Sunday Stamps (meme)! Look at these superb animal stamps from Burundi! What is the 'Be my Valentine [mate for life?]' attitude of these 48 different species? How many of these choose their 'Valentine' for Social monogamy, or Sexual monogamy, or Genetic monogamy?

Do animals mate for life? How do they go about..."Be my Valentine"?
Animals don't technically get married, so they have (IF they have) only one (or a combination) of the first three types of monogamy that humans can have:

"Aspects of monogamy

• Social monogamy refers to two persons/creatures who live together, have sex with each other, and cooperate in acquiring basic resources such as food, clothes, and money.
• Sexual monogamy refers to two persons/creatures who remain sexually exclusive with each other and have no outside sex partners.
• Genetic monogamy refers to two partners that only have offspring with each other.
• Marital monogamy refers to marriages of only two people."

"Whatever makes a pair of animals socially monogamous does not necessarily make them sexually or genetically monogamous. Social monogamy, sexual monogamy, and genetic monogamy can occur in different combinations."

"In animal sexuality, serial monogamy often means that an animal will have a different, but exclusive, breeding partner each mating season. Generally, any animals that do not mate with one partner, for life, but do mate exclusively with one partner per mating season can be considered serially monogamous, including those who find a second mate only upon the death of the first."

"Mating system

Main article: Animal sexuality

Monogamy is one of several mating systems observed in other animals. The amount of social monogamy in animals varies across taxa, with over 90% of birds engaging in social monogamy but only 7% of mammals engaging in social monogamy. With birds the locomotion method has meant that the sharing of genetic material with non-local sources is far less difficult, and reproduction is far more successful when both the male and the female contribute food resources to the offspring. The incidence of sexual monogamy appears quite rare in other parts of the animal kingdom. It is becoming clear that even animals that are socially monogamous engage in extra-pair copulations.[1]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monogamy

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Click, and click again to zoom in.

One of the most beautiful wildlife stamp series in the world, from Burundi!

I have two versions, as they were issued, so I was able to separate one set into individual stamps and place them accordingly, in my taxonomic stamp collection, by species. 

At the bottom, you can see the zebra stamp from the separated set, which set is of larger size - even more beautiful! :)

The other stamps at the bottom are for comparison purposes: they are nice (but not AS NICE), and of regular size.

The CCCP/ USSR one has a forced, unnatural juxtaposition of American Bison and Zebra -  I don't like that! Yes, it was done to cram more species featured on a stamp series with few available slots - they doubled the number of species featured.

That American Bison stamp from USA, unlike newer stamps from USPS, is too simplistic for my taste - "look what brown can do for you!".

Since USA and some other countries are such global economic powers, WHY shouldn't they also be philatelic/ stamp design global powers?

Why let the stamp design excellence be a competitive advantage of much smaller countries, such as Burundi, Bhutan and Serenissima Reppublica di San Marino, for example?

The Romanian one (POSTA ROMANA) is a famous EFO = Errors, Freaks and Oddities.

The Grevy zebra stamp should have been denominated 1,55 Lei, meaning 1 Leu and 55 bani (like 1$ and 55 cents). Instead, the whole print run went out with 1 55 bani. They did not issue a recall.

The Romanian Post may have pulled a proto-chronistic ceelogreen on this, like "Forget you!". :) 

"I'm not gonna recall you." So the stamps remained all out with that error.

http://www.zazzle.com/yes_thats_an_euphemism_postage-172784866997600135?rf=238693463283865848

Burundi has done a great promotional job for wildlife and for Burundi, even if these stamps may have been created by some foreign contractor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Drummers_of_Burundi

"Burundi (pronounced [buˈɾundi]), officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its size is just under 28,000 km² with an estimated population of almost 8,700,000. Its capital is Bujumbura. Although the country is landlocked, much of the southwestern border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika.

The Twa, Tutsi, and Hutu peoples have occupied Burundi since the country's formation five centuries ago. Burundi was ruled as a kingdom by the Tutsi for over two hundred years. However, at the beginning of the twentieth century, Germany and Belgium occupied the region, and Burundi and Rwanda became a European colony known as Ruanda-Urundi.

