416 



UNGULATES. 



derived from a time when the animals were accustomed during a period of 

 exceptional cold to seek refuge beneath the cover of the bushes . growing in the 

 sheltered river- valleys. " Once we accept this explanation as probable," writes Mr. 

 Hudson, " namely, that the guanaco, in withdrawing from the herd to drop down 

 and die in the ancient dying-ground, is in reality only seeking an historically- 

 remembered place of refuge, and not of death the action of the animal loses much 

 of its mysterious character ; we come on to firm ground, and find that we are no 

 longer considering an instinct absolutely unique, with no action or instinct in any 

 other animal leading up to or suggesting any family likeness to it." 



With the true llama (L. glama) we come to the first of the two 

 domesticated representatives of the genus, both of which are now 

 considered to have originated from the wild guanaco. The llama attains larger 



Llama/. 



THE LLAMA (^ nat. size). 



dimensions than the guanaco, and is very variable in colour, although generally 

 white, or white spotted with brown or black, and more rarely completely brown or 

 black. The skull is very similar to that of the guanaco, and the knees have the same 

 naked patches. In general appearance the llama is a long-necked and long-limbed 



