# 3105i - 1996 32c Endangered Species: California Condor

US #3105i
1996 California Condor

• Part of set of 15 stamps picturing Endangered Species
• Issued during National Stamp Collecting Month

Stamp Category:  Commemorative
Set:  Endangered Species
Value:   32¢First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue:  October 2, 1996
First Day City:  San Diego, California
Quantity Issued:  14,910,000
Printed by:  Ashton-Potter (USA) Ltd.
Printing Method:  Lithographed
Format:  Panes of 15 (3 across, 5 down) from printing plates of 90 (9 across, 10 down)
Perforations:  11.1 x 11

Why the stamp was issued:  The pane of 15 Endangered Species stamps was issued as part of the US Postal Service’s National Stamp Collecting Month.  The theme for 1996 was “Collect and Protect.”  The USPS hoped these stamps would appeal to children, who would then become lifelong stamp collectors. 

About the stamp design:  The stamps show photographs of 15 animal species that live in America and re threatened with extinction.  The photos were taken by James Balog.  The animals chosen for the stamps are from all major geographic areas of the US.  The California condor featured on the stamp lived at the San Diego Zoo.

First Day City:  The First Day of Issue ceremony took place at the San Diego Zoo.  In 1996, the zoo was celebrating its 80^th birthday.  The country of Mexico issued its own pane of endangered species stamps on the same day and took part in the First Day of Issue ceremony.  (The stamps were not a joint issue.)  In addition to honored human guests, two sea lions, an Andean condor, and a North American timber wolf were also in attendance at the celebration.

Unusual fact about the Endangered Species stamps:  The 1996 National Stamp Collecting Month was co-sponsored by the US Postal Service and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

About the Endangered Species Set:  The species shown on the pane of Endangered Species stamps are: Black-footed Ferret, Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly, Brown Pelican, San Francisco Garter Snake, Ocelot, Gila Trout, Hawaiian Monk Seal, Thick-billed Parrot, California Condor, Wyoming Toad, Woodland Caribou, Florida manatee, Florida Panther, Piping Plover, and American Crocodile.  All of them are listed on the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. 

History this stamp represents:  At one time the condor could be found as far east as Florida, but by the 1940s it could only be found in the mountains of southern California’s Los Padres National Forest.  Condors require vast areas of open, hilly country, much of which had been destroyed by urban development.  Contaminated food sources posed another major threat.  Condors feed solely on carrion – the remains of dead animals.  Poisoned carcasses set out by ranchers to kill coyotes, and lead ingested from bullet-ridden game left by hunters, had further reduced the population.
In 1985 the mysterious disappearance of six of the remaining 15 birds led to the establishment of a controversial captive-breeding program.  Two years later, the last wild California condor was taken into captivity.  At the time the species numbered only 27.
In 1992 the first captive pair was freed in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in Los Padres National Park.  The female survived being shot, but her male partner was found poisoned nine months after the release.  Additional condors have been released, and the program shows signs of success.  By 2017, there were over 460 California condors, counting both wild and captive birds.