Political unrest occurred throughout the region because of social differences between the Tutsi and Hutu, provoking civil war in Burundi throughout the middle twentieth century. Presently, Burundi is governed as a presidential representative democratic republic. Sixty-two percent of Burundians are Roman Catholic, eight to ten percent are Muslims and the rest followindigenous beliefs and other Christian denominations.

Burundi is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. 

It has the lowest per capita GDP of any nation in the 

world.^[5] Burundi has a low gross domestic product largely due to civil wars, corruption, poor access to education, and the effects of HIV/AIDS. Burundi is densely populated, with substantial emigration. Cobalt and copper are among Burundi's natural resources. Some of Burundi's main exports include coffee and sugar."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burundi

Another set, almost as beautiful to me, is this (click, and click again to zoom in):

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Sunday Stamps!

Please visit http://viridianpostcard.blogspot.com/

"BBC: African elephant is two species, researchers say". Also, Part 2: The African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) - maximum card/ maxicard/ dorincard from the Republic of South Africa, and WWF maxicards about Uganda

Thank you, my friend Fi from Jo'burg [Johannesburg, RSA], for creating this UNICATE (only 1 in the world in this configuration, AFAIK= "as far as I know") maxicard specially for me! 

You have chosen the perfect position of the postmark on the postcard, when you handcancelled "under the supervision"/ "in front of" the cooperating postal clerk from the village of Krugersdorp. :)

Isn't it cool when the postmark is really visible?

WWF maxicards about Uganda

Please read: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12054343#

"The African Elephant is the largest living terrestrial animal, normally reaching 6 to 7.3 metres (19.7 to 24.0 ft) in length and 3 to 3.5 metres (9.8 to 11.5 ft) in height at the head, and weighing between 6,000 to 9,000 kg (13,000 to 20,000 lb).

The largest on record, shot in Angola in 1965, was a bull weighing 12,274 kg (27,060 lb) and standing 4.2 metres (13.8 ft) high, the body of which is now mounted in the rotunda of the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.. (The museum's website states that the specimen weighs only 8 tons^[4].) The Bush Elephant normally moves at a rate of 6 km/h (4 mph), but it can reach a top speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) when scared or upset."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_elephant

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Loxodonta_africana

Dentition (or lack of proper dentition) may be hazardous to you:

The last set of [molar] teeth last approximately until the age of 65–70. 

"Not much later, the animal dies of starvation from not being able to feed correctly. There are known cases of over 80 year old specimens in captivity."

A male elephant is called a BULL elephant.  And you thought that bullshit is always a bad thing ("that's bullshit" = "that's bad/ false/ useless!" - right?)

"These animals typically ingest an average of 225 kg of vegetable matter daily, which is defecated without being fully digested. That, combined with the long distances that they can cover daily in search of more food, contributes notably to the dispersion of many plant seeds that germinate in the middle of a nutrient-filled feces mound."

"Elephants also drink great quantities of water, over 190 liters per day."

You can talk all you want, but can YOU emit infrasounds?

"Mating happens when the female becomes receptive [MY NOTE: raping is not an option here], an event that can occur anytime during the year. When she is ready, she starts emitting infrasounds that attract the males, sometimes from kilometers away. The adult males start arriving at the herd during the following days and begin fighting, causing some injuries and even broken tusks. The female shows her acceptance of the victor by rubbing her body against his. They mate, and then both go their own way. After 22 months of gestation (the longest among mammals), the female gives birth to a single 90 cm high calf which weighs more than 100 kg. The baby feeds on the mothers milk until the age of 5, but also eats solid food from as early as 6 months old. Just a few days after birth, the calf can follow the herd by foot."

If you MUSTH know:

"Although it has often been speculated by zoo visitors[1] that musth is linked to rut, it is unlikely there is a biological connection because the female elephant's estrus cycle is not seasonally-linked, whereas musth most often takes place in winter. Furthermore, bulls in musth have often been known to attack female elephants, regardless of whether or not the females are in heat. There has been speculation that there may be a connection between musth and dominance behaviour.

