2019-05-02 Thu

Canada Post will be issuing two non-denominated self-adhesive stamps featuring endangered freshwater turtles - the spotted turtle and Blanding’s turtle, on May 23, World Turtle Day. These are permanent stamps and feature the text “P” within a symbolic maple leaf.

Spotted Turtle’s head pops out of the stamp from the left side while Blanding’s Turtle’s head pops from the right side of the other stamp. They look in the opposite direction in the se-tenant pair. The stamps are designed by Adrian Horvath and illustrated by Sarah Still.

The booklet of 10 contains four se-tenant pairs along with a single Spotted Turtle stamp and a Blanding’s Turtle stamp. The selvage also contains elements such as lily pads, a dragonfly, name of the printer, Canadian Bank Note, names of the designer and illustrator, and four symbolic cattail plants in cyan, magenta, yellow and black colours. The Canadian Bank Note printed the stamps by four-colour lithography.

The souvenir sheet has a se-tenant pair of the stamp, a lily pad, dragonfly artwork, the inscription “Endangered Turtles” in English and French. The reverse side features a fact in English and French about both the turtles. One text states that Blanding’s turtles can live, and reproduce for over 80 years. Another one states that spotted turtles hibernate underwater in the ice-covered wetlands during long winters. The FDC holds both the stamps with a dragonfly postmark from Maitland Bridge, Nova Scotia. 200,000 booklets; 75,000 souvenir sheets; and 7,000 FDCs are available for purchase.

American Tortoise Rescue introduced World Turtle Day in 2000 to create awareness about the dwindling numbers of turtles and tortoises around the world. The black-coloured spotted turtle is less than six inches in size and has yellow spots on the shell. Its head and forearms may have reddish-orange to yellow blotches. The shell’s bottom is yellowish-tan with dark markings. They are found in small numbers around central and southern Ontario. Loss of habitat and collection for the illegal pet trade have led to its diminishing numbers.

Blanding’s turtle is named after American naturalist William Blanding (1773-1867). The medium-sized turtle has a bright yellow chin and throat and the light dots on its high-domed shell. They are found in the waters of Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region of Ontario and Quebec and Kejimkujik National Park near Maitland Bridge in southwestern Nova Scotia.

Visit philamart to view and purchase variety of stamps from all over the world.

Image Courtesy: Canada Post