Llamas strut their stuff at county fair

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Wednesday, July 16, 2008

They’re tall, hairy and have been rumored to spit. Now four llamas are among the newest additions to this year’s West Otter Tail County Fair, which opens today.

Christa Johnson of Norwegian Grove 4-H in Pelican Rapids owns one of those llamas.

“We heard it was new and I was really interested in it,” Johnson said of the llama and alpaca project, a first for 4-H this year. Johnson’s family purchased Larry the llama from an exotic animal auction in Barnesville a couple of months ago, and she’s been caring for it ever since.

The 4-H project may be new, but llamas have been popular across Minnesota for sometime, said 4-H Program Coordinator Tammy Nordick, particularly in southern communities.

When the llama show is held at 2 p.m. Friday at the fairgrounds, animals will be judged not only on showmanship but on agility — a trait required of llamas in their traditional role as pack animals. The show will also include a costume contest, Nordick said, in which 4-Hers can dress their animals anyway they’d like.

The arrival of llamas at the fair this year meant the construction of new pens, said Willis Roehl, president of the fair board. Those pens measure about six by eight feet and sit at the end of the cattle barn.

Arriving at the cattle barn Tuesday, Larry the llama sported a shaggy coat, though shorter than it was weeks ago.

“He had dreadlocks all over him when we got him,” Johnson said.

Caring for Larry hasn’t been particularly difficult, she said, though sometimes he’ll make sudden bursts to run. He eats hay, pellets, treats like sugar cubes and apples, and likes companionship.

“They’re a very compassionate animal,” Nordick said, describing cases in which llamas have become protective of animals nearby. “They’re very concerned about their pen-mates, so to speak.”