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Llamas and Camels Trivia Questions and Answers
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1. "Is my llama really for life?" you ask, a bit worried. How long do healthy llamas usually live in captivity?
Answer: 15-25 years
Interesting Information:Okay, fine, your llama isn't really for life, but she will live much longer than a cat or a dog, so you'd better get yourself acquainted with her. In the next 25 years, you'll have plenty of time to become the best of friends.
A few medical issues to look out for:
Your llama may be in danger of heat stress if she is obese or has a shaggy, untrimmed coat.
If her appetite is unusually low or high, she may have picked up some parasites from another animal's droppings; check her droppings.
If her appetite is low and she seems depressed, she may have an ulcer. Ulcers can kill your llama, so keep her away from stress. Llamas get stressed from overcrowding, heat, cold, and loneliness.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llamas Are for Life
Some incorrect choices:
5-14 years, 26-35 years, Forever
2. What did the folk of northern Africa once consume as a cure for dysentery?
Answer: Fresh camel dung
Interesting Information:Amazingly this was found to be the case when Germany was occupying northern Africa during World War II. Comically so, to the horror of the rather fussy Germans, they noticed that whenever an outbreak of dysentery occurred, the locals would follow a camel around until it dropped a load of its poop onto the ground. They then consumed same. This product had to be fresh, however, as the cure wouldn't work with products that were stale. Oh yummy. Investigations revealed that certain bacteria in freshly produced camel dung destroyed the dysentery bacteria. As you can imagine, the Germans very quickly found a way to isolate this healing bacteria so that it was far more appealing to the palate. There's chips - and then there's chips.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
Fresh camel milk, Camel calf meat, Camel calf blood
3. Dromedary and Bactrian are the two species of which camelid?
Answer: Camel
Interesting Information:Dromedary camels only have one hump, while Bactrian camels have two. Dromedaries are indigenous to the Middle East and parts of Africa, and Bactrian camels are native to Central Asia. Both species are domesticated and used for their milk and meat.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Camelids Mixture
Some incorrect choices:
Llama, Guanaco, Alpaca
4. Why are camels called ships of the desert?
Answer: They can carry goods and people across the desert as a ship carries goods and passengers across the sea, plus the rocking motion from their walk.
Interesting Information:A camel caravan, or train, is a method of transporting goods across the Sahara desert in north Africa and, in antiquity, along the Silk Road from China to the Mediterranean. A single camel will usually carry about 300 pounds. A train may consist of 300 camels divided into files of 15-18 animals each. One man is in charge of each file. In addition to the cargo, the train carries fodder for the camels.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
They use their humps like sails as a ship does, Their humps act like a ship's rudder, They paddle across they desert like a ship on water
5. What biological family does the alpaca belong to?
Answer: Camelidae
Interesting Information:Alpacas are in the group of camelids. Other members of this group are camels, llamas and dromedaries.
The group of bovids includes for example sheep, antelopes and bison.
Cervidae include ruminant mammals such as deer, elk and moose.
The word 'Llamaidae' does not exist, I just made it up.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: I said 'Alpaca' not 'Maraca'!
Some incorrect choices:
Llamaidae, Bovidae, Cervidae
6. Which continent is home to the llama?
Answer: South America
Interesting Information:The llama belongs to the camelid classification for animals. It can be found for the most part in the regions of the Andes mountains and is used by the people there both for its meat, its fibre, and its capability as a pack animal. Millions of years ago the animal migrated south from the North American continent.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: Llama Drama
Some incorrect choices:
Australia, Africa, Antarctica
7. Camels have been around since the Miocene period when they evolved from small deer, rather like chevrotains today. Where did they originate from?
Answer: North America
Interesting Information:Camels originated in North America and travelled west to Asia while they were still connected. The llama family travelled south to South America, along with tapirs.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: The Camel Connection
Some incorrect choices:
Germany, Bolivia, Somalia
8. What family do llamas belong to?
Answer: Camelid
Interesting Information:Llamas are camelids. Equine is horses, Espile is made up and Amazona is a type of parrot!
Difficulty: Average.
From Quiz: Llama Basics 101
Some incorrect choices:
Equine, Espile, Amazona
9. "Okay," you say, after spending some quality time with your llama. "Now what do I feed this thing as a primary diet?"
