The
llama (羊駝) is a South American pack and meat animal by Andean cultures since pre-hispanic times.
Below are extracts from
Wikipedia about this kind of interesting animals:
The height of a full-grown, full-size llama is between 1.7 metres (5.5 ft) and 1.8 metres (6 ft) tall at the top of the head. They can weigh between approximately 130 kilograms (280 lb) and 200 kilograms (450 lb). Llamas are very
social animals and like to live with other llamas as a herd. Overall, the
fibre produced by a llama is very soft and is naturally lanolin free. Llamas are intelligent and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, llamas can carry about 25% to 30% of their body weight for several miles.
Llamas appear to have
originated from the central plains of
North America about 40 million years ago. They
migrated to South America about 3 million years ago. By the end of the last ice age (10,000–12,000 years ago) camelids were extinct in North America. As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 158,000 llamas and 100,000 alpacas in the US and Canada.
The ears are rather long and slightly curved inward, characteristically known as
"banana" shaped. There is
no dorsal hump. Feet are narrow, the
toes being
more separated than in the camels, each having a distinct plantar pad. The
tail is
short, and fibre is long, woolly and soft.
The four forms commonly distinguished by the inhabitants of South America are recognized as distinct species:
[1] the
llama, Lama glama (Linnaeus)
[2] the
alpaca, Vicugna pacos (Linnaeus)
[3] the
guanaco (from the Quechua "huanaco"), Lama guanicoe (Müller)
[4] the
vicuña, Vicugna vicugna (Molina).
The
llama and
alpaca are only known in the
domestic state, and are variable in size and of many colors, being often
white,
brown, or
piebald. Some are
grey or
black. The
guanaco and
vicuña are
wild, the former being endangered, and of a nearly uniform light-brown color, passing into white below. They certainly differ from each other, the
vicuña being smaller, more slender in its proportions, and having a shorter head than the
guanaco. The
vicuña lives in herds on the bleak and elevated parts of the mountain range bordering the region of perpetual snow, amidst rocks and precipices, occurring in various suitable localities throughout Peru, in the southern part of Ecuador, and as far south as the middle of Bolivia. Its manners very much resemble those of the chamois of the European Alps; it is as vigilant, wild, and timid. The fibre is extremely delicate and soft, and highly valued for the purposes of weaving, but the quantity which each animal produces is minimal. Alpaca are descended from a wild vicuna ancestor while the domesticated llama is descended from a wild guanaco ancestor, though at this point there has been a considerable amount of hybridization between the two species.
Differentiating characteristics between
llamas and
alpacas include the llama's larger size and longer head.
Alpaca fibre is generally more expensive but not always more valuable.
Alpacas tend to have a more consistent color throughout the body.
The most apparent visual difference between
llamas and
camels is that
camels have a
hump or humps and
llamas do
not.
Llamas which are
well-socialized and trained to halter and lead after weaning are very friendly and pleasant to be around. They are extremely
curious and most will approach people easily. However, llamas that are bottle-fed or over- socialized and over-handled as youngsters will become extremely difficult to handle when mature, when they will begin to treat humans as they treat each other, which is characterized by bouts of
spitting,
kicking and
neck wrestling. Anyone having to bottle-feed a cria should keep contact to a minimum and stop as soon as possible.
When correctly reared spitting at a human is a rare thing. Llamas are very social herd animals, however, and do sometimes
spit at each other as a way of disciplining lower-ranked llamas in the herd. A llama's social rank in a herd is never static. They can always move up or down in the social ladder by picking small fights. This is usually done between males to see who will become alpha. Their fights are visually dramatic with spitting, ramming each other with their chests, neck wrestling and kicking, mainly to knock the other off balance. The females are usually only seen spitting as a means of controlling other herd members.
While the social structure might always be changing, they live as a family and they do
take care of each other. If one notices a strange noise or feels threatened, a
warning bray is sent out and all others come to alert. They will often
hum to each other as a form of
communication.
The sound of the llama making groaning noises or going "
mwa" is often a sign of
fear or
anger. If a llama is
agitated, it will lay its
ears back. One may determine how agitated the llama is by the materials in the spit. The more irritated the llama is, the further back into each of the three stomach compartments it will try to draw materials from for its spit.
Today I have the honour to display two pieces of valuable writings from my dear students, Terry and Edward, who together travelled to this small town, Tofino, last summer (2009) on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Edward wrote:
