Credit and Thanks to Robin Benton and her 4H students who assembled this informational paper.

Thanks to the cooperative effort of volunteers, law enforcement, Parks and Wildlife, and the State of Colorado, 22 llamas were successfully rescued from starvation and neglect and have been moved to pre-screened homes to receive veterinary attention and care. 

It began with an email requesting help from the County Sheriff’s Office to F.E. Baxter, Co-Founder/Treasurer of Southwest Llama Rescue (SWLR), on October 3. A follow-up call came to me from the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Protection Lead Investigator/Coordinator on Thursday October 6. The investigator asked if SWLR could assist with a case where they were serving a warrant and seizing llamas. The estimate was 20 llamas that needed a place to go. Without hesitation, I said, “yes, definitely. I don’t yet know where we will put them, but we will figure it out.” But they weren’t just looking for a commitment, they were ready to go that Sunday, October 9th – the date for the warrant to be served. This was a short notice emergency!

Having a small network in Colorado was lucky and imperative. Robin Benton is my go-to, so I was relieved that she was available. Also, Eric Gustafson, another SWLR volunteer, was quick to take a personal day from his demanding work schedule to help these llamas in need. Between the three of us (and our companions), we could load 20 llamas into our three trailers. I called Ingrid Thompson for a location to temporarily house the llamas. I had met her at another llama roundup earlier this summer. Ingrid and Duane Snader of Cloverleaf Farms West (CFW) agreed without hesitation to take the llamas temporarily. The had some space that we could separate males from females; so, I was so relieved that they volunteered to help us. None of us could have taken in these many llamas! Frank, my husband, was also recruited. He came mainly to keep me in check and to assist with some heavy panel lifting and setup for the llama roundup and his creative, calm, and thoughtful perspective is always a great benefit in the sometimes-chaotic atmosphere of a wild llama rescue.

Frank and I headed up to Colorado on Friday to stay in Pueblo and prepare for the event. All this was happening while I was coordinating a llama adoption process long distance in Grand Junction. Alexis Knight who with Kathleen Knight has been fostering and training two male llamas covered for me and did a wonderful job finding a candidate, reviewing facilities, and assisting with the overall adoption and successful transfer. Danielle Yahn, the new owner, is also now another potential volunteer in Grand Junction.
​
The field team met 0900 Sunday in the parking lot at 11 Mile office for a briefing. We heard about the owner’s property who was being served – he was not home, gratefully, so there was no confrontation. On the team were State, County, and Park officers. Some were armed for the situation. We all signed a sheet as participants with our contact information. Eric also brought his daughter Lena and her friend Michaela who were very helpful.

​The day before, the wonderful Park Officer rounded up five of the roaming llamas penned them at the 11 Mile Park office. There were other llamas at large, around the property as far as a mile away, to go look for. The Colorado State Animal Control had a plan to split up the team: the state and county officers were going to the property to serve the warrant and take evidence for the investigation, and SWLR was to go with the 11 Mile Park officer, find a place to put our panels up, and capture the llamas that were roaming off the property. One of the males had advanced aberrant behavior syndrome (ABS) (aka novice handler syndrome) and was labeled as Aggressive Llama in the photos we got from animal control. It was said that he was certainly bottle fed. The 11 Mile Park officer had a long history with him and named him Carl after the popular and violent llama in the cartoon, ‘Llamas with Hats’. The issues with this llama herd have gone on for 10 years. Carl was known to chase park goers, knock them down (I saw a video) and not let fishermen out of the water. He was known to put his head in the window of cars and bite people. He was a serious threat to the public and the plan was to dispatch him, sadly. We had no one who could take Carl – he was not borderline, he was advanced ABS, the result of hand feeding or coddling llamas and not enforcing personal space. He was the first llama that we saw when we followed the Park officer and the game warden into the hills.

​We were off-roading with our trailers about a mile from the property. With binoculars, we also saw a small herd of about 5 llamas about 100 yards away from Carl. The llamas were scattered over more than a mile of open land, with access to hundreds of acres of open space. Most private fencing in the area is relatively low barbed wire, easy for many llamas to jump. We were challenged by the enormous size of the landscape for this roundup effort. The other llamas in the vicinity came running to Carl (a surprise to to some but llamas are bonded and curious). The officer got out hay and tried to set up panels while the llamas were eating in hopes of containing them for us. The females were almost penned with the two officers using a rope for herding them when a male llama was approaching and stepped on a strand of barbed wire. He panicked and ran, wrapping the barbed wire even more around him. All these llamas then ran, giving rope burn to our park officer.

