| |  | | | | | | Vicuña fleece is the rarest, most costly natural fiber in the world. Cousin to the alpaca, llama and the wild guanaco, the vicuña is the smallest member of the camelid family, weighing in at around 100 pounds and standing just under three feet high at the shoulder. Vicuñas live in the extremes of the high-altitude Altiplano regions of the Andes, well above the tree line. The incredibly soft and luxurious fleece of the vicuña—with natural colors ranging from golden brown to deep fawn—has made this shy and diminutive creature a most sought-after treasure since the time of the Incas.The Sacred Vicuña
Inca legend has it that in ancient times, the vicuña was the reincarnation of a beautiful young maiden who was courted by an old, ugly king. She would only consent to his advances if he promised her a coat of pure gold. And that is how the vicuña came to have its golden fleece. Considered to be sacred by the Incas, only royalty were allowed to wear its precious fleece. Anyone who harmed one of these animals was punished with death. About every four years, the Inca ruler would call for a chaccu, a communal roundup to capture the vicuñas for shearing. The precious animals were herded into pens where specially appointed subjects would carefully clip the golden fleece. After the shearing, the vicuñas were released into the wild unharmed. Rescue from Extinction
The allure of vicuña fleece has not diminished with time; today, vicuñas are still worshipped as sacred animals by the Aymara Indians of Peru and Bolivia. Unfortunately, due to the high value of the fleece, vicuñas were enthusiastically hunted from the time of the Spanish conquistadors through the 1960s, at which point they were near to extinction. Thanks to conservation efforts, careful management and strict anti-poaching efforts, the vicuña has made a strong comeback, with a current census of more than 150,000. Modern-Day Chaccus
Vicuñas remain protected in Peru, allowing for only very limited commercial harvesting of vicuña fiber through carefully managed, modern-day chaccus. This program has allowed native villagers ownership and management of the vicuña herds and ensures that they have a sustainable source of income. 
 | | |
|
|
|
