Vicuna Roundup: Chasing Peru's Priceless Golden Fleece

Описание: Once hunted to the edge of extinction for their priceless golden fleece, vicuñas are now caught and sheered by remote villagers high up in the Peruvian Andes.

• Vicuna fleece is worth its weight in gold
• A simple change in the law almost certainly saved the vicuna from extinction
• The vicuna roundup is one of the few Inca traditions still in existence today.

This colorful annual ceremony dates back to Inca times. Back then, a “chaccu” – vicuna roundup – brought together dozens of villages in a vibrant four-day festival. Only Inca rulers and nobility were allowed to wear garments spun from the priceless fleece. Once the Spanish conquistadors arrived, vicunas were hunted to the edge of extinction. In the 1960s Peruvian villagers were given the right to sell the fleece from animals on their shared lands. Overnight remote communities began protecting their vicunas from poachers. Today over 250,000 of them roam the Peruvian Andes.

Tune in for a new video every week from the far corners of our Human Planet!    / ourhumanplanet  

Download our complete 2-hour PBS documentary series on the Inca Road: http://www.japanlandonline.com/

Subscribe to OUR HUMAN PLANET: https://bit.ly/2V4LsRa

#Travel #Adventure #Inca

LET’S CONNECT!
• Say hi on FB:   / ourhumanplanetcom  

Category: Travel