Camelid of the Atacama

Explanation: There be camels here! Well, not exactly camels, but members of the camel family: vicuñas, to be more precise.

We are in the rainless, parched, desolate land of the Atacama Desert of northern Chile in South America. Stretching before us is a Mars-like landscape of desert sand and rock, reaching back to an active stratovolcano of the Andes Mountains, Volcán Putana, seen here spewing fumerole gas into the arid desert air.

Before us slowly stride two relatives of the alpaca and the llama, and of the Old World camel, amazing survivors of this harsh land.

Listed as endangered in 1974, vicuñas have recovered to sizeable populations although poaching and habitat disruption are still threats.

Known for their fine-haired pelt, the wool of vicuñas
is a sought-after commodity fetching amazing sums.

Vicuñas occur only in the high Andes of southern Peru,
western Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, and northeastern Chile
at altitudes of 10,500 to 15,800 feet (3,200 to 4,800 m),
truly amazingly adapted to such an extreme environment.

With climate change, if such environments become even
more arid, their marsh habitats may dry and once again
imperil this remarkable survivor.

EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week