What Is The National Animal Of Bolivia

Wild S American camelid

Vicuña

Vicuña in the Atacama Desert
Conservation condition
To the lowest degree Concern (IUCN three.1)^[one]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)^[2] ^{[annotation 1]}
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Grade:	Mammalia
Guild:	Artiodactyla
Family unit:	Camelidae
Genus:	Lama
Species:	L. vicugna
Binomial name
*Lama vicugna* (Molina, 1782)

Vicuña range
Synonyms
Vicugna vicugna Molina, 1782 Lama gracilis? Gervais & Ameghino, 1881

The vicuña (Lama vicugna) or vicuna ^[three] (both , very rarely spelled vicugna, its former genus proper noun)^[4] ^[5] is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high tall areas of the Andes, the other beingness the guanaco, which lives at lower elevations. Vicuñas are relatives of the llama, and are now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their coats. Vicuñas produce modest amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only exist shorn every 3 years and has to be caught from the wild. When knitted together, the production of the vicuña's wool is very soft and warm. The Inca valued vicuñas highly for their wool, and it was against the law for anyone but royalty to wear vicuña garments; today, the vicuña is the national beast of Peru and appears on the Peruvian coat of artillery.^{[ citation needed ]}

Both nether the rule of the Inca and today, vicuñas take been protected by law, only they were heavily hunted in the intervening catamenia. At the fourth dimension they were declared endangered in 1974, only virtually 6,000 animals were left. Today, the vicuña population has recovered to about 350,000,^[1] and although conservation organizations take reduced its level of threat classification, they still call for agile conservation programs to protect populations from poaching, habitat loss, and other threats.

Previously the vicuña was thought not to have been domesticated, and the llama and the alpaca were both regarded as descendants of the closely related guanaco. But DNA research published in 2001 has shown the alpaca may well accept vicuña parentage.^[6] Today, the vicuña is mainly wild, just the local people still perform special rituals with these creatures, including a fertility rite.^{[ citation needed ]}

Description [edit]

The vicuña is considered more delicate and gracile than the guanaco, and smaller. A key distinguishing element of morphology is the improve-developed incisor roots for the guanaco.^[7] The vicuña's long, woolly coat is tawny brown on the back, whereas the pilus on the throat and chest is white and quite long. The head is slightly shorter than the guanaco's and the ears are slightly longer. The length of head and torso ranges from 1.45 to ane.60 m (virtually 5 ft); shoulder height is from 75 to 85 cm (around 3 ft); its weight is from 35 to 65 kg (under 150 lb). Information technology falls prey to the puma and culpeo.^{[ citation needed ]}

Taxonomy and evolution [edit]

There are ii subspecies of vicuña:

Lama vicugna vicugna
Lama vicugna mensalis

While vicuñas are restricted to the more extreme elevations of the Andes in modern times, they may have also been present in the lowland regions of Patagonia as much as 3500 km south of their current range during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. Fossils of these lowland camelids take been assigned to a species known as Lama gracilis, but genetic and morphological analysis between them and modern vicuña betoken the two may be the aforementioned.^[viii]

Distribution and habitat [edit]

Vicuñas are native to the central Andes in South America. They are establish in Peru, northwestern Argentina, Bolivia, and northern Chile. A smaller, introduced population lives in central Republic of ecuador.^[1]

Vicuñas live at altitudes of three,200 to 4,800 yard (10,500–15,700 ft).^[i] They feed in daytime on the grassy plains of the Andes Mountains, but spend the nights on the slopes. In these areas, simply nutrient-poor, tough, agglomeration grasses and Festuca grow. The lord's day'southward rays are able to penetrate the sparse temper, producing relatively warm temperatures during the day; all the same, the temperatures drop to freezing at nighttime. The vicuña's thick but soft coat is a special accommodation which traps layers of warm air close to its torso, so information technology can tolerate freezing temperatures.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Chief predators include pumas and the andean wild dog.^{[ citation needed ]}

Behavior [edit]

Herd of vicuñas nigh Arequipa, Peru

The beliefs of vicuñas is similar to that of the guanacos. They are very shy animals, and are hands aroused by intruders, due, among other things, to their extraordinary hearing. Like the guanacos, they frequently lick calcareous stones and rocks, which are rich in salt, and also drink salt h2o.^[ix] Their diets consist mainly of low grasses which abound in clumps on the ground.^{[ citation needed ]}

Vicuñas live in family-based groups made upwards of a male, five to 15 females, and their immature. Each group has its own territory of nearly 18 km², which tin can fluctuate depending on the availability of food.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Mating usually occurs in March–April, and later a gestation menses of nigh 11 months, the female gives nativity to a single fawn, which is nursed for near 10 months. The fawn becomes contained at about 12 to 18 months old. Immature males course bachelor groups and the young females search for a sorority to bring together. This deters intraspecific competition and inbreeding.^{[ citation needed ]}

Conservation [edit]

