Showing posts with label Mammals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mammals. Show all posts

Vicuñas – Just Wild Llamas?


Last October my husband and I went on a trip to the Altiplano of Bolivia. It was an incredible journey and we had opportunities to see many hundreds of llamas. But we also observed something more unique: the vicuña in its natural habitat. Can you see them?


What exactly are vicuñas and how are they different from llamas?

The Andean Camel


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

Face-to-Face with an iconic mammal


Nothing is more iconic to Bolivia than the omnipresent llama (pronounced “YAH-mah” in Spanish). When most people think of Bolivia (if they’ve even heard of the country), they often think of the llama. This is understandable since two-thirds of the world’s llamas (or about 2.5 million) live in Bolivia! In fact, the llama is Bolivia’s National Animal and is the only mammal depicted on their flag, located inside the Coat of Arms, as seen to the right. (To make it larger click on the picture.) According to the Bolivian Constitution, the llama “symbolizes the richness of the fauna of the Republic.”

Another interesting fact that shows the importance of the llama in Bolivia is in their Sign Language. The sign for the country of Bolivia is a combination of the sign for llama and for flag.

So it was inevitable that we would come face-to-face with llamas in Bolivia. And what

The Squirrel Bunny?


There is an animal in this picture. Can you see it?


You saw it? Well, just in case, here’s a close up of the same view: