vicuña

vicuña (vĭk`nyə, vĭky`nə), wild South American hoofed mammal, Vicugna vicugna, the smallest member of the camel family. It is 30 in. (75 cm) high at the shoulder, with a long, slender neck and pale, fawn coloring. Vicuñas live in herds on high plateaus of the Andes, at altitudes of 14,000 to 18,000 ft (4,300–5,500 m); they feed on grasses and other vegetation.

Their fleece is exceptionally soft and silky, and in the time of the Incas was reserved for royal robes. The vicuña has never been successfully domesticated; wild herds were rounded up for shearing. Hunted to the verge of extinction for its wool and flesh, it is now protected and has recovered. Today wool is harvested from animals in the wild and others confined to ranches or enclosed ranges.

The vicuña is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Camelidae.

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vicuña

South American lamoid (see alpaca), the smallest species (Vicugna vicugna) in the camel family, found in semiarid grasslands of the central Andes at altitudes of 12,000–16,000 ft (3,600–4,800 m). The remarkably long, soft, lustrous coat is cinnamon to white; a dense, silky, white fleece hangs from the flanks and base of the neck. Vicuñas are about 36 in. (90 cm) high and weigh over 100 lbs (50 kg). Small bands of females, led by a male, graze on low grasses, ruminate while at rest, and spit often and noisily. They mark their territory with communal dung heaps. Vicuñas are untamable but have been hunted for centuries; they are now protected as an endangered species.