Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The best llama in the world -or- Llama 1, Coyote 0


So there I was this afternoon, picking raspberries...

When I heard Kai llama sound her llama siren alert:

Did you know that llamas sound a shrill trill (say that 3 times real fast) when they sense danger?

Kai was in our center pasture with her goat charges, Pete and Reggie, so she knew she had a job to do:

Unfortunately, while I had my camera with me, my lens was not strong enough to get a really good shot of the ugly bugger that was bothering Kai. Can you see him, though? The coyote? He's just to the left of Kai's tail in the below photo:

Kai walked sternly toward the coyote, sounding her alarm and putting herself between him and Pete and Reggie:

Which made the ugly bugger decide not to have goat or chicken for lunch:

and he turned to run away:

He looked over his shoulder once to make sure she wasn't following:

which she most certainly was:

I ran down the hill to open the gate separating the two pastures so she could chase him off:

She would run up into the woods, sound her alarm:

And then race back to the fence of the pasture containing Pete and Reggie:

Back again to verify the intruder was vanquished...:

Followed by a sprint back to her boys:

She let me know when it was ok for her to go back into the middle pasture with Pete and Reggie:

The boys and I heaved a sigh of relief as we all made our way back up the hill:

Everyone's nerves were a bit on edge for a while:

I found the chickens hiding under the deck:

Even when the goats relaxed and moved on to other things, Kai still stood in the distance, completely still, keeping watch:

This is a girl who is damn serious about watching over her goats:



Such a good, good llama:

Oh, and she eats dandelions, too:

53 comments:

  1. Good llama indeed. Until a few years ago I had no idea that llamas and donkeys are good watch animals. A friend has a llama named Beauty....she is ferocious about her sheep. She even herds humans away if she isn't sure of their intentions or doesn't know them well. Yay for the guard animals. The Olde Bagg

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  2. Pete and Reggie seem awfully brave or unaware of the danger, good thing Kai was taking care of them.

    A good guard Llama sure beats a lacrosse stick!

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  3. My girls were cheering her on as they read the story...You Go Kai, Girl... if we had handful of dandelions we would share them with her, for a job well done!!

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  4. Wow - Kia is an amazing guardian! I'm glad your critters are safe. Your photos of the event are wonderful.

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  5. What a wonderful girl she is! Those coyotes are just too fresh. I found ours staring at our cat and me through the fence, just fifteen feet away. He passes by every morning, checking things out and making sure the hen house door is securely locked.

    So glad all is well and that your chickens hid. Yikes!

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  6. I've heard that llamas were really good watchmen. This just proves it! Way to go, Kai!! Thanks for the pictures. Glad everybody is safe.

    Sue

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  7. Wow! I've heard that llamas are good guardians but I've never seen pictures of them in action. Amazing!

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  8. oh she is wonderful! she certainly meant business too!

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  9. How awesome to witness that! What a great protector she is. I think she deserves some carrot chips, don't you?

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  10. That double-stinkeye in the first photo would be enough to scare away a pack of coyotes. Way to go, Kai! And way to go, Danni, for capturing it all.

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  11. Great pictures and great job Kai!

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  12. Go, Kai! That was FANTASTIC!! Extra dandelions for Kai!!

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  13. Oh i just found your blog, love it, love your new world & life, fantastic, we're about to do the same!! The Llama is a hero, love Posie

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  14. Wow - that was scary! What a wonderful protector Kai is. I've never heard the llama siren, but I bet that coyote won't forget the sound of it any time soon! I love how Kai protects all the farm critters. She really is such a good and brave llama. Plus she's pretty, too.

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  15. way to go kai girl!!! i had no idea a llama would do that. time to get out the pellet gun...but then that might scare the animals. i'm sending kai all of my dandelions!

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  16. Oh wow, I've heard of but never seen a guard llama in action. Love the photos, like poetry in motion.

    You go Kai Protect Llama Extraordinaire. Goats and chicken safe in your care. Danni Kai deserve dandelions everyday.

    LiBBiE in Oz

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  17. Way to go Kai! Where were the donkey boys?

