Vintage Llama Treasures - "The Vicuna" Collector's Plare

Sought because its luxurious fleece is the most desirable in the world, the lovely vicuna is endangered in its realm.

The female vicuna pauses in her grazing to look out over the plain and the little vicunita nuzzles close to its mother for warmth. The pair are momentarily still, caught in a pose of heartwarming simplicity that illuminates the grace and beauty of this little-known member of the camel family.

The semi-arid Andean plateaus of Peru are the primary habitat of vicuna, but some are also found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. A gentle herbivore, the vicuna is much loved by humans. In Incan times this graceful animal was honored and protected, but later thousands of vicunas were killed each year for their wool and meat. Simon Bolivar, the liberator of Peru, introduced legislation in 1825 that gave the animal some protection; today the laws are even more stringent. The vicuna is the national animal of Peru, its likeness appearing on various coins and seals.

So why is this lovely and favored creature on the list of endangered species? Primarily because its soft, fawn-brown coat provides the lightest, most luxuriant and desirable wool fleece in the world. Vicuna wool sells on the black market for six to ten times as much as the same amount of cashmere. While many, especially in Peru, merely shear the animal, thousands of vicunas a year were killed for their fur until laws were passed making vicuna hunting illegal. Although the value of the animals' fleece makes poaching inevitable, the current restrictions have enabled the vicuna population to partially recover in recent years.

And, fortunately, vicunas occupy sparse, high-altitude areas not highly desired for human habitation, so the species is not immediately threatened, as are many others, by agricultural or urban development. However there is some competition between vicuna and other animals for the forage that is available.

As a dedicated conservationist and environmentalist, artist Will Nelson chooses to depict his endangered animal species in their natural habitat. The setting for "The Vicuna" - the arid high plains desert of the Andes - tells us that this is indeed a unique and hardy animal.

At first glance the vicuna appears similar to its other cousins in the camel family, the llama and alpaca. However, the vicuna is smaller and more delicately built, with long slender legs and a small head in which thick lashes frame huge, limpid, eyes. Vicunas also are endowed with soft, cushiony footpads that enable them to move surely and swiftly over rocky terrain.

In "The Vicuna" artist Will Nelson once again demonstrates his abiding concern for the plight of vanishing world wildlife. He gives us an extraordinary depiction of a female vicuna and her baby, replicating the soft, chamois-toned color of their lush fleece, the gentle beauty of their eyes, and the lithe grace of their slender bodies. Meticulously portrayed against the treeless, snow-capped peaks and harsh plateau, the vicuna and her little vicunita seem at peace. Yet we sense also the fragility of this delicate pair - and through Mr. Nelson's eyes we see the animals' vulnerability.

"The Vicuna' is naturalist art at its finest, a superb depiction not only of this enchanting creature's graceful beauty, but also of the Andean highlands that provide its sanctuary. We of The Wildlife Society join other conservation groups worldwide in the hope that the vicuna, one of the animal kingdom's loveliest creatures, will continue to be valued and managed and that the luxurious wool fleece it can provide year after year will be harvested without further danger to the species.

"The Vicuna' is a most appropriate choice for Will Nelson's insightful and enlightening Last of Their Kind: The Endangered Species collection of limited-edition plates. We commend it to your attention for its authenticity, its remarkably accurate depiction of the species, and its naturalist's vision of a unique animal.

Harry E. Hodgdon,
Executive Director The Wildlife Society