The llamas were scattered over more than a mile of open land, with access to hundreds of acres of  open space. Most private fencing in the area is relatively low barbed wire, easy for many llamas to jump. We were challenged by the enormous size of the landscape for this roundup effort. 

The opening of the property is where the officers had staged their trucks and trailer so when the loose llamas approached, they did not want to enter. it's always a challenge when multiple agencies and people are trying to organize an effort to catch animals without time for more pre-planning, and an agreement on who will lead the effort. Everyone sincerely wants to help but there were multiple authorities, and the plan came together as it evolved.

State Animal Control had 10 panels 5.5 ft. high and 12 foot long and had them set up except one side being 4-strand wire fencing that we needed to re-enforce with my panels to prevent escape. Two large males kept trying to come in but with human bodies everywhere, and us trying to set up the panels by the entry to completely enclose their corral, it was chaos. Two adult males and an adolescent male were finally corralled. One of these males was aggressive and would charge and rear up. He did not scream or spit but clicked a lot at the crew. I called him borderline ABS.

​I made a comment that the llama people should load these guys which was not meant to insult anyone, but tensions seemed to mount even more, then. The adolescent male then jumped through the fencing back out on the road but we managed to get him back in the property to corral him more securely. We loaded the two males into Eric’s trailer, including Cowboy, the borderline ABS male. The rounding up of the three month-old crias, another adolescent male, and another adult male was stressful as we were on about 10 acres and parts of the fencing was compromised where they could get out, if pressured. Four or five of us tried to do it, but the crias or the other two would squeeze out. I brought out 500 feet of herding tape and finally all nine or so crew worked together to slowly herd the llamas into our large corral. It was a good feeling with everyone working together, for the most part. With everyone’s patience thinning, we did get the five remaining llamas into my trailer successfully. Only two large males, one with barbed wired around him, who I call Tangled, were outside and too spooked to collect. ​

We got the three crias in who were separated from their mothers that were loaded into the officer’s cattle trailer.   We traveled back to the 11 Mile office to get the five llamas waiting there into Robin’s trailer. It was about this time that I heard that there were 18 deceased llamas on that owner’s property, where we just were. This was stunning and sad news that would go into the investigative report about the neglect and cruelty of this case. We were grateful that SWLR was to take the 22 live llamas in their trailers to CFW. An attempt to do some musical trailers from the cattle trailer to Eric’s trailer was not successful. Our State Animal Control Officer generously agreed to drive their cattle trailer to CFW with the 10 llamas (minus the three goats). Then we loaded the 5 waiting llamas at the office juggling them a bit to separate a male into Eric’s trailer from the two more mothers with older crias going with Robin.

​Arriving at CFW, Ingrid and Duane had about an acre of fenced and cross fenced area that we unloaded four trailers of llamas into. Hay and water was enjoyed and the reunion of the crias and mothers was a joy to watch. They were all recuperating and enjoying loving care for two weeks while we received the release form from animal control so we could adopt them to good homes. Ingrid and Duane adopted a mother-cria pair and another three were adopted by a close neighbor. The remaining eleven females and crias were transported to our SWLR sanctuary in Kerrville, TX with F.E. Baxter. Of the remaining llamas, there are 6 males; and Cowboy, is already spoken for. Other than many of the llamas being very thin, some needing shearing, and intestinal parasites. We were very lucky to get them when we did. The remaining two are out there and need to be rescued before winter comes. Two failed attempts, but we are still going to keep trying.
The cost, time, equipment and other resources like feed that went into this rescue was provided by volunteers. We rely on volunteers and donations to make a difference in the lives of these creatures often saving them from starvation as in this case. To contribute to Southwest Llama Rescue to continue our efforts, donations can be made by going to www.southwestllamarescue.org.

