It happened on February 26, 2015. The day started out like any day, but by the end, the world had changed, and Don Lemon had stood next to a llama.
Two months later, the story of the Great Llama Chase of the 21st Century was apparently incomplete, something the New York Times attempted to rectify by visiting Sun City and speaking to the people most affected by the event — the senior citizens who watched it all go down in their backyard at the Carillons retirement community.
Ninety-six-year-old Claire Mevius showed off a picture of her and a llama that she conveniently pulled out of her purse. “That llama neck felt great,” she said. “I didn’t object to it at all.” She said later, “At this age, it’s something to see something new for the first time! I’ve seen it all.”
The Times also checked in with the now-C-list celebrities, who have returned to their pen. Laney, the dark llama, is doing fine. Kahkneeta, the tall white one, has been distant since the ordeal. Karen Freund, one of the owners, says, “she knows if she takes off, she can do whatever she wants.” Freund also has a llama philosophy, noting that they are “like a potato chip. You can’t just have one.”
This was not the first time that the llamas have returned to the spotlight since February. At the end of March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture contacted the llamas’ owners to explain that the duo would not be able to go out in public again unless Freund and her husband got a license. Kahkneeta and Laney’s last public appearance was at the Turf Paradise Race Track. The llamas did not get to show off the speed that made them famous, staying in their enclosures as lucky camels and ostriches got to race.
