vicuna

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vicuña

vicuña , wild South American hoofed mammal, Vicugna vicugna, the smallest member of the camel family. It is 30 in. (75 cm) high at the shoulder, with a long, slender neck and pale, fawn coloring. Vicuñas live in herds on high plateaus of the Andes, at altitudes of 14,000 to 18,000 ft (4,300-5,500 m); they feed on grasses and other vegetation.

Their fleece is exceptionally soft and silky, and in the time of the Incas was reserved for royal robes. The vicuña has never been successfully domesticated; wild herds were rounded up for shearing. Hunted to the verge of extinction for its wool and flesh, it is now protected and has recovered. Today wool is harvested from animals in the wild and others confined to ranches or enclosed ranges.

The vicuña is classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Camelidae.

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vicuna

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Â© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

vicuna S. Amer. animal allied to the llama XVII; vicuna cloth XIX. — Sp. vicun̄a (Pg. vicunha) — Quechua.

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T. F. HOAD. "vicuna." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 21 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "vicuna." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (December 21, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-vicuna.html

T. F. HOAD. "vicuna." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved December 21, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-vicuna.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Sustainable use for vicuna conservation. Magazine article from: Endangered Species Bulletin; 9/1/2005
	Toxoplasma gondii en vicunas de la reserva nacional de Pampa Galeras. Magazine article from: Revista de investigaciones veterinarias del Perú; 7/1/2006
	Argentina Gold Reports on Carrizal and Vicuna Pampa Projects. Business Wire; 6/12/1996

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Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Vicunas: Bearers of the Golden Fleece.(attempts to protect vicunas through taking their fleece)(includes related article on vicunas) Magazine article from: Animals; 5/1/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...The Incas conserved vicunas, rarely butchered...tine and soft fleece. Vicuna fleece was seen as...commercial harvesting of vicuna fiber but still forbids...exportation or hunting of vicunas. The challenge facing vicuna policy makers in all...
	Politics keeps Vicuna off market. (Andean vicuna wool from Peru) Magazine article from: WWD; 10/9/1990; ; 700+ words ; ...Andean region where the vicuna live. Another problem is...resources to manage the vicuna herds. "The Agriculture...shave, corral or guard the vicunas," said Augusto Dammert, adviser to the National Vicuna Commission. The future...
	Sustainable use for vicuna conservation. Magazine article from: Endangered Species Bulletin; 9/1/2005; ; 700+ words ; ...harvesting wool from wild vicunas, and has taught and supervised campesinos in vicuna management. Shearing...minutes per animal. Vicuna management provides employment...provide protection to vicunas, and offer instruction...wishing to establish a vicuna industry. Strict law...
	RARE VICUNA ---- NOW LEGAL IN THE U.S.(use of a expensive fiber in clothing) Magazine article from: Daily News Record; 7/8/2002; ; 700+ words ; Vicuna, considered the ultimate luxury fiber...can now legally be sold in the U.S. (Vicuna has actually been sold in other countries...the U.S. There is much legend about the vicuna, which is native to the high Andes and...
	Shearing assets of the vicuna Magazine article from: Americas; 1/1/2000; ; 700+ words ; ...commercialization of vicuna products. Today...seventy-five hundred vicunas live in the reserve...allowing importation of vicuna fiber products...nations with native vicunas intend to ask that...Ecuador's native vicuna population became...by other nations. Vicunas, which may be ...
	Peruvians Shear Vicunas in Annual Roundup News Wire article from: AP Online; 7/16/2006; 700+ words ; ...States lifted a ban on vicuna wool imports only...driving about 1,500 vicunas into a corral. The...senior thesis on the vicuna. "I just thought...just round up the vicunas and shear them and...500 almond-eyed vicunas on the Pampa Galeras...1,870 pounds of vicuna wool in 2005, ...
	RARE SPECIES: VICUNA AT U.S. CUSTOMS.(import problems over the import of vicuna into the U.S.) Magazine article from: Daily News Record; 11/4/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Just when everyone thought it was safe to sell vicuna, there's another snag -- one that affects...it had seemed that the problems surrounding vicuna were solved this summer. In July, vicuna and apparel made from this rare, luxurious...
	Peru gets OK to market vicuna. (wool from endangered vicunas) Magazine article from: WWD; 10/10/1989; ; 700+ words ; ...said supplies of vicuna wool in 1986 reached...massacre of 66,764 vicunas, since it takes...specialty hair animals, vicunas must be killed to...civilization, the vicuna population reached...at rebuilding the vicuna population, and...population of 250,000 vicunas in Peru by 1990...
	Vicuna shearing ceremony celebrated in Peru's Andes News Wire article from: AP Worldstream; 6/27/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...States lifted a ban on vicuna wool imports only...driving about 1,500 vicunas into a corral. The...500 almond-eyed vicunas on the Pampa Galeras...850 kilograms) of vicuna wool, providing...senior thesis on the vicuna, traveled to Pampa...just round up the vicunas and shear them and...
	Local conflicts and international compromises: the sustainable use of vicuna in Argentina. Magazine article from: Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy; 9/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; The vicuna Vicugna vicugna is a wild South American...treaties have been successful in causing vicuna populations to recover to a level where...Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina, vicuna management plans have been developed...