Cute Animal Series Postage Stamps—Koala Bear (D441)

Stamp SN : D441
Stamp Name : Cute Animal Series Postage Stamps—Koala Bear
Stamp Cat Standard : Special Stamps
Stamp Cat : Mammals
Issue date : 2002-11-15
Dimension of stamps(mm.) : 30 x 40（mm）
Size of souvenir Sheet (mm.) : 85 x 115(mm),齒度:12 x 12
Printer : China Color Printing Co., Ltd., R.O.C.
Sheet composition : 20 ( 4 x 5 )
Print color : Colorful
Process : Deep etch offset
Paper : Phosphorescent stamp paper
Perforation : 11 x 11 1/2
Designer : Lee Kuang-chi

Stamp design:
Since 1999 the Taipei Municipal Zoo has imported five koala bears, one after another, from Australia. The cutest national treasure of Australia, representing peace and friendship, these koalas are well adjusted to their new life in the R.O.C. To raise Taiwan's ecological image in international conservation circles, the Directorate General of Posts is issuing a set of four stamps and a souvenir sheet, featuring a mama koala holding her cub, a koala eating leaves, a koala sleeping and a koala carrying her cub on her back. The koala is a kind of marsupial. It has a big head, big ears, small round eyes and a big black nose. Its body is covered with very soft gray hair. It has no tail. Small and extremely adorable, it looks just like a cute fluffy stuffed animal. Koalas live in eucalyptus woods in Australia. Their front feet each have two "thumbs': which are very useful for grasping. All four feet have claws. These help to make koalas excellent climbers. The nutrition and water their bodies need come solely from eucalyptus leaves. In order to have easy access to food, they usually live in trees. They spend about 19 hours sleeping each day and they normally dine in the early evening. New-bom koalas are very tiny and stay in their mothers' pouches until they mature. They can stick their heads out when they are about five to six months old. They can cling to their mothers' chests or backs and be carried around when they are about eight or nine months old. The little cubs can leave their mothers and be independent when they are about one year old.