Roll, roll, roll your llama!

Demonstration by Lost Creek Ranger Ceilidh.

Llamas like to roll in dry, dusty spots (watch out when finding those on the trail!), and will enlarge any promising site in their pastures. Rolling is primarily driven by "itchiness" (llamas who itch more, whether due to personal sensitivity or actual parasitization, roll a lot more). Aside from that, as with horses, rolling also serves to unweight the spine and allow slightly displaced vertebrae an opportunity to self-correct.

That long neck is used as both a lever and a counterweight in the process; the tail also participates (see the sixth photo in particular) but doesn't really accomplish anything. :-)

Comments

Gwen (fishingcat)

The first step, after heaving oneself onto that pointy spine, is to scrub this way and that against the ground for best itch relief.

Eventually the laws of physics prevail, and the whole body tips one way or the other. An artful roller controls the amount of force and balance to delay this as much as possible, as well as choosing which side to flop on.

To prepare for the next scratch, the neck goes back ...

(Note — this photo has an excellent view of the short, slick-haired section on the underside of all Classic llamas. Woolly llamas have a much smaller area of shorter hair, and even that, although lacking undercoat, is longer than on Classic llamas. The thinned-to-near-bare area around Ceilidh's udder is because she is nursing, and will not remain that way.)

And a little scrubbin' on this side, too ...

11 years ago.

Gwen (fishingcat)

Ceilidh has rolled as hard as she can towards her feet, and now goes for the rebound-rocking thing. Notice her tail is copying her neck even though it's totally ineffective!

There, now she's "gotten a run at it", as it were.

This is the hard part. The ligaments on the back of the neck are super-strong, and require a lot of strength to counter. Throwing the neck "down" (toward the forelegs) with enough force to roll the body again (in either direction) can take several tries. Eventually, older llamas (22.5 years+) lose so much strength that they can't roll upright and get stuck on their sides. :-(

Quickly now! Throwing her neck as far towards her feet as possible until hitting the tipping point, then REAL FAST she'll have to tuck all her legs under ...

Success! Back upright, itch scratched, and re-decorated with vegetation (which the llamas actually don't care about, although it sure does make us PICKY primates lose our composure).

[Disclaimer — the preceding demonstration was performed by a highly trained professional. Do not try this at home. :-P ]

11 years ago.

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Llama Behavior Llama Behavior

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Roll, roll, roll your llama!

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