Llamas belong to the Camelidae family and have been domesticated in the regions of South America for ages.Llamas are very social in nature, they live in herds and are used by humans as pack animals to carry their luggage and are also a source of meat in their native areas. Such is the popularity and likeliness of this animal that you can even find llamas in Minecraft too!Like horses and donkeys in various regions in the world, llamas play a key role in the mountainous terrains of South America by carrying the weight of market supply products from one mountain to the other. A llama can typically carry around one-fourth of its body weight for a distance of 5-8 mi (8-13 km). Over the years, the entire world has come to know about llamas for their unique body features and cute look. The popularity of llamas led the creators of the game, Minecraft, to include a llama in Minecraft as well. Interestingly, you can find a llama in Minecraft and even tame and ride it. Unlike many other pet animals in the game, a llama will help you in carrying your goods, but in order to reach this stage, you will need to find a herd of llamas, tame one, and then you will be able to ride it. As a unique fact about these llamas in Minecraft, llamas spit in exchange for carrying goods in the Minecraft game. Let’s come back to the real world and take a closer look at if llamas can be tamed, trained in real life, and if a baby or a young adult can ride llamas.If you enjoyed this article, why not also read about can you ride a zebra and what do llamas eat here on Kidadl?How to ride a llama?Before you ride a llama, it might not be the best decision. Llamas can do a lot of work, and they are animals that can learn to work quickly after repeating a task a couple of times but giving a ride to people is not one of their best talents.Llamas are extensively used for carrying goods and as a source of meat but an adult or even a fairly young adult cannot ride a llama. Adult llamas weigh around 400 lb (181 kg) which is around one-fourth the average weight of a horse. A horse weighing around 1100-1200 lb (499-544 kg) carries a load of 200 lb (90.7 kg) on its back, however, llamas cannot carry humans by any means. At the same time, it has been noted that llamas cannot carry the bodyweight of adults on their backs. How much weight a llama can carry depends upon the size of the llama, whether it is a small one or a fairly large one, and you must keep in mind the narrow pathways of mountains.How much weight can a llama carry?Llamas are not meant to carry much weight on mountain roads, let alone an entire adult. A llama belongs to the family of camels and even an average camel weighing around 900-1300 lb (408-589.7 kg) can only carry one adult male. There is no way a llama weighing 200 lb (90.7 kg) can carry even 99 lb (45 kg).It is recommended that llamas carry a maximum weight of 50 lb (22.7 kg), with regard to humans. Only small children weighing under 55 lb (25 kg) are fit to ride a llama. This amount of weight can only be carried by a llama if it is not old and the saddle is in the right position. The saddle helps to make sure that the weight of the person or the good is evenly distributed. The guide always makes sure that the saddle is in the right position before riders start the journey.Can children ride a llama?Riding a llama is not for everyone, not because it is tough to tame a llama but because a llama cannot carry more than 50 lb (22.7 kg) on average. This animal is naturally meant to live in mountain valleys and carry inventory as and when needed.Children might perhaps be the only lucky ones who get the opportunity to ride a tamed llama. Before riding a llama, the guide first takes a note of the weight of the child as it depends on the weight of the child if they can ride the llama. It isn’t always the case that a child can ride a llama. The guide must make sure that the child is not overweight as that can then damage the spine of the llama and put its life at risk. Children who have been born and brought up in the mountains with a pack of llamas can easily tame and ride a llama. Interestingly, this animal has the quality of following the one in the front. If the person in charge can control one llama, the rest of the pack will stick to it at all costs. Taming a llama might seem very difficult to people who are not familiar with the animal but is perhaps easy for people who have grown up around them.Can you saddle a llama?The saddle on the back of a llama helps to distribute the weight of the person riding it or the goods that are kept on its back.Even when a llama has been saddled, it is important that there is another person present to settle the llama while someone is mounting it. One needs to ensure that the llama is calm and is not fidgeting when the rider is trying to get on it, It is very important that a llama has had enough food and water before being ridden. It is important that you take care of the llama in the right way and make sure that it is healthy enough to undertake any task.Are llamas similar to horses?The answer to this is yes and no. Biologically, there is no similarity between a llama and a horse, both of them belong to two very different families.The closest similar animal to a llama is an alpaca. Alpacas to llamas are like donkeys to horses as both are different but somewhat the same. When it comes to similarities between a llama and a horse, both of them are used for carrying loads but the magnitude differs. Horses bring more strength and durability, whereas llamas need rest at regular intervals as they are meant to travel only short distances in mountain regions.How far can they go?Talking about the strength and durability of llamas, even if you can tame and ride a llama, you cannot cover a vast distance with a llama.Llamas, first of all, cannot move if an adult sits on them. They can cover a very short distance of perhaps a 1.2 mi (2 km) with a child even if it is shown a stick. However, if it is given some goods to carry, it can travel for a distance of 5-8 mi (8-13 km) although the weight should be a maximum of one-fourth of the llama’s body weight.Ethics Of Riding A LlamaEven though riding a llama is not the right method to use this animal, in dire situations if need be, it can be ridden by small children but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.The llama must have had a proper amount of food before it is sent for any task. Living in cold conditions means it needs food to function properly and answer to its owner’s call. Hay is the most common source of food for llamas, and it is its staple diet. Moreover, one should be skilled enough to tame and control a llama as mistreating a llama is not something you would want to do. Using a saddle, having a steady position while sitting, pulling the left rein to go left and right for right are some of the other points to keep in mind while riding a llama.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our discovering can you ride a llama then why not take a look at why do llamas spit, or llama facts?
Llamas belong to the Camelidae family and have been domesticated in the regions of South America for ages.
