CAMELID^E 



301 



FIG. 117. Head of Guanaco, from an animal living 

 in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London. 



the Vicugna being smaller, more slender in its proportions, and 

 having a shorter head (Fig. 116) than the Guanaco (Fig. 117). 

 It may therefore, according 

 to the usual view of species, 

 be considered distinct. It 

 lives in herds on the bleak 

 and elevated parts of the 

 mountain range bordering 

 the region of perpetual 

 snow, amidst rocks and 

 precipices, occurring in 

 various suitable localities 

 throughout Peru, in the 

 southern part of Ecuador, 

 and as far south as the 

 middle of Bolivia. Its 

 manners very much re- 

 semble those of the Chamois 

 of the European Alps; and 

 it is as vigilant, wild, and 

 timid. The wool is ex- 

 tremely delicate and soft, and highly valued for the purposes of 

 weaving, but the quantity which each animal produces is not great. 



The Guanaco has an extensive geographical range, from the 

 highlands of the Andean region of Ecuador and Peru to the open 

 plains of Patagonia, and even the wooded islands of Tierra del 

 Fuego. It constitutes the principal food of the Patagonian Indians, 

 and its skin is invaluable to them, as furnishing the material out 

 of which their long robes are constructed. It is about the size of 

 a European Red Deer, and is an elegant animal, being possessed 

 of a long, slender, gracefully curved neck and fine legs. Dr. 

 Cunningham, 1 speaking from observation on wild animals, says : 



" It is not easy to describe its general appearance, which combines 

 some of the characters of a camel, a deer, and a goat. The body, 

 deep at the breast but very small at the loins, is covered with long, 

 soft, very fine hair, which on the upper parts is of a kind of fawn- 

 colour, and beneath varies from a very pale yellow to the most 

 beautiful snow-white. The head is provided with large ears, in 

 general carried well back, and is covered with short grayish hair, 

 which is darkest on the forehead. Occasionally the face is nearly 

 black. As a rule it lives in flocks of from half a dozen to several 

 hundreds, but solitary individuals are now and then to be met with. 

 They are very difficult to approach sufficiently near to admit of an 

 easy shot, as they are extremely wary, but, on being disturbed, 

 canter off* at a pace which soon puts a safe distance between them 



1 Natural History of the Strait of Magellan, 1871. 



