Long-necked Llamas

WHAT DO LLAMAS USE THEIR NECKS FOR?

September 10, 2013

One distinguishing feature of the llama is
its long, woolly neck, which measures nearly the length of its back.
When standing erect, the llama’s neck and mane
make the animal look athletic and regal.

Dalai Llama

But when the neck is sheared,
the llama looks, well, rather amusing.
Under its gorgeous mane is a shockingly thin neck.

Dalai Llama's Long, Skinny Neck is Revealed!

Such long, skinny necks are very useful.
Llamas use it as a tool to steal leaves, to swing threateningly at predators,
to wrestle with other llamas, and to provide a counterbalance when rising
from a seated or lying position.
Even so, rising is an awkward movement for the llama. This animal experiences locked knees 

until it stretches out. Only then will the front knees bend so the animal can sit down.  

Llamas move into the seated position the way a camel does.

The llama's front legs bend at the knee, but the back legs bend at the hip.
So to rise from a seated position, llamas have to lean forward on their front legs
and push off on their back legs.
Try standing on all fours and rising with your back legs straight. It's not easy!

Can’t do it? Try swinging your neck to provide some momentum.
That works out beautifully for the llama.

The most remarkable fact about the llama’s neck is how enough blood can travel such a great distance from the heart all the way to the head. Llamas accomplish this with ease through specially designed elliptical (oval) blood cells. Most other mammals, including humans, have round blood cells, which are smaller than the llama's. Elliptical cells carry extra blood--and just the right amount to compensate for the length that blood must travel in the amazing llama. These oval shaped cells are also very stable.

In comparison, the world’s longest-necked animal—the giraffe—has a completely different system for blood circulation from its heart to its head. With a neck length of six feet, the giraffe is designed with an unusually large heart, weighing 25 pounds and measuring nearly two-feet long. This large heart generates almost double the blood pressure of a human heart at 150-beats per minute. Yet this animal does not experience backflow when it lowers its head, thanks to seven one-way valves in the jugular veins, along with blood vessels in the animal’s lower legs that maintain balanced blood pressure.

So giraffes and llamas both have long necks and compensating blood-pressure systems. But are they related? After all, they both chew their cud, and they are both classified in the Order Artiodactlya.

However, the llama’s taxonomy Family is called Camelidae—with the alpaca, guanaco, vicuna, and camel (a distant relative) in their Family. The giraffe’s Family is called Giraffidae, and its relatives are extinct, except for the okapi, which looks more like a zebra than a giraffe.

The okapi is the giraffe's only relative.

More importantly, the llama is fully domesticated,
while the giraffe is a wild animal. 

They are NOT relatives, but it is understandable that many people think they are.

On your next trip to a local zoo or animal adventure park, count how many long-necked animals there are. Then ask Google or the zookeepers how these animals can reach for the highest leaves on the trees or lower their necks to drink water yet still receive just the right amount of blood flow to their brains. You'll be surprised by the many ways this is accomplished in nature.  

Happy Trails from Mama Llama!

Pronking

WHAT DO LLAMAS DO ALL DAY?

September 9, 2013

Well, aside from eating and cat-napping, 

llamas play all sorts of games with their pack members. 

These games include:

 “Your Food is My Food” 

“Get Out of My Way”

“Can’t Touch Me!”

“I Can Spit Farther Than You Can” 

Essentially, llamas spend their day stealing food, pushing other llamas
away from “their” food, 

chasing and spitting at each other, plus wrestling and bucking
to assert their ranking in the pack.

Blessedly, a much more magical activity takes place on llama farms, 

usually on cool days and just before the sun goes down. 

That’s when these animals experience a surge of energy 

that must be spent before they stay fairly still from sundown to sunup. 

This particular activity is called pronking. 

Think of a rabbit or a deer hopping through a meadow:
all four feet leave the ground at once.

That’s what llamas actually do, and it’s an odd sight to behold. 

Even stoic, ultra-serious llamas will join an occasional pronking session. 

With every member of the pack hopping like bunnies for five to 10 minutes, 

pronking looks like an ancient, ritualistic dance.

But it’s just these quirky animals joining in some last-minute fun.

Because pronking happens at dusk, lighting is very poor for videotaping.

Mama Llama has tried unsuccessfully for more than a decade (!) 

to videotape her llamas pronking. They're sneaky about it!

Fortunately, www.youtube.com contains some videos
of joyful, pronking llamas. You won't believe your eyes!

Happy Trails from Mama Llama!

How Long Do Llamas Live?

HOW LONG DO LLAMAS LIVE?

September 8, 2013

MANY PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN

HOW LONG LLAMAS LIVE.

After all, they are large animals, 

weighing from 275 to 450 pounds when fully grown, 

and they often measure six-feet tall. 

But large animals can experience a long life.  

