The
vicuña (
Vicugna vicugna) or
vicugna is one of two wild
South American camelids, along with the
guanaco, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the
llama, and is now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated
alpacas, which are raised for their
fibre. 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 valued vicuñas for their wool, and that it was against the law for any but royalty to wear vicuña garments.
The vicuña is the
national animal of
Peru; its emblem is used on the
Peruvian coat of arms representing the
animal kingdom.
