[Illustration:  RETURN OF ANTS AFTER A BATTLE.]

THE WILD LLAMA

(FROM A JOURNAL OF RESEARCHES, ETC.)

BY CHARLES DARWIN.

[Illustration:  HEAD OF GUANACO.]

The guanaco, or wild Llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the camel in the East.  It is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs.  It is very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near Cape Horn.  It generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred.

They are generally wild and extremely wary.  Mr. Stokes told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these animals which evidently had been frightened, and were running away at full speed, although their distance was so great that he could not distinguish them with his naked eye.  The sportsman frequently receives the first notice of their presence, by hearing from a long distance their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm.  If he then looks attentively, he will probably see the herd standing in a line on the side of some distant hill.  On approaching nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at an apparently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neighboring hill.  If, however, by chance, he abruptly meets a single animal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move on a few yards, turn round, and look again.  What is the cause of this difference in their shyness?  Do they mistake a man in the distance for their chief enemy the puma?  Or does curiosity overcome their timidity?  That they are curious is certain; for if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him.  It was an artifice that was repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had moreover the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as parts of the performance.  On the mountains of the Tierra del Fuego, I have more than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge.  These animals are very easily domesticated, and I have seen some thus kept in northern Patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint.  They are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by striking him from behind with both knees.  It is asserted that the motive for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females.  The wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can come up.  In many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock.  Thus when they see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run.  This greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting, for they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed.