Almost five thousand years ago, the Inca Indians of Peru tamed a strong and hardy animal - a llama. It resembled a camel in some ways, and the Incas, who did not know the wheel, needed a pack animal to transport goods through the Andes mountain trails. For this, only male animals were used; females were necessary for the production of offspring.
Lama belongs to the family of camelids, the cloven-hoofed detachment, the corpus callosum. We will tell you about these interesting animals, about the features of their behavior, distribution. You will find out why the llama does not live in the savannah. This is a well-studied animal, which today plays an important role in human life.
Where does the llama live?
Llamas are found over a vast area along the Andes. Small herds are found in Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Chile. The birthplace of these animals is Altiplano - a place in the south-east of Peru, as well as the west of Bolivia in the high Andes.
Llamas are animals that live on low plateaus that cover bushes, stunted trees and grasses. They live quite comfortably in the Altiplano region, in moderate climatic conditions, and these animals avoid southern dry and desert areas. The lama does not live in the savannah. These areas do not provide them with sufficient feed.
Lama: description
Like other representatives of the camelidae family, the llama has a long neck and limbs, a rounded muzzle, on which protruding lower incisors and a forked upper lip are clearly visible. Unlike the camels, the inhabitants of Asia, llamas do not have humps.
The height at the withers of an adult animal is about one hundred and thirty centimeters, the weight of an adult male reaches one hundred and fifty kilograms.
Limbs
Despite the fact that animals belong to artiodactyls, their limbs have a special structure. The soles of bifurcated hooves are covered with callosity pads that move in different directions. Thanks to them, the animal feels very confident on the hillsides where the llama lives. On the feet, the toes of the lamas can move independently. This feature helps animals to climb mountains with great speed.
Wool
The coat is long and shaggy, varies in color from white to black: beige, brown, golden, gray shades. The fur can be plain or with spots of various colors. The white llama is extremely rare. The reddish-brown tint diluted with white and yellowish inclusions predominates.
Structural features
The blood of these animals contains a large number of red blood cells (red blood cells), and accordingly, the level of hemoglobin is increased. This ensures survival in high altitude mountain conditions, poor in oxygen, where the llama lives.
Like other members of the family, llamas have rather interesting teeth: in adult animals, the upper incisors are developed, and the lower incisors have a normal length. The stomach consists of three chambers; when chewing feed, chewing gum is formed.
Behavior
Llamas are social and pack animals that live in groups of up to twenty individuals. As a rule, they include six females and offspring of the current year. The herd is headed by a male who is quite aggressively defending the interests of his family. He can pounce on a competitor and try to knock him to the ground, wrapping his long neck around his opponent’s neck and biting his limbs.
The defeated male lays on the ground, thereby demonstrating his complete defeat. Like other members of the family, llamas make roaring, rather low sounds when predators appear, warning the rest of the family group about the danger. Animals skillfully defend themselves from enemies: they bite, kick and even spit on animals that pose a threat to them. In captivity, the behavior of llamas resembles the habits of their wild relatives: males protect the territory to the last, even if it is fenced by a high fence.
Lamas accept sheep into their group and protect them as if they were small llamas. Aggression and patronage in relation to other animals allow the use of llamas as watchmen for goats, horses and sheep.
Food
This very beautiful animal with soft hair and large eyes eats very little, for example, a horse eats almost eight times more feed. What does a llama eat? Vegetable food: undersized shrubs, lichens. They are happy to eat the evergreen parastephia, bakharis, plants related to cereals: a bonfire, a field mouse, a munroa.
Lama is extremely fond of carrots, cabbage leaves, broccoli, bread and peel of oranges. It is important that the food is juicy and fresh. This will allow the body of the animal to be saturated with minerals and trace elements that are necessary for the normal functioning of the body.
You should know that the diet largely depends on the gender and age of the llama. In addition, during pregnancy and feeding offspring, the female can change taste preferences.
Llamas live in a dry climate, and therefore get the bulk of moisture from food. They need two to three liters of water per day. Consumed hay and grass make up 1.8% of their body weight. Lamas kept at home are adapted to the food familiar to sheep and goats.
Breeding
Llamas are polygamous animals. The male collects 5-6 females in a certain area. He quite aggressively drives away other males from his harem, who accidentally went to the site where the llama lives. Young males who are driven out of the harem form new herds, collect their own harems, reaching maturity.
The mating season of lamas falls at the end of summer or the beginning of autumn. The female carries offspring for almost a year and gives birth to one cub each year. Within an hour, the newborn can follow the mother. It weighs about ten kilograms and within four months, while the female feeds it with milk, it quickly gains weight.
Most often, the female takes care of the offspring herself, providing her protection and proper care for the cub up to a year. The male only indirectly participates in “family life”: he protects the territory, provides food for the herd. Domesticated animals live on average up to fifteen years, but there are also “long-livers” who live to be twenty.
Value for man
Llama is a beast of burden, which is capable of carrying loads exceeding its own weight. These animals are indispensable in the mountains, where they are used for transportation, which greatly helps the locals. With heavy bales they travel tens of kilometers per day.
In addition to transporting goods, for people who contain llamas, this animal is valuable in many aspects: they are sheared and wool is used to make clothes. Coarse, thick and unusually warm llama wool is a very valuable material. Llamas are sheared every two years, receiving about three kilograms of wool from one animal. For the local population, felting wool products is a significant source of income.
On farms, llamas are used to protect herds of sheep from attack by predators. Several llamas are introduced into a herd of sheep or goats and the llamas guard them, preventing the attack of cougars and coyotes.
Llama meat (only males) is used as food: it is a dietary product. The most delicious is the meat of animals not older than one year - it is very tender and juicy.
