Stamps celebrate efforts to rescue wildlife
THE SUCCESSFUL reintroduction of extinct or endangered flora and fauna feature on a new set of stamps.
The Eurasian beaver and pool frog are illustrated on the six stamps going on sale at post offices from April 17.
The sand lizard, large blue butterfly, osprey and stinking hawk’s-beard plant complete the set, illustrated by Wiltshirebased artist Tanya Achilleos Lock.
Ospreys were persecuted and in 1916 were recorded as an extinct breeding species in Scotland.
In 1996, 64 young birds from the Highlands were moved to Rutland Water in England.
The large blue butterfly, meanwhile, was extinct in the UK but is now becoming reestablished in Gloucestershire and Somerset.
The pool frog was reintroduced into a site in Norfolk whose habitat had been specially enhanced to improve the species’ chance of survival.
Royal Mail spokesman Philip Parker said: “When a plant or animal become extinct in a country, that does not have to be the end of the story.
“Our beautiful new stamps mark the skill and expertise of conservationists in reintroducing species back to their former environments.”
It is estimated that more than 400 species of animals and plants that have become extinct over the past two centuries in the UK.
However, conservationists have successfully reintroduced various species across the country.
At the present time there are more than 900 native species in the UK which are classified as under threat, with others in significant decline.
The stamps can be ordered from today at www.royalmail. com/reintroducedspecies and are available from 7,000 Post Offices nationwide.