Regardless of these incentives and llamas’ cultural popularity, llama ownership in the U.S. has declined from nearly 145,000 animals in 2002 to under 40,000 in 2017.

The animals are light enough that they can tamp seeds into the soil without trampling them. They disperse seeds with their fur and hooves—and even their dung, the research team showed.

A. Zimmer et al. Llamas (Llama glama) enhance proglacial ecosystem development in Cordillera Blanca, Peru. Scientific Reports . Published online September 24, 2023. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-41458-x.

Valdez and his colleagues found the mummified llamas (Lama glama) at Tambo Viejo, an archaeological site on the Pacific coast of Peru, in 2018.The archaeologists discovered the llama mummies ...

Their study, published in December in the PLOS Pathogens magazine, says that one llama antibody, which develops in response to the virus, "potently neutralizes more than 95% of HIV strains ...

The domestication of the llama was important for the development of Andean civilisations in several ways: it’s a transport animal, its big enough to carry packs and so it permitted horizontal ...

The pot was discovered at Wasi Huachuma, a site dating to between 600-850 AD. This period of history involved increased urbanization, irrigation, and other changes to the Moche culture in Peru.

This is the moment a cheeky llama photobombed a tourist's picture while they were admiring the Machu Picchu temple. The inquisitive animal appeared in front of the camera while a tourist was ...

They are often used to protect sheep, goats, cattle and the llama’s smaller cousin, the alpaca, in the mountainous terrain of countries such as Peru and Chile.

PHOTOS: Huge, ancient animals carved into Peru’s hills These are just a few of the geoglyphs in southern Peru, known as the Nazca lines, thought to be at least 2,000 years old.