Their uses include companion animals, breeding stock, packing, wool production, pets, show, 4-H projects and guard animals. They have also been taught to pull carts and carry light weight riders. Their average life span is 20 - 25 years. Their leathery pad on the bottom of their feet makes them a low impact animal on our environment. It is effected by moving both legs on one side of the body at the same time.
Llamas have no upper teeth in the front but have grinding upper and lower molars in the back.
They grasp forage with their split upper lip and lower incisors. As a result of this grazing technique, they do not destroy pastures. Basically, llamas communicate by using a variety of unique, subtle body postures and vocalizations. The most common sound made is a soft humming. Communicating via body language is done with use of ears, tail and neck.