Lance, Loulou, Lily, Lou-Ann, Lou-Ellen
"Yama" would be the correct South American pronunciation of this animals name.
The Llamas wool is used for clothing. Alpacas have been bred for their very fine wool, whereas the Llama has a mixture of fine and coarse hairs in its wool.
The Llama has the same long eye-lashes as the camel, to keep out the sand, and the ability to close its nostrils. They are 'pad-footed' animals, not a cloven hoofed animal.
At the end of its life the Llama meat is good for food, the skin for tanning and the wool for rope-making.
It is in the same family as the Camel and also the Vicuna, the Guanaco and the Alpaca. (Camelidae)
All members of this family have been domesticated for at least 4,000 years. The Llama is a pack animal in South America. It is capable of carrying about 91kg for long distances, but will lie down above it's limit! It also lies down when under stress (not a bad idea for us to copy!).
It is well equipped for living high in the mountains because it has special blood. The Haemoglobin can take in more oxygen than other mammals and the red corpuscles of the blood last for 235 days (a humans last 100 days).
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