SOUTHERN PERU

Every year in the remote reaches of Peru, wild vicuñas are rounded up during Gran Chaccu, an annual shearing event rooted in Inca tradition. Andean herders surround these wild, long-necked cousins of llamas and alpacas, prized for their precious wool, considered one of the finest natural fibers in the world. Once the animals are shorn, they are let go and bound, one by one, for the hills, free again.