Lama habitat. lama animal

Llama fur, unlike alpaca, has no value; The llama is mainly used as a beast of burden.

Story

Llamas were domesticated over four thousand years ago in what is now Peru. In 1553, their first description and image is given in the book “ Chronicle of Peru» Cieza de Leon .

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Notes

Literature

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

An excerpt characterizing Lama (animal)

A short message about the llama will tell you about this mammal of the camelid family. Also, a report on the lama will help prepare for the lesson and improve your knowledge of biology.

FROM message about lama

Llamas are mammals of the camelid family. They have long been domesticated by man - about 6,000 years ago. This was done by the Andean Indians. In South America, llamas were the only animals that carried cargo. Before bringing horses to the continent, of course. They are best adapted to life in the highlands.

Description of the llama

Turning to history, you will be surprised - but the llama is an ancient animal. More than 40 million years ago they lived on the plains of North America, and 3 million mammals migrated to South America and now live in the Andes. This slender animal is somewhat reminiscent of a deer: only the neck is longer and there are no horns on the head. Lama reaches a height of 1-2 meters, weight is up to 200 kg. The head is small, on which pointed ears are located. The color of the animal is varied: from white to black and brown. A male llama can carry a pack of up to 50 kg and walk more than 25 km along mountain trails.

To date, the genus of llamas has 2 varieties. The first is alpaca. They are smaller and look a little different. On average, an alpaca is 1 meter high and weighs 70 kg. The coat is long and soft. They live in Ecuador, Northern Chile, Peru and Western Bolivia. They are bred for their wool. The second kind of lamas is the guanaco. They are wilder and live in the Andes at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. Animals are unpretentious in food. The wool is thick and protects the guanaco from the wind and cold. Strong leg muscles allow llamas to run about 50 km/h. Guanacos live in herds, in which there is only one male, young animals and up to two dozen females.

In South American countries, a number of laws have been passed that protect lamas. Most of them live in special nurseries, where they are fed and protected from predators (cougars). These animals are not an endangered species. They are actively bred and used in agriculture. Blankets are made from their wool, and the meat is eaten. Clothes are made from dressed llama skin, and candles are made from animal fat.

What do llamas eat?

Animals eat everything - hay, grass, twigs and leaves. If they are kept in captivity, then llamas are fed with oats, carrots, grains, and apples.

Llama breeding

Puberty of animals occurs at the age of 9-18 months. Mating takes place throughout the year. The female's pregnancy lasts a year. Every 2 years one baby weighing 8-16 kg is born. In the period of August - September, the battles of males for their ladies begin. They bite, spit, engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Lama: interesting facts

• The llama has a special structure of the stomach - it consists of 3 compartments. Therefore, their body digests anything.
• Lamas defecate in one place, thus arranging their toilets.
• Female llamas are used only for breeding. They are not milked and are used as pack animals.
• The ancient Incas portrayed the llama as a deity who guarded the shepherds.
• Llamas spit when they want to drive enemies away from them.

We hope that the message about the llama helped you learn more about this amazing animal, which has long been domesticated by man. And you can leave your story about the lama through the comment form below.

About 5 thousand years ago, in Peru, the Inca Indians tamed and domesticated the llama, a hardy and strong animal resembling a camel. The Incas were unfamiliar with the wheel, so they needed a beast of burden to carry heavy loads across the rugged Andean mountain paths. For the transportation of goods, the Incas used only male llamas, the females were exclusively engaged in the continuation of offspring, they were not milked, did not eat their meat and were not presented as a sacrifice.

Llama is an artiodactyl mammal, from the suborder callosity, belongs to the camelid family. In my own way appearance llamas really resemble camels, in the upper part of the jaw they have the same canine-shaped incisors, on the soles of cloven hooves - callused pads, only llamas are smaller and they do not have a hump. Body length - 120-200 cm, tail - 20-25 cm, height at the withers - 120 cm, the animal weighs 75-80 kg. The neck is thin, the head is small, and the ears are high and pointed. Thanks to fluttering eyelashes, animals have a pretty cute look. The wool is designed to protect them from the piercing mountain winds, so it is long, soft and very warm. The color of the coat is varied - from white to black-brown.

