DEFINITIVE ISSUE

Juvenile Fauna Definitive

Issue Date: 15th November 2004















The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the UK Overseas Territories Department and partner organisations, promotes the co-ordinated conservation of threatened animal species and natural habitats.

1p - Skua, Catharacta antarctica
Antarctic skuas are active predators and scavengers, so this young defenceless looking chick will soon grow to a formidably strong adult. Watching the display flights of the adult skuas in the spring is one of the greatest sights of South Georgia. These flights have been likened to dogfights between powerful fighter planes.

2p - Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus
Eurasian Reindeer were introduced to South Georgia in three small groups from 1911 to 1925. Ten to the Barff Peninsula in 1911: five to Leith harbour in 1911/12 season, all of which died in an avalanche in the late 1920's and seven to Husvik in 1925. The purpose of introducing them was to broaden the diet of the Norwegian whalers who worked on the island. The two herds on the island number around 2500 animals are are generally distinct. This very young calf is shown with its mother against a typical background of snow and tussock grass.

3p - Antarctic Prion, Pachyptila desolata
The most numerous seabird breeding on South Georgia, the chick is nonetheless difficult to see as it is hatched and lives in darkness in a burrow under the tussock grass. There are thought to be around 22 million breeding pairs of these birds on South Georgia. They feed by sieving plankton from the water using fringing lamellae on their bills much like the baleen plates of the great whales. The reference material for this painting was not easy for artist Una Hurst to obtain and was kindly provided in the form of two outstanding photographs by Ben Phalan, Natural Environment Research Council/British Antarctic Survey.

5p - Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
The most well known aspect of this large (it can grow to around 52 feet) creature is its complex songs that can last for hours and travel as far as 30-35km. Each group of humpbacks have their own song, which individual whales (usually males) change slightly. How the changes are passed on from whale to whale is one of the natural world's mysteries.

10p - Gentoo Penguin, Pygoscelis papua
Approximately 105,000 pairs breed on South Georgia. Gentoos build their nests close together in colonies numbering several hundred pairs and lay two white eggs from early to late October. The timing of breeding is highly variable from year to year. Both parents incubate the eggs until they hatch then take turns to brood the chicks until they are a month or more old when both adults need to go to sea and find sufficient food for the chicks. The young then form creches for protection against the weather and the predatory skuas.

25p - Antarctic Fur Seal, Arctocephalus gazella
The great success story of South Georgia. In the early part of the 20th century these seals were thought to be extinct as a result of hunting for skins during the 1700's and 1800's. A small remnant population of about 25 animals was found in the 1950's and today they are thought to number over 3,000,000. To see these little pups playing on the beaches and the streams os a joy and a celebration of life.

50p - South Georgia Pintail, Anas georgica geirgica
The South Georgia Pintail is an Endemic subspecies of the yellow-billed pintail Anas georgicas spinicauda. It is unique amongst ducks in that it regularly feeds on the decomposing carcasses of Antarctic Fur Seals and any other carrion it can find. It is thought that this is an adaptation to the harsh environment and lack of nutrient available on the island.

75p - Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Phoebetria palpebrata
South Georgia boasts an annual breeding population of approximately 5000 pairs. The adults perform an elaborate aerial courtship in which the flight of both male and female are synchronised. This balletic display combined with the haunting calls of the males make this the most memorable and iconic if South Georgia species for many fortunate enough to witness it. The chick's unique facial markings give it the appearance of permenant surprise.

£1 - Weddell Seal, Leptonychotes weddellii
Not as populous as Fur and Elephant Seals, the Weddell seals od South Georgia are unique in that they are the only breeding colony on earth. Further south they die young due to tooth wear, resulting from chewing the sea ice to keep breathing holes open. This may well be different at Sough Georgia.

£2 - King Penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus
A king Penguin pair can raise two chicks every three years, one chick early in the Antarctic summer and a second by the end of summer the following year. They miss a season to moult and regain condition and are ready to restart the breeding cycle the summer after. The first egg in the cycle hatches mid-January after 54 days incubation. During April/May the down-covered chicks huddle together in creches to keep warm. The stamp shows a chick being passed from the feet of one parent to the other.

£3 - Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
Right whales are regularly encountered near the coast of South Georgia and, like most whales, the calf is a miniature of its parents but its callosities are fewer and more indistinct. The callosities (sometimes called a bonnet) comprise barnacles and whale lice parasites and are very noticeable on Right whales, making them easier to distinguish from other whales.

£5 - Wandering Albatross, Diomedia exulans
Wandering albatrosses can live for at least 50 years. Eggs are laid in late december and hatch late March. After an initial brood period the chicks are left alone whilst the adults forage for food. They are reared eight through the Antarctic winter by both parents. The breeding cycle is bi-annual as it takes more than a year from laying the single egg to fledging. This young bird is shown on the nest in the snow.

First Day Cover - Southern Elephant Seal pup, Mirounga leonina
More than half the world's population of this the largest of all seals is found on South Georgia. Territorial males guard harems of up to 100 females waiting the birth of the pups and the females coming into oestrus. The pups treble their birth weight in 23 days on a milk diet that is 80% fat. They then leave their mothers and spend the rest of the summer building muscle and strength before going off to sea to feed themselves.


A booklet of 8 self-adhesive Airmail Postcard stamps all featuring the Elephant Seal Pup is also available.

Acknowledgement is made to the following individuals for their kind assistance in the provision of reference material:

Nyree Heathman
Vivienne Hobman
Robbie Maddocks
Ben Phalan

Technical Details
Designer : Una Hurst
Printer : Carter Security Printing
Process : Lithography
Stamp Size : 28 x 42mm
Sheet Format : 50 (2 x 25)
Perforation : 13 per 2cms
Paper : CA Spiral Watermark
Release Date : 25 October 2002
Values : 1p, 2p, 3p, 5p, 10p, 25p, 50p, 75p, £1, £2, £3, £5.





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