Snake River Llamas
LLAMA POWER
By Doyle Markham
Pictures at bottom of article
If you enjoy hunting and packing, llamas are for you!
The sun was bright, especially on the snow, and the temperature was hovering just above the 10 degree mark. The nylon gaiters over my leather boots weren't designed for wading 12 inches of water. However, they did the job as I quickly made my way across the 20 foot of openwater without getting water into by boots. Thankfully, I climbed up along a small tributary flowing into the water I had just crossed. Within a quarter of a mile, I spotted two deer moving among the aspen trees at the top of a sagebrush covered slope. Using a small draw, the only cover available, I quickly closed the distance to 300 yards, but the deer had disappeared into the tthicker trees. Disappointed I lay in the snow for a while. Then the little buck reappeared, reversing his direction nd awalking through the aspen. The .243 was rock steady across a protruding snow covered rock as I held the crosshair at the top of his shoulders. As the buck dropped, I gleefully thought about packing him out.
We had hiked about three miles in from a road north of Kemereer to set up our camp the previous day. The buck was another mile from camp, but I was looking forward to packing out the deer. My daughter, Tammy, had harvested a buck the previous evening. My wife, Cherrie, had helped her field dress the deer and propped it on a log to cool. Heck, I'd even pack that one at the same time which would add even more to our enjoyment.
No, thoughts like this don't make me crazy; for us, packing out game is the best part of a hunting trip! It wasn't always that way. But on this trip, we had brought four friends, llamas all, which had packed in all our tents, equipment and food for the four hunters in our group. These remarkable animals have added so much all-year pleasure to our lives, but they are particularly fun during the hunting season.
The packing of the deer would be even more fun this time because one of the llamas was inexperienced and had never packed any game. We had purchased this particular llama, Churchill, the previous summer as a three-year old who had only been caught once in his life. We had worked with him about five times teaching him to lead properly before putting the pack saddle on him. The second time we put the saddle and panniers on him, he was loaded for an overnight summer packing trip. Now, the second time in the field and only his fifth time to feel the saddle, and we expected him to carry a deer.
That afternoon, Cherrie and I walked Himalaya and Churchill across the creek over to where my deer was located. After loading the deer on Himalaya, we hiked with Himalaya and Churchill 30 minutes over to where Tammy's two-point buck was located. We tied the llamas to nearby trees while we peeled the frozen skin off of the deer. The llamas entertained themselves by watching a small bull moose as he walked through the opening in the trees. We cut the deer into two equal pieces, loaded each half in a game bag and dropped each into a pannier. Then the 120 pounds of deer and panniers were loaded on Churchill and the hide was rolled and tied on the top of the panniers. Although inexperienced and never having carried game, Churchill stood still and showed no reaction as we loaded the deer on him. The trip out was also uneventful.
We have packed other inexperienced llamas with deer, elk, moose, javelina and bear with similar results. To llamas, carrying out game is just another packing load, and after being a pack animal for 6,000 years in South America, they know their functions and responsibilities. I know that no matter what I put on a llama that has packed a couple of times, he'll carry it without complaint. None-the-less, every time I put a game animal on a first-time llama, I am thrilled by their "It's no big deal attitude."
Llamas are sure footed and can go just about anywhere a person can without using his hands. Several years ago my hunting buddy, Don Martin, and I packed out our first elk with llamas. We had scored on a couple of nice bulls in the Grays River area east of Alpine. We had shot the bulls not too far from our camp which was about four miles from the road. The snow had begun to melt and the trails were slick and muddy. In some of the steeper places, the horses had slid and gouged out the trail. We had slid down several times ourselves on the two trips to carry out our camp and elk with the three llamas. However, our three sure-footed companions didn't even slip although each was carrying 95 to 125 pounds.
Llamas have two soft pads on each foot which help them climb. Their tracks resemble over-sized elk tracks. However, I can usually see the foot prints of my wife easier than I can the llamas' prints when I follow her on a summer packing trip. This sure footedness and lack of environmental disturbance, is one of the reasons that the Forest Service and the Park Service use llamas to pack in fragile environments.
Llamas can carry a maximum of about 30% of their body weight. Most of our packing males weigh over 400 pounds. So we use two llamas for a big bull elk and three llamas to carry out a mature bull moose. One llama can carry out the largest deer if the deer is boned. For trips lasting several days, especially when its warm, when the llamas pack for a long time each day, we like to load them with 20 to 25% of their body weight. For example, on a trip into the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area in the Big Horn national Forest in north central Wyoming, we packed our llamas with about 85 pounds each and covered 25 miles in one weekend. They made the trip much easier than we did.
One of the reasons llamas are catching on in Wyoming and other Rocky Mountain states is that they are so easy to train. A couple of weeks after packing the deer for us, Churchill was asked to jump into the back of a 4-wheel drive truck equipped with a stock rack. Up to that time, Churchill had never been in the back of a pickup and had only been in the stock trailer a few times. Because of deep snow, we were unable to transport the llamas in the trailer to the general area where we had harvested a moose, nor could the truck be backed to a slope to make loading easier because of the snow. After watching the other llamas jump into the big 4-wheel drive, Churchill jumped into the truck on the first try without any hesitation or effort on my part.
Recently we taught, in less than an hour and a half, five baby llamas between five and six-months old to jump into the back of our trailer which is two foot off the ground. During the first three times each llama was loaded, we had to tug hard on the lead rope and lift on each youngster to get him or her into the trailer. On the fourth try, each llama was loaded by only pulling on the lead rope without any lifting. On the fifth try, each baby llama easily jumped into the trailer. Llama owners like to say that if you show a llama something three times that he will learn it. I believe it. After we finished our training session, we loaded a young female and tied her in the trailer in order to transport her for a health certificate examination. We left for a few minutes with the trailer door open. When we returned, one of the llamas we had just trained and released had jumped into the trailer. So the experience apparently wasn't very traumatic.
Llamas are intelligent. Not only do they learn quickly, but they retain what they have learned. My wife and I sacrificed our packing trips into the high country this previous summer so that we could construct fences and facilities on a small farm we purchased for our llamas. Therefore, we didn't get an opportunity to take any of our llamas packing. This fall when we started hunting in Wyoming, the llamas had not packed in a year. We packed seven llamas for an elk hunt. From their behavior on the trail, one would have thought they had been packed all summer and fall. Even a three-year old, Bandalero, who had a saddle and empty panniers on him once in 1987 and once in 1988, packed like a veteran.
Once llamas have been on the trail a few times, they gain confidence in you and will follow almost anywhere. Late one summer, we hiked into the Jebidiah Smith Wilderness Area adjacent to the west side of the Tetons. On the way out, we took a different route which took much longer to travel than the way into the area. We approached the camping area where we had left our truck at about midnight. There was no moon and it was so cloudy that visibility was very limited, and our flashlights had quit working about an hour before. I followed the noise from our dog's tags to negotiate the switch backs the last mile of the trail. Cherrie, my wife, had stayed on the trail by putting her hand on the rump of the llama I was leading. We were dead tired and did not want to wade the creek so we decided to cross an 18 inch wide walking bridge across the stream. Without even breaking stride, the llamas followed us across the tiny bridge. They will even follow you into a building and climb up and down stairs.
Another reason for llamas gaining in popularity is that they are the safest pack animal being used in the west. It is unusual for a llama to kick or bite. We routinely handle 60 llamas on our farm. I have never been bitten and have been tapped on the wrist twice while combing the back legs of a couple of young males. Also hunters and summer hikers are finding that llamas on the trail seldom spook at anything. Hides and antlers tied to the tops of panniers aren't a problem for llamas even when they drag the ground or rub on trees.
When we camp with llamas, we tie them with a 25 foot cord which allows them room to graze. After being tied a few times, it is rare for a llama to tangle his feet or legs in the cord. They continually watch for the cord and step over it. I know if they tangle their cord in bushes or on rocks, they will not panic. They will simply lie down and wait for us to come to their aid.
Another reason for sportsmen turning to llamas is their appeal to the entire family. The wool can be collected, spun and made into beautiful clothes. Women, in particular, fall instantly in love with llamas. We have had many outdoorsmen come to our farm who were considering purchasing a llama. Sometimes the spouse is reluctant to purchase a pack animal before coming to the farm. Invariably, the spouse falls in love with the llama, and often is the most enthusiastic about purchasing one or two of them before they leave the farm. Because of their gentle nature and easy trainability and temperament, they also have appeal to the family as 4-H projects. Parents don't have to be so concerned about their children getting hurt by a llama. Llamas look cuddly and their large eyes with their over-sized eyelashes can melt the strongest resistance.
This appeal at purchase time seems to last with the whole family. We have found that in many of the couples, one individual previously did not do any off road camping. But after purchasing llamas both now look forward to packing them into the wilderness and other roadless areas. This has been a particularly thrilling aspect of owning llamas for many couples. Cherrie and I never camped away from the road before we purchased llamas. Now we both are enthusiastic wilderness trekkers. In the summer time, Cherrie equips one of the llamas with two large ice chests. From these chests we enjoy such meals as filet minion, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, cold drinks and cherry cheese cake or a meal of shrimp cocktail, salmon steaks and asparagus spears. This isn't exactly roughing it.
