With mops of shaggy hair flopping in front of bulging, alien-like eyes that stare with a mix of curiosity and cluelessness, the latest newcomers to the University of Massachusetts seem like they'd be more at home in the make believe world of Dr. Seuss.

But the herd of alpacas wooly, long-necked natives of South America with a barely 20-year history in the United States are an increasingly popular sight in Massachusetts and on farms across the country.

The problem is that not too many people know how to care for them when they get sick or injured, which is why the creatures have made their way to the UMass animal farm in Hadley.

Thanks to a $500,000 gift from a Vermont family that breeds alpacas, the university has launched what it calls a first-of-its kind undergraduate program devoted to the study of camelids animals such as alpacas, camels and llamas that are a bit like horses, something like sheep and a little like cats.