Llama distinguished by the inhabitants of South America are recognized as distinct species, though with difficulties in defining their distinctive characteristics. These are: The llama and alpaca are only known in the domestic state, and are variable in size and of many colors, being often white, brown, or piebald. Some are grey or black. The guanaco and vicuña are wild, the former being endangered, and of a nearly uniform light-brown color, passing into white below. They certainly differ from each other, the vicuña being smaller, more slender in its proportions, and having a shorter head than the guanaco. The vicuña lives
Llama observed the use of hueques (possibly a llama type) by native Mapuches of Mocha Island as plow animals in 1614. In Chile hueque populations declined towards extinction in the 16th and 17th century being replaced by European livestock. The causes of its extinction are not clear but it is known that the introduction of sheep caused some competition among both domestic species. Anecdotal evidence of the mid-17th century show that both species coexisted but suggests that there were many more sheep than hueques. The decline of hueques reached a point in the late 18th century when only the Mapuche from