STAMP OF ESTONIA 2002 - 2023 - Wild animals in Estonia.

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2023 - The stamp of the Estonian fauna stamp series depicts the red deer – Cervus elaphus. Originally native to Central Europe, this beautiful game animal was introduced to many parts of the world by humans. It was also introduced to Estonia partly as a result of human activities. The deer were brought from several places in the 1970s (Voronezh, Latvia, Lithuania) and released in Hiiumaa and Saaremaa. Some time later, they arrived in southern Estonia from Latvia on their own initiative. Today, the deer population has grown to more than 10,000 specimens. Most of them live on Hiiumaa and Saaremaa, but their numbers are also increasing in mainland Estonia. Deer are sexually dimorphic, meaning that males (stags) are almost twice the size of hinds, weighing 200–300 kg. Stags are very vocal during the mating season, i.e. in September, and their roars are probably the most powerful calls you can hear in our forests. The offspring, usually a single fawn per pregnancy, rarely more, are born in May. The red deer is a prized game animal because of its magnificent antlers. At the same time, as a voracious herbivore and dendrophage, red deer are a concern for farmers and forest owners. But what can you do? Such is life. 

2022 - This stamp from the stamp series ‘Estonian fauna’ depicts the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans L.), a rare species, the European habitats of which are limited to Finland, Estonia, Belarus, and Russia. The flying squirrel has a flap of skin on both sides of its body, with which it can glide up to several dozen metres from tree to tree. This elusive animal, mainly active at dusk and night, is rarely seen. In summer, it feeds on tree leaves, and in winter, on the buds and catkins of birches, alders, and aspens. They reproduce once or twice a year, with 2 to 4 young in a litter. The flying squirrel is mainly endangered by the reduction and fragmentation of old mixed forests with old hollow aspens that are suitable for habitats. A critically endangered species in Estonia, it can nowadays only be found in North-East Estonia. The flying squirrel is included in the list of priority species in the European Union’s Nature Directive and the list of category I protected species in Estonia.

2021 - This stamp depicts the small carnivorous short-tailed weasel (Mustela erminea), known for its hidden lifestyle. It belongs to the Mustelidae family and the Mustela genus. Its long slender body and short legs allow it to access the burrows of rodents. As an apex predator, rodents make up its main food. Therefore, it used to be a welcome visitor on farms.

In summer, its back is cocoa brown and its stomach is white. The end of its brushy tail is black, unlike that of the smaller weasels. The tail of the common weasel is short, rarely with individual black hairs on its tip. The winter coat of the short-tailed weasel is pure white, save for the black tail tip.

It weighs 150–250 grams and the males are larger than the females. The kits (usually 3–7) are born in April-May.

The short-tailed weasel is common in northern Eurasia and North America. It is currently not considered an endangered species.

2020 - The Estonian Fauna stamp series stamp depicts the black rat (Rattus rattus). The other rat species found in Estonia, the brown rat (R. norvegicus), arrived here later and has nearly driven the black rat out of Estonia. Currently, the black rat can be found near Lake Peipus and in south-eastern Estonia, mostly in rural areas, residing predominantly in auxiliary buildings but also attics. The rat gets its name thanks to its dark fur. The black rat is an excellent climber, using its long tail to keep balance. In extreme cold, rats huddle together and can sometimes form a rare phenomenon called the rat king. Rat king means that several rats have their tails entangled in a knot and can no longer break free. In 2005, one such rat king was found in Saru, in southern Estonia. The rat king consisted of 16 rats and is currently visible at the Tartu University Natural History Museum. Black rats are omnivores and commensal with humans, meaning they also spread several dangerous diseases.

2019 - The mole or European mole (Talpa europaea) is a mammal of the genus Talpa in the family Talpidae.

The body of a mole is 11-16 cm long on average and its tail is 2-4 cm long. They have a very short neck, long snout, small eyes concealed in coat, spade-like forelimbs adapted for digging and velvety fur.

Moles live mainly in Western and Central Europe, England and Asia. They can be found everywhere in continental Estonia, but not on the country’s western islands of Saaremaa, Hiiumaa and Muhumaa. They inhabit various habitats, such as broad-leaved forests, meadows and pastures. They live and feed in their underground tunnels and rarely come above ground. Their presence is indicated by mounds of soil above ground, which are called molehills. Moles are active day and night, especially at night, and all year round. They mostly eat earthworms, especially in winter. Mice, shrews, rats, frogs, lizards, snakes and others also fall prey to moles.