Often, elephants in musth discharge a thick tar-like secretion called temporin from the temporal ducts on the sides of the head. Temporin remains largely uncharacterised, due to the difficulties of collecting samples for analysis; however, secretions and urine collected from zoo elephants have been shown to contain elevated levels of various highly odorous ketones and aldehydes. The elephant's aggression may be partially caused by a reaction to the temporin, which naturally trickles down into the elephant's mouth. Another contributing factor may be the accompanying swelling of the temporal glands; this presses on the elephant's eyes and causes acute pain comparable to severe root abscess toothache. Elephants sometimes try to counteract this pain by digging their tusks into the ground.

An African elephant chases a giraffe during musth.

Musth is linked to sexual arousal or establishing dominance, but this relationship is far from clear. Cases of elephants goring and killing rhinoceroses in national parks in Africa have been documented and attributed to musth in young male elephants, especially those growing in the absence of older males. Studies show that reintroducing older males into the elephant population of the area seems to prevent younger males from entering musth, and therefore, stop this aggressive behavior.^[2][3]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musth

"BBC: African elephant is two species, researchers say". Also, Part 1: zazzle personalized stamp that I created, depicting The African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

http://www.zazzle.com/african_forest_elephant_loxodonta_cyclotis_postage-172841520443678126?rf=238693463283865848

"The African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is a forest dwelling elephant of the Congo Basin. Formerly considered either a synonym or a subspecies of the African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana), a 2010 study established that the two are distinct species^[2][3]. The disputed Pygmy Elephants of the Congo basin, often assumed to be a separate species (Loxodonta pumilio) by cryptozoologists, are probably Forest Elephants whose diminutive size and/or early maturity is due to environmental conditions.^[4]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_elephant}

Please read: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12054343#

Interesting people: Crina "COCO" I. Popescu (Romania), age 15, dreams and takes action to become the youngest woman to climb the Seven Summits and Volcanic Seven Summits!

Someday, maybe I'll be able to create a maxicard with elements similar to the above ones. The stamp would better be from Tanzania, for geographical concordance, and it would have to be postmarked onto the postcard, of course.

But the purpose of this post is connected to the background of this postcard - Mt.Kilimanjaro.

"Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, andShira, is an inactive stratovolcano in north-eastern Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5,893 metres or 19,334 ft above sea level (the Uhuru Peak / Kibo Peak).^[3] Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain as well as the 4th most prominent mountain in the world, rising 5,882 metres or 19,298 ft from the base."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kilimanjaro

Probably it's not among the MOST difficult alpinist feats, since even actress Jessica Biel was able to do it. She's good - but not a fanatic alpinist.

"In 2010, Biel climbed to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with members of theUnited Nation Foundation to raise awareness of the global water crisis.^[28] Also in 2010, Biel's humanitarian and charity work (as well as her popularity with young people) earned her a nomination for a Do Something Award. The awards show, produced by VH1, is dedicated to honoring people who do good and is powered by Do Something, an organization that aims to empower, celebrate, and inspire young people.^[29]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Biel}

Let me tell you about a 15-year old girl who hiked/climbed all the way to the summit of Mt.Kilimanjaro, AND MANY OTHER SUMMITS!

From her website http://www.celmaisus.ro/?page_id=254&lang=en: 

"Hello! ...… I am Crina Imola Popescu but everyone knows me as Crina COCO Popescu. My friends call me Coco. I ’m 15 years old and I’m a climber.

I was born in Rasnov, a town close to Brasov [Romania] and I climb mountains since I was 6 . At first I climbed around my hometown: the Bucegi Mountains and Postavarul. Then I’ve started with higher mountains. When I was 11 i went to the Alps and climbed the 4000 m  high Dente del Gi[g[]ante. Next were Olympus, Ararat and Mont Blanc."