Scout was the name given to one of the intact males that was included in our recent Jefferson, Colorado llama roundup. There were 12 wild males (out of 24) living on a large ranch (160 + acres) that were gathered up in June and rehomed or placed in temporary foster care with Southwest Llama Rescue volunteer. This is not an easy or simple effort and requires experienced llama handlers and a strong coordination among the team. We were lucky to have caught these llamas in two days. Day one: create the corral that can contain 24 jumping males. Day 2: manage to herd them into the corral, sort out half of them and load those scared llamas into the trailers. Seven of the twelve went to a temporary foster facility only about 55 miles away in Divide, CO. Scout was one of those seven but was the only one who was still intact in that group. This is a story about Scout and his companions that moved to Divide. Scout is a beautiful rich brown color (insert photo) and (more description?)
A side note: The other five males were driven to New Mexico and were younger than the Divide group who were placed in their forever homes as soon as they arrived in Albuquerque. They are all adjusting well to their new homes with other young male llamas to run with and are getting along great.
As typical of wild llama round ups on large properties, the ages of the llamas were not known -- other than an estimate of; if they were gelded, they were at least 7 years old, and if they were intact, they would have been born on the ranch, making them younger. So, we deduced Scout is younger than 7. Of course, with wild llamas, it was not easy to tell if they were gelded or not until they were sheared or handled.
It was the decision of the foster care to have all 7 males sheared the following morning of their arrival. This was to be their first experience being handled by people and we were very concerned about how this would affect their adjustment and trust in people. But the decision was ultimately that of the foster parent who was planning to also halter and lead train anyway and the deficit of trust would have to be regained by them. The shearing commenced with professional shearers using the tie and stretch on the floor method which was quick but still not without trauma and stress. The early shearing did reveal some very thin llamas under heavy coats that had never been shorn before. Nails were not an issue since their home turf was great for keeping them down. Fighting teeth trimming was not part of this as that would have likely required medication, which was not used. 

​This is good background for what happened with Scout a couple of days later. The shearers were called back to adjust the halters that were too loose. Another rough-handle situation that was done inside the barn. One can imagine what the llamas are thinking given how they are handled every time they go in the barn. On day three, our foster parent was working hard to manage the ranch and the new llamas and was going about the business of feeding and working around the yard. Scout typically appeared relaxed with his companions, but that day decided to leap over the panels (and another fence or two) and ran off into the pasture where the females and a gelded male (their guardian) were frequently grazing on over 50 lush acres. This should have been expected once Scout observed the females come and go a couple of times. A 5 foot panel and fence is not much of a deterrent to an intact agile young male.
Our assumption was that if the females were brought back in, Scout would return. A month passed and the foster parent spent many hours looking for him on the 100-acre property. The ATV may have scared him off. There was plenty of food and water for a smart wild llama like Scout and he had no need to return to the corrals and barn. We hoped that he was not on the highway somewhere, caught by the 15 inch lead attached to his halter and immobilized, or fallen by a mountain lion or other predator. 

​Then, a Facebook message came to our foster parent that a llama was spotted about 3 miles west of the foster home and not far from the highway. Maybe he was working his way back home. A party of 10 people led by the foster parent included the local animal control and some friends to catch Scout again. SWLR was not contacted until two attempts were made that weekend to no avail. Lynda Liptak got the call that it was just too much and the stress of running around trying to pickup Scout could cause someone a heart attack. So, it was left up to SWLR and the professionals to recover Scout. Again, we were dealing with a wide-open area – this time hundreds of open acreage, and a wild llama with all he needed. Except companionship.
Lynda was indisposed in Albuquerque so she contacted Robin Benton in Monument, Colorado to request her help in getting Scout back and to lead his rescue. Robin and Lynda also reached out to Stage Stop Llamas for a female bait llama to use to interest Scout into approaching. Jeff Rucker of Stage Stop Llamas was very kind to help out and brought a female llama and Robin brought her male llama and Bailey (last name?) from 4H to assist out to the field. 

​Along with Trixie (last name?) and the other great folks at Teller County Animal Control, Jeff, Robin, Bailey, and a pair of llamas, they headed out into the field where Scout was seen. Scout took one look at the pair of llamas, called out an alarm, and ran up into the trees and hid. So much for that idea. Animal control left since they were discouraged from driving out to him on their ATVs and did not have the time to wait him out. Jeff left with his female llama since that did not seem to work. So, Robin and Bailey were the last ones standing.
Robin opted that they sit down in the shade of a tree and see what happens. Her male llama Obe (Sp?) was in the old dilapidated corral within sight, hanging out calmly. But within about 40 minutes, Scout came charging out of the trees and made a straight line for Obe right into the corral to perform a male challenge posturing. Robin and Bailey quickly sealed the corral and got Obe to safety. Fantastic! In less than an hour, Scout was trailered up with the help of animal control 