Answer: Grass and hay
Interesting Information:Llamas do well with good-quality pasture and hay. An adult llama can last a few weeks on 100 pounds of hay, and good pasture can support about four llamas per acre. Rhododendrons and buttercups are actually poisonous to llamas, and can harm and in some cases even kill them. I imagine your llama may become obese rather quickly on a diet of foie gras and croissants.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Llamas Are for Life
Some incorrect choices:
Grass and rhododendrons, Grass and buttercups, Foie gras and croissants
10. How are camels being used to improve the lives of children in the poorer parts of northeastern Kenya?
Answer: They carry mobile libraries throughout the area
Interesting Information:The northeastern parts of Kenya have an extremely high rate of illiteracy and lack of schools. This lack of reading ability stands at 85 per cent, compared to 31 per cent for the rest of the country. The major contributing factor is lack of reading materials to improve same, and thus the poverty cycle is being perpetuated in that part of the world. Accordingly, in 1996, a mobile camel library service was set up by Kenya's National Library to try this overcome this problem. Four days a week, every week, librarians set out from the more affluent parts of the country, with three camels each, to take books out to these far flung areas of their country.
One camel carries four hundred books, another carries a portable library tent structure, and the third carries everything else needed for the trip. Because the people in these areas lead a nomadic lifestyle, the destination for the librarians changes each visit to the twelve regions the service covers. At each stop, the tent and the books are unpacked, and the books spread out in an orderly fashion on large mats. The children are allowed to select two books each on every visit and are allowed to keep and study these until the next visit, usually fortnightly, rolls around. This wonderful mobile camel library service may well be the sole means of changing the lives of the people in this poverty-stricken area of the world for the better.
Difficulty: Average.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
The children use them as toys, They are taught to babysit children, They are taught to monitor the health of children
11. Which camelid is still considered to be wild, but a few domesticated ones can be found in some zoos and private farms?
Answer: Guanaco
Interesting Information:The guanaco's conservation status according to the IUCN is of least concern with stable population trends. They are native to the mountains of South America. The few domesticated guanaco can be found in U.S zoos, along with a few private herds that have been registered.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Camelids Mixture
Some incorrect choices:
Alpaca, Camel, Llama
12. There are two species of camels. What are they?
Answer: Bactrian and dromedary
Interesting Information:The Bactrian camel can reach a height of seven feet and weigh over 1,500 pounds. A dromedary camel can be nearly ten feet tall and weigh 900 to over 1,000 pounds.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
Giant and Bactrian, Winter and summer, Dominant and subservient
13. What region(s) do alpacas originate from?
Answer: The Andes mountains of South America, mainly Peru, Bolivia and Chile
Interesting Information:Alpacas have already been domesticated over thousands of years by Native American tribes of the higher regions of the Andes. It has now also become more and more common to domesticate alpacas all over the world.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: I said 'Alpaca' not 'Maraca'!
Some incorrect choices:
The Outback in Australia, The desert regions in Africa, mainly the Sahara and the Kalahari, The polar regions like Antarctic and Arctic
14. How can you tell when a llama is agitated?
Answer: It lays its ears back and spits
Interesting Information:Regarding that spit, you can actually tell the degree of agitation in the llama by how rich the spit is - the more agitated the richer the spit.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Llama Drama
Some incorrect choices:
It frowns, It runs around in circles, It bangs its head against the wall
15. On which continent did camels first evolve?
Answer: North America
Interesting Information:Were you surprised as I was to read that? Fossils reveal that they did indeed evolve from North America millions of years ago and spread outwards from there to Asia and South America. It would appear that the hump was an extra evolutionary feature in the Asian camel, as the following question will reveal.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: One Lump or Two with Your Camel?
Some incorrect choices:
South America, Europe, Asia
16. When people think of camels, they associate them with the Egyptian deserts but they are much more widespread. Which country doesn't have wild camels living in it?
Answer: Russia
Interesting Information:Australia's population of camels escaped from captivity and are living in the outback. In Tibet, Bactrian camels are used to shift cargo over the steep peaks.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: The Camel Connection
Some incorrect choices:
Australia, South Africa, Tibet
17. What is a baby llama called?
Answer: Cria
Interesting Information:A cria is a baby llama.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Basics 101
Some incorrect choices:
Llamalet, Kid, Fawn
18. What unusual ability do the wild Bactrian camels of Eastern Asia possess?
Answer: They drink salt water
Interesting Information:Apparently the Bactrian camel of Eastern Asia is the only naturally wild camel left in the world. All other camels have been domesticated, or in the case of Australia, are domesticated camels that have become feral. So tough is the wild Bactrian at surviving that it continues to exist in the harshest climates and environments on the planet. These include wastelands where the Chinese carried out nuclear tests some years ago, the Gobi desert of Mongolia, and in areas where fresh water barely exists at all. Instead, these hardy creatures slake their thirst by drinking water from salt springs. Amazing.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
They eat tin cans, They can turn somersaults, They eat meat
19. Which camelid has been used as a livestock guard in North America since the 1980s?
Answer: Llama
Interesting Information:Certain regions have high populations of predatory animals like the coyote. In the 1980s, sheep herders in the U.S. began using llamas, normally geldings, to guard their herds. The llamas bond with the livestock and instinctively protect them. They can also be used to guard herds of goats.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Camelids Mixture
Some incorrect choices:
