CR5 Issue 155 April 2018 digital

Feeling stressed out?
Take a walk with a llama
by Kate McLelland
According to the advertisement
strapline for one of the many llama
trekking trips available in the UK
today: “You feel calmer when you
walk with a llama”.
If you’ve recently browsed
magazines or websites offering
rural escapes, the chances are you
will have noticed promotions for
llama trekking. Llamas originally
came from South America, where
local people have used them as
pack animals for hundreds of
years. Their specially adapted feet
- padded, like a dog’s - together
with their friendly natures made
them the perfect companion for
long treks across the mountainous
Andes region.
Like the alpaca, the guanaco
and the vicuna, llamas belong
to a biological family known as
‘camelidae’. All four species,
known as ‘New World camelids’,
sprang from a common ancestor,
which was also the antecedent of
the African and Asian camels.
From the middle of the 20th
century llamas began to be
exported to the US and Canada in
large numbers. Avocado farmers in
California found them particularly
useful for transporting their
harvested fruit down steep valley
slopes, but it wasn’t long before
Californians began to recognise
therapeutic benefits of walking
with llamas. When llama trekking
arrived in Britain in 1997, the
Independent newspaper described
it as “an exotic import” but since
then opportunities to walk with
llamas have become almost
commonplace.
WHAT HAPPENS ON A LLAMA
TREK?
Although llamas are able to pull
carts and carry up to 25% of their
body weight, they are not suitable
for riding, so your trekking experience
will be limited to leading
your llama on a halter as you walk
along. At first glance this may not
seem like much of an ‘experience’,
but trekkers report that leading a
llama is a surprisingly relaxing and
calming experience.
A UK llama trek can involve anything
from a half-day trip (ending
with a cream tea, of course) to a
ramble lasting several days. Brenda
Stevens, a member of the British
Llama Society and owner of the
trekking company UK Llamas, offers
visitors the opportunity to halter
and groom their llama before leading
them into the country lanes and
footpaths around the village of Mosterton
in Dorset. Llamas are usually
well-behaved but have been known
to pause on their route if they find
a particularly tasty hedgerow plant.
Brenda explains: “Our llamas enjoy
nothing more than exploring the
village and helping our neighbours
by ‘trimming’ their bushes and trees
along the way!”
WHAT MAKES LLAMAS SO
SPECIAL?
Llamas will also stop in the
middle of a trekking expedition
if they sense the presence of
wildlife, helping their human
companions spot creatures they
might otherwise fail to see on a
countryside walk. With their sharp
senses and strong protective
instincts, they are often used on
farms to guard lambs, ducks and
chickens from attack by predators.
Hardy and undemanding, they are
also placed in paddocks to provide
companionship for horses and
ponies.
Perhaps it is this ability to bond
with other species that has singled
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llamas out as ideal travelling
companions for humans. In spite
of rumours that llamas can spit
in spectacular fashion if angered,
this rarely happens. These animals
can exhibit aggressive behaviour if
they are not reared in groups with
other llamas, but are usually docile
and friendly to humans if allowed
to socialise with their own kind.
In fact, many UK llama owners
have become so confident of
their animals’ good behaviour
that they have started to involve
them in animal therapy sessions.
Llamas’ soft fur, large eyes and
human-like expressions are
helpful when working with autistic
children and adult dementia
patients. Parties and celebrations
are another growth area for the
‘llama experience’. In 2009 James
and Suzanne Benson set up
Nidderdale Llamas from their farm
in North Yorkshire with a view to
diversifying their farm business,
and they now make their animals
available for hen parties and
weddings.
For hen parties the llamas are
equipped with pink ‘L’ plates on
their tails, while participants can
hire sashes to wear as they walk.
At weddings, llamas meet and
greet guests and provide a focus
for photographs. Paying to lead
an animal on a countryside ramble
may seem like a slightly eccentric
thing to do, but there’s little doubt
that llama trekking is a magical
and unforgettable experience for
those who take part, providing an
effective way to de-stress and get
back in tune with nature. To quote
one happy customer who reviewed
his trekking trip on the TripAdvisor
website: “Quite simply one of the
BEST days out we have had.”