In South America, there are 4 types of calluses, of which the domestic ones are the llama and alpaca, and the wild ones are the guanaco and vicuña. The llama is used by humans mainly as a pack animal, while the alpaca is valued for its long wool, which is used to make soft, warm clothes, blankets and blankets. They all live in the highlands of the Andes in South America, at an altitude of about 3500 m, that is, in wild nature found in Bolivia, Chile and Peru, but quite often you can see animals in zoos.

Llamas are herbivores, in summer they eat grass, young leaves, bushes and lichens, preferring succulent vegetation that contains a large number of moisture, vitamins and minerals, and in winter llamas eat hay and grain. From the hands of people, animals are happy to take carrots, apples, bread, broccoli and orange peel.

The nature of the llamas is interesting, they are quite friendly, intelligent and curious. But at the same time, they are stubborn, if the load with which they loaded it is too heavy for the animal (that is, more than 50 kg), then it will sit on the ground and will not go anywhere, neither the methods of the stick nor the carrot will help until the load is removed - the animal will not budge. And if the llama is teased, she can spit the offender in the face with chewing gum (chewing gum is undigested food that the animal chews, swallows, and then returns to the mouth). But if a llama is treated courteously, then she can touch a person’s face with her nose, and petting an animal is pleasant, therefore there is even such a therapeutic psychological direction - “lamatherapy”.

At the same time, within the family, llamas have quite fierce competition among males. Mature llamas have rather strong teeth, 2 fangs on top and 4 on the bottom, with which they bite and tear the skins of their competitors during a fight. Because of their strong teeth in South America, they are used as guards against coyotes and other predators for flocks of sheep, which llamas, as social animals, consider their offspring.

Puberty of llamas occurs at 3 years. The breeding season lasts from August to February. Pregnancy in a female lasts 11 months, usually one cub is born. A couple of hours after birth, he is ready to stand on his feet. Breastfeeding lasts about 4 months. The life expectancy of llamas is 20 years, and in good conditions they can live up to 30.

The main enemy of llamas is the cougar ( Mountain lion, cougar) - one of the largest predators South America, which sneaks up on prey from behind and suddenly jumps on its back, breaking its neck. Llamas are also preyed upon by jaguarundi wildcats and Patagonian gray foxes.

Llamas are not an endangered species, they are actively bred in agriculture and zoos, but in the wild of Chile and Peru they are under state protection and protected by law.

The llama (Lama glama) belongs to the camelid family, suborder callus, order artiodactyls.

Lama spread.

Llamas are found along the Andes mountains. They are sold in North America, Europe and Australia. Exceptionally small herds are found in their homeland in Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Peru. Altiplano, in southeastern Peru and western Bolivia in the high Andes, is the origin of llamas.

Llama habitat.

Llamas live on low plateaus covered with various shrubs, stunted trees and grasses. They survive in the Altiplano region, where climatic conditions quite moderate, while southern regions dry, desert and harsh. Llamas are known to spread at an altitude of no more than 4000 meters above sea level.

External signs of a lama.

Llamas, like other members of the camelid family, have long necks, long limbs, rounded muzzles with protruding lower incisors, and a forked upper lip. They do not have humps, compared to camels that live in Asia. Lamas are largest view this group of animals. They have long, shaggy coats that vary greatly in color. The main shade is reddish-brown, diluted with variegated white and yellowish blotches.

Llamas are quite large mammals, having a height at the withers of 1.21 meters. The body length is about 1.2 m. The weight varies from 130 to 154 kilograms. Llamas do not have a real hoof, although they belong to artiodactyls, they have two three-toed limbs with dense leathery rugs on each foot along the sole. This is an important adaptation for movement on rocky ground.

Llamas' toes are able to move independently, a feature that helps them climb mountains with high speed. These animals have an unusually high proportion of oval red blood cells (erythrocytes) in their blood, and therefore an increased hemoglobin content, which ensures survival in an oxygen-poor high-altitude environment. Like other members of camelids, llamas have distinctive teeth, adult llamas have developed upper incisors and lower incisors are of normal length. The stomach consists of 3 chambers, when chewing food, chewing gum is formed.

Llama breeding.

Llamas are polygamous animals. The male collects a harem of 5-6 females in a certain area, then aggressively drives away all other males that accidentally enter the selected area. Young males expelled from the harem form herds while still young to breed, but they soon form harems of their own as they reach maturity.

