llama

When you first meet a llama, it can be disconcerting. Four long, lean legs merge into a barrel-like body, from which an impossibly long, lean neck protrudes, with a small head perched on top. Two banana-shaped ears stick straight up, each operating independently, like separate radar stations, continually pivoting this way and that as they take in their surroundings. All of this is covered in a shaggy fur that makes the entire creature look like a mad muppet experiment gone wrong. It can throw most people for a loop.

But after a few moments with a llama, all your uncertainties melt away. These highly social Andean mountain climbers quickly make friends with all they meet. This coupled with their sure-stepping stone grabbing hooves, long legs, and bigger bodies, make these Camelids perfect for hauling gear into the wilderness. That’s what drew Charley charley Rosenberry to them almost three decades ago.

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