Why do llamas spit?!

The quirkier and stranger animals are, the more we adore them.

In Peru, it’s no secret, we’ve fallen in love with llamas. Yes, because llamas are wonderfully weird! They’re shy, even though we know they can be real softies, and if you get on their nerves... they spit at you. Isn’t that amazing?

Actually, llamas spit for a very specific reason... and we’ll explain it to you.

If you didn’t know already (and now you will), the llama belongs to the camelid family, just like the camel and the dromedary, but it is much more similar to the alpaca, with which it is very often confused.

The llama is a bit larger than the alpaca and has a more elongated head. It can weigh up to 150 kg and, since ancient times, has been used as a pack animal: it can carry loads of nearly 100 kg and can go practically anywhere, even reaching altitudes of 5,000 meters!

That’s why it thrives in Peru: it lives happily in mountain areas and on high plateaus, where temperatures are cool and there are plenty of grasses to feed on.

But let’s get to the point.
The llama is incredibly patient, but when it feels in danger, when it feels threatened or finds itself in a situation where it feels cornered... it spits! That is its defensive weapon. It spits when it is in trouble, it spits to defend itself, it spits when annoyed. It spits partially digested food (covered in gastric juices: yuck!) and saliva.

But Peru isn’t beautiful only because llamas might spit in your face. There’s so much more! Discover it all here, in our GROUP TRIP TO PERU.