ENDANGERED ANIMAL STAMPS UNVEILED.Byline: Julian Guthrie San Francisco Examiner The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th Century. History 19th century The beginning of the Examiner is a topic of some controversy. With swanky striped scales and a hyperactive sliver of a tongue, the San Francisco garter snake The San Francisco garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia) is a slender multi-colored colubrid snake. Designated as an endangered species since the year 1967,[1] has slithered its way into postage stamp hiss-tory. The turquoise, rust and black reptile, which is indigenous to the wetlands of the Bay Area, is one of 15 endangered animals photographed for a new set of postage stamps unveiled Wednesday at the San Francisco Zoo The San Francisco Zoo, (previously Fleishhacker Zoo) is a zoo in San Francisco, California housing more than 250 different animal species. It is located in the southwestern corner of the city, between the Great Highway and Lake Merced. . San Francisco Postmaster George Kikuchi said he hopes the images ``will increase public knowledge about at-risk species.'' More than 200 million of the endangered-species stamps are being printed on sheets of 15 and sold nationwide. Competing for attention with Kikuchi and Zoo director David Anderson, who unveiled the stamps at the outdoor Wildlife Theater, were the full-time residents of Sloat Boulevard. As Anderson mentioned that the zoo has a collection of four San Francisco garter snakes, Siamang siamang: see gibbon. monkeys screeched and clanked around in their nearby cages. The real show-stealer, however, was the San Francisco garter himself, who hitched a ride on the sleeve of Joe Fitting, director of the Zoo's animal resource center. Fitting explained that the snake likes to munch on frogs, fish, mice and rats. The garter busied himself by coiling around his sleeve and elevating his tiny head to survey his surroundings. Fitting said the garter, whose full name is Thamnophis sirtalis tetretaenia, has decidedly aggressive eating habits: he grabs, coils and constricts his prey. Basically, Fitting shrugged, the garter prefers to ``swallow his prey after suffocating it.'' Fortunately, the snake is harmless to humans. Unfortunately, humans have been harmful to the snake. With wetlands destroyed by development, the snake's population has dwindled to precariously low levels. The largest remaining colonies exist in the watershed system owned by the San Francisco Water Company. It also has been spotted in Sharp Park in Pacifica and in areas of Santa Cruz. The other endangered critters that landed on the new set of stamps include the brown pelican, American crocodile, gila trout, Florida panther, Schaus swallowtail butterfly swallowtail butterfly Any of more than 500 species (genus Papilio, family Papilionidae) of butterflies found worldwide except in the Arctic. Some have tail-like extensions of the hind wing. , thick-billed parrot, California condor, black-footed ferret, Wyoming toad, woodland caribou, ocelot ocelot (äs`əlŏt', ō`sə–), medium-sized cat, Felis pardalis, of Central and South America. It is occasionally found as far N as Texas. The ocelot has a yellow-brown coat with black spots, rings, and stripes. , Florida manatee, piping plover and the Hawaiian monk seal The Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) in the Family Phocidae, is an endangered marine mammal that is endemic to the warm, clear waters of the Hawaiian Islands. . |
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