A camel without a hump
Llamas belong to the camel family, and came from wild guanacos tamed thousands of years ago.
The Andes
Llama
Lama glama
A long-necked, woolly relative of the camel, with upright ears. It comes in white, brown, black and patches.
- Size
- About 1.8m to the top of the head
- Look for it
- All year round
- Where
- The high Andes, where it is kept by people
Strides after you, ears up. Move your pointer and see.
When to look
Llama
Good to know
Six things about the llama
Yes, they spit
Llamas spit mostly at each other, to settle arguments about food and rank.
Pack animals
The Inca had no wheels or horses. Llamas carried everything along their mountain roads.
They hum
Llamas hum to each other, in different tones for different moods.
Guard llamas
Farmers use llamas to guard sheep: they chase off foxes and dogs.
Soft feet
Padded feet grip rock and do far less damage to mountain paths than hooves.
The real thing
Photos of the llama
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
How to spot one
Llamas are everywhere in the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia, often wearing coloured ear tassels. Plenty of British farms keep them too.
How to help
Llamas are farm animals, and doing fine. Their wild cousin the vicuna was nearly lost, and was saved by letting villages earn money from its wool.
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