Owner speaks out after Littleborough llama drama

The Littleborough Llamas

A Littleborough llama owner has told Rochdale Online of his shock after news that one of his herd had escaped was reported as far away as Russia.

Kalista, a female llama owned by Dan Taylor, 48, hit the news after she escaped her field in Ealees on 29 December – resulting in a six hour search and international coverage.

The llama fled her enclosure after being scared by a dog and was eventually tracked down near Hollingworth Lake at around midnight. She had been heard making a sharp screeching sound, a noise llamas emit when they are distressed.

Mr Taylor said the only point during the ordeal that he stopped looking for Kalista was when he went to buy replacement batteries for his torch.

Not long after, the event was being reported on news websites across the globe. A relative from Canada even called Mr Taylor to say they had seen the incident on the news.

“It was a hell of a shock,” said Mr Taylor, who keeps 19 llamas on his land.

Beyond the light-hearted nature of the events, he said there was a more serious message about dog owners keeping their pets on leads when other animals are nearby.

He added: “We need to highlight the fact that people are letting dogs off their leads. If the llamas had young they would have attacked the dog.”

Mr Taylor’s herd initially began with three llamas, but after joining the British Llama Society he decided to expand and he said it is only the need for more space that has stopped him from taking on more of the animals.