Zorra
ILR # 90007
female b. 7-8-1989 — d. 6-28-2012
Balzac x Margarrita
click on the photo to see more pictures of Zorra on flickr®
Zorra was a stunning classic female who had been retired from breeding when the price of llamas plummeted from artificially (and ridiculously) high to the harsh reality most livestock producers live with — "damn lucky to break even." In early 2007, we traded to get Zorra in exchange for a two-year breeding lease of Ceilidh. Unfortunately, that "deal" totally went south for us (although it did teach us some very valuable, albeit painful, lessons about making sure we protect ourselves in business dealings that involve animals, which by definition involves unknowns).
Zorra was definitely healthy enough to support a pregnancy, and her physical soundness at 20 years would have been an additional desirable trait in a Classic breeding llama (although not at all uncommon in the true Classic gene pool). Although Zorra conceived readily, she couldn't maintain her pregnancies past 4-5 months. This may have been aggrevated by a subclinical selenium deficiency, but because this continued after the deficieny was corrected, we have to believe age-related hormone reduction was also involved. In any case, Zorra then reached that point (22.5 years, as we have found is typical for Classic llamas) where her aging metabolism could only support her and her alone. Zorra lived out her remaining time in as much comfort as we could provide for her, and we enjoyed her sensible, laid-back company to the very last day.
Zorra liked grain, grass, open space (who doesn’t?), and sensible, mature pasturemates. She also really enjoyed the completely-over-the-top antics of our youngsters, and has happily allowed herself to be mauled, jumped on, tagged-after … you name it. Apparently "adopted grandma" was the perfect role for Zorra!
Zorra is obviously a female adaptation of “Zorro”, and refers to her markings.