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Stubborn but highly trainable, playful but fiercely protective, these animals that are more at home in the desert mountains of South America, were led through an obstacle course on a hot day in the Show Arena.

Allison Selbee, 15, and her younger siblings led the animals on an obstacle course where they had to walk over a piece of plywood that was like a teeter totter, duck under a canvas-covered frame and leap over bales of straw.

Initially, their stubbornness was on display. Allison tugged on her animal as did Austin and Adam Selbee, 13, and Hailey Stackhouse, 9.

“Llamas don’t like uneven ground or tight spaces,” said Max Peters, llama project leader, but after a few tries, the llamas performed the skills with little hesitation.

Max and Fran Peters of Springville have owned llamas about 10 years and began the 4-H llama project three years ago.

“It is huge at the State Fair,” said Max.

“I bet they have 1,000 llamas on show day,” said Fran.

So far, only a few families are participating in the llama project, but the Peters are optimistic as more people become familiar with llamas and alpacas, they will see they are an interesting and worthwhile animal to raise.

“We get some weird looks because it is an uncommon animal,” said Selbee, the Peters’ granddaughter. “But they are really entertaining to raise. We had one that danced all the time. They like to have fun with each other. They really do act like family.”

At Monday’s demonstration, the Peters’ brought two llamas and two alpacas to the show arena. It wasn’t a judged show because only a few 4-H’ers were participating, but the Peters wanted to give a demonstration so that the curious crowd could learn more about them.

Llamas are prized for their wool, which sells for $20 to $50 a pound depending on the quality. The Peters usually give the wool they shear from their animals to Indiana University, where it is cleaned and used for weaving.

The price of llamas and alpacas varies widely, said Max, from under $100 for a lower quality animal to several thousand dollars for a prized one. Llamas grow to be larger than alpacas and alpacas are known for their gentler nature. Even though llamas can be harder to handle, Fran said once they are familiar with their handler, they are very cooperative.

“Llamas are very protective,” said Fran. “They will protect anything they are in the field with. We had a llama in the field with our goats and sheep. A dog came around and the llama would herd them together and pace and guard them. That dog wasn’t getting near them.”

The Peters have been bringing their llamas and alpacas to the fair petting zoo for several years. The animals always draw a lot of interest in the petting zoo. The Peters hope that by exposing the llamas to more people, the llama project will grow.

“We’d like to see a half dozen families in the project,” said Max.

“Anyone who wants to show llamas can call me,” said Fran.

The Peters can be reached at 279-5538.