The Vicuña: Vicugna vicugna

In the wild, the vicuña inhabits the high Andean zone of the extreme north of Argentina, western Bolivia, northeastern Chile and central and southern Peru in latitudes between 7° and 34° longitude south and altitudes between 4800 and 5000 meters. The majority of the population is concentrated in Peru (Ayacucho). This species was on the verge of extinction in the early 1960's, a situation that has been remedied by the installation of wild reserves to prevent poaching.

The vicuña is the smallest of all South American camelidae measuring between 75 to 85 cm in height at the withers and weighing 35 to 65 kg. Its main characteristic is the high-quality fiber which is said to be the best in the world. This fiber was long reserved only for royalty during the Inca civilization. The vicuna life expectancy is between 15 and 20 years. They usually travel in bands of 5 to 15 females and a male.