Llama

A superb introduction to the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuna--the Andean cousins of the humped camels of the Old World. Cowie packs this pocket-sized book with entertaining anecdotes and fascinating insights into the biology, cultural history, husbandry, and economic importance of these South American mammals. . . . This handsome book is lavishly illustrated, engagingly written, and thoroughly researched. It is accessible to the general reader, and it will appeal to anyone interested in finding out more about llamas and their kin, as well as to students and scholars of the history of mammal domestication. -- Choice Cowie's Llama is a very useful case study of the mania exhibited by Europeans and Euro- Americans and Oceanians for acclimatization projects, many of which have entailed unintended consequences. But llamas have been fairly benign as introduced species go. Wool is the main attraction, and still at a premium. But llamas, good-natured on the whole, can also be used as petting-zoo and therapy animals. And they are excellent in the role of guards. They can't do much to intruders except spit on them, but they are large enough to scare away coyotes and foxes, and their spit is nothing to be trifled with. --Tim Morris lection Llama beautifully weaves together the anthrozoology and cultural history of four South American camelids--the domesticated llamas and alpacas and their respective wild counterparts, the guanacos and vicunas--with their biology and evolution. From the use of camelids by indigenous peoples for wool, meat, and transport to these animals' modern-day participation as golf caddies, therapy animals, and wedding-day mascots in the United States, the narrative Cowie tells is at once sweeping and studded with compelling scholarly details. --Barbara J. King Times Literary Supplement