A wild camelid of the high Andes and probably the ancestor of the alpaca. It grows small amounts of extremely fine wool; the Inca let only royalty wear it. Hunting cut numbers to about 6,000 by 1974, but the population has recovered to about 350,000.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inSouth America
HabitatMountains, Grassland
ColoursTan, White
SizeMedium
Length1.45–1.6 m (head and body)
Height75–85 cm at the shoulder
Weight35–65 kg
Legs4
Covered inWool
Lives inherds
Lives for15–20 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- The central Andes of Peru, northwestern Argentina, Bolivia and northern Chile, at 3,200–4,800 m; introduced to Ecuador.
- What it eats
- Mainly low bunch grasses.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Grows some of the finest wool in the world, and can only be shorn every three years.
It is the national animal of Peru and appears on the Peruvian coat of arms.
Its fibres are 12 micrometres across, finer than cashmere’s 14.
Often confused with
- Alpaca
The vicuña is the wild animal the domestic alpaca is believed to come from.
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