Kenya - Maasai Mara National Reserve

A lioness and her cub sharing a tender moment in Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Sent by Margaret from Nairobi, Kenya.

Maasai Mara, sometimes also spelt Masai Mara and locally known simply as The Mara, is a large national game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honour of the Maasai people, the ancestral inhabitants of the area, who migrated to the area from the Nile Basin. Their description of the area when looked at from afar: "Mara" means "spotted" in the Maa language because of the short bushy trees which dot the landscape.

Maasai Mara is one of the wildlife conservation and wilderness areas in Africa, with its populations of lions, leopards, cheetahs and African bush elephants. It also hosts the Great Migration, which secured it as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and as one of the ten Wonders of the World.

The Great Migration usually happens in July depending on weather as the wildebeest moves in large numbers crossing the Mara River from Tanzania.

The Greater Mara ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Mara Triangle, several Maasai group ranches, and Maasai Mara conservancies (read more).

Vedalia Ladybirds (Rodolia cardinalis)

2003 Australian postage stamp featuring an illustration of Vedalia Ladybirds (Rodolia cardinalis). The stamp valued at 50 cents.

Sent by Kris from Victoria, Australia.

Over the winter of 1888-1889 a lady beetle called vedalia beetle was introduced into California from Australia to combat cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchasi - also an introduced species. Cottony cushion scale was causing infestations so severe in California citrus groves that growers were pulling out their trees and burning them. Orchard values were plummeting. Yet, by the fall of 1889, the pest was completely controlled in the areas of introduction. The vedalia beetle literally saved the California citrus industry, and since the California success, it has been exported to many other parts of the world, often with equally successful results.

The introduction of the vedalia beetle is considered to be the beginning of classical biological control. The interest of scientists, growers and the public in this project was due to its spectacular success which was striking because the financial threat to the California citrus industry was acute; the pest itself was showy and its damage was obvious and critical; growers took the initiative and applied the natural enemies themselves; the natural enemies were visibly voracious and active; and the destruction of the pest and the recovery of the trees was evident within months. The cost of the project was about $1500.(read more).

Malaysian Horned Frog

Malaysian horned frog (Megophrys nasuta)

Sent by David from Missouri, USA.

The long-nosed horned frog (Pelobatrachus nasutus), also known as the Malayan horned frog or Malayan leaf frog is a species of frog restricted to the rainforest areas of southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia to Singapore, Sumatra, and Borneo. However, records from Thailand to the Sunda Shelf may apply to another, possibly unnamed species.

Formerly placed in the genus Megophrys, it was reclassified into the genus Pelobatrachus in 2021 (read more).

Harp Seal Pup

Harp seal pup also known as a "whitecoat". Newborn hap seals have a thick, fluffy white coat that helps them trap heat from the sunlight in their cold Arctic environment.

Sent by Michaela from Wegberg, Germany.

The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), also known as the saddleback seal or Greenland seal, is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Originally in the genus Phoca with a number of other species, it was reclassified into the monotypic genus Pagophilus in 1844. In Greek, its scientific name translates to "Greenlandic ice-lover", and its taxonomic synonym, Phoca groenlandica translates to "Greenlandic seal". This is the only species in the genus Pagophilus.

The mature harp seal has pure black eyes. It has a silver-grey fur covering its body, with black harp- or wishbone-shaped markings dorsally, accounting for its common name. Adult harp seals grow to be 1.7 to 2.0 m (5 ft 7 in to 6 ft 7 in) long and weigh from 115 to 140 kg (254 to 309 lb). The harp seal pup has a white coat for the first 2–3 weeks until the first moult, when it is replaced by a black-dotted silver to grey coat. Pups acquire their characteristic pattern once they near sexual maturity. In males, the transition to the harp-pattern tends to be abrupt, while in females it may be gradual and span years. Some females may never lose all their spots or not fully develop the harp-pattern. Harp seals show little sexual dimorphism in size, with males being slightly larger (read more).

Costa Rica - Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park

Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), the largest native terrestrial mammal in Mesoameica. 

Sent by Skipy from Costa Rica.

