Afternoon Sighting: Vigilant Llama
The less-than-rich soil and shorter growing season along Nova Scotia’s North Shore means that most of the farmland around is used in woodlot, wild blueberries, hayfields, beef & dairy herds, and sheep – lots and lots of sheep. While many of the area farmers still use dogs to herd and protect their flocks–border collies and Bernese mountain dogs being a couple of the favorites–more and more are turning to the use of llamas.
Llamas are relatively friendly, curious and a great asset in keeping the local sheep from the local coyotes. You can read about their guard qualities here.
Yesterday afternoon, we passed a large flock of baa-ing ewes and lambs (what a marvelous sound!) and caught their protector in the middle of a grassy mouthful.
I thought you’d enjoy seeing this, too.
He’s beautiful! I didn’t know they protected sheep. I stopped to look at a field of alpacas one time and only one curious one came over to inspect me. I was worried that he would spit at me but he didn’t.
He IS gorgeous, isn’t he, Leslie? His eyelashes don’t really show in the photo, but they’re lush. I’m quite taken by their personalities as well.
What an awesome photo!
What a beautiful blog you have! I’ve always been more of a “suburbanite”, but now would love to be in the country. I grown fond of wildlife more and more when I hit 50 LOL
Lovely photos; I love lamas.
Thanks for your kind words, Diane. And I think 50 is sort of the “magic age” – that was when we made our ‘great escape’!
Love the photo. When my three year old granddaughter visits, I take her to the park and we pass a store that has animals, including two llamas. She makes that part of her trip to Grampa Mike’s house.
Mike
Kids and animals – what magic!