Llama dramas
The one L llama, he’s a priest, The two L llama, he’s a beast, But I will bet a silk pyjama, That there isn’t any three L llama.
Llamas, which have been domesticated in South America for about 5,000 years, split into two types: the ccara, the one mostly seen here, and the tampuli, which has heavier wool and a topknot. Llamas are part of the camelid family, with alpacas, and are related to bactrian and dromedary camels
Llamas should never be ridden, but they can be trained to pull a cart of up to 124lb carrying two adults; they will trot and canter between the shafts and can reach speeds of 20mph. In 1992, Floyd Zopfi of Wisconsin, USA, set a world record for the largest driven hitch by harnessing 56 llamas to a single cart
The first llama was exhibited in Britain in 1805, at Brookes’s Menagerie in London. By 1829, there were two at London Zoo; one was gentle, but the other was described as morose, with a tendency to spit at visitors
In fact, llamas don’t spit at people unless they’re stressed, although they do spit at each other to establish pecking order and personal space
Llamas have unique antibodies, which are currently being researched by the Reading School of Pharmacy at the University of Reading in connection with brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia
The British Llama Society (www.britishllamasociety.org) asks breeders to sign a code of conduct, pledging that any livestock sold is halter-broken and that the purchaser spends a day handling them
Llamas are generally straightforward to keep and hardy; they’re tidy grazers and tend to deposit all their dung in one spot. Four or five llamas can live on one acre, with shelter; they should never be kept in isolation
The stuffed ‘pushmipullyu’—or two-headed llama—made by Steiff for the 1967 film Doctor Dolittle, starring Rex Harrison, was sold by Bonhams Los Angeles for £3,530 in 2006; it had been owned by a former intern at 20th Century Fox in Sweden for 38 years