With such inhospitable conditions it is a wonder that the vicuna survives at all. The vicuna, however, is wonderfully designed for its habitat. The vicuna also has an uncanny ability to survive without water. 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 allows 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 mother does nothing to help the baby, not even licking it. The baby is at this stage 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.