Vicuña is a high-altitude ungulate distributed throughout the Andean Mountains from 3,000 to 5,000 masl, in the Puna and High Andean ecorregions. This vast region is characterized by cold-dry weather and dominated by xerophytic vegetation and large areas of bare ground (Franklin 2011). Within this wide region Vicuña habitats include shallow wetlands (called ‘vegas’ in Chile and Argentina, ‘bofedales’ in Bolivia and ‘bofedales or mojadales in Perú), halophytic plant communities, grassy steppes, prairies, shruby steppes, and rolling shrub steppes (tolares) supporting cacti (Pujalte and Reca 1985). Vegas or bofedales in the entire region are extremely scarce (oasis) but are intensively used by Vicuñas due to the presence of water and high-quality forage compared to the widely distributed poor-xeric habitats (Lucherini 1996). Vicuñas daily activity patterns and movements are also strongly influenced by water availability, especially during the summer, given that they are obligate drinkers (Franklin 2011), while in the night and early morning Vicuñas move to hillsides to avoid predation from pumas (Renaudeau d'Arc et al. 2000, Donadio and Buskirk 2016) and culpeo foxes (Franklin 1978).  

Vicuña is a medium-sized, monomorphic (adults V. v. mensalis 38 kg, V. v. vicugna 46 kg) generalist herbivore that behaves as a facultative grazer that can also include shrubs in its diet (Borgnia et al. 2010, Mosca Torres and Puig 2010). However, grazing of grasses and forbs is its primary activity. Vicuña populations are sedentary; no migratory populations have been recorded to date. The Vicuña social system is based on a resource defense polygyny mating system in which females are attracted to a feeding area monopolized by a territorial male that form family groups (Franklin 1982, 2011) Females primarily remain within the male’s territory (Franklin 1974), although some populations have movement of individuals between different social units resulting in a variable social organization (Arzamendia et al. 2018). These territories are defended year-round. Bachelor male groups, and solo males are also found among the primary social units. Census at the Pampa Galeras-Barbara D’Achillie Vicuña Reserve showed 68% of the population in family groups, 31% male groups, 1% solo males and with most males (69%) in bachelor male groups (Informe Perú 2011). Average family group size is very stable among populations and subspecies (one male, two to four females and one to two offspring (Koford 1957; Franklin 1974, 1983; Vilá 1992; Lucherini 1996; Arzamendia and Vilá 2012; Arzamendia et al. 2018). Family groups tend to occupy territories in higher quality habitats compared to male groups (Franklin 1974, 1978, 1983; Arzamendia et al. 2006; Borgnia et al. 2010; Arzamendia and Vilá 2015; Arzamendia et al. 2018), and do not overlap (Franklin 1974, 1983; Arzamendia et al. 2018). Home ranges average about 18 ha (Franklin 1983, Arzamendia et al. 2018). Gestation lasts approximately 11.3 months (Bravo 2002), followed by 8 months of lactation. Offspring are born during late summer, the period of maximum primary productivity of the steppe ecosystem. Approximately two weeks later the females are bred again. Male and female offspring are forcefully dispersed by the territorial male from their natal family group before the next reproductive period (Franklin 1974, 1983, 2011), with the relocation of females to non-parental family groups, and males to bachelor groups (Franklin 1974, Arzamendia et al. 2018). Areas used by family groups contain many dust bathing locations (“revolcaderos”) and communal dung piles (“bosteaderos, estercoleros”). Males do not typically reproduce unless they hold a feeding territory.

Vicuñas occur in an area of approximately 300,000 km² in the Puna and High Andean biogeographic provinces of Perú, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, in a range that extends 2,800 km from 9°50'S in the Ancash Department of Perú to the north-western region of San Juan, Argentina (29°14′S, 69°21′W), plus an isolated population in Ecuador resulting from a donation from Perú, Chile and Bolivia, which represents the northernmost distribution (1°30′S) of the species. 

