The Andean Camel

 (Léase en español / Read in Spanish)

As mentioned in a previous blog post, llamas are not only an iconic symbol of Bolivia, they are also an indispensable part of the life of Bolivians living in the Andean Mountains.

The llama (Lama glama) is a domesticated South American camelid, of the family Camelidae. This means it is related to camels although it does not have a hump. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as ‘the Andean camel’. However the llama is more closely related to the
alpaca, which is also domesticated. And both the llama and alpaca are descendants of the vicuña and the guanaco, which are wild South American camelids.

Since the time before the Incas, these mammals have been a distinctive feature of the Andes region. They have been and still are used for their fibrous wool, leather, meat, as pack animals and as an indicator of financial status. Nearly all of the domesticated llamas in Bolivia are bred in small family herds (the families are small, not the herds!) and graze exclusively on wild pastures. When my husband and I visited the Altiplano recently we were able to observe this firsthand.

 

Llamas in the Altiplano.

More llamas ... grazing and also running across the road and off into the fields.
   


Here’s a video we took while visiting the Altiplano of a mother llama with her baby.

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We learned that each family may have hundreds of llamas in their herd. The colorful ear tags are a way of keeping track of them, and are also part of a religious blessing ceremony.

Some families bring the llamas into a pen at night and release them during the day to graze.













Other families travel with their herd in search of water and pasture and have built temporary lodging at various locations throughout the Altiplano.

We ate lunch at one of their temporary lodgings on our recent trip.

 

As you might imagine, llamas are closely connected to the culture of the indigenous people and play a central role in many of their rites and celebrations. We learned about a few of these unique customs while visiting a museum in Quetana Chico, inside the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve (in Spanish: Reserva Nacional de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa). 

For example, when a couple gets married, they receive several llamas from their parents, depending on the number owned by the parents (in other words their economic situation). This inheritance is then carefully administered by the newlyweds. Further, they have a common ritual known as Rutucha. This is the child’s first haircut, and takes place around the age of two. During this ritual, the child receives a few llamas from his or her godfather, and a few from their parents and other relatives. The parents will of course care for the animals, but from that moment on the child has its own llamas, future financial assets.

We observed that llamas are quite adaptable and truly hardy. There are even two of these adorable creatures living on an island in the middle of a vast sea of salt; Fish Island (Incahuasi Island) in the salt flats El Salar de Uyuni.

My second encounter

These two are very used to tourists and sometimes accept hand-outs!

What do you think? Emblematic? Cuddly and adorable? Either way you look at it, llamas are truly amazing creatures!!

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 (Léase en español / Read in Spanish)