Volume 45#24

In a new set issued Feb. 16, Canada Post is recognizing five of the world’s 19 mammal species that undergo the twice-yearly process of moulting. The five-stamp “Snow Mammals” set features a handful of animals found in Canada with a survival skill that’s distinctly adapted to the country’s snowy climate: their otherwise dark coats turn white in winter. “These creatures are like ghosts, travelling on or under the snow without a sound,” Dominique Fauteux, a research scientist at the Canadian Museum of Nature, is quoted as saying in the latest issue of Details magazine. “Their unique adaptation invokes a very poetic view of winter as not only silent and calm, but also dangerous.” Continue reading →