We’re expecting to have a new stud male soon (more of this later, as I think Val has already said!). In preparation, we have subdivided our bigger field into a large part and a smaller part, by installing a new wire mesh fence. On top of this, I have put two electrified strands. “Why?” you might ask. “I thought llamas respected fences, and none of yours have escaped.”
Well, we have never tested having Valentine and Duc immediately next door to Pedro and his women. Since we moved here, they have been separated by twenty metres of no-llama’s-land, across which Pedro has snorted and Duc/Valentine have posed and strutted. A phony war of insults and threats has been conducted by the males, encouraged by a preening group of females (“Go on Pedro, show them how strong you are!” “Hey you boys over there, why don’t you come and show us some action?” “Ooh, are you going to fight over little me?”).
We know that real llama fighting is scary stuff, and have seen how violent Pedro can be with Duc and Valentine (‘Bad Day at Black Rock’). However, we really could not face putting two studs in adjacent fields, so the occupants of the smaller newly partitioned field would have to be Duc and Valentine. The electric fence was intended to be an additional deterrent, designed to keep the peace . . . . but would it work, or would there be bloody chaos?
I walked the two llamas over to their new field. They were lively and interested. Once released, they trotted up the steep hill from the bottom gate, keen to explore. Then they saw Pedro. And he saw them.
The electric fence was a good idea. Although I doubt if Pedro would agree. Each time he leant over the fence-line, baying for blood, there was a loud click, followed by a rapid withdrawal. Duc caught on to this game very quickly, and repeatedly approached the fence to stand oh so nonchalantly just out of reach. I swear he was grinning as Pedro came forward again and again to get shocked. Valentine was the model of nervous submission, but I suspect he was also enjoying the spectacle.
After an hour or so, things settled down. Pedro now patrols the fence, neck nearly touching the first electrified strand, intermittently baring his teeth and making the most extraordinary noise (like a cross between the roar of a rampant bull and the screech of a mating cat).
Valentine pretends that Pedro is not there.
And Duc still taunts Pedro by standing insouciantly just out of reach.
Meanwhile, the females watch fascinated. You can almost hear them: “They’re fighting over us, you know.” “So who do you fancy most then?”
