2022 Elephants Forever Stamps

2023 Elephants 

• Commemorates the world’s largest land animal – the African Savannah (Bush) elephant and its smaller Asian and African (Forest) cousins
• Marks the celebration of World Elephant Day
• Issued at the Elephant Discovery Center in Hohenwald, Tennessee

Stamp Category:  Regular Issue

Value:  One-ounce First Class Mail Rate (Non-denominated Forever Stamp)

First Day of Issue:  August 12, 2022

First Day City:  Hohenwald, Tennessee

Quantity Issued:  175,000,000

Printed by:  Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd.

Printing Method:  Offset

Format:  Double-sided booklet panes of 20 pressure sensitive (self-adhesive) stamps

Reason the stamp was issued: This stamp was issued on World Elephant Day to celebrate the highly social and intelligent mammal, which shares many human traits.  And to make the public aware of the need to preserve this animal which is threatened with extinction.       

About the stamp design: The elephant stamp was designed by Raphael López from his original artwork.  Speaking in a USPS TV video, the artist says creating the stamp was fun.  He used mid-century design elements with basic shapes.  In doing so, he wanted to illustrate the human-like bond between the mother elephant and her calf.  Mr. López also shared his hope that people would fall in love with the stamp.  And when using it, remember how beautiful, fragile, and how much like us, elephants are.  

Special design details:  The year of issue, 2022, appears beneath the baby elephant’s right hind leg.

First Day City: Hohenwald, Tennessee was chosen as the site of the First Day of Issue Ceremony because it’s the home of the Elephant Discovery Center.  The Elephant Discovery Center is part of The Elephant Sanctuary.  The Sanctuary provides a safe home, individualized care, and companionship for elephants previously in captivity in circuses and zoos.  It also educates the public on the requirements for keeping them safe.  And also, how critical the threat of extinction is for elephants in the wild.  

The history behind the stamp subject: As of 2022, all three species of elephant were threatened with extinction.  There is hope that conservation efforts will save them from the brink of extinction.  Stamps like this one, issued on World Elephant Day, help get the message out.  The Elephant Sanctuary is thrilled with the stamp’s focus on the animals they struggle to save. 

Formerly listed as “vulnerable”, according to Fauna and Flora International, the African bush elephant is now endangered, and the forest elephant, critically endangered.   The Worldwide Fund for Nature (World Wildlife Fund) estimates there are about 415,000 on the whole African continent, while only 40,000-50,000 Asian elephants survive in the countries of Asia.  Habitat for both has decreased by about 50% in the past several decades. 

Elephants are the largest living land animals in the world.  Among these are the African savannah (bush) elephant, the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant.  They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa as well as South and Southeast Asia.  Besides savannah and forest, this includes desert and marsh habitats.

Of the three species, the African bush elephant is the largest.  Males (bulls) reach heights of up to 13 feet at the shoulder and weigh up to seven tons.  Females (cows) measure about nine feet tall at the shoulder and weigh three and a half tons on average.  African forest elephants are the smallest species, with bulls reaching just 10 feet tall and weighing only about four tons. 

Elephants are known for their impressive trunks, which contain up to 60,000 individual muscles.  It is the animal’s most important body part, responsible for breathing, smelling, touching, grasping, and more.  Some elephants have been known to lift weights of over 770 pounds with their trunks, but can use them to perform much more delicate tasks, too.  Using their trunks as fingers, elephants can crack the shell of a nut without damaging the kernel inside.

The biggest threats to elephants include loss of habitat and poaching to supply the illegal ivory trade.  Elephants are killed in order to obtain their ivory tusks.  Their ivory is in demand for many reasons:  its beauty, rarity, status, investment value, and is even thought of as spiritual protection for anyone who wears it as jewelry. 

Even More About Elephants: Elephants share many human-like traits.  Chief among them is socialization and family ties.  These intelligent animals use teamwork and show emotions like empathy and grief.  Young elephants (calves) are cared for by a herd of related females, forming a matriarchal family system.  Males and adolescents generally live separately from females and mostly by themselves.  The gestation period for elephants is a long 22 months!  And they can live up to 70 years old. 

How to tell the difference between African and Asian elephants:

African: larger, stiffer, fan-shaped ears; Asian: smaller, triangular, more flexible ears

African: two-fingered trunks; Asian: one-fingered trunks

African: gray with wrinkly skin; Asian: black with smoother skin.  (May look gray when covered with sand!)

African: both male and females have tusks; Asian: males may or may not have tusks, females don’t.

African bush elephant – the largest; African forest elephant – the smallest; Asian forest elephant – in-between.