A mole gives birth to a litter of 3-8 pups, who become independent at the age of one month. A mole lives for 3-5 years.

2018 - The jackal or golden jackal (Canis aureus) is a predator in the genus Canis and family Candidae. There are 13 sub-species of the jackal. The golden jackal is the only jackal that lives outside of Africa. This is a very adaptive species that can subsist on anything available and live in diverse areas, including savannas of Africa, Caucasus Mountains and forests of India. In Estonia, a wild jackal was first spotted in the Matsalu National Park in February 2013. To that day, it was assumed that the closest natural habitats are thousands of kilometres away in Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Eastern Ukraine. Jackals can traverse long distances in a group, and this enables them to inhabit areas outside the habitat in a short period of time. The golden jackal is similar to the grey wolf but is distinguished by its smaller size, lighter weight, proportionally more elongated torso, shorter legs and tail. Its sand-coloured hair is particularly dark yellow with a tint of black in it. The tail is russet and has a black tip. Unlike other jackals, the golden jackals can show fangs. In 2013, the Environmental Board allowed to hunt the jackal as a foreign species because the rise of its population endangers ground-nesting birds and small mammals. In Estonia, the jackal competes with the raccoon dog for food. Most of the jackals in Estonia live on the coastal parts of Lääne County and along lake Peipsi. Before going to hunt, the jackal lets out a loud howl that is similar to a squealing wail. With this, other nearby jackals are immediately joined. They howl in response to other stimuli as well, for example to church bells. The jackal is a skilful and even impudent predator. This is particularly descriptive of the individuals who live near settlements and come into contact with humans. In areas where apex predators are found, jackals tend to follow them to have a share in the left-over prey. A jackal on a hunt will jog and often stop to sniff the air and listen around. The jackal is mostly a nocturnal animal, but they can be active during the day as well. The jackal forms a family for life. The male animal helps to dig burrows as well as raise the offspring. The gestation lasts 60 days. The cubs are born from end of March to middle of May. The number of cubs born is between 4–6. The female animal nurses them for up to three months, but brings them half-digested meat when they are as young as two weeks of age. The cups become independent in the Fall. The jackal lives for 12–14 years. Jackals are easily tamed but genetic studies show that dogs and jackals are not as closely related as previously thought.

2017 - The lynx or the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a species belonging to the Felidae family. Lynxes are medium-sized and have long legs; they weigh up to 30 kg. The largest lynx caught in Estonia weighed 40 kg. They are predators whose main prey are roe deer and hares. Their only natural enemy is the wolf. Lynxes have superior hearing thanks to the tufts of fur on their ears, which have an average length of 2 cm (up to 4 cm in the winter). The ear tufts are black and prominent. The fur of lynxes is greyish; their pigment varies from rust-coloured to yellowish and the ends of their tails are black. They prefer to live in out-of-the-way spruce forests which are difficult to access and help them shed their winter coat in the spring. They make their dens into coppices. The lynx usually wakes an hour before dusk and goes out to hunt. If the hunt is successful, the lynx rests until the morning and then goes to hunt again or takes a walk around its premises. Lynxes prefer to always move along the same trails and hunt in certain areas. There are several females living on every male’s territory. Even though each male lynx has several ‘wives’, the father takes part in raising the kittens and teaches, nurtures, and feeds them. Lynxes usually have 1–3 kittens per litter. Newborn lynx kittens weigh 200–300 grams, are blind, and do not have ear tufts. They gain sight when they are 12 days old; ear tufts only become noticeable by the 40th day of their life. Lynx kittens stay with their mother for several years and only separate due to food shortage. The lynx moves elegantly and skilfully even on difficult terrain, trying to catch its prey in just a few decisive leaps. If this does not work, the lynx will not chase its prey. They generally do not follow their prey for more than 20–30 metres. Lynxes can purr like cats, growl, and hiss. Unlike domesticated cats, lynxes like to swim and get in the water even in the winter. Lynxes have several subspecies. Only the Eurasian lynx lives in Estonia; Estonia has one of the most dense populations of Eurasian lynxes in Europe. There are about 1,000 lynxes in Estonia, but very few people are lucky enough to see one in real life. The lynx is the biggest feline in Europe and is under protection.