In Perú, Vicuñas occur in the departments of Ayacucho, Puno, Huancavelica, Junín, Cusco, Arequipa, Apurimac and Lima, representing 96% of country’s total population, while the remaining 4% occur in the departments of Ica, Moquegua, Cajamarca, Tacna, Pasco, La Libertad, Ancash and Huánuco.

In Bolivia, Vicuña populations are found in five out of nine Bolivian departments: La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, Potosí and Tarija. The species has also been reported in the department of Chuquisaca, which has yet to be confirmed (MMAyA 2012).

In Chile, Vicuña populations occur in four regions: Arica and Parinacota represent 85% of Vicuña populations in the country (2016), while the remaining 15% is distributed in the regions of Tarapacá (2%), Antofagasta (11%) and Atacama (2%). The southernmost distribution of the species in Chile is 28°35'S (Vilina et al. 2015).

In Argentina, Vicuñas are found in the provinces of Jujuy, Catamarca, Salta, La Rioja and San Juan. The southernmost distribution of the species in South America is in the San Guillermo Biosphere Reserve, located in the department of Iglesia in the province of San Juan, Argentina. 

In Ecuador, the introduced population of Vcuñas is present at the Chimborazo Faunal Production Reserve (MAE 2016), located in the Bolivar, Chimborazo and Tungurahua provinces. 

The two-recognized subspecies occur in Chile and Bolivia, the Northern V. vicugna mensalis and the Southern V. vicugna vicugna. Argentina has only V. vicugna vicugna, while Perú and Ecuador only V. vicugna mensalis.

Five decades ago, the Vicuña was one of the most threatened species in South America. The implementation of the Vicuña Convention was fundamental in the recovery of the species. In 1987, during the Sixth CITES Conference of Parties, Perú obtained for the first time, along with other countries, authorization for the sale of fabric made from live shorn Vicuña fibre. The Vicuña Convention was implemented in each country in accordance with its own National Legislation. The ownership status of the Vicuña varies somewhat; as a wild species it is the property of the State in Bolivia and Perú and of the Andean communities in which lands the species occur, while res nullius (without owner) in Chile and Argentina.  Although all the conservation aspects of the Vicuña Convention are embodied in National Laws and Decrees in all four countries, this is not always the case as regards granting benefits to local people (McNeill et al. 2009).

Currently various Vicuña populations are included in the Appendix II of CITES: all populations in Perú, Bolivia and Ecuador, the northern populations in Chile (I Region; V.v. mensalis) and the populations in Jujuy and Catamarca Provinces, and the captive populations of Jujuy, Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja and San Juan Provinces in Argentina. Appendix II allows, under strict regulations between exporting and importing countries, the trade in fibre and derived products. The remaining populations are included in Appendix I. 

In 1965 when no more than 10,000 Vicuñas were thought to exist, Perú established the Pampa Galeras National Vicuña Reserve in Ayacucho (later renamed Bárbara D’Achille for the Perúvian conservationist). Conservation strategy was based upon protection with the use of armed park guards and later rational utilization through controlled culling that led to an international debate and disenfranchisement of the indigenous communities. Despite these difficulties, population numbers increased, with 63,223 Vicuñas counted in Pampa Galeras and surrounding region in a survey covering 2,985,757 ha in 1997. In that same year the populations in the Departments of Ayacucho, Junín, Puno and Arequipa were transferred to CITES Appendix II status, opening international trade for fibre from live-shorn Vicuñas. Conservation policy shifted to sustainable utilization through live shearing and sale of fibre by those Andean communities with lands in the Vicuña’s range. Extensive new Vicuña reserves were established at Salinas and Aguada Blanca in Arequipa and Huascaran National Park in Ancash. The Ministry of Agriculture’s Special Project for Rational Utilization of the Vicuña (1978 -1993) was replaced by the National Council for South American Camelids – CONACS, an institution comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, camelid research institutions, regional governments, campesino communities and the National Society of Vicuña Breeders. As a multi-sectorial entity, CONACS held responsibility for overseeing Vicuña conservation, live shearing and Vicuña fibre trade. Two major problems associated with the CONACS administration have been the increase of captive rearing (30% of all Vicuña in 2012) and the indiscriminate transfer of Vicuña between genetically distinct populations (Wheeler et al. 2001) which require separate management.  Since the closure of CONACS in February 2007, responsibility for Vicuña conservation has been fractured. The executive functions of CONACS were transferred to 16 Regional Governments each under the leadership of the National Forest and Wildlife Service national authority. At the national level responsibility for Vicuña conservation has been subdivided. Actually, the National Forestry and Wildlife Service, an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, is in charge of the politics, regulation and control of activities related to the management, conservation and use of wild camelids and is the CITES Administrative authority. The Ministry of the Environment through the National Service of Protected Natural Areas - SERNANP has the responsibility to protect the Vicuñas within the park system, national reserves and is the CITES scientific authority. This fragmentation of authority complicates and hinders conservation efforts, although the Vicuña populations continue to grow in Perú with a total of 208,899 reported in 2012. 

