animal pens and enclosures, which aligned well with my dream of starting a rescue ranch and resort.” Today, more than 20 animals thrive at this rescue ranch. In addition to Alpacas Fern and Woodrow, plus the Three Chimigos, their marvelous menagerie includes potbelly pigs, miniature horses, miniature donkeys, lambs, Australian cattle dogs, cats, and tortoises.
What’s more, Robin’s Nest Rescue provides private tours that include the opportunity to interact with and then feed the animals by special reservation. To learn more about this exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage with these charming creatures, visit their website at: robinsnestrescue.com/farm-tour. You can also call them at 619-459-1985 or email Williams at [email protected].
Rotary Club of Coronado meets weekly on Wednesdays for a luncheon program at either the Coronado Yacht Club or Coronado Cays Yacht Club. Each week brings another unique and interesting speaker, as well as updates as to what the club is doing. If you are interested in learning more about Coronado rotary, email [email protected].
