Children's Values and Attitudes About the Wild Vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) in Andean Argentina

Abstract

Vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) are South American camelids whose valuable fleece led to their overexploitation and near extinction in the 1960s. Since then, conservation measures enabled the wild population to rebound, and vicuñas are now viewed as strategic resources for the development of Andean communities. Perceptions of wild vicuñas are changing owed to a transition from strict conservation to managed harvest of fleece from live-shorn animals. Understanding the values and attitudes of human populations toward wildlife is important in the frameworks for developing conservation and sustainable management plans. Attitudes of children are an overlooked area of focus in this field. We surveyed children (n=348) from four Andean communities of the Puna region in Argentina regarding their perceptions of wild vicuñas and their relationships with domesticated animals. They recognized the potential of wild vicuñas to promote economic development, although they believed that the wild nature of vicuñas made management difficult and not always desirable.