The national animal of Peru is the vicuña. This is a South American camelid which is found at high elevations in the alpine areas of the Andes. In appearance, they are similar to alpaca, though taller and more slender. They are very important national symbols and have been important to the local economy for millennia.
Though you might expect the national animal of Peru to simply be the alpaca, instead this alpaca-like camelid is considered to be the more important national symbol.
They have been farmed and raised by the local people since long before records began, and their tendency to live high in the mountains reflects the geography of the nation itself.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Peru?
The national animal of Peru is the vicuña.
This is a species of camelid which you would be forgiven for mistaking for an alpaca or a llama.
They are very closely related and very similar in appearance, though once you know what you are looking for, the differences are quite apparent.
Importantly, the main distinction between vicuña, alpaca, and llama, is that the latter two are fully domesticated species, and those found in the wild are considered to be feral populations that have escaped from farms.
Vicuña, on the other hand, are one of two wild camelid species found in the Andes Mountains.
The other, the guanaco, lives at considerably lower elevations.
It was originally not thought that the vicuña was domesticated at all, and llama and alpaca were thought instead to be descendants of the guanaco.
In fact, the alpaca appears to have some vicuña parentage according to a DNA study performed in 2001.
Also, the vicuña certainly is and has been domesticated by local people for a long time, though not to the same degree.
They are mostly wild today, but they still play a very important role in the culture and economy of Peru and wider parts of the Andes.
Vicuña are considered to be the delicate, graceful one of the two between themselves and the guanaco.
They are usually around five feet tall at the head and around three feet tall at the shoulder.
They weigh usually less than 150 pounds.
They are commonly preyed on by mountain puma and the species of Andean fox known as the culpeo.
It’s thought that, though they dwell mostly at very high elevations today, that they evolved from species in lowland Patagonia during the Late Pleistocene.
Why is the vicuña the national animal of Peru?
The vicuña is the national animal of Peru for a variety of reasons.
They hold a great deal of cultural and historical significance both historically and in the present day.
They are seen to be spirits of the mountains, embodying grace, freedom, and beauty.
The Inca valued these animals very highly for their wool to the extent that it was a crime for anyone except Incan royalty to wear the wool as a garment.
This, naturally, has come down to some degree in the modern inhabitants of Peru.
They are also important in fertility rites and other rituals in the wild.
On the other hand, they are more simply embodiments of Andean and Peruvian natural beauty.
Much of Peru, and indeed this whole region of South America, sits at very high elevations, and these steep, rugged mountain landscapes are the very embodiment of Peruvian landscapes.
So, the vicuña also embodies this.
Though they are listed as of least concern today, they were in the recent past an endangered species.
By making them the national animal, the Peruvian government hopes to continue to bring awareness and protect populations from poaching and habitat loss.
Where do vicuña live?
They can be found over a fairly wide range across western South America, and as mentioned they are more or less exclusively found at very high elevations.
They can be found in Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, and parts of northern Chile.
There is also an introduced population in central Ecuador.
They live at elevations usually no lower than 10,500 feet and no higher than 15,700 feet.
They are diurnal and feed on grassy, Andes plains in the daytime, though they will then move to the slopes during the night.
Their coats are well adapted to the plummeting temperatures which at night can go below freezing, so they thrive in these environments.
Why is vicuña so expensive?
It’s a simple question of its rarity and the fact that the vicuña is a tightly protected species.
They are only shorn under very controlled conditions and there is very little farming of them as they are still a wild species that does not do particularly well in domestic environments.
Hunting them in the wild remains illegal, so there is no way to take the fiber from a hunted individual, either.
Thus, just like anything, the commodity is very rare and highly sought after, and thus anyone selling it can ask a very high price and people will pay it.
Famed, then, for their luxurious fiber, these animals are sadly becoming rarer and rarer.
For this reason, though, the wool itself has only become more and more of a luxury.
Regardless, they are a vitally important national symbol in Peru for a whole variety of reasons besides the simple fact of their continued importance to the national economy.
Without them, no doubt, the agricultural history of the region would have looked very different.