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  18. Thanks goodness for Kai! She's earned her dinner, that's for sure!

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  19. I was considering getting a St. Bernard to keep me company at night while my boyfriend is at work, but now I'm reconsidering. Your llama is FIERCE!

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  20. Way to go Kai, that's such a great story, and for you to be able to photograph it even more amazing. We hardly ever seen coyotes during the day around here in Texas. Donkey's I've heard are great flock protectors as well. I hope you gave her a special treat for her great work.

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  21. What a good llama. Hope you gave her an extra special treat.

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  22. That was incredible footage! I love that you opened the gate and allowed her to fully scare off the predator. Amazing! Thanks for sharing!

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  23. Holy smokes! Awesome action shots! This makes me feel better about getting Thelma and Louise. I think Louise would have been all over it like Kai.

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  24. I think it is very exciting that you were there and got to see her in action. What a good guard llama.

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  25. Ok, Kai is just awesome. What a fierce guardian she is! Good girl, Kai! You showed that pesky old coyote!

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  26. Way to go, Kai! That girl sure knows how to earn her keep. Glad that coyote got the message and moved on along.

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  27. Hooray for Kai! I bet you found some sort of treat for her!
    I love the 'documentation' - I'm so glad you had your camera! I've heard that llama's protect their flocks, but I have never seen it.

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  28. Hooray for Kai!! I see now why she chased the coyote and not the boys---they weren't in the pasture where the coyote was.

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  29. Woo Hoo, Kai!!!!!!!!!! Did the goat boys even snort?

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  30. I never knew about llamas until i read your blog. Kai is gorgeous and talented! AWESOME!

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  31. Way to go, Kai! You go girl! I'm so proud of her.

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  32. So . . . you must grab your camera whenever you go outside? How lucky for us, your faithful readers, that you captured this excitement. Kai must be feeling pretty proud and mighty to scare off this dangerous intruder. And I'm sure Reggie and Pete are grateful as well.

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  33. She is awesome!

    I've always said that if we ever get sheep, we get a llama too.

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  34. Wow, I hope she got an extra special treat for dinner! She totally deserves it!

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  35. What a wonderful guardian angel your goats have got there. Go Kai! This is so cool!

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  36. Wow - what a very good girl!! Hope she got extra goodies for the hard work!

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  37. Looks like someone needs a whole pile of treats.

    ~~Matt~~

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  38. Great photos and I'm so glad you have such great guards, very scary. Very bold in daylight too - ours only do that in winter. I never lost a sheep when I had llamas... with my Pyrenees now I've never lost anything including a chicken. It pays to have such trustworthy and reliable security!

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  39. I love this precious little story and I love how you are able to show it play out in pics.... sweet Kai

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  40. Yay for Kai. She's my hero.
    A lot of farmers are using Alpacas here in Australia to keep there sheep & goats safe from foxes etc.

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  41. I love the way you speak Llama! You know exactly what she's thinking..how in tuned you are to her behaviors, and sounds..that's pretty impressive Danni..Good job Kai on bravely protecting the farm and everyone on it<3

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  42. awesome story and awesome illustrations! That's wraps it up! We're getting a llama for our sheep...whenever we get the sheep! I was cracking up that the goat boys went to the fence with her to see what the fuss was about. Or at least it looked like they were getting closer to see.

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  43. That's fantastic! Yay for Kai!!

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  44. Ohhhh! What a good girl!!! We're so proud of you, Kai!!! What an amazing post, Danni - great pictures. I would've never known that llamas were so darn protective.

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  45. Shrill trill, shrill trill, shrill trill... boy that is tough to do.
    Yay Kai! Makes you wonder how many times she may have done this and you haven't been there to see.
    She may need a super llama cape.

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  46. I just kept saying, wow, wow, wow, wow, WOW! Now I have to get a llama.

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  47. Learn something new every day. Too cool to have a watch llama

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  48. As I lay in bed this morning, looking forward to my daily dose of 7MSN, I realized that I miss reading about llamas and goats. Then I remembered this post. So I had to search it out and read it again. I love it! I hope you and your furry and feathered ones are well.

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