Draft:Breeds of llamas

the llama, a historically important south american camelid. throughout much of history llamas were found in many different breeds, traditionally raised for ceremonial use, fiber, meat and beasts of burden

- Ccara Sullo

a typical female ccara sullo of good pedigree

also known as q'ara or colloquially as the classic llama, they are the tallest and largest breed with the highest capacity for meat production, their ears have a distinct rounded tip in comparison to the usual spear-like shape, as well as very sharp hooves.

ccara llamas have a thick double coat of long guard hairs protecting a fine under wool, with their long fleece, giving a saddle like appearance, as well as somewhat of a mane, said fleece is also useful for guarding against most weather. for the most part ccara fleece can be fairly sparse, especially on the head, neck and legs. these llamas should only be shorn in warmer months, especially in warmer climates where they will require additional care to stay cool

ccara llamas should be shorn roughly every year to avoid overheating, but for wool production in cold regions may be shorn every 2 years

- Medium

a fairly typical medium llama facing the camera

these llama's are predominantly crossbreeds between ccara and chaku llamas, or descended from said crossbreeds. medium llamas are difficult to distinguish at a glance, but are primarily differentiated by their double coat with minimal guard hairs, intermediate size and lessened amount of wool on the head, neck and legs

medium llamas may also retain more traits of one of their breed parents, such as manes, rounded or pointed ears and sharper hooves

these llamas are often kept as pets due to being a more manageable size with a slower wool growth rate making care somewhat easier

- Chaku

a trio of woolly llamas with various patterns

chaku or colloquially known as woolly llamas, are the smallest llama breed, with a more rounded body shape and single coat of strong thick kinked or curled fleece. which covers the entire body with the exception of the face, ears and sometimes lower legs

woolly llamas are raised primarily for wool, needing to be shorn annually, their wool is generally considered to be roughly the same quality as alpaca wool

- Suri

a grey-brown suri llama with a more ornamental clip

the rarest breed of llama, the Suri are akin to their alpaca counterparts, , due to their rarity they are difficult to breed, especially trying to avoid inbreeding when possible because of the quite limited gene pool, because of this the population remains quite small

suri llamas have a single coated fleece, which grows longest on the neck and chest, this fleece grows in a corkscrew pencil lock, with some only curling at the bottom of the lock. aside from the trademark hair, suri llamas are also known tohave much straighter noses than other breeds

some people claim these llama's were produced through crossing traditional llamas with suri alpacas, but there is no scientific proof, only theory and assumption

References

“Lamas.” Lama Breeding in Italy / South Tyrol - Kaserhof, Renon, 26 Feb. 2024, www.lama-alpaka.eu/en/llamas.htm.

Copeland, Kathryn. “4 Different Llama Breeds (with Pictures).” Animal World, 19 Feb. 2024, animal-world.com/llama-breeds/.