As one of the conservation policies of the species, Perú has adapted the reintroduction or repopulation of Vicuñas in areas where the species occurred in the past, or where there are small and / or vulnerable populations, and in areas where natural pastures and water guarantee survival of the species, also benefiting organized local communities.

Since 1980, Vicuñas have been reported in 38 areas in the Bolivian high Andes. These areas were nominated for inclusion in the national Vicuña Protection Areas (VPA) and grouped into nine Conservation and Management Units but are no longer being considered. For the 2009 census three new categories have been defined: 1) Protected areas, 2) Areas under use, and 3) Areas without management. Presently rational utilization of Vicuñas is being conducted in 3 out of 4 protected areas. The Vicuña populations in Bolivia remains insecure, mainly due to inappropriate land use practices that contribute to habitat degradation, something exacerbated by climate change. Another important threat is poaching, whose control is complex because of the wide extent of areas where Vicuñas occur. 

The Vicuña population in Chile showed some recovery as a result of the implementation of conservation actions, including the creation of several protected areas, lessening the high risk of extinction in the past. However, recent surveys have revealed a decline in the total population of nearly 5000 animals from 2008 to 2017. Further, there remain small and isolated populations that require the implementation of effective conservation plans. At present, the Chilean Forest Service (Corporación Nacional Forestal, CONAF) carries out annual censuses by direct counts within the protected areas where the species occurs, supports several research projects, and runs a long-term environmental education program through various communication media. There are four conservation areas inhabited by Vicuña in Chile. Two more have been proposed and others are currently being studied. Further, under the Vicuña National Conservation Plan there exist two different strategies depending on the Vicuña sub-species and their conservations status. Thus, the populations of the Northern subspecies (V.v. mensalis) are included in the CITES Appendix II and being managed under sustainable use (trade of Vicuña fibre) aimed at increasing the economic incomes of local communities, while the populations of the southern Subspecies (V.v. vicugna) are included in the Appendix I.  Management actions are oriented towards the protection of relict populations, especially in protected areas, with endorsement awaiting ratification through the National Conservation Plan for the Austral Vicuña. 

In Argentina, there are six Vicuña conservation areas in the northwest, most are managed by the provincial governments. The Ley Nacional de Fauna 22,421 provides a legal framework at the federal level; there are also provincial laws both for wildlife in general and specific for Vicuña.

Ecuador ratified in 1982 the accession to the International Convention of Vicuña Conservation and Management. Within this framework, the introduction of Vicuñas took place in the Chimborazo plateau that created the Chimborazo Faunal Production Reserve (1987). In 2004 the “Regulation for the Management and Conservation of the Vicuña in Ecuador” was approved forming the basis for the “National Action Plan for the Conservation and Management of the Vicuña” as a requisite to change the Vicuña population to the CITES Appendix II, that was formally approved in 2013.