The fibers of Vicuna are considered as the costliest fiber in the world . Vicuna is a small animal found in Andes mountain. About 40 Vicuna (animal's ) hairs are required to make one coat . One Vicuna produce only about one pound of wool in a year. This is opposed to the Alpaca which can give fifteen pounds in a similar time period.
The Vicuna gives birth in March and April. This is at the end of the rainy season – a time when food is plentiful. Births usually occur in the morning. This gives the baby time to dry out before the cold night comes. The mother goes off on its own and into labor for about half an hour. The female Vicuna then will give birth to a baby weighing about 14 pounds ( 6 kilograms). The mother does nothing to help the baby. The baby at this stage is vulnerable to the attack of the Vicuna’s most dangerous predator – the Andean Condor. Rain is the animal’s worst enemy at the beginning stages of life. The coldness and the damp will slow the newborn down and make it an easy target for the condor.
If the baby survives the first thirty minutes of life then the Vicuna will be on his or her feet and soon able to run faster than a full grown man. Poachers however have nearly exterminated the Vicuna. They have even resorted to mowing the animals down with machine guns. Annually up to 50,000 pounds of vicuna wool are exported as a result of illegal activities. Some countries have now banned the import of Vicuna wool and skin in an effort to save the animal.
Recently world's best fabric company HOLLAND & SHERRY - a Scotland based company, has collaborated with Indian fabric company Digjam & has launched on 14th October 2008 the world's costliest suit length in the capital of India ( Delhi ). The suit length worth approximately 7 Lakhs per meters .Therefore one coat may cost around 20-25 Lakhs .
EDITED BY MOKSHA GUPTA
