Fun Facts about LLAMAS

Chapter 5 Quick Facts about Llamas see Picture and Key

quick llama facts

QUICK facts about Llama’s

Names of llama body parts: 1 Ears – 2 Poll – 3 Withers – 4 Back – 5 Hip – 6 Croup – 7 Base of tail – 8 Tail – 9 Buttock – 10 Hock – 11 Metatarsal gland – 12 Heel – 13 Cannon bone – 14 Gaskin – 15 Stifle joint – 16 Flank – 17 Barrel – 18 Elbow – 19 Pastern – 20 Fetlcok – 21 Knee – 22 Chest – 23 Point of shoulder – 24 Shoulder – 25 Throat – 26 cheek or jowl – 27 Muzzle

Note: The term camel is also used more broadly to describe any of the six camel-like creatures in the family Camelidae: the two true camels, and the four South American camelids, the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicu

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The Science Connection

A Llama’s Body

Commonly unknown, llamas do not have eyelashes. However, their cousin the alpaca do.
The ears are rather long and slightly curved inward, characteristically known as “banana” shaped.
There is no (dorsal) back hump.
Feet are narrow, the toes being more separated than in the camels, each having a distinct plantar pad.
The tail is short
(Hair) Fiber is long, woolly and soft.
They have three stomach compartments, which means they eat a lot of food.
They graze on grass; eat Feed made up of protein, wheat, rye, corn. They love coastal hay, Alfalfa hay, and carrots. They also like horse treats.
Babies are known as Crias

A cria (pronounced Cree-ah) is the name for a baby llama
Crias are typically born with the whole herd gathering around in an attempt to protect against potential predators.
Most births take place between 8 a.m. and noon, during the relatively warmer daylight hours.
Crias are up and standing, walking and attempting to nurse within the first hour after birth.
Behavior
Llamas which are well-socialized and trained to halter and lead after weaning is very friendly and pleasant to be around.
They are extremely curious and most will approach people easily.
The manner in which treat each other is characterized by bouts of spitting, kicking and neck wrestling.
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 permanent. They can always move up or down in the social ladder by picking small fights.
This is usually done between males to see who becomes 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.
Guard Behavior

Using Llamas as livestock guards in North America began in the early 1980s and some sheep producers have used llamas successfully for that entire time.
The ideal guard animal should protect sheep against predators while requiring minimal training, care, and maintenance.
A variety of guard animals currently in use include dogs, donkeys, kangaroos, ostriches, and llamas.
Llama should remain in a small area until the sheep and llama seem well-adjusted and attached to each other. This encourages bonding between the sheep and llama.
Fiber
Llamas also have a fine undercoat which can be used for handicrafts and garments.
The coarser outer guard hair is used for rugs, wall-hangings and lead ropes.
The fiber comes in many different colors ranging from white, grey, reddish brown, brown, dark brown and black.
This article incorporates text from the article “Llama” in the Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain on Wikipedia.

We hope that you have enjoyed learning about Llamas. Please look for more antic’s in the Adventures of RJ the Llama and his animal family.