Pack of alpacas go on the lam, rounded up by the long arm of the law

A pack of alpacas were on the lam in Santa Barbara — but found their way back to their owner with the help of the California Highway Patrol and Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

The fluffy llama lookalikes were taking a Sunday stroll around Hope Ranch in Santa Barbara when a CHP officer and an employee from Animal Services caught up with them, according to a Facebook post from the CHP’s Santa Barbara office.

The CHP went to the area after receiving a call about alpacas wandering around the area, according to the post.

Alpacas are pack animals, so all the team needed to do was catch one and the others would follow, the CHP said.

The team put a rope around one of the alpacas and, sure enough, the other two came along, the CHP said. The alpacas were then reunited with their owner.

“No alpacas were hurt and everyone was happy,” the CHP said.

The alpacas aren’t the only animals to recently go for an illicit stroll on the Central Coast.

In March, a loose dog running on Highway 101 caused a traffic jam in San Luis Obispo.

This story was originally published April 8, 2019 at 9:40 AM.