The Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) is one of the two South American wild camelids (the other is the Guanaco). This species lives in bachelor groups or family groups typically composed by a dominant male, 3 or 4 females and about 2 offsprings.
Due to its over-hunting by many years, primarily for the use of its wool which is among the finest in the world. The Vicuña was near of extinction. Today it is Listed as Least Concern (LC) Lower Risk: conservation dependent (LRcd) on the "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species”.
This vicuña was watching its group from which it pulled away, a few seconds after this shot, it ran to find the safety of its family, which live at 4100 masl in the Puna located in the west Mountainside of Chimborazo volcano with 6,268 meters of high, in The Andes. In the background you can see its neighbor, the volcanic caldera, Mount Carihuairazo, Tungurahua, Ecuador.
This March 4, 2015, The photo was selected as one of 10 finalists in the category "Natural World" of the "12th Annual Smithsonian.com Photo Contest 2014".