The Talamanca Range-La Amistad Reserves / La Amistad National Park extends along the border between Panama and Costa Rica. The transboundary property covers large tracts of the highest and wildest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America and is one of that region's outstanding conservation areas. The Talamanca Mountains contain one of the major remaining blocks of natural forest in Central America with no other protected area complex in Central America containing a comparable altitudinal variation. The property has many peaks exceeding 3,000 m.a.s.l. on both sides of the border, including Cerro Chirripo, the highest elevation in Costa Rica and all of southern Central America at 3,819 m.a.s.l. The surface area of the property 570,045 hectares, of which 221,000 hectares are on the Panamanian side. The beautiful and rugged mountain landscape harbours extraordinary biological and cultural diversity. Pre-ceramic archaeological sites indicate that the Talamanca Range has a history of many millennia of human occupation. There are several indigenous peoples on both sides of the border within and near the property. In terms of biological diversity, there is a wide range of ecosystems, an unusual richness of species per area unit and an extraordinary degree of endemism. 

The scenic mountains and foothills contain impressive footprints of Quaternary glaciation, such as glacial cirques, lakes and valleys shaped by glaciers, phenomena not found elsewhere in the region. The property is a large and mostly intact part of the land-bridge where the faunas and floras of North and South America have met. The enormous variety of environmental conditions, such as microclimate and altitude leads to an impressive spectrum of ecosystems. The many forest types include tropical lowland rainforest, montane forest, cloud forest and oak forest. Other particularities of major conservation value include high altitude bogs and Isthmus Paramo in the highest elevations, a rare tropical alpine grassland. Longstanding isolation of what can be described as an archipelago of mountain islands has favoured remarkable speciation and endemism. Some 10,000 flowering plants have been recorded. Many of the region's large mammals have important populations within the property, overall 215 species of mammals have been recorded. Around 600 species of birds have been documented, as well as some 250 species of reptiles and amphibians and 115 species of freshwater fish. Most taxonomic groups show a high degree of endemism. The large extension and the transboundary conservation approach entail a great potential for the management and conservation of an extraordinary large-scale mountain ecosystem shared by Costa Rica and Panama (read more). 

The Bahamas - The Flamingo of Bahamas

The Flamingos Of The Bahamas.

Sent by Melony from The Bahamas.

One of the Caribbean’s greatest conservation success stories began in the early 1950s, when ornithologist Robert Porter Allen, Audubon’s first director of research, arrived in the Bahamas’ southernmost islands to discover only a scant hundred or so flamingos—one of the last breeding colonies of American Flamingo. Thanks to the efforts of Allen and others, the Bahamian government preserved roughly half of Great Inagua as a national park, and the island’s flamingo population now tops 80,000—outnumbering human residents by more than 80 to 1 (read more).

Indonesia - Sulawesi - Tarsius spectrum (Spectral tarsier)

Tarsius spectrum on the branch.

Sent by Dr. Ari from Manado in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Spectral tarsier or Selayar tarsier (Tarsius tarsier, also called Tarsius spectrum) is a species of tarsier found on the island of Selayar in Indonesia. It is apparently less specialized than the Philippine tarsier or Horsfield's tarsier; for example, it lacks adhesive toes. It is the type species for the genus Tarsius. While its range used to also include the population on nearby southwestern Sulawesi, this population has been reclassified as a separate species, Tarsius fuscus. Some of the earlier research published on Tarsius spectrum refers to the taxon that was recently reclassified and elevated to a separate species, the Gursky's spectral tarsier (Tarsius spectrumgurskyae).

"Tarsiers were once thought to be of the Strepsirrhini suborder, grouped with Lemuroidea and Lorisidae because of their similar appearance and because they have a small stature and are also nocturnal. It has been decided that tarsiers are members of the suborder haplorrhine, which is a suborder of primates that hosts tarsiers and the simians (Archuleta, 2019)." According to Gursky et al. 2003, based on phylogenic research, tarsiers are more closely related to monkeys and apes than lemurs and lorises. Some scholarly articles suggest dividing the genus into 3 and some references reflect this attempted revised taxonomy. "This taxonomic discrepancy is strongly supported by data collection of physiological attributes such as coat colors, tail lengths, and size as well as molecular data (Gursky et al. 2003)." (read more)

USA - Nebraska - Nebraska Buffalo

NEBRASKA BUFFALO

North American Bison once roamed the plains of central and western Nebraska in large herds. Now only a few herds remain, among them one at the Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge, northeast of Valentine, Nebraska.

