Today I continue my quest in creating and posting one block a day of the fabulous That Town And Country Quilt by the lovely Susan-Claire Mayfield. This is day three hundred and thirty-two of that project.

This quilt block shows a llama standing from the side. The llama is pointing to the right. It has a stocky build, with thick legs and a thick neck. It's tall neck goes up to a head you might think was smiling. There is a dot for the eye and some penning in to indicate the ears. The llama is made up of one big piece of tan fabric with stitching and penning ot indicate the various contours of the body (such as the legs). This is all against a blue salmon-patterned background. — Click To Enlarge

Meet Cindy, the guard llama.

Cindy guards the sheep on McGregger’s farm.

She accomplishes this by watching over her flock and taking an alert posture at the first sign of predation. Her charges may or may not notice this first sign. She follows that with an alarm cry.

That gets everybody’s attention. She will then run toward the predator (usually canine, wild, or domestic), kick at it, and put herself between the predator and her flock. She will be very aggressive.

This non-lethal form of protection has been very successful on the farms that employ these furry sentries. In fact, most reports indicate a 100% improvement in losses.

Llamas were bred in South America for their size and stamina and used for pack animals, riding, and fiber.

Domestication began over 5000 years ago. Llamas as guard animals are used primarily in the western United States. South Americans think we are crazy.