The vicuña ( Vicugna vicugna ) is the smallest member of the camel family, Camelidae, and is closely related to the guanaco, llama, and alpaca. Most vicuñas live in Peru, but some can be found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. Vicuñas have a long, soft coat that ranges from light cinnamon to pale white. The fiber is used to make high-priced coats, dressing gowns, and shawls. They are swift animals, standing about 36 inches tall and weighing around 110 pounds. When in danger, vicuñas emit a high, clear whistle. They graze on low grasses and travel in small groups of females, led by a male.

What does a vicuña look like?

The vicuña ( Vicugna vicugna ) is the smallest member of the camel family Camelidae . It has a long neck and legs, a small head, and large pointed ears. Vicuñas are known for their remarkably long, fine, soft coat, which ranges in color from light cinnamon to pale white. Long white fleece hangs from their lower flanks and the base of their necks. These swift, graceful animals stand about 90 cm (36 inches) tall at the shoulder and weigh around 50 kg (110 pounds). When alarmed, they emit a high, clear whistle. They have highly developed vision and hearing.

Why is vicuña wool considered special?

Vicuña wool is considered special because of its remarkable qualities. The vicuña is covered with a long, fine, soft, and lustrous coat, ranging from light cinnamon to pale white, with long white fleece hanging from its lower flanks and the base of its neck. Vicuña fiber is strong and resilient but sensitive to chemicals, so it is generally used in its natural color. The costly fiber is made into high-priced coats, dressing gowns, and shawls. The vicuña’s dense silky fleece, once reserved for the Incan nobility, provides excellent insulation against temperature fluctuations in its natural habitat in the Andes.

What steps are being taken to protect and conserve vicuña populations?

Vicuñas faced significant population decline due to hunting, decreasing from approximately one million during Incan times to about 10,000 in the late 1960s. However, conservation efforts have enabled vicuña populations to recover, reaching over 80,000 by the late 20th century and exceeding 460,000 by 2020. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the vicuña as a species of least concern since 2008. Protective legislation was introduced in the 19th century. The Inca rounded up vicuñas, sheared their wool, and released them, also killing some for meat.

vicuña

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World map showing the geographic ranges of camelid species, with color-coded outlines for each: alpaca, llama, guanaco, and vicuna ranges are marked in South America; Arabian camel or dromedary in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia; domesticated Bactrian camel across Central Asia; and wild Bactrian camel in a small area of East Central Asia. Australia is shaded for introduced dromedaries.

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Related Topics:: Vicugna vicugna mensalis; vicuña fibre; Vicugna vicugna vicugna

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vicuña

mammal

Also known as: Lama vicugna, Vicugna vicugna

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What is a vicuña?
The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is the smallest member of the camel family, Camelidae, and is closely related to the guanaco, llama, and alpaca. Most vicuñas live in Peru, but some can be found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina.

Vicuñas have a long, soft coat that ranges from light cinnamon to pale white. The fiber is used to make high-priced coats, dressing gowns, and shawls. They are swift animals, standing about 36 inches tall and weighing around 110 pounds. When in danger, vicuñas emit a high, clear whistle. They graze on low grasses and travel in small groups of females, led by a male.
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Where do vicuñas live in the wild?
Vicuñas, the smallest members of the camel family, inhabit the semiarid grasslands of the central Andes at altitudes of 3,600–4,800 metres (12,000–16,000 feet). Most vicuñas live in Peru, but smaller populations can be found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. The subspecies V. vicugna mensalis inhabits the wetter habitats in the northern part of the vicuña’s range, whereas the subspecies V. vicugna vicugna lives in drier regions located in the southern part.

They graze on low grasses and travel in small bands of females, usually led by a male who acts as lookout and defends his territory against intruders.
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What does a vicuña look like?
The vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is the smallest member of the camel family Camelidae. It has a long neck and legs, a small head, and large pointed ears. Vicuñas are known for their remarkably long, fine, soft coat, which ranges in color from light cinnamon to pale white. Long white fleece hangs from their lower flanks and the base of their necks.

These swift, graceful animals stand about 90 cm (36 inches) tall at the shoulder and weigh around 50 kg (110 pounds). When alarmed, they emit a high, clear whistle. They have highly developed vision and hearing.
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How do vicuñas survive in their mountain habitat?
The vicuña thrives in the semiarid grasslands of the central Andes at elevations of 3,600–4,800 metres (12,000–16,000 feet).

