# 3105a FDC - 1996 32c Endangered Species: Black-footed Ferret

US #3105a
1996 Black-footed Ferret

• First Day Cover
• Part of set of 15 stamps picturing Endangered Species
• Issued during National Stamp Collecting Month

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Endangered Species
Value:   32¢First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  October 2, 1996
First Day City:  San Diego, California
Printed by:  Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method:  Lithographed
Format:  Panes of 15 (3 across, 5 down) from printing plates of 90 (9 across, 10 down)
Perforations:  11.1 x 11

Why the stamp was issued:  The pane of 15 Endangered Species stamps was issued as part of the US Postal Service’s National Stamp Collecting Month.  The theme for 1996 was “Collect and Protect.”  The USPS hoped these stamps would appeal to children, who would then become lifelong stamp collectors. 

About the stamp design:  The stamps show photographs of 15 animal species that live in America and re threatened with extinction.  The photos were taken by James Balog.  The animals chosen for the stamps are from all major geographic areas of the US.  The Black-footed ferret pictured on the stamp lived at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the San Diego Zoo.  In 1996, the zoo was celebrating its 80^th birthday.  The country of Mexico issued its own pane of endangered species stamps on the same day and took part in the First Day of Issue ceremony.  (The stamps were not a joint issue.)  In addition to honored human guests, two sea lions, an Andean condor, and a North American timber wolf were also in attendance at the celebration.

Unusual fact about the Endangered Species stamps:  The 1996 National Stamp Collecting Month was co-sponsored by the US Postal Service and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

About the Endangered Species Set:  The species shown on the pane of Endangered Species stamps are: Black-footed Ferret, Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly, Brown Pelican, San Francisco Garter Snake, Ocelot, Gila Trout, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Thick-billed Parrot, California Condor, Wyoming Toad, Woodland Caribou, Florida manatee, Florida Panther, Piping Plover, and American Crocodile.  All of them are listed on the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. 

History this stamp represents:  A charming and inquisitive animal, the black-footed ferret is the rarest mammal in North America. At one time it ranged throughout the North American plains; ten short years ago it hovered on the brink of extinction.
The survival of the ferret depends on prairie dogs.  Not only are these animals food for the ferret, but once the prairie dog has been consumed, its abandoned burrow provides shelter.  Prairie dogs live in large communities known as “dog towns,” which are found in the grasslands east of the Rocky Mountains – also prime grazing land for cattle.  As a result, ranchers, who saw the rodent as competition, reduced the prairie dog to less than 5% of its original population.  Not surprisingly, with the destruction of prairie dog communities, the black-footed ferret population began to rapidly decline.  By 1986 only 18 were known to exist.  In a desperate attempt to save the population, these 18 were trapped and placed in a captive-breeding station in Wheatland, Wyoming.
Although a tough animal and ferocious fighter, the ferret is very susceptible to disease, requiring the breeding station to be kept immaculately clean.  But the hard work has paid off.  In 1991 the population was back up to 200 and the first successful reintroduction into the wild was completed.