To the credit of Robin’s tremendous awareness of llama behavior, Scout was finally recovered. And, due to her generosity, and patience, Scout is now fostered at Robin’s with doubled fencing and then 6’ high panels to domesticate him, build some trust, and eventually find him the right home. Scout has become a very sweet llama and can be gently handled. Scout is very attentive and curious, and is going to be very trainable. He does seem a bit traumatized around his neck and head, probably from the rough shearing and the halter discomfort from a poor fit and being on for about a month. He will allow Robin walking right up to him and touching his withers freely. We hope that he will soon be adopted along with a couple of his buddies from his heard so that he can feel safety and comfort.
Southwest Llama Rescue is a 501(c)3 and has several llamas that are needing qualified homes. Please help us with homes, donations, assistance. We are all volunteers looking out for quality of life for all llamas. 

Usually llamas are born into a relationship-filled herd. They start with being welcomed by all the other llamas at birth when bonds are formed. Ideally, the cria have other crias to play with and learn about interactions and appropriate behaviors in their family dynamics. Having other adult llamas beyond the mother is very helpful in their development. Whether the bonds are maintained or broken is usually dependent upon their human caretakers.
​
Understanding there are competing wants and needs, it is my wish that we consider the needs of the llama and try to accommodate their social bonds that are part of their health system. Although we can’t maintain all the bonds we would like to, and some bonds are naturally cut in the course of their lives, we can take their relationships into consideration when they are sent to new homes. Llamas are happy in a herd, and I find I am questioning what is the number that makes a herd?

​Note: guard llamas are often requested as a single llama. They can bond with other species. Yes, this is true, but they can guard very well in pairs – one llama scouting and protecting the perimeter and the other llama staying with their charges. I believe this is a better solution. They speak the same language, work better together, and have a better chance at protection and surviving an attempted attack. I remind those requesting a guard llama that llamas are only a part of a multi-layered defense. 

I find that as I get to know the llamas that come through Southwest Llama Rescue (SWLR), I see the benefit of keeping llama families intact. This is often a challenge if the llama family is large. In fact, the most requested adoption is for one or two llamas. Very rarely more than two, and when we get requests for two guards, it is likely because it is known our policy is that they are adopted in pairs.

Occasionally the request is for one llama; as the companion to an existing llama who lost their llama friend - and the kind owner understands that they need company. When the size of property is limiting, or the resources for raising and feeding llamas is scarce, a two-llama herd is certainly a benefit to the llamas needing a home and very much appreciated. But if there is the ability to consider more than one bond, then my preference for llama adoptions is really a minimum of three, with four being better.

I recently had the great luck to be contacted by a family interested in two llamas for adoption. After conducting the site visit and meeting with them, I was very happy they were interested in having llamas as they were perfect candidates with ideal facilities and pasture; as well as the desire to learn about llamas, proper care, and handling. But, I had a conundrum.

Having a family of four that needed a home, I assessed two candidate llamas in that family were possible for them; I knew I would have to break some strong bonds (in my assessment). This is an agony that I wrestle with nearly every time there is a request for adoption. Wanting two llamas to start out with should be easier, common sense tells us. And, if I had a pair of appropriate llamas that needed to be separated from the herd, that would have been a great answer. The truth is, I could break up a family of four that came in about 4 months ago and deliver two to the wonderful new adopters and send the remaining two to another home, when one comes up. I conceded that a separation was necessary in order to place these llamas and tried to console my guilt with the fact that, hey, they are after all surrendered and there is no guarantee that we can keep them together.
So, the family wanted to come over and see the llamas and watch their interaction. For background, the human family planned to use them for guards for their soon-to-be goat herd. I was not certain the llamas would be good guards, but thought we should try it out as part of their security system. We had two females who were a little skittish, but one started to allow me to feed her up close. The other two llamas in their group were a mother and a nursing cria. The exact relationship or lineage is not known; this is true for 95% or more of the surrenders that we take in. Perhaps they are all related or perhaps not.

In any case, they were close to each other from the same herd, had been through some rough times (all around 5-8 years old except for the cria); two were known to likely have had crias that had perished. The mother was the leader of the group who missed the herd of origin and all the bonds she had. I know this because she paced the fence line looking beyond to the horizon for a month after they arrived. They had come from a large herd of about 26 llamas in Jefferson, Colorado and they were the only females. They were wise to predators having roamed on hundreds of acres all their lives and they were survivors. What they needed was good care and handling to build trust in humans.

