Llamas are native to Central and South America, where they have been bred for thousands of years by the indigenous people. Pre-History. Today's llamas belong to the family of "Camelidae." Camelid evolution began in North America over 82 million years ago. read more
Semi-recently (40-45 million years ago, Eocene period recently) llamas and alpacas descended from Protylopus petersoni in North America. The genus Hemiauchenia descended from them, migrated to South America, and later developed into llamas. read more
The llama is thought to have become extinct from North America during the ice age. Today the llama is most commonly found in the Andes mountain region of South America where the llama was kept as a pack animal by the ancient Inca people. Llamas are used for meat, wool, skin and for transporting heavy loads (a little like donkeys). read more
Today's llamas belong to the family of "Camelidae." Camelid evolution began in North America over 82 million years ago. Two ancestry lines evolved in North America west of the Mississippi River (Camelops and Camelus), another was also found in Florida (Lama). The first Camelids migrated to South America approximately 3 million years ago. read more