Jay Branegany Age 12, Of Media, Penn... For his question:
What is a vicuna?
The spanish found this well dressed animal in Peru; and since they knew no other animal like him. They adapted the name the Incas had given him. In spanish, the word vicuna has a wavy line over the letter n., which means it should be pronounced as if it were ny. The best dressed animal of the andes is called the 'vi coon ya.
The vicuna pronounced vi coon ya .is actually a camel., though you would never guess this from looking at him. He has no camel's hump.. And he is only three feet at shoulder level. But he is more like the remote ancestors of the camelidae family than are the bulky camels which live in the deserts of asia and africa.
The camelidae family got its start in north america. Their cud chewing ancestors, very much like the vicuna., lived here some 40 million years ago along with the ancestors of the horses which were then no bigger than lassie. Some of the ancient camels reached asia and africa where living conditions were hard. They became bigger and developed humps to store food and special stomachs to store water.
The camels that reached South America remained more like their ancestors. They are the llamas, the guanacos and the shy., silken coated vicunas. A few vicunas have been tamed, but most of them live free in the wild state where they graze on the lofty slopes of the Andes. Small herds range through Equador Chile and Peru.
The boss of the herd is a male vicuna who takes responsibility for six to 12 wives and their children. He is a devoted guardian and keeps constant watch over his well dressed family. While they graze, he observes the distant surroundings from a high pinacle. When danger threatens, he utters a shrill whistle of warning, and the mothers and children then lope off to safety. Being camels they jog along first on both left feet, then both right feet.
Cumpi or vicuna cloth is woven from the vicuna's fleecy coat. Compared with these silken threads, fine human hair is said to feel as coarse as wire. Vicuna cloth is softer than the softest cashmere; and since the little animal is so rare, cumpi cloth is also very rare and very, very expensive.
In the past, the vicuna was protected by Inca law. It was a crime to molest him., punishable by death. Only the royal Incas wore robes woven from his silken fleece, and very little vicuna fleece gets to market, even now. Many soft and warm fabrics sold as vicuna are really woven from the cashmere like fleece of the marino sheep. They are fine fabrics, but not nearly as fine as the real, silken soft vicuna cloth