I let my wish be known that I would prefer the family stay together and that in my opinion, they would be more effective and safer being together. In fact, I find that they move together so well that it is very easy to manage the herd of four as they follow each other and learn from each other very well. When working on trust with the most comfortable one in the bunch, the others are watching and learning. 
​

And, in the Camlidynamics fashion (read The Camelid Companion by Marty McGee Bennett, a wonderful resource), “packing” the catch pen with multiple llamas while handling and training, is an excellent technique. They feel safer in a bunch and I can spread out my enthusiasm across all four. A half hour spent on 4 llamas will be enough for them, while a half hour on one llama or two llamas may be way too much for recent rescues and cause too much stress.
During the visit by the adopting family, I introduced them to all the llamas and explained the relationships they had and how the llama groups interact. It was clear to them the four had a strong bond. And, to my joy and relief, they agreed to adopt the herd of four. I will check in on them and mentor with great appreciation for the generosity of these new llama caretakers.
 
About Lynda & SWLR: Lynda has been rescuing and training llamas since 2009. She is presently a Director of Southwest Llama Rescue in Albuquerque, NM. During 2020, over 10,000 hours were donated by volunteers to accomplish rescue and care, feeding, medical care, and transportation (over 10,000 miles) of over 100 llamas/alpacas. Over 50 llamas/alpacas were placed in permanent homes, or re-homed, or into permanent foster care. Over 40 llamas/alpacas are in temporary foster care. Area of rescue included most states in the western US.
​

Betsy Bell was one of the first generation of llama owners in New Mexico. She was a cherished member of the llama community who gave her dedicated love to her llamas that continues after her passing. As a dear friend, Director of Southwest Llama Rescue, Pat Little says, “Betsy Bell is everything Good”.  Born Elizabeth Rose Bell in 1938 the eldest of nine to Saul and Olive Bell. Her parents were the originators of the prestigious Saul Bell Design Award for jewelry design known worldwide. Betsy worked alongside her father in the jewelry shop and fostered her artistic nature and brought beauty into everything she did.

​Betsy shared some of her story with me on a fall afternoon in 2016. What she did not share was that she had stage 4 cancer and at that time would only have another 6 months to live. Betsy was a bright-minded original. She was striking in appearance, in her conversation, and her demeanor. She was quick to correct anyone mispronouncing “llama” to make sure one did not mistake the origin of these wonderful creatures. Betsy did things her own way, and was a pioneer in understanding how to work with llamas.

​In 1978 Olive saw an ad in Sunset Magazine showing pretty llamas that just said, “Llamas are Fun”. That got Olive and Betsy excited and they wrote a letter to Kay Patterson (who owned 500 llama in Sisters, Oregon and posted the ad)  inquiring how to buy llamas. Kay directed her to her customer in Pojoaque, New Mexico; Scott McCullough and Chet Smith (Scott’s ranch manager).  In 1978 Olive and Betsy got their first two llamas after some amount of cajoling given Scott’s initial reluctance to talk with Olive and Betsy. Betsy then joined the ranks of the first generation of llama owners in New Mexico,  Chet Smith and Don and Jodi Sleeper (Addis) and in Colorado Bobra Goldsmith and Howard Kerstetter (first president of RMLA), who were also friends. Betsy ultimately owned at least 26 llamas used for showing, training, fiber, driving, companions/pets, and breeding and  was the primary caretaker, trainer, and marketer. Betsy’s entrepreneurial spirit was unleashed with the opening of Campana Llama Ranch. She also began the Llama Lover’s Association of New Mexico and brought llamas and their folks together for large events of llama showcasing. 

​She organized and led the New Mexico State Fair Llama Obstacle course for 3 years.  Betsy designed wonderful logos for her Campana Llamas, Llama Lover’s Association, RMLA, and made her own letter heading artwork and calligraphic letterings for her correspondence (she started Llamagraphics in 1985) and llama marketing. Betsy was involved with llama rescue and she generously hand wrote every “Thank You” note to the donors of Southwest Llama Rescue (SWLR) for many years in her calligraphic hand. 

