Llamas seem to have a splendid time here since, following two births last year, yet another black-and-white offspring was born on February 17. The little female is in good health, with an excellent appetite, and, while still resting a lot, she enjoys playing around in the enclosure.
With her arrival, we are now home to a llama group of eight.- says dr.Gergely Nagy, director of the Debrecen Zoo and Amusement Park.
Domesticated from wild guanacos (Lama guanicoe), llamas (Lama glama) are the largest and heaviest South American camelids, originally bred by natives living in the Andes. Today they occur throughout the eastern part of the continent as well as in North America, Europe and Australia, although almost 70 percent of them is still found in Bolivia. They are kept for their meat, milk and wool and are also used as beasts of burden in South America. Interestingly, in the United States, they are also used for guarding sheep, goats or hens due to their alertness, robust physique and loud alarm calls. Given an appropriate environment for growing up, llamas tend to be friendly and curious and, contrary to popular belief, they hardly ever spit on people – this means of communication is mostly reserved for dominance fights with their conspecifics.
