quote:

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Originally posted by Nick Tamen:
My hunch is that it’s the closest they could get to camels. Camel understudies, as it were.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:

quote:

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Originally posted by Nick Tamen:
My hunch is that it’s the closest they could get to camels. Camel understudies, as it were.

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Perhaps the humps will grow later?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
I've never actually met a llama, but I'm told that they are gentle, polite, and rather aloof people, as far as Uman Beans are concerned.

I should think they would make rather pleasant neighbours.

IJ

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I'm told that they spit but I refuse to believe it.
 

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Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :
 
No, no - that's camels. Llamas are much more civilised.

IJ
 

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Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :
 
O, all right - they do occasionally spit, but very often it's to show that they like you, and are accepting you as part of their family.



Camels, OTOH, are just awkward, cross-grained bu**ers.....

IJ
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Bishops Finger:
I've never actually met a llama, but I'm told that they are gentle, polite, and rather aloof people, as far as Uman Beans are concerned.

I should think they would make rather pleasant neighbours.

IJ

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At this risk of this getting more heavenly than it already is, I do have vivid memories from a rather scary memory from a childhood hike when we encountered a woman walking her llama on a trail. The llama took one look at our border collie and took off into the woods. The problem was that the woman walking the llama was apparently not particularly familiar with how you handle livestock (at least according to my father, who grew up in Texas ranch country,) and had the llama's leash tied around her waist, meaning that when the llama took off, she was dragged behind it, probably about 20 or 30 yards, over more than a few downed trees. She managed to escape with just a few scrapes, but it was a pretty terrifying scene for a kid to witness, and she was naturally pretty shaken up. So while they do seem to be rather docile (the ones at our zoo are separated from guests by little more than a chain link fence), standard safety precautions are still advisable.
 

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Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :
 
Well, yes - they are, after all, a fair size, at up to 5'9" tall, and 300-400 lbs in weight.

The old TV show advice still stands - never work with children and animals!



IJ
 

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Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 
A one l lama, he's a priest
A two ll llama, it's a beast
But I will bet
A silk pyjama
There's no such thing as a three lll lllama.

But Thurber added the postscript that there were three-alarmer fires. Even he'd be pushing it to find any connection between llamas and any biblical reference, let alone the Nativity.

[ 28. December 2017, 21:52: Message edited by: Gee D ]
 

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Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :
 
Ogden Nash, not Thurber.
 

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Posted by Gee D (# 13815) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Gill H:
Ogden Nash, not Thurber.

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Thanks. I'm in holiday mode and my mind must be too switched off.
 

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Posted by Sober Preacher's Kid (# 12699) on :
 
We've had Moose in our nativity scenes at home, so why not? May not have been in Middle East at the time, but had OLSJC chosen to be born on this side the Pond, no doubt there would have been llamas and moose in attendence.
 

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Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
We had some very um, "friendly" goats one year. (And I don't mean "friendly" like in the song.)

 

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Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
I saw some llamas about half an hour ago. From a distance of 100 yards, they appeared to be docile.

(Since you're asking, it was at a local Farm Shop - and they're for petting, not for meat!)
 

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Posted by Aravis (# 13824) on :
 
I once heard a mother llama humming loudly to her baby on a quiet day at Bristol Zoo. It wasn't exactly tuneful but she was varying the pitch. I don't know if this is a common occurrence but it was lovely to observe.
 

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Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Aravis:
I once heard a mother llama humming loudly to her baby on a quiet day at Bristol Zoo. It wasn't exactly tuneful but she was varying the pitch. I don't know if this is a common occurrence but it was lovely to observe.

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Many years ago the speaker at a college graduation based his whole talk on the humming of llamas, with audio recordings. I honestly don't remember if he mentioned mothers humming to their babies. (When he started out, I assumed he was talking about the chanting of lamas and was quite surprised when I realized he was talking about llamas.)
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
The new children's classic Llama Llama Red Pajama has the titular Llama, on one page, humming a tune. I had no idea this was based on natural fact, and simply wrote it off as a easy rhyme for "Mama says she'll be up soon". I must bore my wife with this fascinating-to-me fact tonight at story time...
 

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Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
I'd hoped to find a Youtube video of llamas humming, but there are too many to choose just one. Just go to Youtube and type in "llamas humming" if you really want to hear this.

 

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Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Og, King of Bashan:
The new children's classic Llama Llama Red Pajama has the titular Llama, on one page, humming a tune. I had no idea this was based on natural fact, and simply wrote it off as a easy rhyme for "Mama says she'll be up soon". I must bore my wife with this fascinating-to-me fact tonight at story time...

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