Llama

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Camelidae

Genus: Lama

Species: Lama glama

Descendant: Guanaco (Lama guanicoe)

Named by: Carl Linnaeus

Year Published: 1758 (10th edition of Systema Naturae)

Size: 1.7–1.8 m tall at the head and 120–200 kg.

Activity: Diurnal 🌅 

Thermoregulate: Endotherm

Lifespan: 20+ years

Type(s): 

• Synapsids

  • Mammals (Lamoids)

Title(s): 

• Humpless Woolly Camel

Pantheon(s): 

• Terran/Gaian 🇺🇳

Time Period: Pleistocene-Holocene

Alignment: Docile

Threat Level: ★★

Diet: Omnivorous 🌿🥩

Element(s): Rock 🪨

Inflict(s): Mucus 💦

Weakness(es): Water 🌊, Rock 🪨, Metal 🔩, Time 🕛

Casualties: ???

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Domesticated (DO)

The word Llama is borrowed from Spanish: llama via Quechua: llama.

• Singular: llama

• Plural: llamas

The llama is a camelid, a group of camels from Asia and South America that originated in North America prior to their extinction. It can reach a height of 1.7 to 1.8 m (5 ft 7 in to 5 ft 11 in) at the top of the head and can weigh between 130 and 272 kg (287 and 600 lb). At maturity, males can weigh 94.74 kg, while females can weigh 102.27 kg. The llama has a curled tail, long legs with knee-length fur or wool, a larger barrel than the less short flank, is very wooly except for the feet, has oval-shaped ears, a short face with a less shortened snout, and conjoined hooves to prevent unbalanced.

Llamas are willing pack animals, but only to a point. An overloaded llama will simply refuse to move. These animals often lie down on the ground, and they may spit, hiss, or even kick at their owners until their burden is lessened. Llamas are pack animals and great packers that can trek on rugged and steep terrain because of their sure feet and ability to carry 25-30% of their body weight for 5-8 kilometers and are only ridden by children. Their two-toed foot, with its leathery bottom pad, provides them with exceptional stability. This, combined with their propensity to forage, gives the llama an environmental impact comparable to that of a large deer. Grease-free, lightweight llama hair is warm, luxurious, and very popular with spinners, knitters, weavers, and other craftspeople. Llamas 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 colors, ranging from white or grey to reddish-brown, brown, dark brown, and black.

Although they don't naturally seek water, llamas are capable of swimming. Because of their body structure and fiber, they float easily, yet they typically stay out of deep water unless absolutely necessary. Llamas use spitting as a form of communication and defense. Llamas seldom spit at people unless they are upset, harassed, or cornered; instead, they utilize it to assert dominance within the herd and to warn or reprimand other llamas. Llamas are intelligent and easily trained; they have a good memory and emotional awareness, and they can learn orders, obstacle courses, and halter walking.

Doctors and researchers have determined that llamas possess antibodies that are well-suited to treat certain diseases. Scientists have been studying the way llamas might contribute to the fight against coronaviruses, including MERS and SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19).

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Llamas are completely tamed; thus, it depends on humans. As herbivores, llamas mostly consume grasses, shrubs, and low-quality Andean flora. They have a three-compartment stomach, an efficient digestion system designed for nutrient-poor areas. They have an impact on the environment because they are efficient grazers that don't uproot vegetation and have soft, padded feet that lessen soil erosion. Aside from humans, pumas, jaguars, larger eagles and vultures, zorros, feral dogs, and caimans are the primary predators of llamas.

A baby llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco is called a "cria" (which means "baby" in Spanish). In order to defend themselves from the male llamas and possible predators, crias are usually born with all the females in the herd gathered together. Llamas give birth while standing. Birth often takes less than 30 minutes and is uneventful. The majority of births take place during the warmer daylight hours of 8 a.m. to noon. By lowering deaths from hypothermia on chilly Andean evenings, this could improve cria survival. The birthing patterns seen in the wild are thought to be continued by this pattern. Within the first hour following delivery, their crias are standing, walking, and trying to nurse.

Llamas were the only beasts of burden under the Inca Empire, and llama herding was a long-standing custom among many of the Inca-dominated peoples. Llama figures were frequently interred with the dead since the llama was symbolic to the Inca nobility. Llamas are still utilized as animals of burden and for the production of meat and fiber in South America. A multicolored llama was used to represent the Inca god Urcuchillay.

Reproduction

For a huge animal, llamas have a peculiar reproductive cycle. Induced ovulation occurs in female llamas. The female releases an egg during mating, which is frequently fertilized on the first try. There is no estrus (or "heat") in female llamas. Male and female llamas mature sexually at varying rates, just like humans. Males do not reach sexual maturity until approximately three years of age, whereas females reach puberty at roughly twelve months of age. Like big cats and dogs, llamas mate in a kush (laying down) position, which is uncommon for a huge animal. They mate for 20 to 45 minutes, which is also remarkable for a huge animal.

The gestation period of a llama is 11.5 months (350 days). Dams (female llamas) do not lick off their babies, as they have an attached tongue that does not reach outside of the mouth more than 13 millimetres (1⁄2 inch). Rather, they will nuzzle and hum to their newborns.

• Induced ovulators (female ovulates during mating).

• Gestation: ~11 months (350 days).

• Usually one baby (called a cria).

• Births usually occur during daylight for safety.

• Crias stand and walk within an hour.

Breeding methods

In harem mating, the male is left with females most of the year.

For field mating, a female is turned into a field with a male llama and left there for some time. This is the easiest method in terms of labor but the least useful in predicting a likely birth date. An ultrasound test can be performed, and together with the exposure dates, a better idea of when the cria is expected can be determined.

