Meet man’s new best friend: the sheep-llama

A CLARE farmer has discovered the answer to protecting his sheep from marauding dogs lies not in the small ads of the Farmers Journal – but rather the rugged highland of the Andes.

And for Tom Gleeson, the choice of a llama shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as the mammals were traditionally used by Peruvian farmers to protect sheep in upland areas where dogs are rare.

‘The llama is bred to protect sheep,’ Clare man Mr Gleeson said this weekend. ‘It is a handy animal and is not an elephant [in size].’

He decided to employ the llamas to protect the sheep after becoming fed-up with walkers allowing their dogs off the leash, potentially leaving his 180 ewes and lambs wide open to attack. Just last year, he lost eight ewes, and four animals the previous year.

The 75-year-old’s farm is beside the ESB canal that leads to the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric station – a popular location for dog walkers. Despite ESB signs requesting all dog owners to keep their dogs on leads, Mr Gleeson told the Clare Champion that several owners simply let them loose.

The community group chairperson in nearby O’Briensbridge, Margaret O’Connor, said there has been a mixed reaction to the llama: some love him, others feel he is intimidating and scary.

An ESB spokesman said it was liaising with the tenant to assess whether the animal posed any risk to public safety.

Mr Gleeson said: ‘The llama

‘Won’t go near you if left alone’

will not come near anyone if it is left alone.’

Llamas were domesticated by the Incas in the higher Andes Mountains around 6,000 years ago. Despite the poor quality of the soil and the high altitudes of the region, llamas were reliable producers of wool, meat, fertilizers – as well as being pressed into service for the transport of goods.