Parties to the 1979 Vicuña Convention

From the period of Spanish conquest to 1964, hunting of the vicuña was unrestricted, which reduced its numbers to only 6,000 in the 1960s. Equally a consequence, the species was alleged endangered in 1974, and its status prohibited the trade of vicuña wool. In Peru, during 1964–1966, the Servicio Forestal y de Caza in cooperation with the US Peace Corps, Nature Conservancy, World Wild fauna Fund, and the National Agrarian University of La Molina established a nature conservatory for the vicuña called the Pampa Galeras – Barbara D'Achille in Lucanas Province, Ayacucho. During that time, a game warden academy was held in Nazca, where 8 men from Republic of peru and six from Bolivia were trained to protect the vicuña from poaching.^{[ commendation needed ]}

To cooperate on the conservation of the vicuña, the governments of Bolivia and Peru signed the Convention for the Conservation of the Vicuña on xvi August 1969 in La Paz, explicitly leaving the treaty open to accession by Argentine republic and Republic of chile.^[10] Ecuador acceded on 11 February 1976.^[x] The Convention prohibited international merchandise in the vicuña, domestic exploitation of the vicuña, and ordered the parties to create reserves and breeding centres.^[eleven] A follow-up treaty, the Convention for the Conservation and Management of the Vicuña, was signed between Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru on 20 Dec 1979 in Lima.^[eleven] ^[12] It explicitly allowed only Argentina to sign it if it also signed the 1969 La Paz Convention (Article 12;^[12] Argentina joined in 1981^[11]), and did non allow other countries to acquiesce to the convention 'due to its specific character' (Article 13).^[12] The 1979 Convention did let the apply of the vicuña under strict circumstances if the animal population had recovered sufficiently.^[11] In combination with CITES (constructive in 1975), every bit well every bit United states and EU merchandise legislation, the Conventions were extremely successful, as the vicuña population substantially grew as a result.^[xi]

The estimated population in Republic of peru increased from 6,000 to 75,000^{[ when? ]} with protection by game wardens.^{[ citation needed ]} Currently,^{[ when? ]} the customs of Lucanas conducts a chaccu (herding, capturing, and shearing) on the reserve each yr to harvest the wool, organized past the National Council for South American Camelids (CONACS).^{[ commendation needed ]}

In Republic of bolivia, the Ulla Ulla National Reserve was founded in 1977 partly as a sanctuary for the species.^{[ citation needed ]} Their numbers grew to 125,000^{[ when? ]} in Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Republic of bolivia.^{[ commendation needed ]} Since this was a ready "greenbacks crop" for community members, the countries relaxed regulations on vicuña wool in 1993, enabling its trade once again.^{[ citation needed ]} The wool is sold^{[ when? ]} on the world market for over $300 per kg, to help support the community.^{[ citation needed ]} In 2002, the Usa Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified well-nigh populations as threatened, but still lists Ecuador'south population every bit endangered.^[13] While the population levels have recovered to a good for you level,^{[ when? ]} poaching remains a constant threat, equally do habitat loss and other threats.^{[ commendation needed ]} Consequently, the IUCN all the same supports active conservation programs to protect vicuñas, though they lowered their status to least business in 2018.^[i]

Vicuña wool [edit]

The wool is popular due to its warmth, and is used for apparel such equally socks, sweaters, accessories, shawls, coats, and suits, and home furnishings such as blankets and throws. Its properties come from the tiny scales on the hollow, air-filled fibres. It causes them to interlock and trap insulating air. Vicuñas accept some of the finest fibers in the world, at a diameter of 12 μm. The fiber of cashmere goats is 14 to nineteen μm, while angora rabbit is 8 to 12 μm and that of shahtoosh from the Tibetan antelope, or chiru, is from 9 to 12 μm.^[xiv] Since it is sensitive to chemical treatment, the wool is commonly left in its natural color.^{[ citation needed ]}

The vicuña only produces about 0.5 kg (ane lb) of wool a year, and gathering it requires a certain procedure. During the fourth dimension of the Incas, vicuña wool was gathered by means of communal efforts called chacu, in which multitudes of people herded hundreds of thousands of vicuña into previously laid funnel traps. The animals were shorn and and then released; this was just done once every iv years. The vicuña was believed to be the reincarnation of a beautiful young maiden who received a coat of pure gold one time she consented to the advances of an old, ugly rex.^{[ commendation needed ]} Because of this, information technology was against the police for anyone to kill a vicuña or wear its fleece, except for Inca royalty.^{[ commendation needed ]}

Now, the Peruvian regime has a labeling system that identifies all garments that have been created through a authorities-sanctioned chacu. This guarantees that the animal was captured, shorn alive, returned to the wild, and cannot exist shorn again for another 2 years. The program also ensures that a large portion of the profits return to the villagers. However, annually, up to 22,500 kg of vicuña wool are exported as a consequence of illegal activities. Because of this, some countries accept banned the importation of the wool to save the animal. In that location is a limited only growing tendency to commercially produce wool from vicuñas in captivity, with growing herds in the Chilean Andes. Biologist Cristian Bonacic has expressed his concern about the possibility of habitat damage and the transmission of disease in the farms.^[15]

