Guard-llama stops scaring coyotes, retires
By Connor Lālea Hampton, September 23, 2025
Cal Poly Pomona bid adieu to its woolly warrior, Pancho the guard-llama, who has now moved to another farm, via an Instagram post Aug. 13.
“We have bittersweet news that our beloved Pancho has officially retired from his guard-llama duties and is now living on another farm outside of CPP,” CPP wrote in the caption of the post.
Pancho served the school for seven years, but apparently, he was too nice. According to Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture Dean Ethan Orr, coyotes killed 18 sheep over the course of two weekends, which is what Pancho was supposed to prevent.
“Pancho wasn’t scaring the coyotes,” Orr said. “And Pancho was frankly getting very old.”
The Instagram post noted there were no plans to replace Pancho, but Orr said that’s wrong. He described having llamas as cool and iconic and wants a new generation of Panchos that will be scary to coyotes. But first, he plans to bring alpacas to campus.
Orr also said Pancho is not back in Peru, despite an Instagram post from CPP’s Pumpkin Fest that said he returned to the University of Lima. Pancho was sold at a farmer’s auction and is currently staying at a farm in California.
Age and ineffectiveness were the two main reasons for Pancho’s retirement. There were no issues of funding. The llama was mostly self-sufficient, according to Orr. He didn’t need much care or take up too many resources and “sort of just lived on the range.”
Orr also put rumors that a non-disclosure agreement was signed after Pancho’s disappearance to rest. He said if there was any document like that, it would be to protect the privacy of the farmer who bought Pancho. The United States Department of Agriculture routinely inspects CPP’s animals, how they’re treated and where they go.
“Pancho was beautiful and just a stunning animal that I’m glad I got a chance to meet,” Orr said.
Plant science student Zoe Cardenas initially thought Pancho did his job very well, despite the occasional rumor of biting and feistiness.
“I was like, oh my gosh, it’d be so cool to see (him),” Cardenas said. “But now I can’t see him.”
Cardenas said it is cool to be in a school that has animals on campus, and it’s part of why she chose CPP. The diversity of animals at CPP ranges from horses and cows to iguanas and snakes.
Music industry studies student Makhi Hall said he didn’t know who Pancho was, but he is interested in seeing more animals on campus.
Orr said CPP is actively in the market for alpacas now because they are a great learning resource. More specifically, he wants to teach students about the soft, high-quality wool alpacas make.
The agricultural department plans to host an animal naming contest for the alpacas, where students will have an active role in deciding the new animals’ names.
In addition to alpacas and llamas but there are also plans to add chickens and roosters. Orr said they want to create a visually appealing animal ballot, where students feel like CPP is a cool place to be.
“Animals remind us of our humanity,” Orr said. “I think the more exposure that we have with the animals, the more we work with students and the campus community to have them work with our animals, I think the more humanity we create on campus.”
Feature image courtesy of Bryan Doan