vulture

 

French Somaliland existed from 1896 to 1967 when it became the French Territory of Afars and Isas.  In 1977, after independence it became known asthe Republic of Djibouti

a Vautour fauve is a Griffon vulture in English and can have a wingspan of 2.8 metres (or over 9'!). It is apparently Europe's most social - and populous - vulture.  Most of the ones in western Europe can be found in the Iberian Peninsula, while the ones in the Horn of Africa (where Djibouti lies) are migratory.

stamp from 1962, designed and engraved by Jacques Combet

ungulates

I have full sheets of these stamps and have often thought they were rather strange...

When I did a little research, I found that they were designed by Emanuel Hahn (who has done several stamps as well as the caribou on our quarter) in 1956.  

They were not well received.

The above one is known as 'dancing caribou' by collectors (a Can-Can, maybe?)

this one was described as "the most diabolical animal I have ever seen" by a Member of Parliament (with similar, and worse, descriptions by a few others)

maybe these frolicking young goats are more pleasing

reach

Although these stamps are from 1989, the reticulated giraffe was only officially recognized as a species by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in 2025.  Until then, giraffes were classed as one species with nine subspecies.  Distinctive features are the sharp white lines that define the reddish-orange patches that extend down their legs and across their faces.

These creatures can reach up to 6 meters tall, making them the tallest land animal.  They mostly live in Kenya and were considered endangered in 2018, but are slowly recovering with a population of around 16,000-20,000.

panda

 

There are no wild pandas in Mongolia, but there is on this 1974 stamp

As we near the end of this alphabet series, I'm wondering what your thoughts are for after we hit Z

Should we continue with another round of A-Z or would you prefer to have a weekly topic?

oddities

First up is an octopus like creature, originally of Norwegian origin, known as the Kraken

and a serpent like creature named Ogopogo, who is said to live in underwater caves of Lake Okanagan

Ogopogo was seen as a sacred protector who is feared and respected by the Indigenous peoples, but as a demon by the later settlers.  Today, it is seen as an elusive, harmless mascot for the area.

a not so gentle bedtime history of the kraken

imps of darkness

 

Marine Iguanas

stamp designed by David Gentleman, these marine iguanas were described by Darwin when he first came across them in 1835, as "hideous looking" and "clumsy" and called them "imps of darkness".  they are the only species of lizard to forage in the sea, living on seaweed and algae.

horses

 

The horses on Sable Island are wild and protected from humans. It is illegal to touch, feed or treat them.  They have suvrived on the island since the 1700s and have stocky bodies with thick woolly, shaggy coats.

illustrated and engraved by Jorge Peral (2005)

guides

 well behaved

I don't know my dog breeds, but I think this is some kind of retriever?  maybe golden? or a lab?

not so well behaved

from 1952, the ubiquitous Canada Goose

flora and fauna fun

 

from the Czech Republic

flora 

 
 

 

and fauna

Certain that there must be a story behind this wine guzzling goose, I discovered it is a stamp for St Martin's Day which has a Czech tradition of eating a roast goose with a young vintage of a "svatomartinski vino" - the first wines of a new vintage of fresh, fruity wines that are meant to be drunk within a few months.

in the wild

 I hadn't realized just how many of these 'Fauna of Belarus' cards I had. These are some I haven't already posted

not from Belarus, but this poor guy is having a bad feather day and I couldn't resist

croaking

 

The Rana pretiosa - Oregon spotted frog - is the most endangered frog in Canada. There's only a couple hundred of them found in the lower section of British Columbia

The Anaxyrus fowleri - Fowler's toad- is an east coaster from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, but is only found in Canada in a small section of southwestern Ontario.

In both cases, habitat loss from development and pollution are contributors to their decline.

A frog and a toad - at least he's a Fowler's toad - for stamps with an F