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The Precious Vicuna
By Elizabeth Nelson
The Altiplano is a cold, harsh habitat, ranging from about 12,000-18,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains of South America. At this elevation, there are no trees to block strong winds, and very little rain, though nightly fog and dew provide water. The land is covered with low, tough shrubs and hardy grasses, neither of which provides places to hide. This inhospitable area is home to a species of animal with the finest fiber in the world: the vicuna.
During the height of the Incan empire, the animals were plentiful and numbered approximately 2 million. Their fleece was so valuable (vicuna fabric currently sells for $1,800 to $3,000 per yard) that only royalty could wear garments made from it. Commoners discovered with the fabric were executed. During that time, animals were not killed in order to harvest fiber. Instead, a Chacu "practice capture" with a strong ritual would be held wherein men would chase herds of animals into an enclosed area. The animals would be shorn, and then released, preserving the vicuna population. Occasionally, for important religious rites, animals past breeding age would be sacrificed.
In the 1500s, the Spanish Conquistadors decimated the Incan empire. Part of the process included destroying items and animals that were of importance to the Incan rulers, including vicuna. Although they did not completely eradicate the species, the destruction of the animals had long-lasting consequences.
Even after the fall of the Incan Empire, people understood the importance of vicuna fiber. With an average diameter of 12 microns, vicuna fiber is the softest in the world. Unfortunately, each animal produces a relatively small amount since they can only be shorn every other year. As demand for both the fiber and fabric increased, poachers began to comb the mountains looking for the elusive animals. Unlike the methods employed by Incan herdsmen, this new generation of hunters did not care if the species survived. Already greatly diminished in numbers because of the Conquistadors, vicuna became quite rare, and by 1974, it was estimated that there were fewer than 8,000 vicuna in existence.
Vicuna are highly social animals. Family groups consist of six or more females, their offspring and a dominant male. At eight months old, males are expelled from the herd, at which time they generally join bachelor herds that can grow up to 200 animals. When a male reaches sexual maturity at about 4 years, he will seek his own harem of females, generally by forcing out a dominant male from a family group. Males who have been removed from a family group tend to travel as loners thereafter.
Although vicuna are swift runners, reaching speeds up to 30 miles per hour, the herds can be very vulnerable to poaching and predation from pumas and foxes. The avian Goliath - The Condor, will also feast on dead vicuna along with attacking weak or ill animals. At one time, it was fairly common for entire family groups to be shot at once.
In 1825, Simon Bolivar, the founder of the country of Peru, began to enact protections for the vicuna. However, despite numerous laws passed over the next 140 years, the fiber was so valuable that large numbers of animals continued to be killed. Then, in 1974, the vicuna was added to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix I list, which meant it was threatened with extinction. This made it illegal to export any product from the animal, whether fleece or meat.
Eventually, the vicuna population began to increase. By 1993, CITES regulations were relaxed enough to allow fiber harvest within Peru, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Yet vicuna fiber was not allowed to be exported internationally, which had the dual benefits of giving indigenous villages a source of income while preventing wide-spread poaching. The Chacus held over the next five years were a success, less than two percent of the animals were injured and shorn vicunas were far less tempting targets for poachers.
In 2000, results of a National Vicuna Census were released, estimating that numbers were up to nearly 200,000 animals. In 2002, the numbers were sufficient in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, to lower their status from Endangered to Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The effect of this is that under certain conditions, fiber products and raw fiber can now be imported (with proper documentation) from these four countries into the United States.
Copyright Wild Fibers Magazine, 2004. May not be reprinted without permission.
Contact: Linda Cortright, Editor - Wild Fibers Magazine
P.O. Box 1752, Rockland, ME 04841 207-594-9455
Vicuna Basics:
Common Name: Vicuna
Scientific Name: Vicugna vicugna
Height: 32-43 inches at the shoulder
Length: 4.5 feet
Weight: 99-121 pounds
Fiber Diameter: 12-13 microns
Fiber Color: Tawny to reddish-brown, white chest and belly
Sexual Maturity: Males: 4 years old
Females: 2-3 years old
Gestation: 330-350 days
Offspring: Single birth
By Elizabeth Nelson
The Altiplano is a cold, harsh habitat, ranging from about 12,000-18,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains of South America. At this elevation, there are no trees to block strong winds, and very little rain, though nightly fog and dew provide water. The land is covered with low, tough shrubs and hardy grasses, neither of which provides places to hide. This inhospitable area is home to a species of animal with the finest fiber in the world: the vicuna.
