Are llamas hermaphroditic?

#35
by julien-c HF staff - opened

Question:

Are llamas hermaphroditic?

Answer:

There are two different types of llama. The “small” type is usually the one most people think about, but there’s another smaller one called Vicuña.

  • Both have long hair and their young look like sheep (so that they can be easily identified as livestock by humans)
  • They both have a similar sized head, small ears and horns
  • Their bodies have a similar shape and size
  • They are both typically reddish-brown in color

Therefore, we could say that they may look very similar to each other at first glance.

So it comes down to whether or not you consider them a single species. If you do, then yes, I believe they are hermaphrodites, which was probably what you meant when you asked this question. If you don’t, then no, because if there were two distinct subspecies with separate sexes, it would make sense for them to have two completely different names instead of just being grouped together under one name.

Edit: While looking up some more information on these animals, I found out that apparently even

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