Hi all, Just want to share a cool tale I work at a llama ranch in WY where we pack up into the Teton and Wind River Mts. Last week an older couple rented two of our llamas for a 5-day trip up Big Sandy. On their third night out (about 5pm) a black bear came into their campsite. Now our boys have seen bear before and gave an alarm cry to let the people know. The couple started yelling and banging pots to make as much noise as possible. The pot banging spooked the llamas and one of the boys (White Shadow) came free of his tree for the knot had not been tied correctly. Shadow took off running down the trail as the couple were still trying to scare off the bear. We had a training trip going on out in the same area and the day after W. Shadow ran off, people started telling our employees that they had seen a llama, dragging its lead, walking down the trail back towards the trailhead. At this point White Shadow had been missing for 15 hours. Cathy (our worker) figured out that this wandering llama had to be one of our guys from the rental trip and started down the trail after him. Every person she came across told her of this llama calmly grazing at the trailhead within a stones throw of our trailer. It seems the first sighting of him there was 9am. This means he had to have walked 14 miles from 5pm the night he ran off until 9am the next morning. Cathy arrived at the trailhead at 7pm, a quick look around did not locate him so she called out his name. White Shadow's head popped up out of some tall grass where he had been grazing and he came crying and running to Cathy. He was so happy to see her that he came close to knocking Cathy over. I am always amazed at how smart these guys are. Shadow knew where the trailer was and that we would come get him sooner or later. 4 days later W. Shadow went back out on another trip showing us just how much of a pro he truly is.
