Guanaco << gwuh NAH koh >> is an animal that looks like a small camel without a hump. The guanaco and its relative, the vicuna, live in mountain regions of South America. They are wild members of the camel family. Like the vicuna, the guanaco has warm wool coat used to make high-grade cloth.
A guanaco stands 31/2 to 4 feet (107 to 122 centimeters) high at the shoulder. It is cinnamon-brown in color with white undersides and a gray to black face. It has a short tail and large, pointed ears.
Guanacos live in groups in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Peru, Chile, and Argentina, and on the Patagonian plateau in Argentina. They live at elevations from sea level to 14,000 feet (4,300 meters) above sea level. After a gestation period (pregnancy) of 111/2 months, the female guanaco bears one baby, called a chulengo. The llama of South America may be descended from the guanaco.
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