The vicuņa (Vicugna vicugna) or vicugnais one of two wild South American camelids which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco. It is a relative of the llama, and is now believed to be the wild ancestor of domesticated alpacas, which are raised for their coats. Vicuņas produce small amounts of extremely fine wool, which is very expensive because the animal can only be shorn every three years, and has to be caught from the wild. When knitted together, the product of the vicuņa's wool is very soft and warm. The Inca valued vicuņas highly for their wool, and it was against the law for anyone but royalty to wear vicuņa garments.