2016 - The next stamp of the stamp series of Estonian fauna features the northern birch mouse (Sicista betulina Pallas, 1779). The northern birch mouse is a smaller mouse sized rodent belonging to the family of the Dipodidae. Its characteristics are a black stripe on the back and a tail much longer than its body. The northern birch mouse is an omnivore that eats both fruits and seeds as well as insects and caterpillars of butterflies. It hibernates from September to May. When waking up in spring, the animals weigh only about 8 grams, however, by autumn, they store plenty of fat, weighing nearly 15 grams then. They breed once a year and usually 4–6 young are born per litter. The northern birch mice prefer thick and high vegetation areas in forests, meadows, and around old farms as their habitat. They often climb on higher herbaceous plants and bushes. The northern birch mouse occurs in the forest zone from Norway, Denmark, and Austria to Lake Baikal, but they are rarely seen in all those places. In Estonia, the northern birch mouse occurs on the mainland only. As a rare and little researched species, the northern birch mouse has been added to Annex V of the Habitats Directive of the European Union, and in the list of species protected under Category III in Estonia.

2015 - Otter (Lutra lutra) is a slim mustelida of partly semiaquatic way of life. The body of an adult is up to 90 cm long, with a 50 cm long tail and it can weigh up to 12 kilograms. The otter has a dense, brown, waterproof and very durable fur. Due to its valuable fur the otter has become extinct due to extensive hunting in some places. In the middle of the 20th century the otter became and very rare species, which was threatened above all due to the destruction of their habitat areas, hunting, pollution of the water environment. In recent times otters have been doing well in Estonia. Their number has increased and they can be seen on the shores of internal water bodies and near river estuaries. Occurrence of the otter shows a relatively good ecological status of the environment, while loss indicates deterioration of the living environment. Otters are animals of single a way of life that are mainly active in the twilight. They mainly feed on animals living on the shore of water bodies, the main part of which make is made up of crayfish, frogs, small mammals, birds, molluscs, etc. Young animals are mainly born in May to June, but their rut can take place also in other parts of the year. There is a pause in the development of the embryo and therefore pregnancy lasts from ten to 13 months. The number of cubs is mostly one to three and females litter during two to three years. Young animals achieve sexual maturity at four years of age. Otters live up to 20 years old. The otter is under nature protection both in Estonia and the European Union and has been included in the 3rd category of protected species as well as into the Addendum IV Nature Directive lists.

2014 - The next stamp of the Estonian fauna series is dedicated to the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus). Hedgehogs are active in dusk and they are omnivores, feeding on insects and various other invertebrates as well as frogs, lizards, snakes and mice – anyone they can kill. Besides, they sometimes also eat berries and fruit. In finding food it mainly uses its sense of smell. It prefers deciduous and mixed forests as its living environment, as well as parks, gardens and old farm seats. The hairs on the hedgehog’s back have turned into thorns, which are an effective defence against enemies. Because of its peculiar appearance the hedgehog is a frequent character in folk stories, including the national epic. The hedgehog’s area of distribution is in the West and North Europe, including the British Isles, Fennoscandia, Estonia, Latvia and Northwestern Russia. In Estonia it occurs widely throughout the country. With the assistance of people it has spread also to several smaller islands.

2013 - Weasel Mustela nivalis The tail of the weasel, brownish on the back and white on the belly in the summer, is slightly shorter than that of the other small carnivore, the ermine, and the hair at the end of its tail is never black. In the winter, the weasel turns white all over. Weasels live everywhere where they can hide and where there is prey, from sand dunes to grasslands to forests and hills. They are active round the clock. The tracks mostly come in pairs, and the track of the tail is noticeably only seldom. The weasel likes to sometimes stand up and observe the neighbourhood. When disturbed it hisses or trills at a high pitch. It expresses fear by means of sharp yelping. The weasel is so small (body length 15 to 20 cm) that it can follow rodents into their nests. It mainly catches and eats microta and mice, but does not refuse birds and eggs either. In order not to die it has to eat at least every 24 hours. Sometimes it takes over its the barrow of its prey. When disturbed it hisses at a high trill and expresses fear by means of short sharp yelps. Gestation lasts from 34 to 37 days, and the litter usually has four to six young. There could be two litters in one year. The female takes care of the young. In nature it lives three years old, but in artificial conditions it can live up to ten years. It is common everywhere in Estonia, even on small islands.

2012 - The Roe Deer is a small crevice with a slender body and thin legs, standing about 135 centimetres high and weighing up to 30 kilos. In summer it has reddish brown and in winter greyish hair. The white or dull yellow rump patch is particularly conspicuous in females. Only males have antlers. Their favourite habitats are landscapes where clear areas alternate with groves. In the summer they eat grass but have to do with shrubs, tree or bush shoots and bark, including spruce and pine needles in winter. The young, one to two fawns per one female, are born in May to June. Roebucks live to be seven to eight years old in the wild, goats a little longer. Their most important natural enemies are the wolf and the lynx. In late winter also stray dogs kill animals that have become week over the winter. The roe deer is one of the most important game animals in Estonia, the population of which fluctuates a great deal depending on the severity of the winter, thickness of the snow cover, disease, carnivores' pressure and other factors.

