7th Definitive Additional values (B4 & B5) Stamp issue date: 19 October 2007 The Post Office extended the 7th Definitive set with the addition of two new values, B4 and B5. These stamps were issued with a commemorative envelope and a special canceller on 19 October 2007. The B4 stamp is used to send envelopes with a size of 353 x 250 mm, and the B5 stamp is used on an envelope of 250 x 176 mm. The stamp artwork was done by Denis Murphy and features: Ostrich (Struthio camelus) The ostrich is the biggest bird alive today. This flightless bird is found from the bushveld to the desert habitats and the western parts of southern Africa. Males are mostly black with white wings and white buff or rufous tail and females are brownish grey. These birds have very long legs and the neck only has bristly feathers. Ostriges occur in flocks of 30 to 40 birds when not breeding. Adults and young of one month old or more can run at speeds of at least 50-60 km/h. Males perform elaborate displays in courtship when breeding. They feed on grass, berries, seeds, succulent plants and small reptiles and insects. A breeding male may have one to three females in a harem. Each female lays three to eight eggs in a communal nest of about three meters in diameter, scraped in sandy soil, until a clutch of 15-20 eggs has accumulated. They breed right through the year depending on the rainfall. Eggs are deep creamy yellow and weighs about 1,5 kg and contains the volume of 24 chicken eggs. Eggs are laid in the afternoon or evening of every second day. Incubation is 39-53 days, usually by the male from late afternoon to after sunrise the next day and by the “chief wife” for the rest of the day. Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Built something like a greyhound with flawless aerodynamics, the cheetah is both the fastest mammal on earth and one of the most beautiful. Its long, graceful limbs are made for speed. The sight of a cheetah chasing prey is breathtaking. It can reach the astonishing speed of between 80 and 100 km/h. Active mostly in the morning or late afternoon, cheetahs move alone, in pairs or in groups, and several adults might collaborate to hunt a lar-ger mammal. They usually hunt mammals such as impala, springbok or steenbok. They roam over vast home territories, and although males mark out their turf, they don’t go to violent extremes to defend it. Three cubs are normally born in a litter and their mother shifts them from one hiding place to another to avoid hungry predators. Sources: Roberts’ Birds of Southern Africa by Gordon Lindsay Maclean and Reader’s Digest’s Southern African Wildlife. |