Serge the llama (29 June 2005 – 2020) was a llama in the circus Cirque Franco-Italien of John Beautour[1][2] and internet meme. Serge was named after the French singer Serge Lama, who described the choice of name as "genius".[3]

Serge
SpeciesLlama
Born(2005-06-29)June 29, 2005
Saint-Nazaire, France
Died2020(2020-00-00) (aged 14–15)

During the night of 30 to 31 October 2013, while the circus was performing in Bordeaux, the llama was taken from its cage by a group of five youths returning from a disco. They took the llama out for a walk, posted some pictures on social media, and took it on a tram. The five were arrested by the police and Serge was returned to his owner, unharmed.[4]

Initially the circus director John Beautour pressed charges. However, the photos went viral on the internet, leading to a lot of publicity for the circus. Beautour subsequently dropped the charges.[5]

The llama was bookable for parties at 1,200 Euros per event, and appeared as a mascot at soccer games.[6]

A parody of the Stromae song Papaoutai called "Lamaoutai" was viewed more than 4 million times on YouTube. The parody was made with the cooperation of the circus.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Newspaper article with bio of Serge [dead link]
  2. ^ Website of Cirque Franco-Italien Archived 2014-03-20 at the Wayback Machine (last visited on 2014)
  3. ^ "Serge Lama sur Serge le lama dans le tramway de Bordeaux : "C'est génial !"". RTL.fr (in French). 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  4. ^ "Drunk youngsters steal a llama from a circus and take it for a ride in the tram !". SudOuest.fr. 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  5. ^ Simon, Marie (2013-11-03). "Serge le lama dans le tramway de Bordeaux: le cirque retire sa plainte". LExpress.fr (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  6. ^ "Serge le lama assistera au match Bordeaux-Nantes". Le Matin (in French). 2013-08-11. ISSN 1018-3736. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  7. ^ Scorpio Music (2013-11-28), Oukilemonlama - Lamaoutai (OFFICIAL VIDEO), retrieved 2017-07-10