Take a look:

9 years

10 years

20 years

22 years

40 years

40 years

40 years

45 years

68 years

70 years

So how long do llamas live? Well, from the mid-1980s--when llamas first entered the U.S.--until about 2015, most llama breeders reported an age range of 15 to 18 years. Since then, age expectancy has increased in line with better nutrition and overall knowledge about the needs of llamas. Now it is not unusual for llamas to live to be 20 to 23 years old! That number truly is remarkable, because there is very little medicine specifically formulated for llamas. In fact, most of their medicine was developed for other livestock or equine. Fortunately, llamas are hardy animals that require little medical intervention. With good nutrition, low stress and a watchful eye against predators and plant poisonings, llamas can reach their full lifetime potential.

Recent grants at veterinary teaching hospitals have resulted in landmark studies about llamas and their camelid cousins. Quite notably, llama DNA has been completely mapped, revealing that these animals have 74 chromosomes. That’s comparable to a horse (64) and a cow (60), and this number well exceeds that of humans (46).

Great news! Llama DNA studies will also increase the human life span! Take a look at these recent discoveries:

2009 – Scientists have determined that certain antibodies in llama blood can be used to quickly and accurately detect biological weapons—such as cholera and smallpox—then quickly develop antibodies that bind to new threats as they are revealed. 

2010 - Therapies have been developed for both H.I.V and influenza using llama antibodies.

2011 – A practical treatment was developed for human botulism poisoning based on antibodies from llamas and their cousins, the alpaca and camel.

 2016 - Two potent llama, alpaca and camel antibodies were found to fight separately against MERS and SARS.

2019 - A rare blood-clotting disorder known as TTP can now be treated with FDA-approved medicine based on llama, alpaca and camel antibodies.

May 2020 – Scientists believe that the llama, alpaca and camel antibodies that can neutralize MERS and SARS are a likely defense against the Covid-19 virus. However, it would be costly and time-consuming to prove this true, as compared to other options. 

Still, research continues at a rapid pace toward treating human illnesses with antibodies from llamas and their cousins. Such research takes place at private zoos and teaching hospitals and will benefit llamas and alpacas, which have not been well-studied as compared to other domesticated animals. Surely every llama lover looks forward to the day that llamas live as long as a horse! 

Happy Trails from Mama Llama!

How to Greet a Llama

HOW TO GREET A LLAMA

September 6, 2013

IF YOU ENCOUNTER A FRIENDLY LLAMA, 

how would you say hello to him? 

If you wave your hand, he’s likely to think you have a treat. 

If there’s no treat, the llama will walk away. 

So how can you engage a llama and make friends with him? Breathe into his mouth!

How to greet a llama from The Llamas of ShangriLlama. 
Copyright ShangriLlama.com. All rights reserved.

That was not a misprint. The official llama greeting is mouth-blowing. Mama Llama is not suggesting that you pretend to blow out a candle in the direction of the llama. No, it’s more dramatic than that! Inhale, and then share your worst morning breath with the llama. That’s right: blow from the gut toward the llama’s mouth.

Guess what will happen? It won’t spit on you; no worries! A friendly llama that is interested in you will come right up to your mouth to smell your breath. That’s how he can learn more about you and remember who you are next time. Dogs share information with body smells, too. But they do so by sniffing the rear end of other animals. Isn’t it more polite to share scents from the mouth?

If you are brave enough to stand still while the llama is enjoying your morning breath, then you just might be brave enough for the second half of the llama greeting. To prepare for the exchange, you will see the llama’s nostrils flare. That’s because llamas breathe through their nose, rather than from their mouth. Following inhalation, the llama will blow air into your mouth! Admittedly, this experience with an animal is daunting the first time. But it makes for a memorable moment.

So go ahead: breathe into the mouth of the next friendly llama you meet. If that llama finds you intriguing, then he’ll reciprocate. And he'll remember who you are--forever!

Happy Trails from Mama Llama!

P.S. Mama Llama does not recommend you try this at a barnyard zoo or a petting zoo, unless the zoo keeper assures you that the llamas are socialized. Not every llama is friendly.

Banana Ears

BANANA EARS

September 5, 2013

HOW CAN YOU TELL THE DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN LLAMAS AND ALPACAS?

 That’s easy. Just look at their ears!

While alpacas have cat-like ears...

Alpaca ears

...llamas have curved ears.

Llama ears

Some say that llama ears remind them of Viking horns...

Viking (Nordic) horns

...while others liken llama ears to the Hawaiian "Mahalo" sign:

Mahalo!

But the easiest way to discern whether you’re looking at 

a llama or an alpaca

is to find the banana-shaped ears:

  

Llamas have "banana ears."

