Some people say that a dog is man’s best friend. South American shepherds might say the llama is!
In the country of Bolivia, a llama is a really great helper to have. Bolivians have raised these strong animals, which belong in the same family as camels, for hundreds of years. Llamas are gentle, easy to train, and they like people a lot. They make life possible for people in the rugged, dangerous Andes Mountains, where stormy winds blow, nights turn frosty, and the midday Sun scorches. Llamas carry people safely over steep mountain paths. They haul goods for people to sell in markets. They provide warm wool for clothes and blankets. Bolivia has some of the biggest mountains in the world. Maybe that’s why Bolivia has the biggest number of llamas in the world too!
At least, it does for now. The number of llama shepherds in Bolivia is shrinking. The amount of money shepherds earn is shrinking too. Genoveva Usnayo and her husband own eight llamas. Every year she sells their wool. She has noticed that people buy less and less llama wool. Fake wool is much cheaper.
The number of youth in Bolivia’s villages is also dwindling. Young people are moving to larger cities. Genaro Arce’s children are examples. Out of his six children, five have left home to live in cities. Why did they leave? Maybe the hard work of llama herding is driving them away. Mr. Arce says, “Without getting your hands dirty you can’t live. Children do not think like that.” Maybe Bolivian youth don’t appreciate llamas the way their parents do. According to Francisco Tellez, “the llama understands me. I whistle, and he recognizes me. My son does not like herding; he prefers to be a driver in the city.”
The Old Testament is full of llama cousins, camels. These relatives of llamas were herded, collected, and often ridden. Owning a large herd of camels was a big blessing. (See Job 42:12.) And llamas have been a blessing in Bolivia. Shepherds there are proud of their llamas. But now just children and elderly people herd the fuzzy animals up hillsides. People from older generations wonder: Will Bolivia remain the land of the llamas?
