LLAMAS may lag behind alpacas in the popularity stakes but the South American beast of burden has several key advantages over its smaller cousin.
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At an open day in Bendigo recently, Llama Association of Australasia Victorian branch president Matt Jones said llamas' gentle temperament put them ahead.
"Llamas generally speaking are much more placid and don't tend to spit as much," he said.
"They're generally more intelligent than alpacas; a lot more alert and herd-oriented and aware of their surroundings.
Other than size, the easiest way to differentiate llamas and alpacas is the ears.
"The ears of a llama are in the shape of a banana whereas the alpacas are shorter and more spiked," he said.
A llama is more like a horse while alpacas are flighty like sheep.
- Prue Simmons
Mr Jones began his llama herd in 2009 with five animals. The flock has now increased to 11.
"We were buying a property with ten acres and knew we wanted livestock and we wanted something a bit different," he said.
Llamas' low maintenance nature made them an easy choice.
"These guys are personable and good natured; they really look after themselves in terms of feeding. There's no need for a lot of input," Mr Jones said.
His llamas are primarily pets and lawnmowers but Mr Jones said many llama owners used their animals for many purposes.
While commercial demand for alpaca fleece still far outstrips that for llama fibre, some weavers prefer the light, hollow llama fleece.
Clunes llama farmer Prue Simmons uses fleece from her llama herd to weave garments.
"I do a Japanese style of weaving - saori," she said.
She said she considered getting alpacas but was sold on llamas by their gentle natures.
"You can just do so much more with a llama; walk them on a lead," she said.
"A llama is more like a horse while alpacas are flighty like sheep.
"They're amazing creatures."
She said she found llama fleece easier to work with than other fibres.
"It's a great fibre because it's not greasy like sheep's fibre so you can use it straight off the animal without having to give it a huge amount of washing or treatment," she said.
Ms Simmons said the animals fulfilled a range of functions at her Clunes property.
"They provide fibre, they guard the chickens and we use the manure on our sustainable farms," she said.
Ms Simmons said she would eventually like to offer llama treks from her home.
