Where Are Llamas Used As Pack Animals

Are llamas the ultimate pack animate being? All photo credits: Brady Miller

The backcountry truly is an amazing place. It only takes i trip deep into the mountains to autumn in dearest with haversack hunting. Nevertheless, getting at that place takes plenty of sweat equity and every step is earned when y'all're carrying plenty gear, food and water to survive a week-long hunt.

One matter I love about the backcountry is the chance side of things and pounding mile after mile on my feet carrying all of my own gear on my back is a level of excitement that is difficult to describe. Flashback to the 2016 flavor. This was a year that I wanted to try something new; detect a way to add together a twist to that adventure that I seek on all my hunts, which led to me trying out llamas for a backcountry chase. When it comes to pack animals, in the past, I've been fortunate to have used horses and also pack goats for mountain hunts. Both of those pack animals were enjoyable and I can see why people love a good horseback chase and why others choose to hunt with pack goats. Only the animal I've always been intrigued with are llamas. Subsequently meeting Beau Baty of Wilderness Ridge Trail Llamas a few years ago at a hunting show (and talking his ear off), I knew that I needed to find a way to rent a few for a backcountry hunt.

Fast forward a few years and that dream finally became a reality. Before I get started, I will say that pack goats are a fun creature to be effectually. In terms of their demeanor, pack goats are like labrador retrievers (but with horns). I fully enjoyed hunting with them. But…afterward using llamas on a backcountry hunt in Wyoming, llamas are easily my preferred pack creature. They are absolutely perfect for my style of hunting. Beneath are a few reasons why I now experience that llamas are truly the perfect pack fauna.

Earlier we go any further, when I'm talking about the ultimate pack fauna, I'grand specially referring to a pack animal that tin can be easily accessible for the boilerplate person. To my knowledge, you lot can't rent horses or mules and use them for a hunt. Then at the aforementioned fourth dimension, would that person renting a horse and some mules have the experience to use them in the mountains? Renting llamas opens the door for the average person to greatly improve their fourth dimension on the mountain without having to get on a guided hunt in club to go access to horses or mules.

1. Ability to get where no pack animate being has gone before

What I mean past this is llamas have the ability to follow you in some of the roughest terrain the West has to offer. During my eight-24-hour interval trip into the mountains of Wyoming for mule deer a few years ago, I moved camp 3 times. Each fourth dimension, I would accept my trusty llamas (Marshall and McShane) upwards to a ridgetop where we would dive into a steep bowl and so climb upward the other side. The two llamas never gave me whatever attitude at the challenge and their sure-footedness instantly proved how astonishing they can exist.

It didn't matter if the llamas were navigating a small scree field, modest boulder department or a thickly timbered jungle of trees…they had the drive and focus to behave the gear anywhere I wanted to go.

2. Peace of mind camping in grizzly state

By using llamas, I was as well able to pack in a lightweight electric fence.

Upward until recently while filming hunts, most of my hunting has e'er been solo. Hunting solo adds a lot of liberty, only also has its challenges. One of the biggest challenges or hurdles is staying safe in grizzly country. I've lived around grizzlies most of my life when doing fisheries work in Montana, but it can get a picayune uneasy when you have to hunt deep in the mountains in known grizzly zones.

This slight uneasy feeling can easily exist cured when you add llamas to your chase. While hunting with llamas in 2016 in Wyoming, I was in known grizzly bear country. However, I slept extremely well each night thanks to the llamas that were staked out near my tent.

Having llamas in camp can double up as a security system. If anything comes past at night that they are uneasy virtually, a llama will brand a agglomeration of racket, which could spook the animals away and, at the same time, wake you upwards. Earlier I headed out on my hunt, Beau told me that llamas are very alert and attentive by nature and they know when something is wrong. If they see or smell a predator, they will make a loud alarm sound that will not only alert you lot, but besides greatly has the power to warn off predators for the most function.

Some other trick Young man taught me for hunting in grizzly country is to bring a small radio and extra batteries and leave the radio on at military camp most the llamas when you exit in the morning. It keeps them calm, and likewise provides a little deterrent to go on bears away from your army camp.

iii. Hunt fresh from twenty-four hour period one to the last twenty-four hour period of your chase

Anybody understands that the mountains will test your body every single 24-hour interval on a chase. And, considering of that, offseason grooming tin can increase your chance to tackle the mountains.

