Llama

Llamas eat grass and other plants.

They chew their food, swallow it, then bring it back up to chew again. They do not need to drink very often.

Llamas are grazers. They eat grass and other plants and can live on many kinds of rough food, which is one reason they are such good working animals in the mountains.

Like cows, llamas chew cud: they bring swallowed food back up to chew it again. Their stomach has three parts instead of a cow's four. Llamas can go a long time without drinking, so they can travel far between water sources.

Llamas are grazers with a high tolerance for thirst and an ability to live on varied forage, traits that make them valuable transport animals in the Andes. They are often called pseudoruminants: they chew cud like ruminants, but their stomach has three chambers rather than the four of cattle, sheep and deer.

The dentition is distinctive: adult llamas keep only a single upper incisor on each side, and the lower incisors clip vegetation against a hardened dental pad. There is also a large gap (diastema) between the front and cheek teeth. These features are shared with other camelids and reflect a long history of grazing tough plants.

Llamas like to live in groups.

They make humming and other noises. If a llama is very upset, it might spit. Llamas can protect sheep from foxes and dogs.

Llamas are social animals that live in groups of up to about 20. A group usually has one male, about six females and their young. Llamas make many sounds, and they give a special alarm call when they see a predator.

Yes, llamas spit when they are annoyed. They are brave too: llamas will charge, kick and spit at predators. Because of this, many farmers keep a llama to guard their sheep, goats or alpacas. Some llamas even treat the sheep as part of their own family.

Llamas are gregarious, forming groups of up to about 20: roughly six breeding females and their young led by a male that defends his position by wrestling rivals, biting their legs and wrapping his neck around theirs until they submit. Young males driven from harems form bachelor groups. Llamas use shared dung latrines, possibly as territorial markers.

They are vocal, with low and yammering calls and distinct alarm calls in the presence of predators, and they confront threats by charging, kicking, biting and spitting. This protectiveness, extended to other animals in their group, is why llamas are commonly used to guard sheep, goats and alpacas. When overloaded or mistreated, a llama may lie down, spit, kick or refuse to move.

People in the Andes have kept llamas for a very long time.

Llamas carry bags on mountain paths. Their wool is made into warm clothes and rugs.

For thousands of years, people in the Andes have used llamas to carry goods along steep mountain paths. A llama can carry about 45 to 60 kilograms for up to 30 kilometers a day.

The Inca, who built a great empire in the Andes, raised llamas and alpacas for wool and meat. Today many Quechua-speaking families in the Andes still herd llamas and alpacas and weave beautiful cloth from their fiber.

Llamas have been Andean pack animals for millennia, carrying about 45 to 60 kilograms for up to 30 kilometers a day. They also provide meat, wool, hides, tallow for candles and dried dung for fuel, which is valuable above the tree line.

Inca society raised llamas and alpacas for wool and meat, and Britannica notes that their descendants, the Quechua-speaking peoples of the Andes, continue to herd llamas and alpacas and weave textiles. Llama fiber is spun alone or blended for knitwear and woven cloth, and locally for rugs, rope and fabric. Outside South America, llamas are kept on farms, often for fiber or as livestock guardians.

There are lots of llamas, because people take care of them.

Llamas have wild cousins called guanacos and vicuñas. People protect those wild cousins in the mountains.

Llamas are not endangered, because people raise and care for them. Like all farm animals, they need good food, shelter and kind handling, and a llama that is overloaded may simply lie down and refuse to move.

Their wild relatives need protecting in nature. Guanacos, the llama's wild ancestor, and vicuñas, the ancestor of the alpaca, still live in the wild in South America. Keeping their grasslands and mountain homes healthy protects the whole lamoid family.

As a domestic species, the llama is not assessed on the IUCN Red List. Its conservation story lies with its wild relatives: the guanaco, its ancestor, and the vicuña, ancestor of the alpaca.

As llama keeping has spread worldwide, so has attention to their welfare. Llamas are social and territorial animals that live in groups, and when overloaded or mistreated they may lie down, spit, kick or refuse to move. Good care means suitable loads, shelter and the company of other llamas.