I have always felt llamas are dogs disguised as giant furry cuties. A 500-pound fluffy gently giant with a funky hairstyle, beautiful eyes, and a velvety snout, llamas are truly adorable. It is rather interesting to note that the population of domesticated llamas has increased drastically over the years.
People with a farm or a spacious backyard prefer having llamas because they are friendly and are fun to hang out with. This explains why the number of llamas has rapidly increased over the years in the US.
Apart from being irresistibly cute, llamas are highly intelligent species, which makes training them a walk in the park.
If there were a competition for cuteness among animals, the only animal that would be a close competition to llamas would be the giant pandas. But I would still vouch for a llama!
Llamas are undoubtedly cute and adorable, but have you ever thought how the babies of these gentle and cute furballs would be?
Llama babies are no different than the adults except for their size. It is rather interesting to see how llamas retain their cuteness even when they grow up. At the time of birth, baby llamas can weigh anywhere between 9 to 14kg.
These cute little furballs can get on his feet within one hour after birth and are known for being extremely naughty. They are so naughty that the mothers have to spit at them to teach them manners (llamas spit when they are agitated).
The way baby llamas hop and play is truly a sight to behold and the best stress buster available in the market. I have always felt that baby llamas are little drunk people having fun in their own world.
There are dozens of photos and videos of naughty llama babies available online, and they can make your day. In this article, we have compiled a list of baby llama videos, photos, and facts that will make you go “aww!”
Baby Llama Videos
Hop on folks, let’s get going!
Funny llamas attacking humans
Cuddling with very cute little llama baby
Crazy llamas
A new-born baby llama
Llamas having fun with other pets
Baby llama alarm cry
How long does it take the llama babies to be born and be independent?
Unlike most other animals, llamas can reproduce at any time of the year because they are induced ovulators.
A female llama becomes sexually mature when she is 1 year old, whereas the males attain sexual maturity at the age of three.
What makes the reproductive cycle of llamas interesting is the fact that they have a gestation period of 11 months. This means much of the development of the baby happens inside its mother’s womb.
A newly born baby can stand within an hour after their birth and can weigh anywhere between 9 to 14kg.
These new-borns depend solely on their mother’s milk that is rich in phosphorus and calcium and has less sugar and fat content. It takes them around six months before they start feeding on other foods.
Llamas are highly social animals, and when it comes to a mother and a baby llama, they share a strong emotional bond. This means unlike other animals that wean naturally, llamas won’t do that.
If left together, the babies will stay with their mother and will still feed on their mother’s milk. So farm owners tend to physically separate the mother and the baby once it is 6 months old.
What are baby llamas called?
A baby llama is called a “Cria.” Cria is a Spanish word for baby. Not just llama babies, the babies of their distant cousins the alpacas, and vicunas are also known as Cria.
What does a baby llama look like?
A baby llama looks similar to that of an adult llama except for its weight and height. While the adults can weigh anywhere between 200kg and be around 6 feet tall, baby llamas weigh between 9 to 14kg and is only around 1ft tall.
Apart from these differences, the baby llamas have all other features similar to that of an adult. For instance, long ears that are slightly curved inwards resembling a banana, narrow feet, and a short woolly tail.
As mentioned in the previous section, llamas are distant cousins of the alpacas, and their babies appear the same. Not just the babies, even the adults look the same and are known to photobomb each other’s snaps.
Though they both look similar, there are some notable differences between them. All you need is to have a close look at one. Among the many notable differences, the important and easier one lies with the ear.
A llama has a long ear with a slight inward curve like a banana, whereas the alpacas have smaller ears. Apart from this, llamas have a straight face, whereas the alpaca’s face appears to be smushed.
What sounds do baby llamas make?
Adult llamas use a combination of different sounds and body postures to communicate with other llamas. Baby llamas, too use these same methods to communicate with others.
If you are someone planning to domesticate llamas or are planning to domesticate a baby llama, it is important that you know the sounds they make and what it means.
Humming: Humming is one of the common sounds both the baby and adult llamas make. They make this sound when they are tired, curious, or worried.
In the case of baby llamas, who are generally very attached to their mother makes the humming noise when the mother can’t be seen anywhere in the vicinity.
Similarly, llama babies make this sound when anything they feel to be a threat approaches them (including humans).
Clucking: llamas make the clucking sound to attract mates or when they greet other llamas. A baby llama making the clucking sound would mean he/she is getting acquainted with another llama.
Alarm call: As the name suggests, llamas make this noise to alert the others in the group when they are threatened.
This behavior is commonly seen in the wild because that is the only place they are hunted. Both the babies and adults make this noise when they sense a threat.
What do baby llamas eat?
Baby llamas for the first 6 months after birth survives solely on its mother’s milk. The mother’s milk with high calcium and phosphorus content and low sugar and fat are essential for its survival and health.
That being said, the dietary pattern of baby llamas in the wild varies greatly from the domesticated llamas. It is important to note that llamas are herbivorous mammals.
Llamas are social creatures that share a deep bond between their parents and kids. It is commonly seen that the llamas that live in the wild feed on mother’s milk even after 6 months. In the case of llamas that have weaned, they feed on forbs, lichens, tree foliage, native shrubs, and young and tender shoots.
When it comes to domesticated llamas or the ones living in the zoo, they are mostly fed grains or herbivorous pellets and the needed supplements in addition to these. Fibers are crucial for llamas, so they are supplemented with that too.
Apart from these domesticated llamas are also fed vegetables and fruits such as carrots, broccoli, apples, and so on.
