10 Amazing Facts About Llamas’ Spit

Llama spitting is without a doubt the most popular and interesting feature of this animal, the spitting of the llama, is really a distinctive feature of this animal belonging to the camel family, this feature can cause curiosity, laughter, and disgust, here are some amazing facts about the spitting of llamas.

1- Llamas can spit and throw up

If you know something about llamas, then you probably know that llamas spit, in fact, they are quite well known for this, but did you know that llamas also have the ability to throw up?

Just like their spitting, llamas have the ability to regurgitate feces from their stomach to release them with pressure, llamas will resort to this when they are very annoyed and when spitting is not enough to repel the annoying intruder.

2- Llamas do not spit to attack

Contrary to what people may think about their spitting, llamas do not spit at intruders as an attack mechanism, but on the contrary, this is a light defensive mechanism used by llamas to keep intruders away without the need to use physical attacks.

Llamas also use spitting within their social circle in various situations, a female may spit at a male llama as a sign of rejection or disinterest in mating, male llamas also use spitting as a sign of hierarchy and dominance.

3- The llama’s spit will not hurt you

Although the llama can spit with precision and speed, the spit of the llama will not hurt you, a llama can even spit on a child without hurting him.

As I mentioned previously, the llama spits with the intention to scare you away, but not to hurt anyone, it will only feel a very unpleasant sensation and in the case that the llama spits on you with regurgitated food, it will smell very unpleasant.

4- Do not spit back at a llama

If a llama spits at you, it is not a good idea at all to try to spit back, you know that the llama spits at because it feels annoyed, if you spit back the llama could interpret this as a sign of domination and it could get even more disturbed, this is not good, no matter if the llama is behind a fence, you should look at the animal with respect and keep your distance.

5-The llama lets you know when it is about to spit

When the llama is about to spit it makes gestures that are very obvious, it is practically as if it is warning “I am about to spit on you”, The llama first stares at you, then raises its head and points it higher than its target, moves its neck, chews a little, and then gestures with its lips to direct the saliva.

6-The llama does not spit acid

Many people think that the llama spits acid, or that the saliva of the llama is poisonous, the spit of the llama, which is usually green, has this color because the llama normally spits whatever it has in its mouth, mixed with its saliva, as the llama eats grass and other kinds of leaves, the spit of the llama is mostly green.

The spit of the llama is not acidic, neither is it poisonous nor will it blind you, it is simply a bit of grass mixed with saliva.

8- The llama spitting range

The llama has an incredible range with its spit and has the ability to regulate the stream of saliva that comes out of its lips. The spitting llama, whether male or female, can have its spit or spit ejected from 3 to 4 meters away (10 to 13 feet).

If you are at very close range, the llama can modify the stream of his spit by making it more scattered and shorter-range to achieve a greater radius of effect with his stream.

9- You can’t train a llama not to spit.

Spitting is part of the nature of camelids, it is something so ingrained in these animals that you cannot train them to stop doing it, the best thing to do is to create awareness and know when not to bother a llama.

Llamas are gentle animals, you can approach them, as long as they are in good mood, the llama will not spit without first giving a warning, so you should be aware of the signs.

10- The llamas’ spit stinks

The smell of llama saliva can be unpleasant, even for them, so they use it as a defense mechanism, if a llama spits on you it will smell disgusting, the saliva contains bacteria that when in contact with the skin produce an unpleasant odor, this mixed with the remains of chewed grass produce a mixture of really unpleasant odors.

Other interesting facts about llamas

Llamas are very clean animals

Although they are known to spit a lot, llamas are very clean animals, they do not have any bad odor and their fur is always kept clean.

Llamas are very strong and resistant 

Belonging to the same family as camels, the llama is a very strong and hardy animal, an adult llama is capable of carrying a load of 45-60 kg and an average of 25 to 30 km (15 to 20 miles) travel per day.

It is an animal with a very high tolerance to thirst, and also possesses the endurance and ability to subsist on a wide variety of forages making it an important transport animal in the bleak Andean highlands and mountains.

Llamas do not like to be mistreated

The llama is a domesticated animal used for work, it is gentle, but if it feels mistreated, it will refuse to work or move, it may spit, hiss and kick when the llama is overloaded with weight, it will simply lie on the ground and resist moving until the load is lightened.