Some families use gelding llamas for other purposes besides pets, packers and wool producers as they have discovered their usefulness as guards for sheep flocks. Ranchers are purchasing llamas solely for the purpose of sheep protection. Llamas were probably developed by selective breeding of guanacos by man in South America about 6000 years ago. Dominant male guanacos commonly collect a harem of females and their offsprings and defended a territory on which they roam. Apparently this behavior has been inherited by the llama, and this may be the reason llamas make good sheep guards. The ranchers that I have talked to would not part with their llama guard.
There is little annual health or maintenance work with llamas. Each of the two pads on each foot have toenails which need to be trimmed each spring because they usually do not wear them down in the winter. This task is easily accomplished with a small hoof trimmer or nippers, shrub shears or sharp scissors. We give ours injections each spring of tetanus and seven-way and worm them each fall. They can either be wormed with injectable ivermectin or a paste. All of these tasks can be performed by the novice after watching a vet or someone else do the tasks a time or two. Other than these few maintenance chores, llamas require little or no medical attention. Llamas require little care outside of feeding. In fact, the females are so considerate that they always have their babies during the day. This is an adaptation for survival in South America because where llamas are found in South America, the nights are damp and cool while the days are warm.
Another reason for their appeal is that adult llamas can be hauled in almost any type of vehicle with the exception of a sedan. I've seen a number of llamas hauled in vans and minivans. We provide a stud service and a customer from Montana brings adult females to Idaho Falls in the back of his new minivan. A van will easily haul two adult llamas. Two also can be hauled in a mini pickup, and three large adults can be carried in the back of a full-sized pickup. For short hauls, four can be carried in a full-sized pickup. However, llamas like to lay down when they travel so room needs to be provided for them to lie down on long trips. Their lying down improves the handling of the vehicle as it lowers the center of gravity.
Llama are versatile riders. They can be taught to lie down and ride in a boat or canoe. They can even learn to ride in the back of a single engine airplane. Two of our llamas have flown into a wilderness area in Idaho in the back of a four passenger single engine plane.
Llamas are also economical to own. A bale of hay will feed an adult llama for seven to ten days. Before we purchased our farm, we had rented a pasture from a farmer who indicated that eight cows would eat all the grass in the pasture. We put 25 of our females and babies in the pasture and the grass eventually seeded because the llamas couldn't eat it fast enough. A friend of mine kept records on the cost of feeding his three llamas and discovered that it was cheaper to feed the llamas than it was to feed his dog.
Almost any type of fence will keep a llama home and happy. However, it should be pointed out that llamas do not adjust well to a solitary existence. A three-sided shelter is all that we use to provide protection against the wind even in our Idaho Falls environment where temperatures to 25 below in January are not uncommon. The llamas just put on more luxurious wool.
Llamas are not expensive especially when their useful life is considered. We know a lady who put a llama into her commercial pack string when he was 15-years old and packed with him until he was 27. An average beginning price for male llamas is about $800 to $1300.
Llamas spit don't they? This question is one of the least understood buy yet most asked question about llamas. Yes, llamas can spit. However, it is extremely rare for a llama to intentionally spit on people unless they have been mistreated or continually teased as are some llamas in zoos. Llamas usually reserve the spitting treatment for each other. Llamas are really pacifists and spitting is preferred to actual combat. The few times that we have been spit on, we were unintentional hit by being down wind from females squabbling over the best place at the feeders when the first hay went into the feeder. When females are pregnant, they will spit at a stud to let him know that they are pregnant and to keep the stud away form them. We often use this trait to pregnancy test our females. When we bring a stud to a female and she spits at the male and tries to get away from him, we know she is pregnant. During the test, we sometimes get some of the spit on us. However, it dries quickly and then it is easily brushed off. I don't find it offensive. Llamas don't kick or bite me. If a horse, mule or donkey bites or kicks you, you won't simply wipe it off in a few minutes.
Llamas are curious. When we start a project on our farm, a group of llamas normally gather around to check out the activity. Similarly, when a new baby is born, all the llamas in the pasture gather around to inspect the new arrival. Llamas also seem to enjoy the back country trips as much as we do as they continually look around to see the sights. Their intelligence, their no nonsense approach to packing and their gentle and interesting personalities all help add to the enjoyment of owning llamas. However, the best reason for owning llamas is that they add so much enjoyment to summer trips to igh Mountain lakes and to the fall hunting trips.
Two llamas can carry this elk out to the truck.
Click on picture for hunting photo gallery.