When walking or hiking with llamas I'm often asked "Do llamas attract bears?" Bears have been known to attack llamas but our experience has been that llamas don't attract bears anymore than other pack stock or pets. In fact the llama's "alarm call" may act as a good deterrent for bears. Llamas are instinctively alert and aware of their surroundings, and usually draw attention to an intruder by making a startling "alarm call" when it senses danger. A llama is usually aware of a bear long before we can see or hear it and will let off their "alarm call" when the unwanted intruder is around. Click on the hyperlink to hear our Raul llama making an alarm call - Llama Alarm Call However, I would not recommend leaving llamas tied out unattended while camping. In that situation llamas would not be able to defend themselves from predators such as bears or even an aggressive dog. Even in suburban areas such as Anchorage, there are
In Alaska we only do a partial shearing of our llamas in the spring. This is because it takes about two years for the wool to completely grow back and llamas need a good coat of wool in the Alaskan winter. First we clean the llamas by using a Circuiteer blower (below) and brushing. Otherwise, the dust in the llamas' wool will dull the shears. Notice in the YouTube video, how Phil is using a downward motion with the shears. He is also taking care to keep the shears parallel to the llama's body. Otherwise the shears could injure the llama if they were to shear too close and clip the skin. We have used Stewart Shearmaster shears for many years which have worked well for us.