2011 - European Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus Pall.) In Estonia, the European or brown hare is a species that settled in the area from the south about 200-300 years ago when a part of their forest habitats had been replaced by fields. As a result it is also called the field hare. As the scientific name indicates it has spread throughout Europe and is absent only in northern parts of Scandinavia. The European hare is the biggest species of the genus Lepus, weighing from four to five (up to 7.4) kilograms and bearing one to six (seven) well-developed offspring, whom it suckles for about one month. The number of those small game animals has fallen throughout Europe during the past half-century. The reasons are varied, starting from numerous carnivores, birds of prey, extensive agriculture and its chemisation to viral diseases. As late as in the 1960s more than 10,000 European hares were hunted and more than 100,000 of them were counted in Estonia. At the beginning of the 21st century hardly 1,000 animals a year are shot. No counts are being carried out at present, but the number of European brown hares is assessed at slightly above 20,000.

2010 - The next stamp in the Estonian Fauna series is dedicated to the dormouse (Eliomys quercinus L.). The dormouse is a rodent the size of a young rat. It is an omnivore and eats plant fruits, seeds as well as snails, insects and even smaller rodents. Waking in the spring the animal only weighs about 45 grams but by the fall it acquires an abundant store of fat and then weighs nearly 120 grams. The multiply twice a year, with mostly 4 to 6 young in the litter. Dormice prefer deciduous and mixed forests with the presence of oak and hazelnut trees, as well as dry-stone walls and old farm seats. Sometimes they live in houses and outbuildings. Dormice are found in most parts of Europe but their population has seriously fallen in most parts of its area for unknown reasons. They are only known to nest on the mainland, but there is a community on Suur-Tütarsaar Island in the Gulf of Finland. Due to its relatives rarity the dormouse is listed in the 2nd category of protected species. As there is practically no information about dormouse finds in Estonia it has been entered into the category of species with deficient data.

2009 - The brown bear (Ursus arctos) has lived in Estonia since very old times, the late Ice Age. As a result people came into contact with it as soon as they settled in the area and the animal has acquired an important cultural role in the Estonian folk tradition. The range of the brown bear covers the whole Eurasian continent from forest-tundra to the Mediterranean and the Himalayas in the south and in North America from the northern point of the continent to Mexico. But because of intensive human activity it has been crowded out from much of its former range and lives only in patches. The brown bear is an omnivore who also feeds on vegetable matter, such as roots, berries and mushrooms, which is often its main diet. But it can easily kill a deer or other prey. Brown bears also feed on carrion and visit waste dumps. To adapt to a period of poor food supply the brown bear dens for periods of varied lengths depending on their range. During her hibernation the female bears one to three, rarely as many as five, cubs of 300-500 grams, which grow on mother's milk enough to be able to wander around in search of food with the mother. About 5 percent of the population is hunted every year in Estonia to keep the bear population in check in order to maintain the ecological balance and prevent potential damage to apiaries.

2008 - Bats are the only mammals actually able to fly using their wings that connect the digits, the body, the hind limbs and the tail. Twelve species of bats have been registered in Estonia. Estonian bats are insectivores and use ultrasound and echolocation to find food in darkness. The species illustrated in the stamp is the brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), which has excessively large ears. In the summer it finds shelter in wall cracks or hollow trees and in the winter in cellars. It mainly feeds on moths, which it can grab from flight but also from tree-leaves. The brown long-eared bat only has one offspring a year. The bat population has declined in the recent years due to the contracting number of suitable shelters and disturbance at their nursery roosts or their winter hibernicula, therefore all Estonian bats are protected.

2007 - The Badger (Meles meles) is an animal of stocky build weighing about 10-30 kilograms. Its fur is grey on the back, black on the sides , but its head is white with a black stripe running down its sides from the nose to the ears, surrounding the eyes. As the badger loves both forests as well as rolling meadowlands, it is more frequently found in the south of Estonia than elsewhere in the country. In sandy soil the badger digs large underground catacombs called setts, sometimes on several levels. Generations of badgers use the same setts over decades and centuries while expanding and refining them. The badger eats anything that is currently available, starting from earthworms and insects to mice and frogs. In the autumn the badger feasts on ripe fruits, grain and peas. The badger foragers at night or in the dusk and hibernates from November to March. The young (usually two to four) are born in March or April.

