Going Ape

Here one from Guinea, those issues that try to be everything to every topical collector. Yes, there are quite a few monkeys (including in the border) and there is (on the second sheetlet) a very young Brigitte Bardot (who, as oldies like me remember well, did not actually mind wearing furs then - caring about gorillas came later)...

And here is the latest 2014 issue in Guernsey's Endangered Animals series, a Sumatran orangutan infant.





OK, but I would really like to show the world some of the really endangered species. Yes, unless we do not act, we may lose the wild orangutans this century. But there are primates out there we may lose this decade.... some species only just discovered...

Bay-thighed Diana monkey (Cercopithecus ignita), engraved and printed by American Bank Note Company, and issued by Liberia in 1942 as one of a set of six indigenous animals stamps, Scott No. 288.

- nethryk

Wow!, That's some superb centering!

Some of the most endangered primate species are beginning to appear on stamps.



Here are some of the tarsier species, rarely seen in zoos. Recently, a number of new species have been added to the group and their taxonomy chnaged as a result. But already many of these small nocturnal animals are endangered.





The above set is from Peru, a 2002 issue. It shows some rather unknown species including one of the wol monkeys (Aotus). Not so long ago, it was thought there was only one species of owl monkey; now, just as is the case with other Amazonian species, it seems every river-enclosed area has its own species!





And I may have posted the above, from Vietnam, also from 2002, earlier. Every single species illustrated is endangered, at least four of them critically so. Compared to mountain gorillas (whose numbers have been increasing in part because of their value for tourists) their numbers are minuscule. And as recently as a few years ago, an entirely new species, a large black snub-nosed monkey, was found in Vietnam. Want to guess how its status is listed?

Potto (Perodicticus potto), designed and engraved by Jacques Combet, and issued by Ivory Coast on January 25, 1964, Scott No. 202.

- nethryk

Here is an image of a stamp depicting a Red-shanked Douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus), designed by American artist Salvatore Catalano, printed by lithography, and issued by the United Nations for use in its Offices in Vienna, Austria on March 24, 1995 as one of a set of four "Endangered Species" stamps, Scott No. 182, plus an image of the philatelic card to which the stamp is tied in a promotion for the special European program for this primate species, which is coordinated by the Cologne Zoological Garden.

- nethryk

For an example of "Going ape", what about this one?




From Mozambique, 2013.
Nice to see the issue has depictions of the Eastern lowland gorilla, a subspecies of Eastern gorillas (the other is the better known mountain gorilla) also called Grauer's gorilla (Gorilla berengei graueri). These animals are as imposing as the mountain gorilla and can get even heavier.

Orangutan and map of Borneo, printed by photogravure, and issued by Indonesia on June 1, 1959 as one of six stamps in a set promoting wildlife protection, Scott No. 475.

- nethryk

Hi Nethryk, Here's one for your thread: Mountain Gorilla with young and footprints in the border (2001). Artwork by Gunter Jacki, a very well-known German nature artist. Note that the Pfennig (110) as well as the € (0.56) are valid. From January 2002 only stamps with € were valid - all Pfennig/DMark stamps became invalid! K

Hi, here's another one, a Mandrillus sphinx from the Zoo in Warsaw. The mother mandrill looks somewhat more powerful and has a bit more color than most females. I'll leave the rest of the details to you. K


(Female borrowed from the web)

Kris Rascher - Thanks!

Olive baboon (Papio anubis), printed by photogravure, and issued by Guinea on November 25, 1968 as one of a set of nine stamps depicting African animals, Scott No. 512, plus photo.

- nethryk

Here are images of the three stamps in a set depicting indigenous Old World monkeys, printed by lithography, and issued by Gabon on March 20, 1974, Scott Nos. 330-32.

- nethryk

Collared mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus)


Moustached guenons (Cercopithecus cephus)


Mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona nigripes)

This is the first issue ever of the Solomon Islands that shows monkeys. It also is an odd shape, as is the stamp ; octagonal.



There is asecond octagoanl Ms with 4 stamps, with other primate species.

Niger (supposedly) also issued odd-shaped MS (but with norlaml stamps) both showing gorillas. Here, bot the Easter lowland gorilla (Gorilla berengei graueri)and the Cross River gorilla (G. gorilla diehli) from Nigeria, a critically endangered subspecies, are included.

Formosan rock macaque (Macaca cyclopis), printed by lithography, and issued by Republic of China (Taiwan) pn December 1, 1979, Scott No. 2180, plus a photo.

- nethryk