Coral Ann 'PJilharm, age 9, of Bellaire, Texas, for her question:

What exactly is a llama?

The llama looks down on the world from the slopes of the high Andes. He has a superior expression on his face and seems to be looking haughtily down his nose. After all, he is a very superior animal. This great empire of the ancient Incas of Peru might have been impossible without his help. Mining in the high Andes would be almost impassible without him to this day,

Apart from his haughty expression there is nothing much about the llama to remind you of the camel. He does not live in the desert, he 'is but four feet tall at shoulder level and he has no hump. Nevertheless, he is a member of Camelidae, the camel family. In fact, he is more like the camel's ancestors of 40 million years ago than are the big humped camels in Africa and Asia today.

Strange to say, the camel family got its start in the New World. Millions of years ago herds of these llama type camel ancestors roamed the plains of North America. Some of them trotted over land bridges t o Asia and thence to Africa. These travelers became the ancestors of the big desert camels.

Others trotted down to South America. Life down there was easy. There were grassy plains and scrubby slopes. These camels had no need to develop humps for storing food or special stomachs for storing water. Nor did they change much through the years. The camels in their North American cradle land all perished. 'Ale do not know why. When the Spaniards found the New World the llama and his cousins in South America were the only representatives left of the camel family.

When you get used to the llama's supercilious expression you find that he is a charming fellow. His lovely coat is thick and silky and hangs over his back lime a blanket. It may be dark brown, tan or even white. His feet are like camel's, with two toes softly padded, He walks with a camel stride, two right feet and then two left feat. This graceful lope adds to his look of dignity,

Mr. Llama is used as a pack animal in South America He can carry a load of from 60 to 200 pounds, depending on his size. A huge African camel carries only 400 pounds. The llama totes his load at 12 to 15 miles a day and he is very sure footed over rocky ground..

Mr, Llama, like his camel cousins, refuses to be put upon, which is only fair. He spits much;; food at people who threaten him. When his pack is too heavy or too tight he just sits down and refuses to budge.

Mrs, Llama is a pampered darling. She is never used as a pack animal. She bears only one baby at a time and. Junior is tended by his mother and his aunts until ha is three years old.. When he is old enough to join Papa and earn his living as a pack animal,