Human impact on the animal world

The human impact on the animal world began from the moment of its appearance on planet Earth. The scale of this impact has increased with each passing decade. Every step towards progress has been made at the expense of nature. Humanity cannot stop progress, but must be aware of the price it costs. Fauna is an important component of the natural ecological system and at the same time a most valuable biological resource. Without the animal world, the normal functioning of the biosphere is impossible. If, as a result, half of the animal species disappear, then people will deprive themselves of many benefits, and more than 50% of the sources of valuable products will be irretrievably lost on planet Earth; connections in biocenoses will be disrupted; the food chains worked out by evolution will change; the number of animals – pests, parasites and dangerous diseases – will increase.

Today ecology is one of the main modern sciences, and postal departments in many countries around the world respond to enormous interest in this topic.

World ecology, flora and fauna have long been very popular among philatelists. Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel, a famous collector, said: “A good collection is a kind of encyclopedia, where everything is presented: the history of the country, the geography of the country, its cities, natural resources, and, of course, people...” Over the years, the topic of nature conservation has become more attractive and interesting: more stamps, postcards, envelopes, and special cancellations are issued. And not only domestic ones. On many postal issues, the symbolic figure of a person is repeated against the background of a white circle framed by laurel branches. This is a program of UNEP - the international organization "United Nations Environment Program".

Over the years of its existence (organized in 1972), UNEP has done a lot, including in philately, to promote environmental knowledge. Several UN postal issues are dedicated to protecting nature. The outstanding role of UNEP in preserving the environment is commemorated by a Soviet stamp issued in 1982, marking the tenth anniversary of this organization. Against the background of the silhouette of the blue Earth, human hands carefully cover a young sprout. The brand convincingly calls for reliable and strong protection of nature.

For the first time in our country, hunting of many endangered animals was prohibited. Birds of prey, bison, polar bears, whales and other rare animals were taken under protection. Nature reserves were created to preserve and “return” many species of wildlife to the earth. Special series of stamps are dedicated to the results of the extensive and interesting work being carried out in the reserves: “Caucasian Reserve”, “Birds of the Astrakhan Reserve”, “50 Years of the Barguzin Reserve” and many others.

Unique plants and animals need human help. Philately once again reports this. Thus, on stamps of the British Antarctic Territory, issued in 1977, along with images of a sperm whale, fin whale, humpback and blue whale, there is text calling for the protection of these rare mammals. The stamps promote the need to preserve nature, broaden one's horizons, make one admire the exotic world of the taiga and African savannas, the Pamirs and the islands of Oceania, and admire the plants and animals that decorate our planet.

Images of birds can be found on postage stamps of many countries around the world. The first postage stamp featuring a bird appeared in the United States in 1851. It was a 1-cent national delivery stamp featuring the bald eagle, the country's national symbol. Since then, many series have already been released in different countries of the world; currently, 100-150 stamps with new types are printed annually.

Postage stamps with the motto of conservation of nature and fauna, such as “Protected Fauna” of the USA, “Rare Bird Conservation” of China, “Extinct Birds” of Cuba, Laos, Mauritius, New Zealand, Norfolk and many others draw attention to the most important environmental problems and protection of rare and endangered bird species. In Japan, almost all bird species included in the List of Natural Monuments are already depicted on postage stamps.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has published the Red Book, which lists more than 400 species and subspecies of birds that deserve special attention due to their declining numbers or threat of extinction. At the suggestion of the IUCN, special issues of postage stamps with the emblem of the World Fund for Nature Conservation WWF “Rare and Endangered Species” were organized. Their circulation amounts to millions of stamps. Part of the income from the sale of stamps goes to the Animal Welfare Fund, but stamps play an even greater role in promoting conservation measures.

In my “Philately Protects” collection there are 63 stamps with images of birds.

Of course, I really wanted to know about the birds that are depicted on the stamps. For the study, I chose the most amazing, in my opinion, bird species. Some birds are very beautiful, and people often changed their destinies in the hope of seeing them at least once. These are the pink pelican, the pink gull, the Dalmatian pelican, the white crane, and the crowned crane. Gaga is not so beautiful and rare nowadays, but she has always attracted people with her extraordinary fluff.

It turned out that all these birds need our protection and protection. Various reasons lead to a reduction in their numbers: violation of the ecological regime, deforestation, new river dams, forest fires, ultra-long flights to other countries, and sometimes parts of the world. In many cases, habitat changes occur. A habitat, called by the scientific term “biotope”, is the very “home” for birds, where they can find the necessary food resources, shelters, places and conditions for reproduction. The combination of these conditions ensures the existence and survival of birds. Threats to bird habitats stem primarily from the continued increase in human use of the environment.

Gull Family

The homeland of pink gulls was discovered in 1905 by the famous Russian zoologist and explorer of the North S. A. Baturlin. He found nests and chicks of seagulls in the northeast of Yakutia, in the lower reaches of the Kolyma. In Yakutia, pink gulls appear at the end of May. The birds amaze with their amazingly beautiful plumage. Seagulls are distinguished by pink coloration on the underside of the body and a black narrow necklace on the neck. The pink gull is not only beautiful, but also graceful. Her flight is light and graceful. In search of food, birds can hover over the water and then rush down, plunging almost entirely into the water. Famous ornithologist K.A. Vorobyov, who met seagulls in 1962 on the Indigirka River, wrote in his diary: “On this spring day I saw pink seagulls. They flew at high altitude from north to south. The seagulls were returning from wintering to their nesting grounds. The pink birds against the blue sky presented a wonderfully beautiful picture.” In the Stavropol region, of course, pink gulls have never been seen. Recently, two species of gulls have been wintering here - the common gull and the laughing gull. They stop at unfrozen areas of reservoirs - the Novotroitskoye Reservoir, Lake Kazinka.

