Description
This 40-cent stamp features a red fox. Sold in panes of 20 and in self-adhesive coils of
3,000 and 10,000, the stamp is intended for use by bulk mailers for items such as
circulars, newsletters, and catalogs. It can also be used by customers who enjoy using a
variety of stamps on their envelopes and packages.
The stamp art features a pencil-and-watercolor illustration-the handsome face of a red
fox from preexisting artwork by wildlife illustrator Dugald Stermer (1936–2011). His
penciled calligraphy on the stamp indicates the animal’s common name and its scientific
classification, Vulpes vulpes.
Intelligent and highly adaptable, the red fox is well known to Americans coast to coast,
including much of Alaska-absent only from Hawai‘i and parts of the Southwest. Foxes
are found not only in woodlands and open country, but also in suburbs and cities. Versatile
omnivores, they hunt rodents, birds, fish, insects, and invertebrates, and also eat nuts,
roots, berries, and more. The fox’s large ears and keen senses are invaluable for pursuing
prey.
The red fox is named for its most common rusty coloration, which includes darker forelegs
and white fur both on the animal’s underside and on the tip of its bushy tail. Some
individuals are gray or white.
The fox vixen gives birth to several helpless young as winter turns to spring. The kits
emerge from their underground den after several weeks of parental care. By autumn, the
kits will be fully grown.
Red foxes are versatile omnivores, hunting rodents, birds, fish, insects and invertebrates.
They also eat nuts, roots, berries, and more. The fox’s large ears and keen senses are
invaluable for pursuing prey.
5 Sheets of 100 postcard rate stamps*The slash over the value denomination on the stamp in the image is to protect it from being used to produce counterfeit postage. Actual stamps will not have this.