Sent by Debbie from Omaha in Nebraska, USA.

The change in the Nebraska landscape was dramatic. In just a few short years, cattle replaced the American bison as the leading, cloven-hoofed, grass-eating mammal on the Great Plains. In 1850, millions of bison ranged the grasslands and were the main natural resource for the region’s American Indians.

In 1868, the steel rails of the transcontinental railroad created a barrier that bison did not like to cross. That divided the great herd into northern and southern herds (read more).

King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa)

Native to Central and South America, King Vultures have mostly featherless heads with a rainbow of colors including orange, pink, yellow, purple, grey, and black.

Sent by TS from Charlotte in North Carolina, USA.

The king vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) is a large bird found in Central and South America. It is a member of the New World vulture family Cathartidae. This vulture lives predominantly in tropical lowland forests stretching from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It is the only surviving member of the genus Sarcoramphus, although fossil members are known.

Large and predominantly white, the king vulture has gray to black ruff, flight, and tail feathers. The head and neck are bald, with the skin color varying, including yellow, orange, blue, purple, and red. The king vulture has a very noticeable orange fleshy caruncle on its beak. This vulture is a scavenger and it often makes the initial cut into a fresh carcass. It also displaces smaller New World vulture species from a carcass. King vultures have been known to live for up to 30 years in captivity.

King vultures were popular figures in the Mayan codices as well as in local folklore and medicine. Although currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, they are decreasing in number, due primarily to habitat loss (read more).

Timber Wolf (Gray Wolf)

Timber Wolf (Gray Wolf)

After nearing extinction in much of the U.S., nowprotected, the timber wolf is steadily increasing its range, especially in the Great Lakes region in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. During the mating season a wolf pair establish a den, usually in a cave or underground burrow, in which they raise the young. A pair is believed to remain mated for life.

Sent by Mark from Wisconsin, USA.

The eastern wolf (Canis lycaon or Canis lupus lycaon), also known as the timber wolf, Algonquin wolf and eastern timber wolf, is a canine of debated taxonomy native to the Great Lakes region and southeastern Canada. It is considered either a unique subspecies of gray wolf, or red wolf, or a separate species from both. Many studies have found the eastern wolf to be the product of ancient and recent genetic admixture between the gray wolf and the coyote, while other studies have found some or all populations of the eastern wolf, as well as coyotes, originally separated from a common ancestor with the wolf over 1 million years ago and that these populations of the eastern wolf may be the same species as or a closely related species to the red wolf (Canis lupus rufus or Canis rufus) of the Southeastern United States. Regardless of its status, it is regarded as unique and therefore worthy of conservation with Canada citing the population in eastern Canada (also known as the "Algonquin wolf") as being the eastern wolf population subject to protection.

There are two forms, the larger being referred to as the Great Lakes-boreal wolf, which is generally found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, southeastern Manitoba and northern Ontario, and the smaller being the Algonquin wolf, which inhabits eastern Canada, specifically central and eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec, with some overlapping and mixing of the two types in the southern portions of northeastern and northwestern Ontario. The eastern wolf's morphology is midway between that of the gray wolf and the coyote. The fur is typically of a grizzled grayish-brown color mixed with cinnamon. The nape, shoulder and tail region are a mix of black and gray, with the flanks and chest being rufous or creamy. It primarily preys on white-tailed deer, but may occasionally hunt moose and beavers (read more).

Sri Lanka - Elephants at Pinnawala

Elephants at Pinnawala.

Sent by Malika from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (Sinhala: පින්නවල අලි අනාථාගාරය), is a captive breeding and conservation institute for wild Asian elephants located at Pinnawala village, 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of Kegalle town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Pinnawala has the largest herd of captive elephants in the world. In 2023, there were 71 elephants, including 30 males and 41 females from 3 generations, living in Pinnawala.

The orphanage was founded to care and protect the many orphaned unweaned wild elephants found wandering in and near the forests of Sri Lanka. It was established in 1975 by the Sri Lanka Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC).

