Llamas: Cousin Species of Camels

Almost all of us are well acquainted with Camels, a tall, hardworking and strong animal. It's well known for its endurance to carry heavy weights and tolerance to not eat and drink for days but still it's able to survive and carry out its duties for humans. Camels are also notorious for holding grudges and taking revenge from humans and other animals even after years. Camels are famous among other animals for having hump on their back. Camel hump stores a lot of fat, which enables them to go for extended periods of time without eating or drinking since their body turns the fat into energy. The size of the hump varies according to how much food the camel eats and can hold up to 80 pounds of fat. Camels belong to the family; Camelids.

The camelids found in Pakistan and the desert areas of other countries like North Africa and Middle East contain a single hump only. They are Camelus dromedarius. These camels also have a brother species from the same genus. These are Camelus bacterianus, which contain two humps on their back. The Gobi Desert in China and the Bactrian steppes of Mongolia are home to these native Bactrian camels. But, we have a lot to tell you about other camelids too. You will be amazed to learn that there also exist camelids which do not contain the hump at all. They are called Llamas. 

Llama, a genus of South American Camelids, comprises four species: Guanaco, Vicuna, Alpaca, and Llama. Genetic studies indicate that llamas descended from guanacos, while alpacas originated from vicunas. Llamas, the largest lamoid species, have been utilized as beasts of burden in South America for over 6,500 years, similar to camels.

Both Camelus and Llama have evolved from the genus Pliuchenia. Llamas migrated to South America while camels became native in the old world. Llamas became extinct in North America during the last ice age but were introduced later. There are almost 200,000 llamas present in the United States today and tens of millions of them are found in South America. Camels are larger and have hump while lamas are smaller and have long hair, but they share the same basic structure.

Llamas are Southern American native animals. Its herds are primarily in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. It is a pack animal and used to carry goods and supplies but it is also used as a source of food, wool, hides, tallow for candles, dried dung for fuel. As a pack animal they can carry 25-30% of their body weight to a distance of about 8-13 km. They are social animals which have slender bodies with long legs and long necks. Their head is small and they have short tails and long pointed ears. They do not have hump like camels. They eat grass and other herbs and shrubs. They can learn many simple tasks when they are made to do those tasks over and over again.

In Pakistan, you can get to see llamas in the Safari Park of Karachi where it is also being bred. A couple of Llamas there produced a baby llama in 2017, a year after a llama present in the Lahore Zoo died in 2016. If single humped camels and double humped camels are brother species, then a little more difference but significant similarities suggest that llamas are surely their cousin species.