And those bananas are constantly in motion. That’s because llamas “talk” with their ears. Animal behaviorists have yet to crack the code on exactly what llamas are saying to each other at all times, but a few ear positions are translatable. For example, perfectly formed banana ears reveal that the llama is content. Ears pointed forward mean that the llama is listening to what’s in front of him. Likewise, ears turned backward (yes, they can do that) mean that the llama is listening to sounds behind him. If the sound is particularly engaging, all the llamas in a pack will stand still and point their ears in the same direction. Llamas can also use their ears like individual radars, turning one ear forward and the other backward. Plus, they can turn their ears sideways, which looks hilarious.

Llamas can move their ears in many directions.

There is one llama ear position that you should pay special attention to: 

FLAT BACK

Take note of a llama with ears in this position!

When a llama flattens his ears against his neck, he’s about to spit! Please don’t take this personally, because spitting is meant for the nearest llama, who is likely encroaching on the first llama’s personal space or is attempting to take a treat away. (Llamas don’t like to share.) "Spit happens" in a millisecond, and whatever bits of hay and saliva are in the llama’s mouth or throat is spewed forward like a shower. 

This llama from Canada is giving spitting lessons.

If you ever find yourself standing in front of a llama with
flat-back ears and head raised, 

your best defense to avoid the spit is to 

DUCK!

Llamas aren't the only spitters in their family. Their distant cousin, the camel, has developed a reputation for spitting at people, and so have alpacas. Llamas generally spit the least overall, and rarely at people--unless provoked or in an environment they don't feel safe, such as a wildlife attraction with many other animals nearby, or an interactive zoo (llamas don't like to be touched).

Even though “spitty ears” are daunting, it's fascinating to watch llamas move their ears. It looks like a dance, with the ears flexing like a ballerina stretching upward, forward, sideways and backward. Look at ShangriLlama's owners flexing their "banana ears" in their Llama Pajama costumes!

Mama & Papa Llama Wear Their Llama Pajamas

The next time you encounter a pack of llamas, watch their ears. What do you think they're saying? I hope it's a compliment about you!

Happy Trails from Mama Llama!

Llama Sunglasses

LLAMA SUNGLASSES

September 4, 2013

LLAMAS LOVE TO LIE IN THE SUN, yet they are highly sun-sensitive. So they wear sunglasses—but not Ray-Bans or Oakleys. Llama sunglasses are built into their eyes!

Bahama Llama and Pajama Llama Take a Sunbath

Technically, llama sunglasses are called iridic granules, or corpora nigra. These look like black bubbles at the intersection of the pupil (the black part of the eye) and the iris (the colored part of the eye). When llamas need their sunglasses, the bubbles above the pupil interlock (interdigitate) vertically with the bubbles below the pupil—much like vertical blinds on a window. Llamas can then focus and accept light through two openings on either end of their pupils, while the center of their pupils is completely shaded to cut out glare and bright light.

Here’s what llama sunglasses look like magnified. Some liken the shape to a skeleton key, while others say they look like the edges of "Ruffles with Ridges” potato chips.

Just in case you’re planning on staring into the eyes of the next llama you meet, please know that you can’t see iridic granules in dark-eyed llamas—and most llamas have dark eyes. Actually, llama eye colors range from black to brown to amber to orange to gray, and finally to blue. It is the blue-eyed llama that offers the best viewing of iridic granules. Gaze into the gorgeous blue eyes of ShangriLlama’s own Dalai Llama, below:

Dalai Llama Shows Off His Iridic Granules

Dalai Llama’s two blue eyes are quite rare, because blue eyes are considered a flaw in llama shows. Think of dog shows, cat shows and horse shows, which require specific characteristics to determine grand champions. In the llama world, blue eyes automatically disqualify llamas from the show ring. That’s because blue eyes with white coats are markers of the deaf gene. Have you ever heard of blue-eyed, white-coated cats? They’re often deaf. And so it is with llamas, which is the reason blue eyes are discouraged. Dalai Llama is not deaf, however, so he serves as our “demo llama.” He's very good- natured about our Llama Walk customers staring into his eyes to spy his iridic granules.

You may be wondering if llamas are the only ones in the animal kingdom with built-in sunglasses. Actually, they are not. Horses, cattle, sheep, goats and alpacas have these built-in sunglasses, too. But llamas and their cousin the alpaca have the darkest sunglasses, with six iridic granules above their iris and six below. Cattle, sheep and goats have fewer granules, while horses only have the granules above the pupil. This makes the gentle llama and his cousin the most sun-sensitive of the grazing animals. Maybe that’s why, when you look into a llama’s big eyes, you see a truly soft, friendly gaze! 

If your local zoo doesn't have a blue-eyed llama, then please consider visiting ShangriLlama to meet the Dalai Llama. You might not ever meet a more expressive llama. Truly, his big blue eyes are mesmerizing! 

Happy Trails from Mama Llama!