On 31 August 2021, a 25 year old elephant named Surangi gave birth to twin male baby elephants at the orphanage. It also marked the first instance of the birth of twin elephants in Sri Lanka after a gap of 80 years since 1941 (read more).

USA - Wildlife In Southwestern Desert

WILDLIFE IN SOUTHWESTERN DESERT.

Sent by Yajaira from New Mexico, USA.

The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. The largest cities by metropolitan area are Phoenix, Las Vegas, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Tucson. Before 1848, in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México as well as parts of Alta California and Coahuila y Tejas, settlement was almost non-existent outside of New Mexico's pueblos and Spanish or Mexican municipalities. Much of the area had been a part of New Spain and Mexico until the United States acquired the area through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and the smaller Gadsden Purchase in 1854 (read more).

USA - Bald Eagle (2)

National Audubon Society

Our national symbol, the Bald eagle.

Protected by the Endangered Species Act, the majestic Bald eagle has made a spectcular comeback from the brink of extinction.

Sent by Renée from Austin in Texas, USA.

My first postcard of Bald eagle is here.

My Russia - #1 - Larga Seal Rookery

Larga Seal Rookery near Kekura Column, Sea of Japan.

Sent by Elvira from Tyumen, Russia.

The spotted seal (Phoca largha), also known as the larga seal or largha seal, is a member of the family Phocidae, and is considered a "true seal". It inhabits ice floes and waters of the north Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. It is primarily found along the continental shelf of the Beaufort, Chukchi, Bering and Okhotsk Seas and south to the northern Yellow Sea and it migrates south as far as northern Huanghai and the western Sea of Japan. It is also found in Alaska from the southeastern Bristol Bay to Demarcation Point during the ice-free seasons of summer and autumn when spotted seals mate and have pups. Smaller numbers are found in the Beaufort Sea. It is sometimes mistaken for the harbor seal to which it is closely related and spotted seals and harbor seals often mingle together in areas where their habitats overlap (read more).

Thailand - Chiang Mai - Mae Taman Elephant Camp

Fun time with elephants at Mae Taman Elephant Camp, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Sent by myself during my trip to Bangkok (15th - 18th January 2025).

Discover a simple beauty nature of Chiang Mai’s Countryside at Mae Taman Elephant Camp. At the camp, a total of 60 elephants, elephants’ routine and elephants’ abilities will be presented and then, enjoy an elephant ride through the lush green forest with the beautiful scenery of Mae Tang River together with experience on the ox-cart riding to one of the nearby village. The program at the camp will be ended with a traveling along Mae Tang River by the bamboo rafting in the sense of fresh air and sustainable living habitat along both sides of the river (read further).

United Arab Emirates - Racing Camels

Racing Camels.
Sent by Narj from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

If there’s one sporting event that surely sparks visitors’ curiosity and binds together the local people of UAE across all emirates, it is the traditional sport of camel racing.

There isn’t anything quite like watching trained race camels mounted with robotic jockeys race at speeds of around 65km an hour along the desert tracks (read further).

India - Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Havelock Island

Elephant Beach in Havelock Island, in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

I went to this island on 2nd January 2025 by cruise ship from Haddo Jetty in Port Blair. Bought this postcard and others and got the stamps cancelled at the Havelock Island's Post Office.

Havelock Island, officially known as Swaraj Dweep (transl. Self-Rule Island), is one of the largest islands in Ritchie's Archipelago, to the east of Great Andaman within the Andaman Islands. It belongs to the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The island is 41 km (25 mi) northeast of the capital city, Port Blair (read further).

India - Andaman and Nicobar Islands - Clown Fish

A Clown Fish seeks refuge in his traditional home, an anemone. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have some of the finest scuba diving in South Asia.

Sent by myself from Port Blair during my vacation on 31st December 2024 to 4th January 2025. 

The beautiful stamps were postmarked at the counter of Port Blair's Post Office (Head Office).

Postcard from RAMOLON. The only place where I found postcards in Port Blair.

Maldives - Dolphin

MALDIVES

Dolphin

Sent by myself during my vacation in Maldives (8-11th December 2024).

Mongolia - Greetings From Mongolia

Harsh but often beautiful : the desert

Sent by myself during my travel to Mongolia in July this year.