Yes, both Llamas and alpacas are two animals that are known for their habit of spitting grass at us humans when they are grumpy – or so we have always been led to believe.
Why Do Llamas and Alpacas Spit?
Alpacas and llamas do spit – but it isn’t because of what you think. For years this was something that was said about them due to the habits of their much grumpier cousins – the camels.
Both alpacas and llamas are close relatives of both the one-humped (the Dromedary Camel – Camelus dromedarius) and the two-humped camel (the domestic Bactrian Camel – Camelus bactrianus and the feral Bactrian – Camelus ferus). All of which have a habit of spitting at people when they are in a grump – or want to be rid of you.
Llamas and alpacas on the other hand, usually only spit when they are scared or wary of you. Generally, these camel cousins only spit at each other – either to put another llama or alpaca in their place in the social pecking order – for a female to tell a male that he isn’t the one for her – or when they are competing for the same food. Only very unlucky humans get a face full of this green goo.
What Do Llamas And Alpacas Spit?
Well, this one might sound a bit grim – but it isn’t spit that they spit at you. Technically it is vomit.
Llamas and alpacas (and all three camels) have compartmented stomachs – and like cows – they regurgitate their food to re-chew it while they are standing around. Double digesting it if you like. And it is this mechanism that allows them to gurgle up old part-liquified grass and grain – mix it with saliva and spit it out in green goo.
If they really don’t like you – they can pull up the green goo from one of their deeper stomach compartments – the really smelly stuff. So if you happen to really frighten a llama or alpaca – which is quite hard as they are super laid back – then you may get a real sticker of a spit!
How Can You Tell If A Llama Or Alpaca Is Going To Spit?
Thankfully – there are a few tell-tale signs that you might be about to get a face full. Unlike camels who can spit a great gloop out in the blink of an eye without warning – you can see it happening in both llamas and alpacas.
Step by step guide.
Firstly – the ears go back. Both animals are very inquisitive and so often have their ears facing forwards when in the company of people and other animals. And with a llama’s giant ears you can tell when they are listening to you and when they have flattened their ears behind their heads. Some alpacas have short ears and long hair – so they aren’t as easy to see going back.
Secondly – they stare right at you. If you are being stared down by the animal and it isn’t looking around or reacting to noises elsewhere – it is focusing on you for one reason only – you are scaring it somehow. It doesn’t matter if you mean to or not – or if you aren’t even doing anything you think is scary – whatever you are doing – you are scaring it.
Thirdly – they might huff at you. In place of a full-on spit (which takes effort on their part) they might huff at you a few times. If they can’t see any way out for themselves, or you are still too close, they might offer you this fair warning. Add this to the staring and ears down – and you really need to move away.
Additionally – they will straighten their neck right up. This makes it easier for them to regurgitate their food and take a good aim. You may also see them puffing out their cheeks as they collect some saliva to mix it all up.
Finally – they spit. If you haven’t clocked all those signs in the lead-up, or your llama/alpaca is already startled before you arrived, you are out of luck. They can spit up to 3m (10ft) away from themselves – so you certainly can’t run away once it is on its way. Just hope none goes in your mouth.
Llama and alpaca spit shouldn’t be dangerous to humans – but of course, it has come from their stomach so could have things in it that could cause an issue if you were really unlucky. So if it goes in your eyes or mouth – rinse well indeed!