Camel, Alpaca, Guanaco
20. What product does the fleece of llamas lack, which is found in the fleece of sheep?
Answer: Lanolin
Interesting Information:Lanolin is quite valuable and is utilised in the manufacture of cosmetics and other products. Llama fleece, however, which is noted for its beautifully soft qualities, lacks this product. The under part of their fleece is used in the manufacture of hand crafts and various garments. The top layer, which is somewhat coarser, is used to make rugs, rope or tapestry for wall tapestries. The fleece also comes in various colours - red, light and dark brown, grey and black.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Drama
Some incorrect choices:
Fibre, Cotton, Nylon
21. What do camels store in their humps?
Answer: Fat
Interesting Information:Surprise, surprise, it isn't water at all as most people believe. The fat stored in the humps of camels helps control the temperature throughout the rest of their bodies. Scientists believed this may have evolved from living in hot desert type environments. The stored fat also breaks down to provide energy for camels. The ability of the camel to go without water for long periods has more to do with the shape of their blood cells and the way they perspire, rather than any external appearance.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: One Lump or Two with Your Camel?
Some incorrect choices:
Water, Ovaries, Luggage
22. Llamas have how many stomach compartments?
Answer: Three
Interesting Information:Llamas are modified ruminants, with only three stomach compartments instead of the usual four.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Basics 101
Some incorrect choices:
One, Two, Four
23. The babies of which camelid are referred to as chulengos?
Answer: Guanaco
Interesting Information:The word 'guanaco' comes from the Quechua word 'wanaku'. Young guanacos, called chulengos, are able to stand up about five minutes after birth and begin to follow their mother. Guanacos have one baby at a time, and give birth every other year during the summer.
Difficulty: Average.
From Quiz: Camelids Mixture
Some incorrect choices:
Camel, Alpaca, Llama
24. What are the main reasons to domesticate alpacas?
Answer: For their wool and meat
Interesting Information:Due to the high quality attributes of the alpaca fleece fibre, as it is very soft to touch and cosily warm, there is a high demand for it. So, they are mainly farmed for this reason all over the world, however in their regions of origin, they are also still bred for a high protein, low fat meat supply.
Difficulty: Easy.
From Quiz: I said 'Alpaca' not 'Maraca'!
Some incorrect choices:
For riding and pulling carriages, For ploughing and forestry, For their milk and eggs
25. What other part of a camel's body also helps in their water conservation process?
Answer: Nostrils
Interesting Information:Ths nostrils of camels are so shaped that when they breathe, the greater amount of water vapour which is lost in the breathing process by other animals, is trapped inside and then returned to their bodies. This amazing animal is like a walking water recycling plant. In some climates, simply by eating greenery, this truly remarkable animal can also absorb enough moisture from the plants to go without water at all if necessary.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: One Lump or Two with Your Camel?
Some incorrect choices:
Ears, Tail, Hooves
26. How much does an average adult llama weigh?
Answer: 300-400 lbs.
Interesting Information:The average wight is 350 lbs. for an adult.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Basics 101
Some incorrect choices:
100-200 lbs., 200-300 lbs., 400-500 lbs.
27. "Are the rumors true?" you ask. "How likely is it that my llama will spit at me or my friends?"
Answer: Unlikely
Interesting Information:Llamas only like to spit at other llamas, usually over food. If a llama spits at a person, it is probably because she has no other llamas around her, and thinks that you are a llama.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llamas Are for Life
Some incorrect choices:
Pretty much a certainty, Depends on the breed, Spitting is a myth; llamas never spit
28. Which camelid was originally domesticated and bred by pre-Columbian societies thousands of years ago primarily for its fiber rather than as a beast of burden or for meat?
Answer: Alpaca
Interesting Information:Alpaca fiber is similar to wool, but it is hypoallergenic since it doesn't have lanolin. It is also soft, silky, and flame-resistant. The alpaca was bred from the vicuna, which is another South American camelid, with the first true breeders being the Pukara, though the Incas refined alpaca breeding.
Difficulty: Average.
From Quiz: Camelids Mixture
Some incorrect choices:
Camel, Llama, Guanaco
29. What is stored in a camel's hump?
Answer: fat
Interesting Information:The fat in a camel's hump enables it to travel long distances without food or water. When the camel becomes hungry or thirsty, the fat is broken down and used to supply energy.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
water, nothing, it's the backbone, cud, it's part of the stomach
30. Please enter one of the two main food sources an alpaca feeds on.
Answer: hay
Interesting Information:Alpacas are mainly grazers, but if there is no fresh grass available due to seasons for instance, alpaca keepers feed them primarily hay plus a small amount of a commercial alpaca food mix. However this food mix is only meant to be an additional vitamin and mineral supply, not as a main feed.
Difficulty: Average.
