Guanacos in Los Glaciares National Park © Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott/Minden Pictures

2023-12-09 in Patagonia Argentina
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Guanacos in Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina (© Yva Momatiuk and John Eastcott/Minden Pictures)

Living the high life

Strap on your hiking boots because it's National Llama Day! December 9 is a designated day to appreciate these intelligent and trainable creatures. You'll need to visit the Andes Mountains to see their wild cousins, guanacos. Guanacos are believed to have originated in the central plains of North America 40 million years ago, but they gradually migrated to South America. Scientists think llamas descended from guanacos and were first domesticated around 4500 BCE.