(Interested in incorporating the trend yourself? Johnson suggests starting with small accents. “Unicorns and mermaids are stepping aside to make way for real-live animals like llamas, sloths, and jungle-dwellers,” says Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy’s Trend Expert. There have been over 447,000 searches on Etsy related to “llamas” in the last three months alone-with a 234% increase in searches on the site for “llama birthday,” a 37% increase for “llama decor,” a 183% increase for “llama invitations,' an Etsy rep told. Last year the folks over at declared the llama the “cutest thing ever,' and earlier this month, Nestlé released the latest “Llama Edition” of Smarties candies in the U.K.īut the llama has also made its way to decor-both at parties and in the home. Search “ #llamacake” on Instagram, and you’ll find over 3,000 photos of cakes dressed with the Andean mammal, including frosting, sprinkles, cookie tops, and even cupcakes.

And if you might doubt the llama’s ability to dethrone the unicorn as the trendiest creature, in the same time period, unicorn searches on Pinterest declined by 10%, also according to the BBC.Īnd just like their trendy predecessors, llamas can accompany any aspect of your life. According to the BBC, Pinterest searches for llamas have increased 75%, beginning mostly in Australia before the trend made its way to the U.S.

over the past few years, as our culture obsessed over Unicorn Frappuccinos, ran to the salon for mermaid hair, or pinned adorable miniature sloths to their jackets, llamas slowly began to nuzzle their way into popularity. (And not as commonly sheared for wool as the alpaca, which produces a softer fleece.)īut here in the U.S. In most parts of the world, llamas are prized as both pets and cattle, herbivores known for being smart, gentle, easy to train, and helpful with transportation. (But do spit!) Originating in Peru, they're actually the domesticated versions of a wild Andean ruminant called the guanaco-but should not be confused with their cousin, the alpaca, a domesticated version of the wild South American vicuña.

Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to playįirst, some background on the cuddly creatures: Llamas are a South American relative of the camel, though they do not have a hump.

Llama on holiday