​All of her llamas were registered with the International Llama Registry and she gave operatic names to everyone starting with the first two: Rumpelstiltskin and Copelia. Other wonderful names included Rigoletto, Oberon, Candide, Scheherazade, Parsifal, Don Giovanni, Peer Gynt, Micaela, and Escamillo. Proudly Betsy stated, “In 30 years, I have never shorn any llamas – only brushed them. This keeps all the guard hair in place for the llama and removes only the fine fibers, which are then aligned nicely into roving to be sold to spinners.” Betsy would add a photo of the llama and calligraphed name and short story with each bag so the buyer could request “more of that nice Scheherazade, please” as needed. Daily, Betsy would call each llama forward for their supplemental feed (“nibbles”) to the brushing spot and they would eat while being brushed. This was also the routine for when they got their nails trimmed. Betsy was worried for the llamas who got sheared annually. She noticed that on even numbered years her llamas grew more wool than the odd years meaning they must have needed more wool then - perhaps for the harsher winters. So, automatic shearing might result in those llamas being cold for those winters where their bodies were generating more wool but it was being stripped off equally every year. 

​Betsy used the repetition and discipline from her ballet training and classes that she gave to children for years. She created and taught a class she coined, “Talk to the Animals” and demonstrated the benefits of interspecies communication. Betsy once wrote down the entire vocabulary she taught her llamas and counted 83 words! “One day” Betsy said, “I told Scheherazade (who kept playing with the water hose), ‘go through the gate, into the Run-and-jump [name for one of the corrals], and get a drink of water from the bucket’, and she did it!. After that, I tested the other llamas to see if they would understand and most of them did.”

​Betsy also enjoyed being part of a highly energetic group she worked with, the Enchantment Driving Society, who Betsy described, “were a thrill to be involved with; an event every month, in addition to their monthly meetings for 11 years! Rarely did they miss having something going on”. They drove llama carriages and organized events continually with energy and enthusiasm.  Betsy’s devotion to animals included volunteering at the Rio Grande Zoo where she worked with the llamas and alpacas. She ultimately designed her own halter that showed off their faces and fit around the ears. To Betsy, “a llamas beautiful face should be shown and not covered by the halter”. Her llama posters read, “Campana Llamas is one of New Mexico’s oldest herds with the North American, ‘Old Style’, Tall and Elegant llamas with enough fine wool to look beautiful but not so much that you can’t see their marvelous bone structure.”
To some people, llamas are livestock to be used. To others, llamas are pets to enjoy seeing in the field. To Betsy, llamas are like relatives to care for and love -- up close and personally. 

​The later generation of New Mexico llama owners that Betsy was involved with included the founders of Southwest Llama Rescue (2001) by FE Baxter and Pat Little who became very close with Betsy. In her later years, as Betsy was caring for her mother, the time came when she needed to find care for her llamas. She surrendered her last twelve llamas to SWLR and sent funding to provide for their care and feeding and donated her trailer hand built by her brother. 

Betsy’s sister, Molly, managed Betsy’s estate to her wishes which was to give generously to causes that Betsy was dedicated to.  We at SWLR are deeply grateful that most Betsy’s estate was given to SWLR in a trust to continue the mission of caring, advocating, talking to the llamas and educating people on the highest quality llama interaction. Thank you, Betsy, for who you were and how you continue to help us even as you are gone.  

After the recovery of 26 of the 34 llamas outside of Fairplay, Colorado, and a little recuperation from the long haul, I got a call from Kent Greentree who said he would like to recover the last of the llamas that had evaded us. I had already been thinking about the pure black female llama who I had danced with during the first rescue attempt and watched as she powerfully took control of her freedom when she charged past me in that last rescue attempt. She may make a wonderful pack llama with some kind treatment and trust work. Also we heard from a family member of the rescue site that she just had a new cria (baby llama) only a couple of days old now – and I would love to have a mother and cria pair!

​Kent’s enthusiasm and the outreach he had done to get another volunteer was enough for me to agree to assist in this second adventure of llama rescuing. And so much was invested in learning the “lay of the land” in the first rescue that I felt this next effort should go more smoothly. 

​Kent suggested I should keep the black mother and her cria and he had his eye on another mother/cria pair that were still on the mountain. We also knew there was an orphan cria a few months old who was left behind because she became separated from her mother in the last rescue and she would need to be cared for to survive. Another concern is since we knew there was a young bachelor herd of three males still there, in a short time, there would be a large herd of llamas roaming the area unprotected, starving in the winter, trespassing on public and private properties, and at risk of being shot, poisoned, or struck by vehicles. The rest of herd needed to be rescued.
The question was, could we manage everything that needed to be done? Would we have enough support and materials like trailers and panels? It was a very long drive for us but if we could get there with enough panels, ample food to entice these wild llamas, and not get stuck in the snow or harsh condition, I knew three of us could do this. We had one open weekend that would work for Kent and me. We figured we needed about 12 large panels to build the corral and loading chute. After much searching and struggle with a few offers and then strange cancellations, Kent finally had to take apart his corral and load up his panels onto his truck bed and lean them up over his cab since he was going to also pull a trailer. Later we were to learn that Kent’s contact would bail on us but my husband, Frank Liptak was a good replacement

