Whitetop might be the world’s oldest llama. But he’s not ready to retire just yet. He stays busy comforting sick kids. 

As of this writing, Whitetop is 27 years and 250 days old. In 2006, Whitetop came to Victory Junction camp. That’s a year-round camp for children with illnesses like cancer, kidney and heart disease, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida. Victory Junction sits on 84 acres in North Carolina. There’s plenty of room for Whitetop to stretch his legs. 

The bucktoothed llama is relaxed and calm. He usually lies still while campers pet him. 

“He really gets to help campers come out of their shell when they interact with him,” says Billie Davis, the camp’s barn director. “He can be kind of intimidating at first. But once they come over to him and love on him and pet on him, they just realize how sweet he is.”

Stephanie Wilkerson first went to the camp in 2006. She was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Petting Whitetop and giving him hugs made her feel better.

Whitetop spends his days rolling in fresh wood chippings, chomping on soaked alfalfa, and posing for selfies. He might be a llama, but he’s a bit of a ham. 

“If you try to take a picture of him from the side, he’s not into it,” Ms. Davis says. “He will, like, scoot in there and try to get his face from a side profile so that it’s like he’s cheesing.”

Whitetop is getting creaky joints in his later years. But he is otherwise very healthy, says  Ms. Davis. The average life span for a llama is 15 years.

Since Whitetop is now famous for his long life, the camp has started selling Whitetop merchandise. There are limited edition T-shirts with pictures of Whitetop and the words, “Still Spit’n.”

Ms. Davis says not all llamas spit though.

“Typically, llamas only spit when they are scared, uncomfortable, or territorial over something,” she explains. “And he just loves his job so much that he doesn’t do it.”

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the Earth is full of your creatures. — Psalm 104:24