by Good News Network
A would-be thief was caught by police after a herd of llamas cornered the suspect in a field until officers could arrive.
And not a Florida man in sight.
The crook was fleeing the scene after stealing from a woman in Derbyshire, England, and he decided to squeeze through a fence onto farmland belonging to Heidi Price and Graham Oliver.
It was dark outside when a man was alerted to an intruder on the couple’s farmland by animals making a loud alarm call on a recent Monday evening.
But his escape from police officers did not go according to plan, after eight llamas galloped over to him as he was running through the field, and surrounded him.
Their warning cry alerted Graham who then discovered that the crime-fighting llamas had made a “citizen’s arrest.”
Graham went into the field with his dog to find the “terrified” suspect encircled by the 6-foot animals before police arrived on the scene.
“We’ve got eight llamas and llamas don’t like people entering their personal space after dusk,” said Heidi, who arrived home to find police officers gathered on the road.
“Our llamas galloped over to him and surrounded him. They literally made a circle around him, and then started releasing their warning cry, which sounds like an old man laughing.”
“He didn’t know what to do next and looked absolutely terrified,” she told SWNS news agency.
The dog started barking around the intruder’s feet, which scared him even more.
“My partner led him back across the field, to where he’d come from, and back over the fence where the police arrested him.”
“Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd,” according to Wikipedia. “Their wool is soft and contains only a small amount of lanolin. Llamas can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, they can carry about 25 to 30 percent of their body weight for five to eight miles.”
Llamas are used as guard animals in places such as the American west.
“Guard llamas may defend against predators in many ways. Llamas are instinctively alert and aware of their surroundings, and may draw attention to an intruder by making a startling alarm call that sounds like a rusty hinge,” according to Wikipedia. “ They may walk or run toward an intruder, and chase or kick or spit at it. Others may stand apart from the group and watch the intruder. Although llamas have been known to kill predators (such as coyotes), they should not be considered attack-animals. They are generally effective against single intruders only, not packs.”
Heidi speculated the man’s demise could have been a lot scarier. If he hadn’t been caught by the llamas, he might have ventured further into the field and been met by five huge bulls—and his fate could have been a nasty one.
“But the llamas made a citizen’s arrest,” she joked. “I was wondering if they would get some sort of citizens recognition award!”
Since reluctantly rescuing the llamas 10 years ago when a farm was closing down, Heidi has become a member of the British Llama Society and learned a lot.
The eight animals weren’t accustomed to being touched by people at all, but during Covid, she worked with them until they could be handled—and now, thanks to Heidi’s support and patience, the llamas are calm and confident about being around people and even work as therapy animals supporting patients with mental health issues.
She told SWNS news that a description of her llama therapy program has even been published in the The British Journal of Occupational Therapy.
“Llamas are really interesting animals. Their only defense mechanism is spitting… and they were close to extinction before it was recognized that they have these incredible guard dog abilities—and people started using them to guard sheep and chickens.”
Derbyshire Police confirmed that the man in his 30s was arrested at the scene on suspicion of theft and has been released on police bail.
Throughout the ordeal last week she says the llamas didn’t feel the need to spit on anyone. “They kept good manners, even when faced with adversity.”
Page 7 