Vicuña

Vicuñas are wild relatives of llamas and alpacas, native to the Peruvian highlands. They are shorn only once every three years and produce only 200-500 grams of fiber per animal per shearing. International convention (CITES) limits the harvest and export to protect the vicuña population, which was endangered in the 20th century. The combination of low fiber yield per animal, infrequent shearing, and protected status makes vicuña the rarest natural fiber commercially available.