Another one from my trip to Peru. The word vicuna is actually spelled with the spanish enyay (the tilde over the n) but I don't know how to make that character. So it's pronounced vee-coon-ya. The vicuna is a member of the south american camelid family. So it is related to the alpacas and the llamas. Although the alpacas and llamas number in the millions in the andes, the vicunas only number in the thousands (somewhere around 11,000 or so according to my guide). That's because they were nearly hunted to extinction. In the 1970s they numbered around 5000. They are now protected and penalties for killing them deliberately or accidentally are very severe. So hopefully they have a chance. They are also not exported out of Peru and the Andes. Their fur is the finest in the world and machine spun vicuna wool as well as hand spun vicuna wool is very expensive. Only the natives of Peru are allowed to shear them. Each animal is sheared once every two years. If you go to Arequipa, and take a tour of the Colca valley, as we did, you will pass through one of the 2 vicuna reservations in Peru. Thanks for looking.