The Large Llama Rescue of 2018 near Fairplay, Colorado

In September of 2018, Southwest Llama Rescue (SWLR) was called upon to rescue a large herd of llamas from the mountains above Fairplay, near Jefferson, CO running on 200 – 300 acres. We are always grateful for the chance to save the lives of llamas over the other tragic options; to euthanize, auction, or let perish in the elements. We learn that the current fencing they have is minimal, and they can jump onto the neighbor’s property and roam where they please. If they are ruled a nuisance for roaming outside their property or are found trespassing on national forest, some governments will have them killed. This herd of llamas have survived for many years, though some have perished, and new ones continually are being born. It is the end of September, and we know we are running out of time to save approximately 35 llamas (see figure 1) from a harsh winter, predators, and lethal exposure for the young ones.

figure 1. Wild llamas with hundreds of acres to roam on.

Occasionally the llamas will come up to the old partially fenced corrals near the house and we hope that it will not be too difficult to contain them. However, there is no hay (as we thought there would be) to entice them and there is no incentive for them to come in. The llamas don’t volunteer to rescue themselves or walk into the containment area. The drought in Colorado has made hay more scarce and the usual roadside hay farms are not open this weekend. A local working at the motel spends hours on the phone trying to assist us in finding hay to no avail – this will be one of many challenges for this rescue.

We notice on Friday at the first site visit there is a lot of fence repair that we must do to contain them in a smaller field first before possibly getting them to go into the corrals which also have to be re-enforced. Several hours of the first day are spent organizing, planning, building, and repairing the containment areas. None of us have worked together before and we all have come with different experiences, successes, and failures from our past rescue efforts. We are struggling to mend fences, raise panels, and create an inviting yet secure area to confine 34 wild llamas which have also bonded with a donkey, ram, and an alpaca. Some of our well-meaning efforts are at cross-purposes of others’ efforts, unintentionally. I think one of the most challenging issues with a llama rescue is that it is always a customized effort for the situation, so each one is like a first -- especially when the team is meeting for the first time. People can be edgy in this stressful situation and there is a lot of work and a lot of patience required. Additionally, this takes a lot of resources and as a 503(c) organization, we are funded by volunteer time and private and donations. We are also dependent upon a local veterinarian to give us approval to move the llamas and we also need to coordinate with the local sheriff’s office.

Figure 2. Jake and Jonna gearing up to transport a large herd of wild llamas.

Figure 3. ET and Pat Little setting up the fences and panels.

Our first step was to build a large enough containment field to herd them into that would feel safe enough to the wild llamas that they would not jump or push the panels Also we built a corral and catch pen with a chute of sorts directing them ultimately into the trailer. This was the first early hours of Saturday after unloading and placing several panels on Friday evening.  A big mistake was thinking that hay was delivered and so no one brought any. Thankfully, the sheriff’s office contact brought us two small bales Saturday which would help us at least get started.

Our first attempt at about 9 am Saturday at moving the llamas into the large fenced area was fraught with trouble at the beginning. The llamas wanted to go differently than they were known to do and miss the initially proposed open gate all together. They started panicking as they were being pushed towards the corral. The rescue team was not in synch or agreement as to how to comport ourselves or how to coax or react around the llamas. We had a mixed bag of beginners and experience folks. The llamas all bolted away and ran off about a quarter mile down the hill and hid behind the treeline.  We learned lessons of routing of least resistance, keeping still and quiet, and the use of herding tape may have improved our chances. A pair of binoculars were needed to see them.

While we waited for a new opportunity, some volunteers walked the fence line and re-enforced openings and revised the entry point to the coral that we hoped made an easier funneling for the llamas. This meant E.T. and other volunteers walking over hundreds of acres. We hoped that we could get the llamas to try again, with less fear of us.
Kent waited about an hour to let them settle down before he went and simply sat down in the field with them He began to slowly coax them out and towards the fenced area. Around 12:30 there was an agreement with the rescue team (aha! Good to set your clocks and agree to a time for movement!) that we would try again to move them into the corral. This time we had more or less a cohesive plan (See Figure 4).

Jonna walked the road to keep the llamas from bolting up the mountain where we would lose them entirely. Jake, Lynda, Pat, Kent, E.T., Greg, and son (7 people!) created a partial circle behind the llamas. Using herding tape to signal the desired direction and a moving pseudo fence line. We slowly started moving the llamas forward. We were quiet, calm, and often stopped to control any panic. I tried to keep the tape spread out among everyone so that it would act as a deterrent for going backwards.  However, as they approached the corral, they were very reluctant to enter – but we had them in the larger fenced area closer to the corrals!