Our first rescue was September 29 – October 1, 2018. I had surgery on October 23rd and was not allowed to run around for a couple of weeks but by mid November, I was able to safely go and round up some more wild llamas and on November 16th. I headed up from Albuquerque separately - I had three llamas in my trailer transporting them northbound. In trying to be the most efficient with scarce Southwest Llama Rescue resources, I also would deliver three llamas who had been “cruelty seizures” (which I had worked with all summer) to their newly adopted home! This is always a happy occasion and the most enjoyable part of my volunteer work. Loving care was going to be provided by Cheryl and Karl Hermann in Elizabeth, Colorado; but first, I would have a flat tire on the trailer around Wagon Mound, NM which was par for the course. Later I got to show Frank where I got a flat tire during the first rescue and struggled with the spare on my truck right outside Southpark, CO; which turned out to be a sign that I should have replaced several tires before this trip. 

Cheryl and Karl welcomed their new llama family with joyful excitement as we unloaded the three girls just before dark to explore their new home. They happily ate from Cheryl’s hand which was a very nice sight to see given their difficult history with people. My summer’s work paid off and Cheryl and Karl were the perfect people to take over.
My three-horse slant trailer was now ready for another rescue and I figured I could hold 6 llamas and Kent’s trailer could hold two llamas which was perfect for the 8 llamas we were saving. But what would we do with the ram? Did I forget to mention there was a ram in this story? I thought the ram should be left there for the family to rehome (we were Southwest Llama Rescue after all) and we were already saving 34 llamas and a donkey! But there were strong feelings for the ram by many folks. Ram was bonded to the llamas and in a way was helpful in the first rescue. He was tame, although a bit aggressive as he had rammed one of the rescuers. Kent decided that he would take the ram and two llamas. This proved a challenge with the trailer space that we had.

Upon arriving at the site just before dark, Kent and a family member were pushing a large round bale of hay into the designated corral area which was right along the roadside. We were very relieved that hay got delivered finally. It snowed the night before so the llamas should be hungry. A lot could be said about the trouble we had getting hay (similar to the panel debacle) but in the end our close partnership with a kind family member saved the day. After we set up the panels in the chilly evening, I thought we should close off the hay from the llamas so that the llamas could be caught in the morning after opening the corral. Otherwise they would nibble throughout the night and not be hungry enough to come back or stay. They were leery and not easily contained. In fact, Kent brought some panel extension material for the entire large corral that would prevent jumping. We knew we had jumping llamas and his three foot electrical fence was easily tied to the 5 foot panels providing 7 foot high corral. This was a much better deterrent than my flag tying on the end of bailing wire to the tops of the panels.

I enjoyed the evening light watching the herd of eight llamas plus sheep (ram) and getting acquainted with their dynamics. Black beauty is a new mom and it is amazing the tiny cria has survived the snow storm. The other orphan cria sticks by the black mama llama as well. There are three crias, in the mini herd, two female mothers, and three young bachelors.
​The next morning Kent arrived early and opened the corral to allow them in for the grass hay and the alfalfa I also spread around. He noted that they would not all enter at once and furthermore, there were only 6 llamas to be seen. The newborn cria was missing as was one of the young males. My fear was they met with a predator and the young male, in trying to protect the cria, was also gone or very injured. Should we capture the six in hand or should we wait to see if the other two arrive? It was pins and needles as we cleverly hid a few hundred feet away inside the truck up the road. Kent’s plan was for me to drive down the road and he would jump out while in motion and close the gate on the herd. They were not afraid of traffic and would not suspect a person leaping from a moving vehicle. We sat for about a half hour – I was dreading the fate of the two missing llamas when all the sudden, we see the little cria coming through the woods happily trotting towards her mother and the young male yearling walking calmly behind her. What a miracle! We called the yearling male Blackback, the Caretaker. I was so happy to see them, I could have cried. We spoke in whispers even though they could not hear us as we waited for all the llamas to find their way into the buffet zone. I was afraid starting the truck might startle the llamas –  so when another vehicle was driving by, I started up the engine and idled until Kent and Frank were ready to do the sneaky deed. Without rushing, while they were contentedly nibbling, we went into gear and drove slowly by, Kent and Frank lept out to quickly close the gate on eight llamas and a ram. Success! We all felt great and there was a mini celebration of high fives before we had to get them loaded up on the trailers, load up panels and other material, and head home. But more exciting times were still to come.