Their dense, silky fleece provides insulation against temperature fluctuations in their high-altitude habitat. Vision and hearing are more highly developed than their sense of smell.

Indigenous mountain species, such as the vicuña, are adapted to the low oxygen partial pressures of high altitude. Their hemoglobin has a high oxygen affinity, so that full saturation of the blood with oxygen occurs at a lower partial pressure of oxygen.
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Why is vicuña wool considered special?
Vicuña wool is considered special because of its remarkable qualities. The vicuña is covered with a long, fine, soft, and lustrous coat, ranging from light cinnamon to pale white, with long white fleece hanging from its lower flanks and the base of its neck.

Vicuña fiber is strong and resilient but sensitive to chemicals, so it is generally used in its natural color. The costly fiber is made into high-priced coats, dressing gowns, and shawls. The vicuña’s dense silky fleece, once reserved for the Incan nobility, provides excellent insulation against temperature fluctuations in its natural habitat in the Andes.
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1. Definition of vicuña
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What steps are being taken to protect and conserve vicuña populations?
Vicuñas faced significant population decline due to hunting, decreasing from approximately one million during Incan times to about 10,000 in the late 1960s.

However, conservation efforts have enabled vicuña populations to recover, reaching over 80,000 by the late 20th century and exceeding 460,000 by 2020. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the vicuña as a species of least concern since 2008. Protective legislation was introduced in the 19th century. The Inca rounded up vicuñas, sheared their wool, and released them, also killing some for meat.
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vicuña, (Vicugna vicugna), smallest member of the camel family, Camelidae (order Artiodactyla). The vicuña is closely related to the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), llama (L. glama), and alpaca (Vicugna pacos)—all of which are known collectively as lamoids—and it is the alpaca’s wild ancestor. Most vicuñas inhabit Peru, with smaller numbers found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. The subspecies V. vicugna mensalis inhabits the wetter habitats in the northern part of the vicuña’s range, whereas the subspecies V. vicugna vicugna lives in drier regions located in the southern part.

The vicuña is covered with a remarkably long, fine, soft, and lustrous coat that varies in colour from light cinnamon to a pale white, with long white fleece hanging from the lower flanks and the base of the neck. The annual yield of fleece sheared from domesticated vicuñas shows a wide range of from 85 to 550 grams (3 to 20 ounces) per animal. Vicuña fibre is strong and resilient, but it is highly sensitive to chemicals and is generally used in its natural colour. The costly fibre is made into high-priced coats, dressing gowns, and shawls. The vicuña’s dense silky fleece, once reserved for the Incan nobility, provides excellent insulation against the temperature fluctuations the animal encounters in its natural habitat: semiarid grasslands in the central Andes at altitudes of 3,600–4,800 metres (12,000–16,000 feet).

A swift, graceful animal, the vicuña is the smallest of the camelids, with a shoulder height of about 90 cm (36 inches) and a weight of about 50 kg (110 pounds). When in danger, vicuñas emit a high, clear whistle. Vision and hearing are more highly developed than their sense of smell. Vicuñas are hunted by pumas (Puma concolor); culpeos, or Andean foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus); and people, who also raise them as livestock.

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Like guanacos, vicuñas are wild, with temperaments that preclude domestication. The animals graze on low grasses and ruminate while resting. They travel in small bands of females, usually led by a male who acts as lookout and defends his territory against intruders. Vicuñas use communal dung heaps to mark their territorial boundaries. They spit frequently and noisily, like all lamoids. A single young, born in February or March about 11 months after the parents have mated, remains close to the mother for at least 10 months. The life expectancy is about 15 to 20 years.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the vicuña as a species of least concern since 2008. Vicuñas have been hunted for centuries. The Inca rounded the animals up, sheared their wool, and then released them; they also killed some for meat. In Spanish colonial times, greater numbers of the animals were hunted and killed, and, though protective legislation was introduced in the 19th century, poaching continued to reduce their total numbers, which declined from a million in Incan times to only about 10,000 by the late 1960s. Subsequent conservation efforts have allowed vicuña populations to recover to more than 80,000 animals by the late 20th century and to more than 460,000 by 2020.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.

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