The teaching herd welcomed a new member last month: Peaches, a seven-year old llama. To say the camelid herd welcomed her is a bit of an overstatement: They’re not too keen on sharing the apple treats and one of the males, Mon Amore, bullies her. But Peaches can take care of herself and has quickly become the favorite ‘petting’ llama in the college.
“She has a great personality,” says farm manager Kasey Pedder.
“She is the only llama in the herd who will let you pet her,” says Beth Chamblin, Assistant to the Dean. Chamblin occasionally takes the llama herd apples. “Ella hogs all the apples and Mon Amore blocks Peaches when she tries to get some, but she outsmarts him by pretending she’s not interested until he turns away, then she makes a run for it.”
The camelid herd now has 8 llamas and 19 alpacas. Oregon State University is known around the world as a leader in camelid medicine. Many of the standard protocols for treating llamas and alpacas were developed at OSU, for example, the first blood reference ranges, and the first guide for safe and effective vitamin supplementation. Today, OSU publishes twice as much scientific research on camelid medicine as any other university.
Every summer, veterinary students come from all over the U.S. and Canada to take a two-week camelid medicine elective. They get lots of hands-on experience, and this summer a lucky group of students will get to work with Peaches.
