Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/08/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 4:40 AM, Lawrence Zeitlin <lrzeitlin at gmail.com> wrote: > There is a personal aspect to these last pictures. My daughter and her > husband owned a small farm in Etlan, VA. in the shadow of the Skyline > Drive. > They hoped to raise llamas to use as pack animals for hikers along the > Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. At their request we visited some > BC llama ranches to get some first hand information. Apparently while > Peruvians have great success breeding and using llamas, it takes a lifetime > of handling to know just how to approach them and load the packs. Otherwise > they just turn and spit at you. Llama spit is icky. I know from experience. Llamas can hybridise with alpacas to create a smaller, less robust but also tamer pack animal. The 'cama' is a camel-llama hybrid amusingly said to have "the strength of a camel but the cooperative temperament of the llama". There seems to be a hierarchy of camelid friendliness. I've been spat at by all of them except vicunas and I agree, llama spit is icky - it's not actually spit, but dilute contents of the first chamber of their stomach. I like camelids for the same reason that I like cats - they are friendly, but just up to a point, beyond which they assert themselves. Thanks for showing, Marty