The
vicuña (
Vicugna vicugna) is one of 2 wild
South American camelids, along with the
guanaco, which live in the high alpineous areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the
llama and the
alpaca. Vicuñas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every 3 years. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's fur is very soft and warm. It is understood that the
Inca raised vicuñas for their wool, and that it was against the law for any but royalty to wear vicuña garments.
Both under the rule of the Inca and today, vicuñas have been protected by law. Before being declared endangered in 1974, only about 6,000 animals were left. Today, the vicuña have recovered to about 125,000 but organizations such as the IUCN and the U.S. Department of the Interior still consider it endangered.
The vicuña is considered more delicate and graceful than the guanaco, and smaller. Although their coats may look thin, they are made up of insulating hairs that are softer and warmer than any other animal. Its long, woolly coat is tawny brown on the back while the hair on the throat and chest is white and quite long. The head is slightly shorter than the guanaco's and the ears are slightly longer. The length of head and body ranges from 1.45 to 1.60 m (about 5 ft); shoulder height from 75 to 85 cm (around 3 ft); weight from 35 to 65 kg (under 150 lb).
In order to prevent poaching there is a round up every year, and all vicuñas with fur longer than 2-1/2 centimeters are shorn.