However, toss llamas into the mix and this will open the doors even farther to where y'all can chase and how many days you can stay out hunting. Plus, the llamas I rented were on the taller side which meant they could easily handle the speed I can hike. So not simply was I fresh each day, but the llamas didn't slow me down in my haste to motility from location to location in search of bucks on the days I wanted to move military camp.

How much can llamas deport?

Weighing gear bags that will be loaded on a llama while moving to a new hunt location.

The platonic packed weight for a llama that is at to the lowest degree five years old to carry is 18% to 22% of their body weight. For case, for a llama that weighs 400 lbs, its efficient weight would be 70 to 80 lbs.

Normally, on a haversack hunt, the starting time couple of days of your hunt tin put a huge toll on your trunk, particularly if you're anxious to put the miles on. Going all out early in a chase could prove to be detrimental if your trunk is not used to the miles and elevation.

Now, if you have llamas, you can exist as fresh as on solar day one of your hunt as yous are on day seven. Llamas will be able to take the brunt of your load when you lot pack a week'due south worth of nutrient, camp, gear and, even, water to your camp location.

4. Packing out your meat in one trip

Using llamas as well opens up the doors to hunt further from a trailhead without hazard of spoiled meat. For instance, that elk hunting spot you e'er thought looked great on the map, but is 4 miles farther from the trailhead than your normal hunt area…well, if you have llamas, you lot at present have the power to hunt the spot you've always been dreaming about. And, at the same fourth dimension, y'all now have the peace of heed knowing that yous won't lose any meat if you lot kill a bull that far from the truck.

According to Beau, one llama can pack out an entire quartered out deer, caput, rack, cape, etc. However,  for uncommonly big mule deer and longer pack out, it is best to apply two llamas. For an elk, 3 llamas can pack out a quartered elk including back straps, tenderloins, neck, brisket, rib meat and the head. For very large elk, 4 to v llamas are best, especially if you are going more than than seven miles in steep country. Keep in mind that you should not exceed weight limits for each llama so yous might have to plan to make multiple trips. However, even if yous have to take multiple trips, those trips volition be much easier on your torso and you lot can always conduct some meat and gear on your back as you pack an creature off the mountain.

5. Easy to stay mobile

Moving army camp is a breeze with llamas.

Along those aforementioned lines of packing meat, llamas arrive easy to stay mobile and move around to your plan B, C or D spot if things aren't panning out on your hunt. So at present, the basin that is two miles away—that's now within reach. Packing up and heading farther into the mountains is easier on the listen knowing that, with llamas, y'all can pack up your camp extremely apace. Llamas can easily get four to 9 miles per twenty-four hours while packing 18% to 22% of their body weight in rough terrain.

six. Hauling h2o

Depending on where you're hunting, h2o can exist scarce—even in the mountains. Llamas are great to have after you prepare camp and demand to drib acme to get tons of water. I carried five vi liter MSR Dromlite bags when I used llamas. This enabled me to stay high for deer and focus all my efforts on finding bucks instead of called-for my energy looking for water.

In conclusion

I thought about making a few more than reasons why I think llamas are the best pack llama... like not getting bucked off a horse (side note: on a BC moose and mountain goat bowhunt I did back in 2013, I was bucked off my equus caballus three times in a 14 day period. Once on the offset day of the hunt which I landed on my bow and luckily didn't break anything, and 2 other random times. My horse had bad optics and kept thinking annihilation it saw was a grizzly I was told. I had been riding horses for many years before this hunt too. Never a great feeling knowing you're trusting your life and gear on an animal in my opinion.

With all that information, there shouldn't exist anything holding you back from considering a llama rental for your next hunt. The popularity of llamas for western hunts is well earned! Plus how could you not wake upwardly every morning and grin when you're greeted face-to-confront with a llama like the ane in the above photo? These animals have a laid back demeanor, are extremely sure-footed for any terrain and are very easy to handle after a short preparation course. While I all the same love backpacking everything on my back for hunts, llamas accept their place and I'm counting down the days until I can chase with them again.

Learn more and hire llamas hither

Source: https://www.gohunt.com/content/skills/backpacking/6-reasons-why-llamas-are-the-ultimate-pack-animal-for-hunting

Posted by: behlerquied2000.blogspot.com

Share this post