You probably know that Llamas are basically a camel without a hump. But did you know that Llamas are actually a purely domestic species?
Apparently the native people of Chile and Peru not only domesticated Llamas four to five thousand years ago, they also began selectively breeding them at about the same time. With our human need to “improve” everything, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to learn this.
Today, Llamas are still important as pack animals and wool producers worldwide.
As pack animals they have few rivals! With their leather-padded feet, they don’t tear up turf or loose soil, and they are extremely agile and sure-footed. Although they can’t carry a heavy load like a horse or donkey, they can travel farther on less water and less feed than either.
If you’re into hiking, a couple of Llamas can make a back-country expedition a lot more enjoyable! They’ll carry food and water enough for you and themselves, and a lot more besides. They’ll browse a little, but generally don’t even leave a trail, so the “leave no trace” thing is very do-able with a Llama or two.
Your Llama will need to be sheared every spring, so you’ll want to either learn how or hire someone. Their wool is very fine and dense, and can command a respectable price at any spinner/knitter event.
They generally eat hay, as you’d suspect, and they are easy to clean up after for the simple reason that they choose a potty spot and stick with it! It’s SO much easier to shovel up Llama ‘beans’ because of this habit – they’re always in a pile in the same place. You don’t have to walk all over their corral looking for piles and that’s a time-saver!
One thing to remember is that while your Llama will probably get used to your own dog, they’re quite intolerant of wandering canines. Llamas make great herd guardians for sheep and cattle because they’ll actually attack a coyote or a strange dog. And while they may look comical, they’re pretty scary when they’re in protection mode. They can easily break an arm or leg, and if you’re on the ground, you’ll get stomped pretty badly!
If you do get a llama, it’s better to get two! They’re very social animals. If you can’t get two llady llamas, you can generally keep two neutered males together. Llamas don’t really fight each other, they just don’t care much for strange canines. If you think about it, that’s pretty understandable, since coyotes are their primary predator in the wild.
If you like to hike a LOT, and you have the room, get a couple of Llamas to take on your next vacation! They’re interesting, intelligent companions, and will carry a couple hundred more pounds of gear than you can carry by yourself without complaining.
And don’t worry about overloading your Llamas. If you put more weight on them than they can carry comfortably, they’ll just sit down till you fix it!
If you’d like to learn more about these interesting and versatile animals, I invite you to purchase “My Llama Journal” on Amazon here : https://amzn.to/2VrHdia and enjoy finding out more facts and trivia while practicing gratitude and mindfulness.
As always, feel free to drop me an email at FlamingPurpleJellyfish@gmail.com with questions, comments or criticisms!