By Ava Uhlack, March 4, 2025
A roughly 6-foot-tall, black-and-white llama named Pancho acts as the living scarecrow for the Sheep and Swine Unit, protecting the sheep and goats from possible predators.
Pancho arrived at campus in 2018 from Red Bluff, California, approximately nine hours north of Cal Poly Pomona, according to the initial announcement from the university, as a replacement for the late Midge, who previously protected the flock and died due to natural causes in 2017.
After his arrival on the scene, a vote was held campus-wide to name the shaggy soldier; the options ranged between Walter, Mobley, Sprinkles, Pat and Pancho with the latter winning out the votes.
Along with their infamous spitting capabilities, llamas have strong teeth and talons capable of kicking and scratching predators. This, along with their tall stature and larger, intimidating size, makes them a perfect protector for the sheep and goat herd.
“These past couple years, we’ve had a bigger issue with coyotes, and he can’t be everywhere all at once,” said Sophia Gaitan, the Sheep and Swine Unit manager. “We had to decide to keep him back in the barn because the coyotes have started creeping in closer than they normally would.”
The herd roams around different spots on campus and act as weed management at times, typically the vineyards across from Parking Lot F, areas by the Lyle Center and take field trips to other farms, according to Gaitan.
Gaitan described Pancho as a father figure to the herd who likes to keep tabs on the happenings of the herd. He is often seen investigating the new lambs upon their birth.
While Pancho takes his role as the herd protector very seriously, he’s known to have a bit of an ego as well.
“I love his sassy little attitude,” Gaitan said. “He kind of knows that he does what he wants. Sometimes the students really have to put in the work to get him to listen and get him back into the barn.”
Students like Mia Herrera, a live-in farmhand at the sheep and swine unit, are tasked with helping to take care of the herd and Pancho as well as assisting with any chores around the area unit.
“Sometimes they’ll get on your nerves,” Herrera said. “They don’t exactly want to go into the specific pen or find a tree on the other side more interesting, rather than listening to what you have to say.”
Specific to Pancho, some of those tasks include making sure he receives his breakfast and dinner, as well as monitoring his weight and shifting his meal size in order to get him to appropriate size and weight, according to Herrera.
Pancho typically feeds on alfalfa hay, receiving about a flake or half a flake each mealtime, which is roughly 4 to 5 pounds, although he also gets excited about grain, which is a treat for him every once in a while, according to Herrera.
Despite being on the campus for the last seven years, Pancho doesn’t have any favorites within the herd but tends to revolve equally around all of the sheep and goats.
Some of the more notable names within the herd include Metiche, Jessie, Britney Shears, Lady Baba, Midnight, Karen, Sharon, Tammy, Moldy Cheese and Warlock the Destroyer.
Some of the sheep and goats are often able to be viewed at the annual CPP Pumpkin Fest in the petting zoo, although students are more than welcome to visit the Sheep and Swine Unit just south of Parking Lot M.
“You can always come down and see that we’re here,” Herrera said. “We’re very interesting and very willing to teach, just stay safe.”
The safety aspect Herrera touched on was in reference to the coyotes recently becoming more active around campus. Last semester, students were attacked by coyotes that got too close to comfort, according to coverage by The Poly Post.
“I want to ask students to play their role,” Gaitan said. “I understand coyotes are beautiful and amazing, and I enjoy seeing them in nature, but Pancho can’t be everywhere at once. When people start interacting with coyotes and start feeding them, it encourages them to approach and get closer. I want to ask students to keep afar and leave it at that. They’re getting bold. I don’t want there to be any issues because we have lambs year-round and lambs are pretty easy targets.”
To visit the Sheep and Swine Unit and see Pancho, students can take a short walk to the unit off of South University Drive and Camphor Lane.
Feature image courtesy of Bryan Doan