We believe
our llamas had several encounters with a moose. On the first occasion we
found a damaged section of fence that looked as though something large was
desperately trying to get out. We found some coarse hair caught in the
fence. Two of our largest llamas, Casey and Marie, were housed in the
pasture at the time. We suspect that the intruder got the surprise of his
life.
The other
incident occurred late at night. The back gate to the pasture in which our
females were housed was pushed into the pasture. Shortly after 11PM I
looked out towards my garden when one of our dogs started barking. I saw a
number of shadowy figures. They didn’t quite look like deer. Then I
noticed Marie’s tuxedo and Annalee’s white nose patch. There were nine
llamas enjoying the last of my vegetable garden. Jeanne was visiting our
daughter and grandson on Cape Cod. I was faced with the task of rounding
up the llamas with no help late at night. The task proved easier than I
expected. I relied on three characteristics of llamas. First, they are
herd animals. Second, they love their grain. Third, quiet and gentle
interaction with llamas is far more effective than pushy or aggressive
behavior. By gently encouraging several of the older llamas to move back
towards their pasture, I managed to get the entire herd within 25 feet of
the back gate. I then filled some bowls with grain. I shook the bowls and
placed them about 20 feet inside the pasture. All but three moved into the
pasture. With gentle persuasion I was ultimately able to encourage those
three to join the herd. The entire process took less than thirty minutes.
The next day
the llamas avoided the back pasture where the gate had been pushed in.
Every now and then, one or more of the llamas would go in and give the
alarm cry. I could not see anything … but then my eyesight is no match
to a llama’s. We now keep that gate padlocked.