"While surfing the internet I found what the Volcanic Seven Summits and Seven Summits are. I immediately wanted to do the whole tour! In 2008 the Altitude Mountain Club was born and my dream began to become a reality. In late 2008 we went on the Ojos del Salado in the Atacama, the world’s highest volcano, then Aconcagua – the South American giant in January 2009. They were followed by Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus again. I had three peaks of the Seven Summits and 4 of Volcanic Seven Summits. For these achievements I received the title of Master of Sports, a great honor for me.

In autumn 2009 I have decided to climb Cho Oyu. Due to an imperfect acclimatization we decided to descend from an altitude of 6700m, putting safety before everything. I learned a great deal of experience from an expedition with a 8000m  target: it was a great test which phelped me prepare for the future. In January 2010 we went to Oceania where I climbed mount Kosciuszko, Carstensz Pyramid and  Giluwe. I’ve got it all. Now I have already conquered four, respectively five peaks of the Seven Summits and Volcanic Seven Summits. And 6 age records!    Just these past weeks – May – June 2010 I climbed Pico de Orizaba in Mexico & McKinley in Alaska, highest volcano and summit in North America."

"I gained a lot of experience in the past years together with our Club support team & my father. With my mother’s support – who is and will always be my best friend -  and my father whose always training and joining my expeditions I hope to fulfill my dream: to become the youngest woman to climb the Seven Summits and Volcanic Seven Summits."

http://www.celmaisus.ro/?page_id=254&lang=en

Those who can, and want to help sponsor her (the National Geographic Channel is one of the sponsors, just so you know) can do it using the accounts below.

Crina Coco Popescu is preparing herself to take part in the expedition „Antarctica 2010”, where she will climb Mt. Vinson (4897m) and Mt. Sidley (4181m); she will climb Mt. Everest during the next year. The „Antarctica 2010” Expedition costs are 70,000 Euro.

[I am editing and adapting the translation from translate.google.com]:

"Join Coco in establishing records of the "Antarctic 2010-2011"! She has been training and is determined to succeed!

You are needed because these are some of the expedition costs:
• Expedition fee• Transport - Flights• Accommodation• Food• Equipment• Satellite Phones• Electronic equipment (video camera, laptop)• Insurance• Local transportation• Other unforeseen expenses
Please contribute to the expedition, if you want and if you can!

Got questions? Feel free to contact Coco, her parents and her alpinist friends.

Contact

---

If you want to help me, please use the following contact details:

Mountain Sport Club Altitudine

Contact person: Radu Teodorescu

Email: radu.teodorescu@celmaisus.ro

Phone: 0742 381 169

Bank accounts (open accounts at BCR RASNOV – CIF 23461968)

MOUNTAIN CLUB ALTITUDINE

RO62 RNCB 0058 0987 5236 0001 –  lei account

RO35 RNCB 0058 0987 5236 0002 – euro account

RO08 RNCB 0058 0987 5236 0003 – usd account

==========================

Thank you, on Coco's behalf! :)

Happy Fathers' Day!

In an African reservation for orphaned elephants, the young (<21 yrs old) males grew aggressive, even killing rhinoceros at the waterhole.
Until two much older, senior, still strong, male elephants have been brought there, on purpose.
Aggressivity stopped. Do you wonder why?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX6iEBvDd_Q
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In Louisiana, if I remember correctly a radio program, 85% of the prison population grew up without the [biological] father, and most of them without any father whatsoever.

Personalized stamp that I created at zazzle.com: African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis)

http://www.zazzle.com/african_forest_elephant_loxodonta_cyclotis_postage-172841520443678126?rf=238693463283865848

Here is a Zazzle stamp that I have designed and dedicated to my fellow postcrosser (http://www.forum.postcrossing.com) mingshu (Irene, from Finland).
She is very passionate about elephants. :)

"Elephants are large land mammals in two genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta. Three species of elephant are living today: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). All other species and genera of Elephantidae are extinct, some since the last ice age: dwarf forms of mammoths may have survived as late as 2,000 BC.[1] Elephants and other Elephantidae were once classified with other thick-skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

http://www.pibburns.com/cryptost/pygmyele.htm