2010 Ross Dependency - Whales of the Southern Ocean.

I like whales, watching them on TV, seeing how beautiful, almost graceful as they move through the water. It is hard to imagine that creatures that large could move like that. Once, during one of our regular trips to visit family in the South Island, we did a whale watching boat trip. This was from Kaikoura, before the earthquakes when whale watching was a big tourist attraction. I was surprised how many we saw and how they allowed the tourist boat to venture so close. Watching these large animals as they slowly moved was the highlight of that trip.

         'Whales' is the name given to the group of carnivorous marine mammals that spend their entire lives in the sea (or sometimes rivers). There are two groups of modern whale: the filter-feeding baleen whales, and the echo-locating toothed whales.
         Three families of baleen whale are represented in the Southern Ocean (rorqual, right whale and pygmy right whale), and five families of toothed whale (sperm whale, diminutive sperm whale, beaked whale, dolphin and porpoise).  These fascinating mammals are the focus of the Ross Dependency 2010 stamp issue. Consisting of five large stamps (50mm x 30mm) and a range of collectable stamp products, it’s an issue that’s sure to impress.


The Stamps.

60c - Sperm Whale / Physeter microcephalus.
At up to 18 metres long for males and 12 metres for females, the sperm whale is the largest toothed predator on Earth and probably the most abundant of the large whales. Sperm whales are characterised by their substantial rectangular heads, and have the biggest brains on the planet, weighing in at a hefty 9.5 kilograms.

$1.20 - Minke Whale / Balaenoptera Acutorostrata.
The minke whale is the smallest of the rorquals owing to its sharply pointed head, and is often called the ‘little-piked whale’. There are two species of minke whale in the Southern Ocean: the Antarctic minke and the dwarf minke. The dwarf minke reaches about eight metres in length and has a distinctive white patch across the flipper.

$1.90 - Sei Whale / Balaenoptera Borealis.
The sei whale gets its name from the Norwegian word seje, a small fish that was considered the whale’s preferred prey by Norwegian whalers. The sei whale was regarded by whalers as the sleekest and fastest of all the rorquals. Unlike the other rorquals, sei whales prefer to skim feed at the surface by swimming along with their mouths open.

$2.40 - Killer Whale / Orcinus Orca.
Killer whales, sometimes called orca, are toothed whales and the largest members of the dolphin family. They are highly distinctive with their black and white colour patterns, white eye patches and conspicuous dorsal fins. Killer whales are remarkable hunters and are sometimes referred to as the wolves of the sea.

$2.90 - Humpback Whale / Megaptera Novaeangliae.
The humpback whale is famous for its acrobatic leaps and remarkable songs. They reach about 17 metres in length and are easily recognised with their long, narrow flippers. The Southern Ocean humpbacks differ from those of the north Pacific by having considerably more white on their flippers and on the undersides of the throat and belly.


First Day Cover - 17 November 2010.

Miniature Sheet.

Technical information

Date of issue: 17 November 2010
Number of stamps:  Five gummed stamps
Denominations: 60c, $1.20, $1.90, $2.40, $2.90
Stamps, first day covers designed by: Tim Garman, Silver-i Design Associates, Whanganui, New Zealand
Printer and process: Southern Colour Print Ltd by offset lithography
Number of colours:  Four process colours
Stamp size and format: Gummed: 50mm x 30mm (horizontal)
Paper type: Gummed: Tullis Russell 104gsm red phosphor gummed stamp paper
Number of stamps per sheet: 25
Perforation gauge: 14.8 x 14.67
Period of sale: Unless stocks are exhausted earlier, these stamps will remain on sale until close of business 16 November 2011



Some of the images in this post were used with permission from the illustrated catalogue of StampsNZ
You can visit their website and Online Catalogue at, http://stampsnz.com/

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