Vicuña
Vicugna vicugna
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassMammalia (Mamífers)
- OrderArtiodactyla (Artiodàctils)
- FamilyCamelidae (Camelids)
- GenusVicugna
- SpeciesVicugna vicugna (Vicuña)
The vicuña (Lama vicugna) or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled vicugna, its Latin specific name) is a wild South American camelid which lives in high alpine areas of the Andes. It is a relative of the llama, the domesticated descendant of the guanaco, the only other still wild South American camelid. The vicuña is believed to be the ancestor of domesticated alpaca, which is raised for its coat. The vicuña produces small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal has to be caught from the wild to be fleeced and can only be shorn only every three years. When knitted together, the product of the vicuña's wool is very soft and warm. The Inca valued the vicuña highly for its wool, and it was prohibited for anyone but royalty to wear vicuña garments; today, the vicuña is the national animal of Peru and appears on the Peruvian coat of arms. Wikipedia →
70–80% of wildlife watchers report a Vicuña sighting in Lauca National Park, based on 41 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Lauca National Park
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 2 | Madidi National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 3 | Huascarán National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Vicuña in Lauca National Park?
About 73% of wildlife watchers report a Vicuña sighting in Lauca National Park, based on 41 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Vicuña in Lauca National Park?
December has the highest sighting rate for Vicuña in Lauca National Park in our monthly data.