2021 Stamps: The Azores (Europa – Endangered National Wildlife)

The Azores noctule (Nyctalus azoreum) is the only mammal that is endemic to the Azores archipelago. It is found in forests, where it feeds mainly on lepidopterans (such as moths and butterflies) and dipterans (such as mosquitoes), thereby helping to control insect pests. Unlike most bats, this animal often hunts during the day, probably due to the paucity of diurnal birds of prey.

This species occurs in a very small geographical area and is extremely sensitive to the disruption or destruction of its natural habitats and places of shelter (such as hollow tree trunks and caves). Its populations are currently in decline and critically endangered.

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is found in all of the Earth’s oceans and in both hemispheres, from the coastal waters of continental shelves to huge expanses of pelagic waters in the open ocean. In the Azorean archipelago, they can be observed near the coast, generally during spring and early summer, during their Atlantic migrations.

This marine mammal was hunted to the verge of extinction up until 1966. Today, its main threats are collisions with ships and accidental entanglements in fishing gear. There are currently an estimated five thousand to fifteen thousand adult animals, a tiny fraction of its ancestral populations, and it is therefore considered to be endagered (EN).