The vicuña (pronounced ve-coon-ah) is a species native to the Andes mountain, carefully associated to the guanaco. The vicuña is part of the camel family, although it is by far the smallest member. Compared to a guanaco, the vicuña is only about half the size, has a smaller tail, and finer wool. Home alpacas are likely to have originated from historic vinuña domestication attempts.
Vicuñas occupy the grasslands of the central Andes mountains and are adapted to very high elevations. The truth is, most vicuñas are discovered between 10,000 and 15,000 feet – higher than most mountains in many parts of the world. They spend their days feeding all through the grassy plains. At night time, the herds move back into the hills.
In the hills and mountainous areas, vicuñas are able to avoid many of their predators. They are very nimble along rocky ridges, allowing them to evade less agile predators. However, pumas are a major predator of vicuñas, and pumas are more than capable of capturing prey amongst not sure footing.
Vicuña Wool – One of many World’s Most Costly Materials!
The fiber produced by the vicuña is extraordinarily valuable because of its extraordinarily soft and warm nature. Particular person wool fibers are among the finest in the animal kingdom – leading to one of the softest fabrics in creation when it is weaved together. The fabric is so expensive that a suit jacket made of vicuña wool can price upwards of $20,000!
The fibers are designed to keep the animal comfortable within the highly variable surroundings of the Andes Mountains. In the day, temperatures may be scorching hot. The light colour and airiness of vicuña wool be sure that the animals don’t overheat. Nighttime in the Andes is a unique story, with temperatures usually dropping under freezing. Hole air pockets within the wool keep the organisms warm even within the face of freezing temperatures.
Part of the reason that the vicuña was revered by historical Inca civilization was because of its fine wool. Only Incan royalty was allowed to wear the wool, as a sign of standing and respect. When the Spanish conquistadors invaded South America, vicuña wool was taken back to Europe and grew in fashionableity. By centuries of unregulated harvesting, the vicuña was practically extinct in the Nineteen Sixties!
Fascinating Insights from the Vicuña!
The vicuña is an enchanting species because of its amazing adaptations, and in part because of the history humanity has skilled with the vicuña. While these are fascinating subjects, the vicuña also displays a number of vital ideas which can be vital to all of biology!
Stopping Poaching – Shave the Vicuñas!
The conservation of vicuñas relies on a trick that can be helpful to many different endangered species. Within the Seventies, the Peruvian government and a number of non-profit organizations teamed as much as prevent the vicuña from going extinct. To do so required the help of the community and a big number of wool shears.
This technique helped get the vicuña off of the endangered species list! Though there have been as little as 6,000 vicuña within the Sixties, populations at the moment are well above 350,000! Conservationists working on different species have started adopting this technique, with similar success. Rhinos and elephants in certain parks have their ivory tusks repeatedly shaved down, making the animals virtually valueless to a poacher. Typically, if the valuable part of an animal could be removed without harm to the animal the method is perfect for reducing poaching.
Wool-Producing Animals
A wide range of animals produces wool – from sheep to llamas – but not all wool is the same. Wool from completely different species can have many different qualities, including its width, size, development time, and ability to trap air pockets. Vicuña wool is extraordinarily fine and traps air wonderfully – however can take up to 2 years or more to grow out totally!
Most wool-producing animals evolved in environments with extreme temperature shifts. Wool traps heat when it is simply too cold and dissipates heat when things start getting too hot. This permits wool-producing animals to live in mountainous environments which have drastic temperature swings regularly. Wool is also covered in oils, which assist keep animals dry when it rains heavily.
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