Do Llamas Spit at Each Other?

Kaleb asked, “Will llamas spit at each other?” Thanks for your question, Kaleb! The short answer—yes! Llamas are normally pretty friendly, but they will sometimes spit at each other for several reasons.

• Who’s the Boss? An older or more dominant llama might spit at a younger llama to show who’s in charge.
• Stay Away! When a group of llamas is eating together, they might spit at one another to say, “Back off!”
• Self Defense. Llamas will also spit to defend themselves against another llama if they feel threatened.

Spit Attack

Llamas have two types of spit. They’ll usually give a warning spit first. The warning is mostly just made up of air and a small amount of saliva. If the llama still feels threatened or agitated after the first shot—watch out! The llama will spray their target with an especially gross glob of gooey spit, which includes the contents of its stomach. Yuck!

If you’ve ever been to a zoo that has llamas, you might see a warning sign. But the creature will only spit at humans if they have a reason to, such as if they feel threatened. If you see a llama push its ears back, that’s your first sign it’s getting ready to spit. You should carefully move away and leave the animal alone.

God created all his animals with unique habits and traits—even yucky ones like spitting—that help them communicate, defend themselves, and survive in our fallen world.

Llama Facts

• Llamas communicate through hums and clucks.
• They can live up to 20 years old.
• Llama wool is used to make ropes, rugs, and fabrics.

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