It looked like we would need to put all the llamas in my trailer so that Kent could take the ram in his trailer. Although I had a tack room that Mr. Ram might have fit into; I could not take him to my place and I was thinking I needed the tack room to put the newborn cria in there for her safety (she was maybe a week old). So, the logistics of this ram as well as having Kent’s two llamas in my trailer and there not being a corral at Kent’s place (since we had to use his panels) was a messy problem that could only be solved satisfactorily if I found a home for the ram before getting to Walsenburg.
After loading up Mr. Ram in Kent’s trailer, Kent realized that he may be going home with Mr. Ram instead of the pair of llamas he wanted. It was late afternoon and about that time, our partner from the family arrived and helped with the loading of the panels. After that, I was ready to go. Kent requested help with the electrical line that was strung along the tops of the fence line that surrounded the field left there from the first rescue the month before. Having my trailer loaded up with the llamas, I was anxious to leave, but Frank was the more patient one and walked out into the snow drifted field and helped with the collection and careful roll up of the hundreds of feet of line.
There was a storm forecasted and very chilly temperatures for the night.  It was already after 5 pm when we started down the mountain and fog started to roll in. Once down in Fairplay, I had cell phone reception and kept trying to find someone who would take the ram so that Kent could then take his llamas from my load. I left several messages with people I knew, posted on social media sites, and even made a quick Craig’s list add: Free Merino Wool Ram! 

​The most exciting time was while driving down the mountain. The fog was coming in and while driving in the dark, I realized that I was not sticking to the road! My tires were slipping and it felt like the trailer full of llamas was pushing me around. Although we had not yet seen any precipitation, the fog was enough to coat the road with black ice and my two wheel drive Toyota Tundra was not cutting it. A few miles in I decide I must pull over. Other cars are driving along fine but with my vehicle and llama load, it was just too scary. I realized I should let Kent know that he should stay back in Fairplay and I called him on the phone just to hear him in a panic as he nearly slides off the road. Oops! I let him know that I am going to be waiting on the shoulder. Frank and I sit for about two hours before we see a sand truck go by in the other direction around 930 pm and decide to follow if he comes by going East, where we are headed. Kent who pulled over onto a better shoulder a mile ahead of us was not ready to go again but I was cold, hungry, and cramped enough to see how the road handled with a little sand. Going 10-15 miles an hour with other vehicles whizzing by, we white knuckled it into Canon City, Colorado to get to a fast food place before closing – but missed it by 10 minutes. We had very little to eat or drink all day and that made for short tempers. Just one more hour on the ice and we would be in Pueblo where we had a place to stay and could rest. Kent was still back on the mountain and our communication this late was sparse, but he had our address in Pueblo and I hoped that he would make it down.  What should have taken us 2.5 hours to drive, took us 7 hours and we arrived exhausted at our house in Pueblo, Colorado at midnight. The roads were covered in ice the entire way.

The next morning, we meet Kent at our house – he slept in his truck outside and he doesn’t look like that was very successful. We go out for breakfast and I ask everyone in the place in my loud voice if anyone would like a merino sheep today? We get a lot of chuckles but no takers. Given that it is Sunday, I am hoping that I can get ahold of my friend Rachel Storm before church as she is my best hope for wanting a ram as a 4H project for someone. Kent wants his llamas delivered to his place and for us to help set up the corral for the ram and llamas - but the road to his place is also perhaps not passable so we have a conundrum all due to Mr. Ram. Thankfully, right after breakfast, I get a call from Rachel and she is willing to take Mr. Ram – Yay! We just have to drive out to “the Lanes” near her place, load Mr. Ram into her trailer, sort out Kent’s llamas from the rescued herd and load them into Kent’s trailer, and everyone can be on their way home with their new animals.
Sunday was a beautiful overcast day and everything went right except for a couple of flat tires that I had in New Mexico (which I was getting quite used to anyway). And since this rescue, I have already adopted out two of the yearling males and have been building trust in the rest of them and beginning the training process. 

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.