Hand mating is the most efficient method, but it requires the most work on the part of the human involved. A male and female llama are put into the same pen, and mating is monitored. They are then separated and re-mated every other day until one refuses the mating. Usually, one can get in two matings using this method, though some stud males routinely refuse to mate a female more than once. The separation presumably helps to keep the sperm count high for each mating and also helps to keep the condition of the female llama's reproductive tract more sound. If the mating is unsuccessful within two to three weeks, the female is mated again.

Llamas are technically livestock or wild animals, but because they're amiable, gregarious, quiet, and easy to teach, they're typically an excellent alternative for folks searching for a more exotic pet.

Using llamas as livestock guards in North America began in the early 1980s, and some sheep producers have used llamas successfully since then. Some would even use them to guard their smaller cousins, the alpaca. They are used most commonly in the western regions of the United States, where larger predators, such as coyotes and feral dogs, are prevalent. Typically, a single gelding (castrated male) is used.

Research suggests using multiple guard llamas is not as effective as one. Multiple males tend to bond with one another rather than with the livestock and may ignore the flock. A gelded male of two years of age bonds closely with its new charges and is instinctively very effective in preventing predation. Some llamas bond more quickly to sheep or goats if introduced just before lambing. Many sheep and goat producers indicate a special bond quickly develops between lambs and their guard llama, and the llama is particularly protective of the lambs.

Using llamas as guards has reduced the losses to predators for many producers. The value of the livestock saved each year exceeds a llama's purchase cost and annual maintenance. Although not every llama is suited to the job, most are a viable, nonlethal alternative for reducing predation, requiring no training and little care.

Threats

• Habitat loss.

  • Loss of traditional Andean herding practices.

  • Competition from imported sheep and alpaca products.

• Abuse or poor welfare in entertainment or tourism in some regions.

• Poor treatment can include:

  • Overloading

  • Inadequate water access

  • Improper saddles causing sores

  • Being forced to work in extreme heat

• Occasional neglect or poor breeding practices.

Conservation Status

• Llamas are fully domesticated and not endangered.

Conservation Efforts

• Habitat protection.

• Anti-poaching enforcement.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

Although they are native to the Andes Mountains of South America, specifically Peru and Bolivia, llamas are not found in the wild. Originating from wild guanacos (also called Lama guanicoe), they may be the earliest known domesticated mammal, domesticated between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago.

During The Recollections of Queen Arianna (TROQA) saga in the 2600s and 2700s, the "Sky People" or Terrans from Earth brought the llama to two exoplanets that resembled Earth: Reinachos from Cygnus and Berbania from Ursa Major. Despite the death of our planet, this species is recovering from endangerment or near extinction thanks to conservation initiatives. Human interactions for game hunting and rewilding produced this species, but they backfired because the camelid became an invasive species. In two exoplanets that resembled Earth, llamas lived in environments and climates similar to Earth's.

• Movement Pattern: Nomadic/Full Migrant

• Individual Type: Solo/Herd

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: ugh

• Locomotion: Terrestrial

• Habitat: Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests; Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Salt Flats; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Mushroom Forests; Mushroom Fields; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands; Badlands; Fallow Airbase; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Graveyard Vale; Basalt Delta.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Argentina; Bolivia; Ecuador; Chile; Peru

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; American Samoa; Andorra; Angola; Anguilla; Antarctica; Antigua and Barbuda; Aotearoa/New Zealand; Armenia; Aruba; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Åland Islands; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Benin; Bermuda; Bhutan; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Sint Eustatius, Saba, Bonaire); Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Bouvet Island; Brazil; Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland); British Indian Ocean Territory; Brunei; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Canada; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; China/PRC; Christmas Island; Cocos Islands; Colombia; Comoros; Republic of the Congo; The Democratic Republic of the Congo; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Curacao; Cyprus; Czechia; Côte d'Ivoire; Denmark; Disputed Territory; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Estonia; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Falkland Islands; Faroe Islands; Fiji; Finland; France; French Guiana; French Polynesia; French Southern Territories; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guam; Guatemala; Guernsey; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Heard Island and McDonald Islands; Holy See/Vatican City; Honduras; Hong Kong; Hungary; Iceland; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Ireland; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Japan/Nihon; Jersey; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kiribati; North Korea; South Korea; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Latvia; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macao; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Malta; Marshall Islands; Martinique; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mayotte; Mexico; Micronesia; Moldova; Monaco; Mongolia; Montenegro; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nauru; Nepal; Netherlands; New Caledonia; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Niue; Norfolk Island; North Macedonia; Northern Mariana Islands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Palestine; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Philippines; Pitcairn; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Qatar; Romania; Russia; Rwanda; Réunion Island; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin Island; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; San Marino; Sao Tome and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Sint Maarten (Dutch); Slovakia; Slovenia; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; South Sudan; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tokelau; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Turks and Caicos Islands; Tuvalu; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United States of America; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Wallis and Futuna; Western Sahara; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe.

• Berbania/Hirawhassa: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): UGH

• Reinachos/Ityosel: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): UGH

• Sawintir: 

  • Extant & Introduced (Resident): ugh

Camels can be ridden by placing a saddle on it. The saddle can be placed on the camel by holding it and then using it on the camel or by accessing its inventory. A camel's inventory can be accessed by riding it and opening the player's inventory or by sneaking and then pressing the "open inventory" button, just like a horse. Put the saddle on its back was always be domesticated, despite being as feral or wild animal.

Coming soon.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llama

• https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/llama#English

• https://www.britannica.com/animal/llama

• https://everydaypower.com/llama-quotes/

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/llama

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/llama-1

• https://breeds.okstate.edu/other-breeds-of-livestock/llamas.html

• https://denverzoo.org/animals/llama/

• https://minecraft.wiki/w/Llama

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Llama-1001617623