During the height of the Incan empire, the animals were plentiful and numbered approximately 2 million. Their fleece was so valuable (vicuna fabric currently sells for $1,800 to $3,000 per yard) that only royalty could wear garments made from it. Commoners discovered with the fabric were executed. During that time, animals were not killed in order to harvest fiber. Instead, a Chacu "practice capture" with a strong ritual would be held wherein men would chase herds of animals into an enclosed area. The animals would be shorn, and then released, preserving the vicuna population. Occasionally, for important religious rites, animals past breeding age would be sacrificed.
In the 1500s, the Spanish Conquistadors decimated the Incan empire. Part of the process included destroying items and animals that were of importance to the Incan rulers, including vicuna. Although they did not completely eradicate the species, the destruction of the animals had long-lasting consequences.
Even after the fall of the Incan Empire, people understood the importance of vicuna fiber. With an average diameter of 12 microns, vicuna fiber is the softest in the world. Unfortunately, each animal produces a relatively small amount since they can only be shorn every other year. As demand for both the fiber and fabric increased, poachers began to comb the mountains looking for the elusive animals. Unlike the methods employed by Incan herdsmen, this new generation of hunters did not care if the species survived. Already greatly diminished in numbers because of the Conquistadors, vicuna became quite rare, and by 1974, it was estimated that there were fewer than 8,000 vicuna in existence.
Vicuna are highly social animals. Family groups consist of six or more females, their offspring and a dominant male. At eight months old, males are expelled from the herd, at which time they generally join bachelor herds that can grow up to 200 animals. When a male reaches sexual maturity at about 4 years, he will seek his own harem of females, generally by forcing out a dominant male from a family group. Males who have been removed from a family group tend to travel as loners thereafter.
Although vicuna are swift runners, reaching speeds up to 30 miles per hour, the herds can be very vulnerable to poaching and predation from pumas and foxes. The avian Goliath - The Condor, will also feast on dead vicuna along with attacking weak or ill animals. At one time, it was fairly common for entire family groups to be shot at once.
In 1825, Simon Bolivar, the founder of the country of Peru, began to enact protections for the vicuna. However, despite numerous laws passed over the next 140 years, the fiber was so valuable that large numbers of animals continued to be killed. Then, in 1974, the vicuna was added to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix I list, which meant it was threatened with extinction. This made it illegal to export any product from the animal, whether fleece or meat.
Eventually, the vicuna population began to increase. By 1993, CITES regulations were relaxed enough to allow fiber harvest within Peru, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Yet vicuna fiber was not allowed to be exported internationally, which had the dual benefits of giving indigenous villages a source of income while preventing wide-spread poaching. The Chacus held over the next five years were a success, less than two percent of the animals were injured and shorn vicunas were far less tempting targets for poachers.
In 2000, results of a National Vicuna Census were released, estimating that numbers were up to nearly 200,000 animals. In 2002, the numbers were sufficient in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, to lower their status from Endangered to Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The effect of this is that under certain conditions, fiber products and raw fiber can now be imported (with proper documentation) from these four countries into the United States.
Copyright Wild Fibers Magazine, 2004. May not be reprinted without permission.
Contact: Linda Cortright, Editor - Wild Fibers Magazine
P.O. Box 1752, Rockland, ME 04841 207-594-9455
Vicuna Basics:
Common Name: Vicuna
Scientific Name: Vicugna vicugna
Height: 32-43 inches at the shoulder
Length: 4.5 feet
Weight: 99-121 pounds
Fiber Diameter: 12-13 microns
Fiber Color: Tawny to reddish-brown, white chest and belly
Sexual Maturity: Males: 4 years old
Females: 2-3 years old
Gestation: 330-350 days
Offspring: Single birth