Peruvian woman stands with a vicuna in Perus remote southern Andes.
A Peruvian woman stands with a vicuna, a member of the camel family, which is prized for its very smooth and fine wool, among the finest in the world. Peru is trying to promote its alpaca and vicuna wool industry to provide a better livelihood for the poor farmers who live on only a few dollars a day. Alpacas are threatened by the illicit trade in animals to Bolivia, Chile and the United States that is depleting their genetic stock and reducing the quality of the wool. But the Peruvian government is funding projects to prevent contraband by implanting microchips in the alpacas to identify them better and track them, preventing them from being sold illegally. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo MB