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The Scientific name of the Llama is Llama glama. It is a mammal. That means it feds its young with milk, and that it has hair. If a person traveled to the South American Plains, the Andes Mountains, or the grasslands of South America he/she is most likely to find llamas. They are usually in groups of two or more. In the year of 1564 B.C., Spanish explorers found and named this animal. It was in the Andes Mountains. It was said that there were close to 20,000 llamas. Llamas are very domesticated. Some people even keep them as pets. They are not shy around people. Llamas usually weigh around 175 pounds to 350 pounds. They usually stand about 5 feet tall. They have thick fur, are stubby tailed, buck toothed, long necked, and usually are dark colored with light dots or stripes. Llamas do have a voice. Usually they hum or make weird sounds. When llamas are mad, angry, overheated, or trying to protect their families they lie down, kick, spit, and scream. Llamas have one young a year. Their young are called kids. They mate in the fall, and they usually have their kids around July or August. |
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When my partner and I went to the zoo to observe our animal, we noticed that it was living in an extremely large cage,with fresh food and water, and that it was living in a cage with a domesticated kind of sheep called a dorset horn. This particular sheep is very domesticated. |
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Llamas have thick fur for protecting themselves from prey attacking them. They have long, strong hind legs to run. They can run up to 40 m.p.h. They have long, flat, sharp teeth to eat grass, and chop it up. Llamas are cud-chewers. Cud chewers are animals that chew their food, swallow it, spit the food up that they ate, and chew it again. They have long ears that stand up so that they can hear the prey sneaking up on them. They also have eyes on the side of their heads so they can have a full vision of what is happening.
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Llamas are herbivores. Llamas are used mostly by humans. They use them in several ways. They can carry up to 200 pounds. Therefore, they are used as pack animals. The females are used for their flesh, which tastes somewhat like mutton, and for their milk which tastes somewhat like human milk. The meat of the males is tough and rarely eaten. They have red meat. The wool of both sexes is used for weaving textiles, and their skins are tanned for leather. Llama tallow is used for making candles. Tallow is their solid fat. Their dung is used for fuel by many South American people. The habitat of the llama is mostly on the mountains, and upland plateaus at the altitude of 10,000 feet or more. |
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Llamas do not hibernate. They only migrate up and down its mountain, unless of course they are being used as pack animals. In the summer, when it is hot the llamas will move on top of the mountain where it is cooler. In the winter the llamas will go to the bottom of the mountain where it is warmer. |
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"Llama" CD Rom. Maplewood, NJ: Infopedia, 1994 "Llama" CD Rom. Cambridge, MA. Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia. 1995 |