這是紐西蘭郵局和世界自然基金會在1993年合作發行的一套郵票，總共有13種紐西蘭稀有品種，有動物也有植物，拼圖式的彩色郵票很漂亮吧？世界自然基金會的熊貓標誌也是很可愛的！獨立出來的那張小昆蟲叫Weta，以前我的英文補習老師曾經跟我說，大部分的Weta身體都是黑色的，很多人在庭院裡看到，以為那是蟑螂或炸猛，或以為是害蟲想要撲滅或踩死，其實Weta是益蟲啦，長得恐怖但是就這樣被殺死很無辜耶。Weta我好像在生物教室看過一次，真的覺得有點可怕的昆蟲，要是我在庭院裡看到，而且事前也不知道這是益蟲，我大概也一巴掌就打死了吧？
●郵票簡介原文
Conservation
9 June 1993
For a small country, New Zealand is well endowed with fascinating wildlife. Yet a disproportionately high number of our native species are at risk of disappearing; some are rare, others endangered or vulnerable and many are regionally threatened. For many, time is running out. Reassuringly though, a global awareness has helped turn the tide for some species.
This issue, with each stamp incorporating the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) logo, depicted 13 of New Zealand's rare and threatened species. Twelve appeared on the block of four stamps, which were also available in sheets of single stamps. Another, the Mercury Island tusked weta, was issued in a stamp booklet format. This small collection of birds, plants, animals, insects and sea life are representative of the hundreds of New Zealand species at risk.
‧45c Rock wren with giant snail and Hamilton's frog：
Often seen hopping and running about rocks and boulders, the rock wren is a tiny alpine bird that lives in the mountains of the South Island. Distinctive with its bright yellow flank, this weak flier is one of many of our native birds under threat.
The giant snail is a forest dweller, usually active at night and taking 15 years to reach maturity.
New Zealand has three endemic species of frog, all are ancient relics of a primitive stock. Hamilton's frog is the rarest and is only found in two locations - on Stephens Island in Cook Strait and Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds.
‧45c Yellow-eyed penguin with Hector's dolphin and the New Zealand fur seal：
The Yellow-eyed penguin is known as 'Hoiho' or 'noise shouter' to the Maori, its plight has been well publicised in recent times. As a result, numbers are slowly increasing on New Zealand's mainland. Probably the world's rarest penguin, it can be found in small areas of the Otago, Canterbury and Southland coastline.
Hector's dolphin is the only dolphin confined to New Zealand waters, its numbers are low estimated at only between 3,000 and 4,000.
The New Zealand fur seal was almost hunted to extinction but has recovered since hunting was banned almost 80 years ago. Today about 50,000 New Zealand fur seals live and breed in New Zealand waters.
‧45c Blue duck together with the taiko and the Mt Cook lily：
Blue ducks pair for life and stay together all year round, requiring about a kilometre of river for breeding. However, their natural habitat has been drastically reduced in recent years.
The Chatham Island taiko is regarded as one of the world's rarest seabirds. It has a white breast and belly and black-brown upper parts. Only a few birds are thought to exist.
Also known as the giant buttercup the Mount Cook lily reaches 1 to 1.5 metres and produces large white flowers each 4 to 5 centimetres across.
‧45c Kaka with the Chatham Island pigeon and the giant weta：
A member of the parrot family, the kaka a browny-grey bird has startling colourful underwing feathers. Whilst it was very common when European settlers first arrived in New Zealand, today its future is far from secure, due to - amongst other factors - introduced predators.
The New Zealand pigeon, a large handsome bird, thrives on the main islands. but on the Chatham Islands the subspecies has all but disappeared - today fewer than 100 birds survive.
Giant wetas are possibly the most ancient and primitive part of New Zealand's biological history. They deserve the 'giant' tag because at full maturity they are twice as heavy as a mouse.
‧45c Booklet Stamp - Tusked Weta：
The tusked weta, discovered in 1970, is found only on one tiny island in the Mercury group off the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. At 85 millimetres it is the largest of New Zealand's ground burrowing wetas but only the male has the large tusks which grow out of its jaws.
‧郵票簡介與圖片來源：
http://www.nzstamps.co.nz/nzstamps/index.html 
