Peruvian llamas to be guinea pigs

SOUTH ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 14 (UPI) -- A U.S. chip-maker has won a contract to implant radiation-detecting sensors in 1,000 llamas living near nuclear power plants in Peru.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has hired Digital Angel of South St. Paul, Minn., to tag the llamas and provide two readers to monitor them, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Tuesday. Digital Angel, which recently was obtained by Applied Digital of Florida through a stock swap, is better known for putting tracking chips in pets, cattle and fish.

Getting those chips in the llamas could be tricky, the newspaper noted, since animal experts say the woolly beasts of burden, weighing up to 500 pounds, are known to spit and bite. Llamas have a reputation for being quick learners and are "extremely curious and alert."