PALM BEACH ZOO TO HOST ENDANGERED SPECIES TIGER STAMP DEBUT
Contact: Claudia Harden, Palm Beach Zoo (561) 214-1667
West Palm Beach, FL, November 15, 2011 – The Palm Beach Zoo is partnering with the U.S. Postal Service & the US Fish and Wildlife Service to bring zoo fans a special opportunity to purchase the new Save Vanishing Species Semipostal stamps. On Tuesday, November 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., join staff from the West Palm Beach Post Office, in the zoo’s Tiger Falls exhibit where the tiger cub stamp will be available for purchase and a custom-designed zoo pictorial postmark will be also available to stamp collectors at no additional charge. Arrive right at 10 a.m. for a special unveiling ceremony and tiger cub training session featuring the zoo’s tiger cubs that were born in May of this year. The zoo’s Education Department will also be on hand with tiger craft activities for young guests. The new stamp, featuring the image of an Amur tiger cub, will cost eleven cents more than a first class stamp, and net proceeds from stamp sales will go to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to support the Multinational Species Conservation Funds. Today, only 3,200 tigers populate 42 source sites across thirteen countries in Asia that are now the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of the world’s largest cat. Source sites contain the majority of the world’s remaining breeding females – approximately 1,000 individuals – and have the potential to seed the recovery of tigers across wider landscapes. Multinational Species Conservation Funds, soon to be supplemented by proceeds from the stamp, provide critical support to programs that protect these last remaining tiger habitats.
The tiger cub stamp is important because all proceeds raised from the premium will support advertising, efforts to help combat tiger poaching, habitat protection, disease prevention, and education for local communities. Other endangered species supported by these funds include African and Asian elephants, great apes, rhinoceroses, and marine turtles. These stamps are the result of a ten year effort begun and led by the World Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the Wildlife Conservation Society and other international conservation organizations.
The stamps could generate millions of dollars for international wildlife conservation at a time when Congress is making deep funding cuts. These proceeds can’t replace vital federal funds for international species conservation, but they are a new, creative way to raise awareness and contribute to the protection of endangered wildlife.
