Editing Llama (section)

{{Short description|Species of wooly domesticated mammal}}
{{About||other uses|Llama (disambiguation)|and|Llamas (disambiguation)|the language model|Llama (language model)}}
{{distinguish|Ilama (disambiguation){{!}}Ilama|Lama}}
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{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Llamas, Vernagt-Stausee, Italy.jpg
| taxon = Lama glama
| status = DOM
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = Lama glama Vicugna pacos range.png
| range_map_caption = Domestic llama and alpaca range<ref>Daniel W. Gade, Nature and culture in the Andes, Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 1999, p. 104</ref>
| synonyms = ''Camelus glama'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
}}

The '''llama''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɑː|m|ə}}; {{IPA|es|ˈʎama}} or {{IPA|es|ˈʝama|}}) ('''''Lama glama''''') is a domesticated [[South America]]n [[camelid]], widely used as a [[List of meat animals|meat]] and [[pack animal]] by [[Inca empire|Andean cultures]] since the [[pre-Columbian era]].

Llamas are social animals and live with others as a [[herd]]. Their [[wool]] is soft and contains only a small amount of [[lanolin]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Eveline|title=Is Alpaca Wool Hypoallergenic? (Lanolin Free)|url=https://www.yanantin-alpaca.com/is-alpaca-wool-hypoallergenic-lanolin-free/|access-date=2021-10-16|website=Yanantin Alpaca|language=en-US}}</ref> Llamas can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, they can carry about 25 to 30% of their body weight for 8 to 13 [[kilometre|km]] (5–8 [[mile]]s).<ref name=OK_State>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/other/llama/
 |publisher=[[Oklahoma State University]]
 |title=Llama
 |date=25 June 2007}}</ref> The name ''llama'' (also historically spelled "lama" or "glama") was adopted by [[European colonization of the Americas|European settlers]] from [[Indigenous people in Peru|native Peruvians]].<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, "''llama''"</ref>

The ancestors of llamas are thought to have originated on the [[Great Plains]] of [[North America]] about 40 million years ago and subsequently migrated to South America about three million years ago during the [[Great American Interchange]]. By the end of the last [[Quaternary glaciation|ice age]] (10,000–12,000 years ago), camelids were extinct in North America.<ref name=OK_State/> As of 2007, there were over seven million llamas and [[alpaca]]s in South America. Some were imported to the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] late in the 20th century; their descendants now number more than 158,000 llamas and 100,000 alpacas.<ref name=Numbers>
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.scla.us/llamafacts.html
 |author=South Central Llama Association
 |title=Llama Facts 2
 |date=22 January 2009}}</ref>

In [[Aymara people|Aymara]] mythology, llamas are important beings. The Heavenly Llama is said to drink water from the ocean and urinates as it rains.<ref name=Sonia2015/> According to Aymara [[eschatology]], llamas will return to the water springs and [[pond]]s where they come from at the end of time.<ref name=Sonia2015>{{Cite book|title=Mitos de Chile: Enciclopedia de seres, apariciones y encantos|last=Montecino Aguirre|first=Sonia|publisher=[[Catalonia (publisher)|Catalonia]] |year=2015|isbn=978-956-324-375-8 |page=415|chapter=Llamas |language=es}}</ref>