On Friday evening, we have a good-sized crew and meet over a pizza dinner at a local restaurant. Jonna Johnson and Jake generously came from the Technical Large Animal Rescue (TLAR) all the way from Houston, TX (see figure 2) with their perfect large trailer for moving the females and crias to our Texas Sanctuary & Nursery run by F.E. Baxter. Also, Pat and E.T. Little (see figure 3), our experienced rescuers from SWLR are up from Tularosa, NM and brought a trailer with 16’ panels for creating a secure corral. Kent Greentree from Walsenburg, CO also came with panels and is an experienced handler and trainer who brought thin tape for topping the fence line that would deter jumping. Gayle Woodsum brought her trailer to take some llamas and was the designated leader for the effort given her experience with the notorious Montana Sanctuary Rescue that dealt with 600+ suffering llamas during the heart of the winter in 2007. And of course, we had local support from the son of the owner of the llama herd and his family who were very kind, helpful, and ultimately grateful as his elderly mother was having to surrender her herd which has grown out of control (mixing males and females) over the years. I am in the area from Albuquerque, NM but also in the area on travel for work; and as an active member of SWLR, I volunteered as did the whole team to help these llamas move to a safer place and be cared for and managed properly.  This is my largest rescue so far.

Figure 4. Jake (and others unseen) are slowly managing the herd toward the corrals.

As luck would have it, while we are all holding our breath, Donkey was most interested in the hay inside the corral and just ambled into the hay-filled corral and started eating hay – Yay! As several llamas followed, a few felt crowded and started bolting in different directions. A cria to my horror ran right into the herding tape like a clothes line on her neck and fell backwards – she was obviously released to recover and run off. I think we lost 4 of them in that moment. The large black female who seemed to be a leader was now facing me. She went high toward the treed area instinctively knowing she had the advantage among the aspens which was also near the road that was another escape route. We both darted and countered each other, eye-to-eye. She was stunningly beautiful, agile, and powerful. I can’t match her of course, and finally she bolts past me to her freedom. We lose her and one or two others. But wait, at the other end of the scene, I see another situation. One of the crias is running around in a panic, can’t find its mother, and is jumping around challenging the fences and panels. She finds a weak spot and manages to push down some cattle panel and climb out (5 1/2 ft. tall). Then a large female sees another small opening that she can clear – a small space only 4 ft. high, and over she sails. Two more lost.

But the best news is that in the end, we have 30 animals in the corral: 27 llamas, a sheep, an alpaca, and a donkey! We are all hoping no more will jump out. We let them settle in for the evening with the remains of two hay bales (See Figure 5).

Figure 5. Most of the llamas are inside the corrals along with a sheep, donkey and alpaca.

On Sunday, Day 2, the sorting of sexes is to be done while I make a hay run to Buena Vista about 50 miles away. There is not enough hay for them to eat now and we need to sustain them to keep them as content as possible (Figure 6). 

Separating the males and females was another stressful time. It caused a lot of commotion and there was even a mutiny by the males who all powerfully pushed the line of panels separating them from the females and manage to rejoin the females. So, we started over to get the females in the front catch pen to load up for our sanctuary in Kerrville TX run by Baxter. Jonna who needed to get back to Houston has been delayed an extra day already and the vet was still nowhere to be seen – a requirement to move these llamas across the country is a vet check. We anxiously wait for the go–ahead to trailer the llamas as there is a very long ride for the females and crias not to mention our kind volunteers needing to get home. Finally, the vet comes and spends 5 -10 minutes to draw up paperwork and we are good to go. Loading takes patience as the llamas learn for the first time how to get into a trailer and to trust it enough to walk into. The hard work is only partly done as we get the females and crias loaded.  There are still the males and the family of llamas and donkey that Gayle is keeping that are all going into Gayle’s trailer.

Figure 6. Some of the llamas in the corrals needing to be separated.

The sheep (ram) was left behind with 7 escaped llamas and that was a hard reality to swallow. No one knows when the next rescue could be arranged but we did know that before long we could be in the same predicament of breeding llamas running wild, jumping fences, and dying from starvation or exposure. We need to recuperate from this mega-effort and devise a plan.
Anyone interested in assisting with rescues, adoptions, or foster care, please let us know. We are on Facebook, Southwest Llama Rescue and our web site is www.southwestllamarescue.org. Please look us up Southwest Llama Rescue, Inc. and consider helping us with future llama rescues by volunteering or donating. Rescues are expensive to conduct and then the llamas are treated and cared for in our sanctuaries and foster homes. We carefully vet potential adopters for forever homes and have grown a community of loving llama caretakers with our llama adoptions, mentorship and information sources. Our mission is to ensure llamas are cared for and not auctioned, euthanized, neglected, or abused. We need your help to be able to continue our mission and are seeking all kinds of assistance.

​Next time – Part Two – Saving the Rest. (See Figure 7). ​​

Figure 7. The bachelor trio that evade rescue and run up the mountain onto neighbor's land. See Part II for the rest of that story.