The llama is a South American animal, part of the camel family. Like camels, they have padded, even-toed feet and split lips. I was surprised to learn that their common ancestors originated in North America and lived on this continent for over forty million years. These earlier animals evolved into camels in Asia and Africa and the lama family of llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos in South America. They had only died out in North America some ten or twelve thousand years ago.

In South America, llamas live mainly in the high Andes. Vicunas and guanacos are wild. Vicunas are famed for their fine wool; its softness has brought them to the brink of extinction. Guanacos are believed to be the forerunners of llamas; the two species are similar in many respects, though the guanaco's wool is fine and shorter. While guanacos do not have the official status of endangered, their numbers are a tiny fraction of what they were a century ago.

Alpacas and llamas have been domesticated for centuries. The alpaca is a smaller animal than the llama, with wool that is more highly prized. There are far more llamas than alpacas in North America.

Archaeological findings indicate that llamas were living with man by 3000 B.C. The vast Inca empire, which reached its peak toward the end of the Middle Ages in Europe, used llamas in many ways. They were beasts of burden, essential in a mountainous society that had not utilized the wheel. Their wool was used for blankets, ponchos, and other items. They played an important part in the religious and ceremonial life of the Incas: many llamas were sacrificed to the gods.

One of the world's most versatile domestic animals, the llama is still used as a beast of burden and for wool, primarily in the Bolivian and Peruvian highlands. Its dung is used for fuel--it is said to be odorless when burned. Less and less are llamas used for long-distance transport, though, as trucks reach further into remote areas.

Can you handle llamas? It's a great feeling to know that in an emergency, or anytime, you can work with your llamas. Llama training gives you this confidence.

Or-if you don't have llamas but are thinking of it-would you like to know how to do these things?

In just a few days, using Bobra Goldsmith's llama training techniques, many people have trained llamas to:

* accept a halter
* walk easily with a lead rope
* load into a vehicle
* and perform other tasks.

Often llamas understand what you are asking of them after you have shown them only a few times. Once they understand, they tend to remember. They are incredibly smart! Llama training can be tremendously fun because of this. Bobra calls her workshops "Training Llamas for Willing Cooperation."

Bobra and many alpaca owners have also used these techniques for training alpacas.

That's Bobra there with Blossom. To find out more about the program (now a DVD) we made with Bobra about llama training, see the link right to it in the module above this one.