In the midst of well-populated Chesterfield suburbia, an outsider has taken up residence. He'll seduce you with his enchanting eyes and beguile you with his long, elegant neck, but be careful: he occasionally spits when he's nervous. He is an alpaca, and he is becoming increasingly common in the area.

Alpacas may seem an unlikely animal to be populating Chesterfield County, but they are making a definitive surge throughout the region and across the country. First introduced to the United States in 1984, the long-necked animals, which hail from the frigid mountains of South America, are valued for their incredibly thick, soft coats.

"The benefit to these animals' fleeces is that it's warmer than a sheep's wool, it's more comfortable, it's fire retardant and it comes in more than 20 colors," explained Wendy Hermes, owner of Hermes Alpacas on Bailey Bridge Road. "Plus, it's hypoallergenic."

Hermes started her herd in 2005 with five pregnant females, and now has 33 alpacas, which she calls her "gods" and "goddesses." Encouraged into the business by hefty federal tax credits, the former accountant has fallen in love with the animals.

"I've loved animals all my life, and they kind of take to me," she said. "I can go out there and say 'Come on, girls,' and they'll follow me. Being around animals, that's what I enjoy the most."

It can't hurt that they're relatively easy to care for. Alpacas, a decidedly low-maintenance breed, require minimal care for a livestock animal, making them extremely attractive to open-minded individuals seeking self-employment. In addition to daily feeding and watering, alpacas need monthly shots, occasional hoof and teeth care and shearing once a year.

"As far as their care, I spend maybe an hour to an hour and a half with them in the morning. I have girls who come here and spend an hour or so cleaning up, and then I'm done for the day," said Hermes. "The rest of the time is mine. I do accounting and marketing, call clients, all that kind of stuff, but it's nice to be able to get on my horse and go horseback riding. If you have hobbies, it makes time for them."

Jon Loftis, who recently bought a 10-acre farm in Chester with his wife, Sandra, is hoping to buy his first alpacas before the year is out.

"I was looking for a farm animal that isn't a full-time job," said Loftis, who grew up on a cattle farm in Alabama. "We started researching alpacas because they don't require a lot of land, and they're smaller, lower-maintenance animals than horses or cattle, which take a lot of acreage. I also wanted an animal that my wife would feel comfortable helping out with and caring for."

Alpacas are known to be gentle with humans, as well as gentle to the land, earning them the trendy trademark of being "environmentally friendly."

"A horse will actually pull the roots out of the grass; they'll eat it down, pull out the roots and then your pasture's shot," explained Hermes. "An alpaca only has bottom teeth like cattle, and they only trim it down; they don't pull the roots out. It preserves the land."

Clean-up duty is also better with alpacas, according to Leasha Donath, owner of Pinnacle Alpacas on Crumpland Road. "Ten alpacas eat and excrete the equivalent of one horse, and their droppings are great for gardening and fertilizing," said Donath, who shares care of the animals with her mother, husband and four-year-old daughter.

Of course, no serious entrepreneur is going to venture into livestock, no matter how easy or affable, without assurance of it being a good investment. The industry's countrywide growth indicates promise. The Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association saw its membership more than quadruple from 1996 to 2006.

"There's a fairly low failure rate compared to your normal brick-and-mortar business," said Donath. "It's not like you're going to invest $5 and then turn around and make $2 million the next year, but there's a fairly steady and lucrative return. There's pretty consistent growth in the industry."

Alpaca growers can see profits from a variety of avenues, including selling fleece, processing and selling products made from fleece, collecting stud fees and, most lucratively, breeding and selling the animals themselves. Alpacas boasting impressive bloodlines and high-quality fleece have sold recently for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Of course, for many alpaca owners - generally animal lovers by trait - selling members of their herd can be the hardest part.

"These animals are adorable so it's that sort of fall-in-love-at-first sight type of thing," said Donath. "You have to make sure you're a businessperson and not a collector because they're really hard to give up."