Collectors Can Save 15 Endangered Species

The city’s zoo, already home to exotic animals such as the thick-billed parrot and white-handed gibbon monkey, will be joined today by 15 endangered species--at least on paper.

The animals will appear on 15 commemorative stamps, part of a nationwide unveiling by the U.S. Postal Service to help raise awareness of endangered species. The unveiling coincides with National Stamp Collecting Month.

One endangered species stamp shows a close-up of the California condor’s leathery, bald head. Another shows an American crocodile opening its mouth wide to make room for a stamp caption. A green Gila trout, surrounded by bubbles, almost appears to be in motion.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the secretary of the interior designate animals threatened by extinction as endangered species.

In addition to unveiling the 32-cent stamps today, the postal service will provide a unique cancellation imprint of a moose, frog, fish and parrot to stamp enthusiasts at the Santa Ana Zoo.

The cancellation will read “Collect and Protect Endangered Species. Santa Ana Zoo Station.” The public will be able to mail letters from the zoo from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today, and zoo director Ron Glazier will speak about the zoo’s conservation efforts.

Dozens of locations throughout the United States, most of them zoos, are expected to participate in today’s unveiling. In Southern California, ceremonies also are scheduled at zoos in San Diego and Los Angeles.

The San Diego Zoo will host the official unveiling, providing visitors with the only cancellation that actually reads “first day,” postal service spokesman Richard Maher said.

In Santa Ana, Maher said the city’s postmaster came up with the idea of joining forces with the local zoo. It was a natural fit.

“The stamp links up with what [zoos] are trying to do,” Maher said, “which is raise awareness of the need to protect our wildlife.” One of the animals featured on the stamps, the thick-billed parrot, can also be viewed inside a Santa Ana Zoo aviary.

Commemorative stamps allow the postal service to highlight social issues, and subjects have ranged from presidents to breast cancer awareness, Maher said.

“As [the stamp] is coming through the mail, it’s carrying a message with it,” he said.

Commemorative stamps also generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the post office each year because people who collect the stamps pay for a service--mailing a letter--that they never use.

A 17-member Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee makes recommendations to the postmaster general for possible commemorative stamps. The multicolored endangered species stamps are based on photos taken by nature photographer James Balog, whose work has appeared in National Geographic.

Members of the public who cannot attend today’s cancellation ceremony at the Santa Ana Zoo will have 30 days to request a cancellation from Santa Ana Postmaster Rosemarie Fernandez by sending a self-addressed, stamped letter to her attention at 2201 N. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, CA 92711.

Maher said almost 225 million endangered species stamps will be printed, about double the normal amount, in anticipation of their popularity. Maher expects the stamps will be available for three months.

The ceremony today is free, and the zoo is at 1801 E. Chestnut Ave.

Zoo admission is regularly $3.50 for adults and $1.50 for children under 12. To celebrate the unveiling, children accompanied by an adult can enter free today.