Just 24 hours old

Well the new-borns were up on their feet suckling and playing by the time I got into work yesterday morning, it is amazing to watch their progress everyday. I sat down in the nursery paddock trying to get some lovely shots to share with everyone and little Ollie came bouncing over to me to give me a good old sniff, it is lovely to see at this young age he has such confidence – they are very inquisitive. The temptation to reach out and stroke him was so strong but we have a policy at Catanger not to over handle the youngsters  as this can lead to behavioural problems in the future, we allow them to come to us and respect their boundaries, in turn they respect ours.

It is so lovely to see the other llamas reaction to the new arrivals into their herd. Not being the most affectionate animals, llamas have so many different and amazing ways to show their love. Lollipop and Nikki, who were last years babies have stepped into ‘big sis’ roles and even our rescued pony, Feather had a go at being adoptive mother today.

I had noticed Ollie had shimmied his way under the nursery paddock fence, I rushed over to get him back with Orla (his mother) but before I got there Feather was already at his rescue, standing over him in a very protective manner. It is so special to see how each individual of the herd, llama or not, plays an important role in protecting and bringing up the new arrivals.

Here is a short video I managed to get of them just under 24 hours old.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz4S_uxm-wQ