When it comes to the dietary habit of a llama baby, the only difference is that they survive solely on their mother’s milk until they are six months old. After this, they may wean off the mother’s milk.
What to feed a domesticated baby llama?
As mentioned in the previous section, baby llamas that are less than six months of age should only be their mother’s milk. If you are planning to domesticate one, it is advised to get a llama that is at least 6 months old.
You cannot feed the baby llama cow’s or goat’s milk because of the high fat and sugar content in them, which can cause serious health issues to them.
Once the llama is 6 months old you can feed them grains, food pellets, vegetables, and fruits such as carrots, broccoli, apples, and so on. Basically, you can feed them anything that you feed a goat.
Apart from these, you need to ensure that the baby llama gets adequate fibers from the food you feed them. Fibers are important for their physical growth, so make sure that you provide them food that is rich in fibers along with their staple diet.
Another important thing to keep in mind while feeding a llama is that you need to keep them adequately hydrated.
Unlike the llamas that live in the wild that are capable of going for long spells of time without drinking water, the domesticated llamas need a constant supply of clean water.
In the case of llamas in the wild, they acquire their necessary hydration through plant consumption, which isn’t the case of the domesticated ones.
Can I feed apples to baby llamas?
Yeah, you can feed apples to baby llamas provided you don’t feed them apples in excess. The best way to go about it would be to treat them with one or two pieces of apples along with their regular diet.
The digestive system of llamas is similar to that of a goat. Which means you can feed them everything you would feed your goats.
That being said, Llamas absorbs nutrition from the food they eat by fermentation. When you feed them fruits that are rich in sugar, it accelerates the entire process of fermentation. Excessive fermentation can cause severe bloating which can be excruciatingly painful for the baby llamas.
Not just apples, you shouldn’t include fruits to their diet all of a sudden. Instead, treat them with fruits once in a while that too in small quantities. Slowly introducing fruits to their diet will give the bacteria living in their gut adequate time to adjust to the new conditions.
Baby Llama vs Baby Alpaca
Alpacas and llamas are distant cousins of camels and they look almost the same.
Most people are found to confuse a llama with an alpaca and vice-versa. Imagine how difficult would it be to identify a baby llama from a baby alpaca, when it is difficult to identify the adults.
Don’t worry we have you covered here.
Though llamas and alpacas closely resemble one another they don’t look alike.
There are indeed some features that are unique to llamas and alpacas. So the next time you see one look for these 4 features to easily identify a baby llama from a baby alpaca.
Ears: Ears are one of the notable differences that you can spot in a llama and alpaca. A llama has a long ear with a slight inward curve like a banana, whereas the alpacas have smaller ears.
Size: Llama babies are much larger in size than alpacas. For instance, a baby llama can weigh anywhere between 9 to 14kgs, whereas an alpaca baby weighs only around 9kg at max.
Face: Llamas have a longer snout and much less fur on their face than the alpacas. Personally, I feel alpacas are cuter than llamas.
Personality: Alpacas are generally shy and cowards when compared to a llama.
For instance, when threatened or attacked by a predator alpacas tend to stick together whereas the llamas behave independently and confidently when threatened. Technically this method cannot be used to identify a baby llama from an alpaca.
Do baby llamas spit?
Yeah, baby llamas do spit just like the adults. The only difference being adult llamas spit when they are threatened or when they want to show dominance whereas the babies spit only when they are threatened.
That being said, spitting isn’t their only way of defense. It can rather be considered as a clear indication that the llama is annoyed. This can be ascertained by looking at their ears as they pull their ears back when they are about to spit.
If you are someone planning to domesticate a llama, you must raise them properly. When it comes to domesticating llamas, the owner needs to gain its trust. Mistreating them or creating a situation where they may perceive you as a threat can increase the chances of spit attack.
Among the many other things to take care of while domesticating a llama, the most important one is to make sure that they grow up with other llamas and not alone.
Llamas are not like your common pets instead, they are social animals that always stay with their herd. In the case llamas that have been taken care of by humans, the chances are that they might see humans as one among them. This means troubles because then the llama might want to show you who’s the boss!
To sum up, baby llamas must be taken care of properly. If raised correctly, llamas are unlikely to spit at humans unless they feel directly threatened.
What Is Llama Spit?
Llama spit is its first line of defense and a clear indication that he/she is clearly agitated. Depending on how annoyed they are, llamas can spit anything ranging from a gentle spray of saliva to the concoction from the most distant part of the stomach that can ruin your day!
As mentioned earlier, llamas absorb nutrition from the food they eat by fermenting it inside their stomach. This means the chances of having rancid food materials inside their gut are very high. And you don’t want to be anywhere near a llama when it’s about to spit.
When irritated, llamas will spray a mist of saliva, which isn’t much compared to what’s coming next. If the llama is irritated when it is eating, they might spit the food they had been eating along with the saliva. This is commonly done as a defense of their diet.
Among all the kinds of spits, the most disgusting one would be the one when the llama feels seriously irritated or threatened. When this happens, they regurgitate a rancid green fluid from one of the three compartments and shower you in it. The more irritated they are, the farther they pull out the liquid.
Is the spit of a baby llama dangerous?
No, llama spit isn’t dangerous. Though its appearance and its stink may raise suspicion of potential danger, it isn’t. The rancid green fluid (The worst among the spit attack) is nothing but the partly fermented food that the llama had in its gut.
These spit attacks don’t cause any harm except for the fact that it can ruin your entire day, especially if you are on a trip and don’t have any spare dresses with you!