>ANDEAN HIGHLANDS
VICUÑA, The fiber of the gods
Animal with a fawn and white coat, the VICUÑA has a magnificent, exceptionally fine fleece that features unmatched fineness and softness. Intensive hunting in the 1960s due to its fleece was subsequently the subject of a security program in Peru that secured its repopulation. Today the vicunas graze freely in small flocks in their natural territory.
In common with andin, alpaca, guanaco and lama species, the vicun belongs to the largest Camelidian family in North America. Of all the camelids, the vicun is by far the best wool. With a diameter of 11 to 14 microns and a length of about 30 millimeters, the fiber of its fleece is thus the precious wool in the world.
Each vicuña gives 300 grams of wool per harvest: wonderful gossamer wisps of 12 microns in diameter. In addition to its fineness and its length, which gives it a particular sheen, vicuña fibre has a beauty and brilliance that derives from its unmatched brightness.
Discovering the vicuña involves a visit to the Jujuy province in Northern Argentina’s Salta region, to experience the terrain and the altitude. This incomparable landscape is home to the vicuña. MTR settles in for a rare event, the shearing of this small member of the camelid family whose wool is a gift from the gods. The animal is protected and respected, and every effort is made to treat it with the utmost reverence, prudence and consideration.
THE CHACCU
A lean animal with a white coat has a magnificent fleece, with a fineness and unmatched softness. Because of an intense hunting in the 1960s, just because of its cloak, it is now subject to a program of restocking.
THE PRINCESS OF THE ANDES
With its slender neck and huge dark eyes framed with long eyelashes, the vicuña has a unique grace and charm.
Vicuñas are shorn every two years and are ringed for identification from one year to the next. When shorning, electric clippers are being used. Shearing takes no more than a few minutes to limit the stress to the animal, which is immediately released.
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