2015 Arizona Llama Chase / #LlamaDrama
Submission 21,483
Overview
#LlamaDrama is a Twitter hashtag that came out of a police pursuit of two llamas that broke loose from the rest of their group in Sun City, Arizona on February 26th, 2015. The highway chase, which lasted for at least half an hour before the capture of the animals, was widely covered in the news and extensively discussed in the social media in real-time.
Background
On the morning of February 26th, 2015, a white llama and a black llama got away from their group shortly after a mobile petting zoo event at the Carillons Assisted Living Center in Sun City, Arizona. According to the animals' owner Bub Bullis, there were initially three animals got spooked and ran away near 103rd Avenue and Grand, and after about an hour of unsuccessful attempt at capturing the animals, he called the 911 for help at around 11:55 a.m, local time (1:55 p.m. EST).
By 12:45 p.m., the local authorities' dramatic chase after the two llamas had been picked up by several local news stations and several major news networks. The pursuit was broadcast and livestreamed in real-time, with news station helicopters following the llamas as they ran around the streets of Sun City and managed to evade capture for almost an hour before being lassoed under control.
Notable Developments
In the following hour, the two llamas at large were nicknamed the White Llama[13] and Black Llama[14], inspiring Twitter accounts for each escapee, and several trending hashtags related to the developing story, including #Llamas, #LlamasonTheLoose[16] and #LlamaDrama.[17]
Media Coverage
The online reactions to the news story were quickly picked up by nearly all notable internet culture news sites and blogs, including BuzzFeed[5], The Daily What[8], Gawker[4], Mashable[15], Slate[2], The Verge[1], among many others.
Twitter Analytics
External References
[1] The Verge – The internet is going bananas for this llama
[2] Slate – Internet, Divided Over Net Neutrality, Unites Over Llamas
[3] New York Magazine – Two Llamas Captured After Live Chase Through Arizona Neighborhood [Updated]
[4] Gawker – Watch Vine Highlights From Today's Incredibly Thrilling Llama Chase
[5] BuzzFeed – Llamas Lead Authorities On Chase Through Arizona Streets, Capture America’s Heart
[6] BuzzFeed – 9 Invaluable Life Lessons We All Learned From The Llama Chase
[7] BuzzFeed – Which Runway Llama Are You?
[8] The Daily What – Outlaws of the Day: Two Llamas Slow Down Workplace Productivity with Epic Police Chase
[9] ABC15 – Llamas on the loose in Arizona: 2 llamas lead police, public on high-speed, entertaining chase
[10] Washington Post – BREAKING: Two llamas were on the run today in Arizona
[11] CBS Detroit – Top Tweets About The Llamas On The Loose
[12] CNN – Twitter joins high-speed chase for llamas on the lam
[13] Twitter – @ThatWhiteLlama
[14] Twitter – @ThatBlackLlama
[15] Mashable – A high-speed llama chase in Arizona gripped the nation today
[16] Twitter – Search Results for #LlamaDrama
[17] Twitter – Search Results for #LlamasOnTheLoose
[18] Deadspin – Llamas on Llam Llose Llawmen
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