A woman has shared her priceless reaction after suffering an unintended consequence of petting what she believed to be a llama.
Llamas and alpacas are some of the most popular animals to come up close to in petting zoos due to their unique appearance and distinct personality. But sometimes the South American species shows they can be just as grumpy as humans although they have a much more direct way to show how foul a mood they're in.
The viral TikTok post shared by Marie_Werner, which can be seen here, has been viewed more than 46 million times since being uploaded to the platform on November 11. The video also attracted an estimated 7.1 million likes and 33,000 comments.
In the video Marie, who is from Vienna, Austria, can be seen approaching what she believed to be a llama - although it might be an alpaca - that was standing by itself inside a petting area. But as she got close, the alpaca with its ears tucked back eyed her up as she started petting.
The next second, the alpaca got right in Marie's face and spit at her. In a split second of shock, Marie screamed and later appeared to have learned her lesson as she captioned the video: "Never touching a llama again."
According to BBC Wildlife Magazine, there can be several reasons why llamas and their camelid cousins alpacas spit. It is typically used as a warning to other members of the same species such as a female spitting at a male to repel his advances during the mating season.
"Like us, llamas and alpacas have different personalities, and the grumpier individuals are the most likely to spit," the magazine said. "There are tell-tale warning sighs auguring an outburst."
Signs that a llama or alpaca is ready to spit include:
- The animal flattening back its ears
- aggressively puffing air from its nostrils
- Tipping its chin back while leaning forward
Unfortunately, if you miss or ignore these warning signs you might just end up covered in spit. The llama or alpaca spit is a foul-smelling mix of gastric juice and undigested plant material.
Many of those who commented on the social media post found the humour in the clip while others seemed surprised to learn llamas and alpacas actually do spit at people when agitated after believing it only happened in the video game Minecraft. TikTok user Rose Riddle said: "Who is this DIVA?"
Tounazz added: "Wait so it's [spitting] is not a made up thing?" Trust Issues posted: "Wait, so it's not a Minecraft thing."
The Mirror has contacted Marie for comment.