| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Date of Issue | April 18, 2023 |
| Year | 2023 |
| Quantity | 650,000 |
| Denomination |
 PERMANENT™ (P).Current monetary value: $0.92. |
| Series | Animal Mothers and Babies |
| Series Time Span | 2023 |
| Postal Administration | Canada |
| Condition | Name | Avg Value |
|---|
Celebrate the bond between animal mothers and their babies by taking home this beautiful booklet of 6 Permanent™ domestic rate stamps from the Animal Mothers and Babies stamp issue.
Parenting in the wild is a tough job. Some animal mothers and fathers are always on duty – feeding their babies and protecting them from predators. In their aquatic habitats, where threats can come from both above and below, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) and the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) serve as floating havens for their vulnerable offspring.
Canada Post has a longstanding tradition of showcasing Canadian wildlife and using stamps to raise awareness of the impacts of human activity on animal populations. These two species face many threats posed by humans.
Mature female sea otters give birth to a single pup every year for life. The sole caregiver, mother otters float on their backs to feed, groom and cradle their young. The species, once hunted for its luxurious fur, was extirpated from British Columbia but has made a gradual comeback since being reintroduced. It is currently listed as being of special concern in Canada.
Red-necked grebes take turns incubating their eggs and carrying the chicks, which climb onto their parents’ backs immediately after hatching. The monogamous pairs sometimes divide the brood to share feeding responsibilities. Found across most of Canada, these water birds winter off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Like sea otters, they face threats such as oil spills, as well as loss of their freshwater nesting habitat from other human disturbances.
Designer Meredith MacKinlay, of Halifax-based Egg Design, chose embroidery as the basis for the design because of the association that fabrics have with feelings of homeyness and familial love – and because needlework lends texture to the animals’ fur and feathers. Temagami Anishinaabe artist Caroline Brown created the images on the stamps using a combination of traditional embroidery and beadwork.
Celebrate the bond between animal mothers and their babies by taking home this beautiful souvenir sheet from the Animal Mothers and Babies stamp issue.
Parenting in the wild is a tough job. Some animal mothers and fathers are always on duty – feeding their babies and protecting them from predators. In their aquatic habitats, where threats can come from both above and below, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) and the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) serve as floating havens for their vulnerable offspring.
Canada Post has a longstanding tradition of showcasing Canadian wildlife and using stamps to raise awareness of the impacts of human activity on animal populations. These two species face many threats posed by humans.
Mature female sea otters give birth to a single pup every year for life. The sole caregiver, mother otters float on their backs to feed, groom and cradle their young. The species, once hunted for its luxurious fur, was extirpated from British Columbia but has made a gradual comeback since being reintroduced. It is currently listed as being of special concern in Canada.
Red-necked grebes take turns incubating their eggs and carrying the chicks, which climb onto their parents’ backs immediately after hatching. The monogamous pairs sometimes divide the brood to share feeding responsibilities. Found across most of Canada, these water birds winter off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Like sea otters, they face threats such as oil spills, as well as loss of their freshwater nesting habitat from other human disturbances.
Designer Meredith MacKinlay, of Halifax-based Egg Design, chose embroidery as the basis for the design because of the association that fabrics have with feelings of homeyness and familial love – and because needlework lends texture to the animals’ fur and feathers. Temagami Anishinaabe artist Caroline Brown created the images on the stamps using a combination of traditional embroidery and beadwork.
Celebrate the bond between animal mothers and their babies by taking home this beautiful souvenir sheet Official First Day Cover (OFDC) from the Animal Mothers and Babies stamp issue.
Parenting in the wild is a tough job. Some animal mothers and fathers are always on duty – feeding their babies and protecting them from predators. In their aquatic habitats, where threats can come from both above and below, the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) and the red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) serve as floating havens for their vulnerable offspring.
Canada Post has a longstanding tradition of showcasing Canadian wildlife and using stamps to raise awareness of the impacts of human activity on animal populations. These two species face many threats posed by humans.
Mature female sea otters give birth to a single pup every year for life. The sole caregiver, mother otters float on their backs to feed, groom and cradle their young. The species, once hunted for its luxurious fur, was extirpated from British Columbia but has made a gradual comeback since being reintroduced. It is currently listed as being of special concern in Canada.
Red-necked grebes take turns incubating their eggs and carrying the chicks, which climb onto their parents’ backs immediately after hatching. The monogamous pairs sometimes divide the brood to share feeding responsibilities. Found across most of Canada, these water birds winter off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Like sea otters, they face threats such as oil spills, as well as loss of their freshwater nesting habitat from other human disturbances.
Designer Meredith MacKinlay, of Halifax-based Egg Design, chose embroidery as the basis for the design because of the association that fabrics have with feelings of homeyness and familial love – and because needlework lends texture to the animals’ fur and feathers. Temagami Anishinaabe artist Caroline Brown created the images on the stamps using a combination of traditional embroidery and beadwork.
The cancellation date of April 18 was chosen in advance of Earth Day (April 22), when Canadians are encouraged to take positive action on environmental issues, including the impacts of climate change and pollution on species such as those featured on these stamps. Because they celebrate the bond between animal mothers and their young, the stamps were also issued several weeks ahead of Mother’s Day. The cancellation location is Vancouver, since British Columbia is home to Canada’s only remaining sea otter population.
Issued in the lead-up to Earth Day and Mother’s Day, these stamps depicting the tender relationship between two animal mothers and their babies are a perfect marriage of science and art.
Halifax designer Meredith MacKinlay and Temagami Anishinaabe artist Caroline Brown collaborated on the concept for the evocative stamp images, which Brown created by combining new and traditional techniques of embroidery and beadwork. “Fabric-based crafts have that feeling of homeyness and familial love,” explains MacKinlay. “Embroidery is so textural, it seemed an ideal way to show the fur of the sea otter and feathers of the red-necked grebe.”
Sole caregivers, mother sea otters float on their backs to feed, groom and cradle their young. The species, once hunted for its luxurious fur, was extirpated from British Columbia but has made a gradual comeback since being reintroduced. Red-necked grebes share responsibility for incubating their eggs and feeding the chicks, which ride on their parents’ backs after hatching. The two species face many threats, including oil spills and other human disturbances.
For Brown, an avid stamp collector as a child and whose First Nations heritage has fostered a strong connection with nature, the project was a labour of love. “We worked with wildlife experts to make sure the animals were rendered accurately but also wanted to show the emotional connection between mother and baby,” she says. “We gave the images a storybook quality and a sense of motion to make people curious about the worlds in which these creatures live – and remind them of how important it is to protect them.” The original artwork crafted for the stamps took several months to create. “The whole philosophy of beadwork is to think about the message you’re trying to convey while you’re doing it,” explains Brown. “You need to have a positive mindset and let it evolve naturally.”
We gave the images a storybook quality and a sense of motion to make people curious about the worlds in which these creatures live – and remind them of how important it is to protect them.
Caroline Brown, Temagami Anishinaabe artist