Pelican family

The plumage of the Dalmatian pelican is white with a gray tint. Breeds on the estuaries of the eastern Azov region, deltas of the Volga and Terek, on Lake Manych-Gudilo and lakes in the south of the Tyumen region. Cases of nesting have been recorded in the Chograi reservoir and lakes of Kalmykia. The total number of breeding pairs on the territory of Russia is 450–700. Sometimes up to 700 pelicans were counted on the lakes of the Levokumsky district of the Stavropol Territory alone. The Dalmatian pelican is included in the IUCN Red List -96 and Appendix I of the CITES Convention.

Pelican family

Pelicans are large water birds whose weight can reach 13 kg, and their wingspan is 2.5 - 3 m. The plumage is white with a pink tint. The most remarkable thing in the appearance of these birds is their huge wide beak with a brightly colored leathery sac. Pink pelicans have a yellow throat pouch. Pelicans swim well, but do not dive. Pelicans use their beak and net to scoop up their favorite food – fish – from the top layer of water, lowering their head and neck into the water.

On the territory of Russia, the pink pelican constantly nests only on Lake Manych - Gudilo; nesting cases in the Volga delta and on the Chograi reservoir are irregular. It has not been found in the Terek delta since the 60s. The number of breeding pairs in Russia is from 150 to 300 pairs. Reproduction is negatively affected by heavy rains, which flood nests and destroy masonry. In addition, in recent years, the area of reservoirs suitable for building nests has sharply decreased, and their overgrowth has reduced fish productivity, which affects the number of pelicans. This species of pelican is included in the Red Book of Russia.

Order Crane-like

The Siberian Crane is a large (body weight 5-8 kg, height up to 140 cm, wingspan up to 260 cm), gracefully built crane. The predominant color is white, which is why the Siberian Crane is also called the white crane. Nature has generously endowed the Siberian Crane: it has black wing tips, a red beak, part of the head and legs, and beautiful white plumage. The first information about the white crane appeared in Russia in 1762 and belongs to the Russian geographer P.I. Rychkov. Over the more than 200 years that have passed since then, the nesting area and numbers of the Siberian Crane have declined catastrophically. Nesting sites have disappeared due to the drying out of lakes and swamps. More recently, the entire population nesting in Yakutia, in the lower reaches of the Ob, numbered about 200 pairs. In 1977, two eggs were sent from the homeland of white cranes to the incubator of the International Foundation for Crane Conservation. According to all the rules of science, chicks were bred from them, which founded the first colony of Siberian Cranes breeding in captivity. To date, there are two breeding centers for Siberian Cranes in Russia - in North-Eastern Yakutia and western Siberia. The size of the West Siberian population of Siberian Cranes is about 50 birds, the Yakut population is about 800. White cranes winter in India and China.

For the Stavropol Territory this is a very rare migratory species. White cranes were observed in the Stavropol region twice: in mid-October 1974, three birds flew in a southwestern direction near the village of Barsukovskaya, and one individual was noted in the late spring of 1991 on the fish farm ponds near the village of Turksad.

The Siberian Crane is protected all over the world. Included in the IUCN Red List -96 and Appendix I of the CITES Convention. Aviary breeding of Siberian Cranes is practiced in the nursery of the International Foundation for the Conservation of Cranes and the crane nursery of the Oka Nature Reserve. The great white crane is a symbol of international environmental cooperation. I have two stamps in my collection with images of white cranes. One stamp was issued in 2006 in Russia, the other in Haiti in 1975.

Crown-crowned crane (Grus сouronnees).

Order Crane-like

Crown-crowned cranes live in Africa. They are named so for the special golden feathers on their heads. This type of crane holds a kind of record for the number of countries whose stamps depict birds. There are 39 such countries. These data indicate both the wide distribution of these bird species in the world and their popularity among the people of various countries.

Order Anseriformes

The common eider is one of the largest ducks (weight 2.2 - 2.5 kg). Eider down has long been used by the peoples of the North to make warm clothing. The belly fluff of the eider (“live” fluff) has a large number of sinuous barbs. Thanks to this, all the fluffs adhere to one another into a compact mass, which perfectly protects from the cold. In Iceland, fishing for eider down has been known since the 12th century. In Russia it began to develop in the 17th century. For several centuries, Russia was considered the main exporter of this raw material. Along with the down, eggs were also collected for the needs of the local population. The colonies of eiders on the sea coast of Novaya Zemlya and Wrangel Island at the beginning of the twentieth century were significantly undermined, the number of birds decreased from year to year. By the beginning of the 60s, the number of eider nests on Novaya Zemlya did not exceed 12 thousand, on Vaygach - 1 thousand, and on the coast and islands of the Barents and White Seas - 3 thousand. The measures taken (protection of nesting sites and a ban on hunting) made it possible to increase the number of nesting birds.

In my collection there are three stamps with the image of eider (common eider, crested eider, Siberian eider). Stamps were issued in Russia in 1993

It is believed that more than a million stamps with images of birds have already been issued in the world. All 27 orders of birds are already represented on postage stamps. In general, bright and large birds are most fully represented. Many of the birds depicted on postage stamps can be considered the “calling cards” of their countries: the red-crowned crane in Japan, the red flamingo representing the Bahamas, the bald eagle for the USA, the black swan and emu for Australia. Each new brand makes us remember our feathered friends, think about how a person can help them, how to save those who can still be saved.