Paco-vicuña have existed for some time in small quantities in Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Now they can be found on over a dozen farms in the United States. They have very dense and fine fiber like the vicuña, but with longer staple length like alpaca. Vicuña fiber is renowned for its softness, fineness, rarity, and color. The paco-vicuña personifies the exquisite traits of the vicuña with the gentle attitude of the alpaca. There are less than 400 of these animals in the United States. They are registered with the Paco-Vicuña Registry in cooperation with the Paco-Vicuña Association. An EPD (expected prodigy differences) program is in place to track specific characteristics. A step classification is used to grade the paco-vicuña. Classifications include Premier Plus, for the finest animals, proceeding down through Premier, Classic Plus, Classic, Standard Plus and Standard. Classification is based on phenotype and micron count among other traits. Fiber fineness of 13 to 20 microns that is maintained throughout maturity is an important focus of paco-vicuña breeders. Paco-vicuña owners enjoy the vigor and unique personalities they find with these very special animals. One look into their big beautiful eyes and it is “love at first sight”.