Equally of June 2007, prices for vicuña fabrics can range from United states of america$1,800 to United states$3,000 per yard. A vicuña wool scarf costs around US$i,500. A vicuña sport coat from the Italian tailoring firm Kiton cost at least Usa$21,000 in 2013.^[16]

Gallery [edit]

Comparison of alpaca, llama, and vicuña (1914)
A vicuña on rocky terrain (2008)

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^{due east} Acebes, P.; Wheeler, J.; Baldo, J.; Tuppia, P.; Lichtenstein, K.; Hoces, D.; Franklin, Due west.L. (2019) [errata version of 2018 assessment]. "Vicugna vicugna". IUCN Ruby List of Threatened Species. 2018: eastward.T22956A145360542. doi:ten.2305/IUCN.U.k..2018-2.RLTS.T22956A145360542.en . Retrieved 15 February 2020.
^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org . Retrieved xiv January 2022.
^ The spelling vicuña is not fifty-fifty mentioned in some dictionaries, for example the Macmillan Lexicon
^ The spelling vicugna is and then rare in English that it is not even mentioned in the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia or any major lexicon, including the American Heritage Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Oxford Living Dictionaries, Random Business firm Dictionary, Collins English Lexicon, and Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English
^ Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ Wheeler, Dr Jane; Kadwell, Miranda; Fernandez, Matilde; Stanley, Helen F.; Baldi, Ricardo; Rosadio, Raul; Bruford, Michael West. (December 2001). "Genetic analysis reveals the wild ancestors of the llama and the alpaca". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 268 (1485): 2575–2584. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1774. PMC1088918. PMID 11749713. 0962-8452 (Newspaper), 1471-2954 (Online).
^ Hogan, C. Michael (vii December 2008). Strömberg, N. (ed.). "Guanaco: Lama guanicoe". GlobalTwitcher.com. GlobalTwitcher. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011.
^ Weinstock, J. (2009). "The Late Pleistocene distribution of vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) and the "extinction" of the gracile llama ("Lama gracilis"): New molecular data". Quaternary Science Reviews. 28 (15–16): 1369–1373. Bibcode:2009QSRv...28.1369W. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.03.008.
^ Schuhmacher, Eugen (i January 1968). The last of the wild: on the track of rare animals. Collins. p. 304.
^ ^a ^b Convenio para la Conservación de la Vicuña (Wikisource). Source: Registro Oficial N° 144 de 4 de agosto de 1976 (Official Gazette of the Authorities of Republic of ecuador no. #144, 4 August 1976).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e McNeill, Desmond; Lichtenstein, Gabriela; Renaudeau d' Arc, Nadine (23 October 2008). "Chapter 6: International Policies and National Legislation Concernign Vicuña Conservation and Exploitation". The Vicuña: The Theory and Practice of Community Based Wildlife Management. p. 63–64. ISBN9780387094755 . Retrieved 15 Feb 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Convenio para la Conservación y Manejo de la Vicuña" (PDF). conveniovicuna.org (in Spanish). Convenio de la Vicuña. twenty December 1979. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
^ "Species Profile: Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna)". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on 1 Feb 2009. Retrieved four January 2009.
^ Roberson, Mary-Russell (Jan–February 2008). "Discovering Southward America's Camels". Smithsonian Zoogoer. National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA: Friends of the National Zoo. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved sixteen May 2010.
^ Bonacic, Cristian; Gimpel, Jessica (i January 2003). Lemons, John; Victor, Reginald; Schaffer, Daniel (eds.). Sustainable Employ of the Vicuña: A Critical Analysis and the MACS Project. Springer United states. p. 348. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-0375-0_24. ISBN978-1-4613-5045-3.
^ Coggins, David (xx September 2013). "Why Does a Vicuña Jacket Cost $21,000?". The Wall Street Journal.

Notes [edit]

^ Except populations of Argentina (populations of provinces of Jujuy, Salta, and Catamarca and semi-captive populations of provinces of Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, and San Juan), Chile (populations of the region of Tarapacá and of the region of Arica and Parinacota), Ecuador (whole population), Peru (whole population), and the Plurinational State of Bolivia (whole population), which are included in Appendix Ii.

External links [edit]

Viva Vicuña, documentary film about Vicuñas in the Andes. Light & Shadow.
"The Vicuna: the precious treasure of the Andes". Alpaca Cobweb News. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009.
Bayly Letts, Andres; Pasquel Rodríguez, Enrique (Summer 2006). "Privaticemos las vicuñas: Cómo Eliminar el Peligro de Extinción y Aprovechar su Potencial Económico" [Privatize the vicunas: How to Eliminate the Danger of Extinction and Take Advantage of its Economical Potential] (PDF). Revista de Economía y Derecho (in Castilian). 3 (9): 69–80. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2009.
"Las vicuñas repoblaron a los paramos de Chimborazo". El Comercio, Ecuador.
Convention for the Conservation of the Vicuña (La Paz 1969, including the 1976 Ecuadorian accession) – Castilian Wikisource
Convention for the Conservation and Management of the Vicuña (Lima 1979) – Spanish Wikisource
Convention for the Conservation and Management of the Vicuña (Lima 1979) – Original scan at Conveniovicuna.org