Old males and expelled young individuals live independently.

Lamas are able to form fertile offspring when crossed with other members of the genus. They mate in late summer or early autumn. After mating, the female llama carries offspring for about 360 days and gives birth to one cub almost every year. A newborn is able to follow his mother about an hour after his birth. He weighs about 10 kg and gradually gains weight over four months when the female feeds him with milk. At the age of two years, young llamas give birth.

Basically, the female llama takes care of the offspring, provides protection and care for the cub up to one year. The male llama shows only indirect participation, he defends the territory in order to provide food for his herd, consisting of females and young individuals. Males constantly compete with other males for the same food resources and guard the harem from predators and other males. When the young llamas are about one year old, the male drives them away. Domesticated llamas can live for over 20 years, but most live for around 15 years.

lama behavior.

Lamas are flocking and social animals that live in groups of up to 20 individuals. The group includes about 6 females and offspring of the current year.

The male leads the herd and aggressively defends his position by participating in a dominant fight.

A strong male pounces on a competitor and tries to knock him to the ground, biting the limbs and wrapping his own long neck around the opponent's neck. The defeated male lies on the ground, which symbolizes his complete defeat, he lies on the ground with his neck down and his tail up. Lamas are known to use common communal "toilets", which are arranged on the borders of the occupied site, these peculiar marks serve as a territorial demarcation. Like other camelid llamas, they make low roaring sounds when predators appear to warn other members of the herd of danger. Llamas are quite skillful in defending themselves from attack, they kick, bite and spit on those animals that threaten them. The behavior of llamas in captivity resembles the habits of wild relatives, even in captivity, males defend their territory, even if it is fenced. They take sheep into their family group and protect them like little llamas. Because of their aggression and patronage towards other animals, llamas are used as guardians for sheep, goats and horses.

Llama food.

Llamas feed on low shrubs, lichens and mountain vegetation. They eat evergreen shrub parastephy, baccharis shrub, plants of the cereal family: munroa, bonfire, field grass. Llamas tend to live in very dry climates and get most of their moisture from their food. They need about 2 to 3 liters of water per day, grass and hay consumed 1.8% of their body weight. Llamas are ruminants. As pets, they are well adapted to the same food as sheep and goats.

Significance for a person.

Llamas are domesticated animals, so they have an important economic importance. Thick, coarse, but warm llama wool is a valuable material.

These animals are sheared every two years, collecting about 3 kg of wool from each llama.

For local residents, felting wool products is a source of income. Farmers use llamas to protect their flocks of sheep from predators. They include several llamas in a herd of sheep or goats, which the llamas guard against attacks by coyotes and cougars. Llamas are also used as golfers, attracting a lot of spectators for these competitions. There are special farms for breeding llamas. In the last century, llamas were used to transport goods across the Andes, they are very hardy and are able to carry a weight of over 60 kg for almost thirty kilometers in high altitude conditions. locals still use this mode of transport in the mountains.

Conservation status of the llama.

Llamas are not an endangered species and are now quite widespread. There are about 3 million individuals worldwide, about 70% of llamas are in Bolivia.

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The Andes stretch along the entire western coast of South America - the South American part of the Cordillera mountain system. The Andes stretch for 7500 km from Colombia to Patagonia. The landscapes of these mountains are surprisingly diverse: rainforests on the eastern slope and desert on the western, wet meadows - paramo - above 2500 m and puna - semi-desert plateaus located from 3800 to 4800 m above sea level. The Andes are a natural barrier between the coast and inside mainland, separating plant and animal species. At the foot of the mountains equatorial belt spread out hot and humid rainforests. As the height increases deciduous trees is replaced by conifers, which, in turn, give way to undersized shrubs and forbs.
It is in these places, at an altitude of 3500 to 5500 m above sea level, that llamas, the South American relatives of camels, graze. This is a ruminant artiodactyl animal from the callus family. Lamas are also called the humpless camels of America. They have no hooves, and have blunt, curved claws on their two-toed limbs. When walking, they do not rely on the ends of the fingers, but on their phalanges. The lower surface of the foot is formed by an elastic, callused cushion, from which these mammals get their name.