National animal of Bolivia
Llama is national animal of Bolivia. Camelid of scientific name Lama glama, of great size that can reach a height in the cross of 119 cm and a weight of up to 155 kg. National animal of Bolivia has calluses on the chest and its color, very varied, is often very clear and totally white but never becomes dark.
Interesting facts about Llama
Behavior
The social organization of the Flame is not well known, since there are no wild populations and it is difficult to conduct behavioral studies in herds that are part of intensive livestock. Even so, it is considered that the flame would be territorial in other times and that would live grouped in harems .
Distribution
The distribution of the flame is limited to the Andean highlands . Undoubtedly, this characteristic has been determined by human activity. 70% of the llamas live in Bolivia , but it is possible to find them from the high regions of Ecuador to the northwest of Argentina , with a greater concentration in a radius of north to the south of 350 km around Lake Titicaca , in the border between Bolivia and Peru .
Do you want to know about National animal of Belize?
Accustomed to cold and dry altitude means the flames are poorly adapted to places outside their country of origin. Numerous attempts to introduce them in different countries have failed because of temperate countries’ humidity conditions and diseases; however, nowadays it is quite common to see them in zoos . In the United States , the population of llamas increases and their owners raise them to take advantage of wool , but also as pet. The flame is of docile behavior; but it is necessary to know their defense systems. One of the most spectacular is to throw a nauseating and acidic sputum composed of substances partially digested by the stomach. The battered assailant can still consider that he has been lucky if nothing has entered his eyes.
Feeding
As regards feeding , the species shows a preference for the rather dry pastures of the mountainous slopes and for the thick parts of the plants . The llama has the largest area (within the American camelids) after the guanaco , which undoubtedly is due to the austerity of its feeding.
The llama is an influential animal in high life communities, mostly due to the effect of its excrement, which favors the growth of nitrophilous plants, that is, those that multiply in soils with excess ammonia and nitrate. Deposits, in addition to serving as fertilizer , are also used, in areas where wood is scarce, as fuel.
Reproduction
August and September are the months of zeal and then the males struggle to achieve supremacy in the direction of the herd or the possession of several females. Between 348 and 368 days after intercourse, only one child is born. At birth, the calf weighs between 8 kg and 16 kg.
The flame and humans
Sixteenth-century Europeans found it, already domesticated, as a means of transportation for the natives to carry silver bullion in Potosi , where up to 300,000 animals were used. The use of the flames as a beast of burden also made possible commercial transactions, military expansion, temple building and the mining of gold and silver mines.
The flame was also the symbol of sovereign power. The Inca received as a gift the napkin, a white flame covered with a scarlet garment, and adorned with gold tendrils and a necklace of red shells.
On the occasion of the four great Inca festivals, celebrated in the solstices and the equinoxes , thousands of white flames were sacrificed to the sun god .
A significant feature of the importance of the flame for this civilization is that the boundaries of the empire coincided with the limits of the extent of the flames.
Progressively, the development of the road and railway infrastructures removed the flame of its functions. Even so, the two domestic species (alpaca and llama) continue to play an important role in the subsistence economy of the remote Andean peoples. In these areas, they are bred by wool, meat and skin.
Two races of flame have been described: the chaku, the most common, with fairly long wool and the skin, very short fur.
Crosses between llama and vicuña in southern Peru have produced hybrids with the size of llama or alpaca and the reddish color of the vicuna. You can also cross with the guanaco and produce fertile hybrids called guacollamas.
On the other hand, its natural predators are jaguars, crocodiles, tigers and anacondas.
