Sunday 15 October 2017

Greenland 1963 - Polar Bears

In the words of that now famous Disney bear, Baloo, "The simple bear necessities." That's right. This week is all about bears. Ursus maritimus. more commonly known as the polar bear, to be precise. The mighty and majestic polar bear could very well be considered the king of bears. It is our largest land-based predator. A boar (adult male) can weigh in at up to 700 kg. That's a heavyweight to rival "Iron" Mike Tyson! The other brutes of the bear family, the Kodiak and the brown bear are on average slightly smaller.

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On 17 September 1963 Greenland issued a new design consisting four values to expand on the definitive set which started on 7 March 1963 with a beautiful "Northern Lights" design. The new design, conceived by V Bang, features a stunningly-engraved polar bear by the master, Czeslaw Slania. This has to be one of my favourite Slania engravings, simple, elegant, and very effective in small stamp format.





In Greenland the polar bear lives in the northernmost parts of West Greenland and in Northeast Greenland,. Since they move with the drifting ice, they can also be seen elsewhere in Greenland. Having said that, though, polar bears are not easily spotted unless you happen to find yourself on a boat cruising along the coast. If you are lucky enough to be doing such a thing, they can be fairly easily spotted due to their off-white fur, which contrasts somewhat with the pack ice.

Until next time...


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