Jennifer Bove - Ranger Rick: I Wish I Was a Llama

What if you wished you were a llama?
That could be fun!
But llamas live with people.
Maybe youd rather run WILD!
You might like to be the llamas
wild cousin, a guanaco (wah-nah-ko).
How are llamas and guanacos alike?
How are they different? Find out!

Where would you live?
Wild guanacos live far from people
in the Andes Mountains of South America.
Guanacos roam freely
around rocky, steep mountain slopes.
The weather there is cool all year.

Llamas are domesticated.
That means they live with people.
They live on farms
all over the world.

Llamas are not strong enough
to carry people the way horses do.
But they can carry backpacks
for people on hiking trips.

Do you like to
carry a backpack?

What would your family be like?
Llama and guanaco families
are called herds.
About twenty animals live in a herd.

There is usually one dad
with many moms and babies.
A baby llama or guanaco
is called a cria (cree-uh).

How many people are
in your family?

How would you learn to be a llama?
A cria learns by watching its herd.
In the wild, guanacos must be brave.
They chase hungry foxes away.
With practice, a cria can, too.

On farms, llama crias see their herd
working happily with humans.
They learn that people are friendly.

What would you eat?
Llamas and guanacos eat tough grass,
shrubs, and woody plants.
On farms, people feed llamas hay.
Tough plants need a lot of chewing.
These animals actually throw up food
so that they can chew it again!
This is called chewing cud.

Llamas and guanacos do not need
to drink much water.
They get most of the water they need
from the plants they eat.

These animals have another cousin
that drinks very little: the camel!

How would you wash up?
Llamas and guanacos roll in dust.
Rolling keeps itchy bugs away
and fluffs up their coats.
Fluffy hair feels cool in the summer
and warm in the winter.

How would you talk?
Llamas like being together,
and so do guanacos.
But they do not talk much.

Do you hum when
you feel happy?

Mostly, they are calm
and quiet animals.
Sometimes they click or gurgle,
and they hum to say, Im happy.

Llamas and guanacos are louder
when they are unhappy.
They groan or squeal to say,
I dont like that!

Angry llamas lay their ears flat
and spit at each other!

Where would you sleep?
Llamas and guanacos sleep
on the ground in open spaces.
They like being able to wake up
and see all around them.
They sleep with their heads up
and their legs folded under them.
This is called kushing.

Would you want to sleep with
your head sticking up?

Llamas and guanacos are a lot alike.
But they live in different ways.
Llamas are domesticated.
They get to hang out with people.

Guanacos live far from humans.
They run wild their whole lives.