Serge (llama)

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

Species	Llama
Born	(2005-06-29)June 29, 2005 Saint-Nazaire, France
Died	2020(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]