Ear Fear

Page 1

Cathy Spalding
www.gentlespiritllamas.com

Spit happens! To spit would seem one of the higher levels of aggression exhibited in the normal behavioral range of alpacas and llamas. It is not something to be given - nor received - lightly. It is serious business. When the ears of an alpaca or llama are actually pinned, it is clear they have a strong opinion on something. You can almost count on spit to follow if the offender does not immediately comply.

Bad Mouthing

The alpaca or llama who would spit does not seem to enjoy the doing any more than those who would be receiving. Even alpacas or llamas not directly involved in the exchange will avoid anything with spit on it. Some will even hang their own lower lip. After a good spit, an alpaca or llama will open their mouth fairly wide to "air out." This stance is commonly called "bad mouthing." Their mouth will look a mess with particles of stomach contents dripping here and there as they hang their lower lip. The ears are usually at half-mast, the eyes appear somewhat depressed and the nostrils may flare. In this disgusting state, they are often left quite to themselves by the rest of the herd.

This llama is exhibiting typical "bad mouthing" behavior.

Pinned Ears

Pinned ears are not the same as ears that are back. Ears that are pinned will be held tightly back and downward nearly in line with a strongly held vertical neck. For the ears to be truly pinned there must be an upward tilting of the head. This facilitates the ability of the ears to lie as flat as possible against the neck as well as straightens the esophagus for a possible rise of stomach contents. Alpacas and llamas can certainly spit without tilting their head upward. Normally, the only contents of this spit would be anything that was present in the mouth at the time such as grass, grain, saliva or cud. Spit in the form of fresh stomach contents must be brought up from the stomach. By tilting the head upward, dramatic curves are eliminated along the path from the stomach to the mouth allowing a clear volley from the stomach up the esophagus and out through the mouth.

This alpaca is holding a large oak leaf in his mouth as a sort of breath mint after a good spit.

Looking For Relief!

It is not unusual to see an alpaca or llama that has just spit wander about his environment looking for something -- anything -- that might help relieve his mouth of this disdainful situation. He may chew on the bark of a tree or fence rails, old leaves, sticks or head directly for any available fir bow as a sort of “breath mint.” There are different levels of spit. Alpacas and llamas may spit out a large volume of air complete with saliva. Spit may be composed of what is currently in the mouth such as grass, hay, grain or cud. The most serious and vile spit is fresh contents pulled up from the depths of the stomach.

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