From Quiz: I said 'Alpaca' not 'Maraca'!
31. The female llama: What is unusual about her estrus cycle?
Answer: She doesn't have one
Interesting Information:The lady llama doesn't go on heat, and only releases an egg to be fertilised when mating occurs. She reaches puberty at twelve months of age but the male doesn't reach puberty until he's at least three years old. When the two mate, it is carried out in a lying down position. This is known as a kush. Mating can take up to forty-five minutes, and during the whole of this time, the males make a sound called an orgle - a loud, buzzing, rasping discordant noise.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Drama
Some incorrect choices:
She has three a month, She suffers badly from PMT, She only has one a year
32. What is the physiological purpose of a camel's thick coat?
Answer: To reflect sunlight and help keep them insulated
Interesting Information:Even though humanity has made use of camel's coats for any number of reasons, the physiological reason that camels have thick coats is for insulation - to reflect back the heat from the sun and the desert sands. Camels that have been shorn for their wool actually perspire fifty percent more than normal in an attempt to avoid overheating, the poor things.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: One Lump or Two with Your Camel?
Some incorrect choices:
To make floor mats, To provide wool for clothing, To make tents
33. What is stored in a camel's hump?
Answer: Fat
Interesting Information:A popular misconception is that a camel's hump contains water. It actually stores fat to convert into energy. The llama family do not have humps.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: The Camel Connection
Some incorrect choices:
Water, Nothing, it's used for display, Sugar tissue
34. What is the most common noise that llamas make?
Answer: Hum
Interesting Information:Llamas hum to express themselves both when they are happy and stressed out. Mothers also talk to their babies in this way.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Basics 101
Some incorrect choices:
Spit, Growl, Bleat
35. Still the case in 2014, why is camel milk so expensive to buy in the United States?
Answer: Lack of female camels
Interesting Information:Remarkably, this is the case. The USA by 2014 only had 5,000 imported camels. The female camel in particular is in very low numbers. Although camel milking programs are now in existence in Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio, each camel farm has only a maximum of twenty camels. The female breed in the States produces only five litres of milk a day. This has to be shared with its calf until it is eighteen months old.
Otherwise the mother stops producing milk. Females camels also cannot be bred until they're at least four years old. So easily available in poorer countries, milk from camels in the United States, on the other hand, is fifty times dearer to purchase than an ordinary cow's milk. On a positive note, several more states in the US are soon to also open up camel dairies. Then the price for camel milk may reduce.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
Camels only produce milk once a month, Camel milk is only good for two hours, Male camels kill the camel farmers
36. The males of one species of this camelid will show his dominance and try to attract a mate by showing his dulla. Which animal is this?
Answer: Camel
Interesting Information:Male dromedaries have dullas. A dulla is an organ found in the camel's neck and it will hang out of his mouth when in rut to show dominance and attract a mate. This unusual organ is an inflatable sac that looks somewhat like a swollen tongue.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Camelids Mixture
Some incorrect choices:
Alpaca, Llama, Guanaco
37. What benefit do camels gain from having long eyelashes?
Answer: Protection of their eyes from blowing dust and sand storms
Interesting Information:Camels have a double row of long lashes to protect their eyes from blowing sand in the desert. They are also able to close their nostrils to avoid breathing sand.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: Ships of the Desert
Some incorrect choices:
Attracting a mate, This is a fallacy; their eyelashes are very short, The eyelashes match the length of their tail
38. Do alpacas need shearing? And if so, how often?
Answer: Yes, usually once a year
Interesting Information:Alpacas usually only need to be shorn once a year, and the best time for it is in spring for the obvious reasons: to let them keep their cosy warm fleece over the cold winter months and then take it all off before the hot summer season starts.
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: I said 'Alpaca' not 'Maraca'!
Some incorrect choices:
No, there is no need to do this, Yes, they need to get shorn at least twice a year, Yes, four times a year is recommended
39. When baby llamas are born, the mothers do not lick the babies clean. Why is this?
Answer: Their tongues are too short
Interesting Information:The dam's tongue only protrudes half an inch, at the most, from her mouth. When it is born, a baby llama weighs between 9-14 kilograms. When fully grown however, it can weigh between 130-200 kilograms (280-400 lbs).
Difficulty: Hard.
From Quiz: Llama Drama
Some incorrect choices:
They're fussy, They have weak stomachs, The babies are born clean
40. What is the purpose of a camel's flat wide feet?
Answer: To stop them sinking into the sand
Interesting Information:Remarkable aren't they? The long legs of camels have even evolved for a perfectly logical reason. Not for elegance or speed or beauty, but to keep their bodies as far up as possible from the heat of the desert sands.
Difficulty: Very Easy.
From Quiz: One Lump or Two with Your Camel?
Some incorrect choices:
For self defense tactics, Galloping in camel races, Tap dancing
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