Vicuña, Guia de Fauna. RutaChile

Familia: Camelidae
Subfamilia: Lamini
Genero: Vicugna
Nombre Cientifico: vicugna

In the Andean highlands four species of camelids which the vicuña is the smallest of its representatives and the sole, along with the guanaco, which remains in the wild live. Live at high altitudes, always above the three 1500 meters, in regions that are known by the name of Puna.


The vicunas live, like many other social ungulates, in herds segregated by sex, on the one hand and on the other males and young females led by a dominant male. Typically herds of bachelor males are more numerous. During the mating season the position of dominant male is highly coveted and then disputes arise between them. These consist of a succession of blows, kicks and bites to stop the flight of one of the two contenders.


Deliveries of the vicunas are composed of a single recental that is able to sit up and move freely within hours of birth. At ten or eleven months of age, males are expelled from the herd and form new groups of single males.


The vicuña is a species in real danger of extinction due to the systematic hunting and a high infant mortality rate and even prenatal, preventing populations to regenerate. It is the only ungulate which has incisors of continuous growth. Their wool, extremely soft, is the most valued in the world and has been one of the causes of the disappearance of most of their populations.

Countries where lives Vicuña

ARGENTINA     BOLIVIA     CHILE     PERU