2025 First-Class Forever Stamp - Baby Wild Animals: Fox

US 6006
2025 Fox

• Part of Baby Wild Animals set featuring 10 animals
• Each stamp includes elements of animal’s habitat
  
  

Stamp Category:  Definitive
Set: Baby Wild Animals
Value:  73¢, First-Class Mail (Forever)
First Day of Issue:  May 23, 2025
First Day City:  Aurora, Colorado
Quantity Issued:  16,000,000
Printed by:  Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method:  Offset
Format:  Double-sided Booklet of 20
Perforations: Die Cut

Why the stamp was issued:  This stamp is part of a set of 10 stamps highlighting baby animals with elements of their natural surroundings.

About the stamp design:  Each design features a different baby wild animal.  Tracy Walker created digital illustrations using solid background colors and simple depictions of each animal.  Elements of their environment were added, such as flowers, leaves, or water.  The animals shown are: fox, owl, deer, seal, rabbit, raccoon, bear, skunk, bobcat, and chipmunk. 

First Day City: The stamps were dedicated at the Rocky Mountain Stamp Show in Aurora, Colorado

About the Wild Baby Animals set: Every spring, a new generation of wild animals begins its journey.  Learning to survive in a world of challenges, they are discovering the skills and instincts that will shape their lives.
In the warm daylight, a fawn cautiously steps from its hidden mother, its spotted coat camouflaging it against the dappled forest floor.  Nearby, baby foxes playfully tussle, learning the art of stalking prey.  Baby rabbits nibble on fresh green shoots while a chipmunk scampers up a tree, its cheek pouches filled with seeds.  At the water’s edge, a young seal explores the shore, its small flippers glistening in the light, ready to test the cool waters of the river for the first time.
As dusk falls, the nocturnal young of the wild are learning to navigate the shadows.  In the moonlit forest, young owls stretch their wings, preparing for their first flights.  Their large eyes scan the night, adjusting to the dim light.  Nearby, baby raccoons, their tiny paws moving with remarkable dexterity, search for food, using their sensitive whiskers and sharp senses to uncover insects and fruits.  In the tall grass, a young skunk, still learning how to use its signature spray defense, cautiously explores its surroundings.  A baby bobcat, its spotted coat blending with the shadows, watches its mother, its keen eyes tracking the movement of small prey.
These young creatures are preparing for a life filled with obstacles, but brimming with the promise of discovery, growth, and survival.

History the stamp represents: As the first light of dawn stretches across the forest floor, a family of young foxes begins to stir.  These little creatures, no more than a few months old, are born blind and deaf. Raised in the safety of a subterranean den, their world is one of sound, smell, and touch.
The kits, as they are known, are curious, agile, and quick to explore their surroundings.  Their coats, still soft and patchy, are a deep russet with hints of cream around the muzzle and chest.  With their highly developed sense of smell, they can detect prey from hundreds of yards away.  As their hearing develops, their sensitive ears will swivel at the slightest sound – the skitter of a mouse, the flutter of a bird’s wings.
Though playful, the kits’ games are essential training – mock hunts, chasing leaves in the wind, and leaping across small streams.  Each moment spent playing sharpens their senses, and it is through these early lessons that they develop the stealth and speed that will one day make them masterful predators.
In this dense woodland, the young foxes’ survival depends on more than just their ability to play. It is their keen sense of smell, their sharp ears, and their instinct to stay close to the den that will protect them from the threats of the world beyond.  A truly wondrous beginning for such extraordinary creatures.