Camelid Country

The Llama
(Lama Glama)

If the beast is tired and urged to go on, he turns his head and dis-charges his saliva, which has an unpleasant odour, into the rider's face.'

Augustin de Zarate

Description

Llamas are the larger of the two domesticated South American camelids and one of the oldest domesticated animals in the world.

For over 4000 years, the llama has been bred as a beast of burden. The llama's sure-footedness and endurance make it almost the equal of the mule. They can carry as musch as 200 lbs. (91 kg) for an extended period of time.

While still used by the people of the Andes as pack animals, they are being largely replaced by motor vehicles.

Spitting is a habit of all camelids and is their way of saying 'Get Lost!' They rarely spit at people, but they do spit at each other, especially over food.

Natural Range

Map of South America - from Online Map Creation

Physical Facts¹

Life Span -

The llama lives for 15 to 25 years.

Height -

The llama stands 40-45 inches at the shoulder, 5'5"-6'at the head.

Weight -

The llama weighs between 280 and 450 lbs.

Gestation -

The gestation period for a female llama averages 350 days.

Birth -

A single baby 'Cria' is normally delivered without assistance from a standing mother during the daylight. Twins are rare.

It is not unknown for llamas to concieve triplets. "In the one documented case, the mother aborted two of the three crias at eight months." The third, a female, was delivered normally. (Fowler)

Babies -

Llamas at birth weight between 20 and 35 lbs.

Crias are normally up and nursing within 90 minutes. They are weaned at about six months.

Reproduction -

Female llamas are first bred at 18 to 24 months of age. Llamas do not have a heat cycle, but are induced ovulators, with ovulation occuring 24 to 36 hours after breeding. Thus they can be bred at any time during the year.

Colour -

Hair ranges from white to black, with shades of beige, brown, red and roan in between. It may be solid, spotted, or marked in a variety of patterns.

Health -

Because llamas and their ancestors are specially suited to the harsh environment of their Andean homeland, North American owners will find them hardy, healthy, easy to care for, and remarkably disease free.

Camelid Comparative Physical Facts

Taxonomy

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Artiodactyla

Sub-order

Tylopoda

Family

Camelidae

Genus

Lama

Species

Glama

Comparative Camelid Taxonomy (CSS Version - 60.8K)

Comparative Camelid Taxonomy (Text Version)

Links to Other Information

Care And Ownership

Uses

1. Much of the Physical Facts information is shamelessly filched (virtually word for word) from a brochure produced by the Parkland Llama & Alpaca Club of Central Alberta. At the time the brochure was produced, there were 26 member farms.

Camelid Country Home Page.

Page last updated May 16, 2000.

Page Maintained by John Fleming.

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