Brian and Jane Pinkerton of Mount Lehman Llamas in Mount Lehman, B.C., Canada, have one of the most informative and entertaining web sites that I've ever seen. Before you click on their link (at the end of this article), you are definitely going to want to clear your calendar for the next hour or two ... While surfing their web site, you'll see that there really IS life on Mars http://www.smartt.com/~brianp/mars-rover.html and did you know that well-known painters, the likes of Van Gogh and Monet, have featured llamas in their work? http://www.smartt.com/~brianp/famouspaintings.html

Brian and Jane started their life with llamas in 1981 when they purchased two males that they intended to use for packing. Their boys were small at that time, and after seeing llamas at work during travels in South America, Brian was convinced that having llamas to help carry their gear was the thing to do!

At that time, females were being sold for around $3500, too pricey!!! But it wasn't long before females were selling for $15,000, so Brian admits to doing things a little 'backwards' at that time, but he and Jane did recover and eventually their herd numbered near 60 llamas.

With a herd of 40 llamas now, Brian and Jane no longer enjoy the wondrous experience of llama births, at least not on purpose. They've chosen to not do any more breeding on their ranch, at least for now.

I had the privilege of visiting with Brian and found out that we have the same answer when asked "what do you do with your llamas?" The response? "They are for fun and enjoyment. We share them with others. Our llamas are family."

When did you decide that you wanted llamas as a part of your life?

I think the seed was planted in the mid sixties. In 1969 we decided to go skiing in Chile as the snow had melted on the local mountains (if you can imagine people looking for snow!) and just fell in love with Chile and wanted to go back and see more of the continent that you can from just flying from place to place. So in 1965 we quit our jobs, packed ours skis in our new Land Rover and started driving south. While driving through the mountains in Peru, we saw herds of llamas and alpacas grazing and took lots of photos. It was exciting to see the occasional group of llamas being driven over the hills, carrying loads.

How did you get started?

In 1980 I bought a backpacking magazine that had some wonderful photos of people using llamas for packing on Mount Hood in Oregon. I was sold and eventually convinced Jane that it was a sensible idea as we had two young sons who liked to hike with us, and llamas would allow us to carry a lot more. It took a while, as there were absolutely no llamas around here and most people would think that we were crazy to even think about it.

Who was your first 'llama-person' influence?

There were some addresses at the end of the article and I wrote, asking all sorts of questions. I received wonderful, encouraging letters from Andy Tillman and Steve Rolfing, which actually made the idea seem possible. Up here, we were on our own and spent endless hours trying to track down rumours of "there used to be a llama around...".

One day, Jane spotted a classified ad in the Vancouver paper, offering llamas for sale. It was up in Smithers, BC, which is a day and a half drive from Vancouver. We called him and he sent some photos and that was it. We phoned him and said to save us a couple of males. At the time we lived in a sub division in North Vancouver so we had to board them out with friends.

We could only get out on weekends to work with them and luckily we had subscribed to Andy Tillman's 3-L Newsletter, which had a seven-day training plan in it. As the llamas had never even had a halter on, it was quite an experience. The first day was unforgettable as it was raining and the field was muddy. I was dragged around the field in a manner similar to water skiing, with mud flying everywhere. Our friends who were boarding the llamas were in hysterics. I was starting to wonder whether this was a good idea or not.

How big of a role do llamas play in your life?

They are pretty important to us, they are not just a commodity, they are family. We know them all and their personalities. It is devastating to lose one, the two original ones died in the last few years. The ones that we have sold have all gone to wonderful homes.

What has been the most rewarding thing about having llamas in your life?

Probably the friends that we have made through the llamas. Most of the people that we have sold llamas to have become friends. The llama community here is very close and we have gotten to know some super people that we would never have met otherwise.

What accomplishments are you proud of?

That's a tough question. We are really proud of our two sons and their families. A couple of years ago, I was proud to be the best man for my widowed father who got married at the age of 92. From the llama perspective, I would think that we are best known for our web site. I designed it to share information with people who are thinking of getting some llamas or alpacas. We had so much trouble finding information in the early day that it seemed like a good idea to share what we had learned. Students doing reports find our site every day, which is pretty satisfying to me as I used to teach in the community college.

Probably the most useful thing on the site is the page on re-breeding. When we first got females we were told that you could breed them any time, it was easy, they were induced ovulaters. Right. Eventually I figured out how their cycles worked and wrote myself a little program to tell me when to re-breed them. It was amazing, and we were able to get them to catch, with only one breeding. I was running charts for lots of people and eventually decided to write a program that I could put on the site so people could run their own charts. It has made things much easier for many breeders. It is also useful as you can find the best days to field test the females.

What is the primary function of your llamas?

The first two were for backpacking, but once we got females, things changed. It was much harder to get away. We have managed to get the herd size down to around forty from around sixty, so things are easier now. We do sell a number of llamas, but haven't done any breeding for a few years, as the market is rather soft. Jane does a lot with the fibre; a group of friends get together regularly for spinning and felting sessions. She sells quite a bit of spun fibre and knitted or felted items made from llama wool. She also has kits with patterns and enough fibre of different colours to make hats and other projects.

We have gotten back into back packing in the last few years and every summer we make at least one major trip with the llamas.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering owning llamas for the first time?

Get them for the right reason. Don't get them because someone tells you that you can make a fortune selling the offspring. You have to love the animals, first. Too many people get them just because it is a novelty and then the novelty wears off and the llamas end up at an auction, giving the industry a bad name.

Mount Lehman Llamas
Brian and Jane Pinkerton
29343 Galahad Crescent,
Mount Lehman, B.C. V4X 2E4
Phone 604-856-3196
http://www.mountlehmanllamas.com/

Interview by Jill Edinger for LlamaCrossing.Com