Few other animals engage our emotions as strongly as the wolf does. Some people are afraid of their presence, while others are happy that wolves are still to be found in Norway. There are not many people who have experienced the excitement of encountering a wolf, but you can meet one now in the safe surroundings of a stamp.
The grey wolf is one of the subjects of this year’s wildlife issue, along with the bear and the elk.
No one disputes the fact that the wolf is a predator. Unlike bears, which only eat meat at certain times, wolves live on meat all the year round. They have highly developed senses and rely on smell and sound for the most important information from their surroundings. An adult Scandinavian wolf weighs between 30 and 60 kg, the female being a little lighter than the male. A wolf’s food requirements are estimated to average about 4 to 6 kg of meat per day. This does not mean that the wolf eats the same amount every day. It can manage without food for up to two weeks or more. It has the ability, however, to eat considerable amounts of meat when given the chance. Wolf tracking in Norway has revealed that a wolf can eat about 20 kg of meat, or almost a whole roe deer, in the course of 24 hours. The expression lone wolf may be true of some, but most wolves live in packs. Packs of about 4 or 5 wolves are common.
Our brown bear is a medium-sized bear. In the late autumn the largest males can weigh as much as 350 kg. The bear spends its time searching for food, resting, mating and hibernating. In the autumn, the bear builds up considerable reserves of body fat in preparation for winter hibernation. When the first snow falls, it goes into hibernation, which can last for 5 to 6 months. During hibernation, the bear’s body temperature falls 4-5 degrees to between 31 and 35°C. Its heart rate slows from the normal 40-60 to 8-12 heartbeats per minute. When it comes out of its winter lair, after months without food, it is hungry, but there may be little to eat at that time. Later in the summer and in the autumn it eats berries. However, bears are not just vegetarians. They can kill large animals. They are powerfully built and normally have no difficulty in bringing down a full-grown elk.
The wolf is feared and the bear is both feared and large, but it is the elk that has been crowned “king of the forest”. The elk is the largest species of deer. Its size, majestic bearing and harmonic movements prove its right to this title. It has a highly developed sense of smell, hearing and sight. Elks grow quickly. A newborn calf weighs about 12 kg, but by its first autumn it will already weigh about 135 kg. The following autumn it may weigh as much as 300 kg. Bull elks usually go on growing until the age of 5 or 6 and can reach a weight of more than 700 kg.
Subjects: Elk, Bear, Wolf
Design: Inger Sandved Anfinsen
Value: NOK 11.00 – 14.00 – 23.00
Number: Sheets containing 50 stamps each
Printing: Offset by Royal Joh. Enschedé, Netherlands
Sales prices:
First day cover: NOK 52.00
Presentation pack: NOK 53.00
Collector’s set: NOK 110.00
Collector’s sheet: NOK 68.00