2006 - The elk, called moose in America, is the biggest member of the deer family, with eight subspecies in the temperate zone of Eurasia and North America. The European elk has been present in Estonia for about 9,000 years. It has a dark brown or blackish coat, long legs of a lighter shade and a peculiar sac, called the bell, hanging from its neck. Its shoulder height is up to 180–190 centimetres and it weighs up to 500 kilograms. The life span of the elk in the wild is rarely more than ten years. The bull has big rod or spade shaped antlers, at 8 to 10 years of age with 10–12 tines and a total width of up to 140 cm. The mating season is in the autumn and one to two young are born a year. The elk is the most important game animal in Estonia until today. Before World War II there were only slightly above 300 individuals but their number grew fast in the 1950s. In 2005 the Estonian elk population was higher than 12,000. In 2004, 4,075 elk were hunted, but unfortunately more than 200 animals are yearly killed in traffic accidents. Its worst natural enemies are the bear and wolf. As the elk mainly feeds on young shoots, leaves and bark, it may cause damage to forestry. The elk is a pleasant animal, peaceful in its behaviour, but can be dangerous to man when wounded.

2005 - The beaver (Castor fiber), is the biggest Eurasian rodent that came to the verge of extinction about the middle of the 19th century. With man’s help, the species has been restored in most of its former range by today. In Estonia the present beaver population is 15–16 thousand. The beaver has a semiaquatic way of life. It has a thickset body; its wide, flat tail covered with scaly skin serves as a rudder in swimming, as a support in the felling of trees and as a defensive weapon in case of danger. The back feet have long clawed toes and are webbed. The beaver usually weighs up to thirty kilograms. The adult animal’s body measures 75–80 cm long, the tail being 27–30 cm in length and 12–14 cm wide. Most beavers are dark brown but there are also some black specimens. The beaver’s main tool are its teeth, of which it has 20, using them in the felling of trees and cutting their trunks and boughs into suitable lengths, as well as in the building of dams and lodges. The beaver lives in large families, with adults living together with kits up to two years old. The beaver is herbivorous, eating both waterside and water plants. For the winter it prepares a stock of twigs and tree-trunks for food. Beaver activity often damages woodlands, while creating favourable habitats for many other species. Our forefathers regarded the beaver as very valuable game that yielded meat, fur as well as medicines. Its way of life and industry aroused respect and even awe.

2004 - The grey wolf is the biggest animal in the dog family. It measures up to 100 cm high at shoulder and weighs an average of 50 kg. There are 4-6 pups in the litter. The wolf once lived throughout the Eurasian and North American continents from the tundra to the deserts, but has now been practically wiped up from large parts of Europe and the United States. As a result of adaptation the wolf has numerous subspecies and taxons differing both in terms of size and colour. The wolf mainly feeds on various local wild ungulates, but if available also on livestock and garbage. In Estonia the wolf lives throughout the country, but there have been big differences in numbers. The number was partricularly high in the first half of the 19th century. The wolf is a popular character in animal legends and fairy tales and has been given many different, often euphemistic names in Estonian.

2003 - The 2003 stamp from the Estonian Fauna series features the Ringed Seal (Phoca hispida), one of three species of seals found in Estonian waters. It is the world’s smallest seal. Its main habitat is freezing waters of the northern hemisphere. Besides the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea Phoca seals can today be found also in Lakes Ladoga, Saimaa and Baikal. The ringed seal, a very shy animal that lives in small groups, grows up to 1.5 meters in length. They are very sensitive to maritime pollution, which finds its way into their bodies with food (fish and maritime invertebrates) dangerously undermining their health and reproductive capacity. There is a community of about a thousand ringed seals in Estonian coastal waters, living in groups separated from others by long distances.

2002 - The wild boar (Sus scrofa) can be found nearly anywhere, from boggy marshes to mountainous terrain. In Estonia it has become common since the 1930s. Its sense of smell is excellent and it has good hearing and it is omnivorous, eating anything from plant material to worms and weakling peers. The wild boar uses its powerful muscular snout to dig for food from the ground. To get rid of pests and to cool the body, it likes to wallow in pools of mud. It travels in groups called sounders dominated by an old female. Males live by themselves and join the sounders only during the autumn rut. The young, 4-12 piglets, are born in the spring. Wild boars live for 9-25 years, and are highly valued as game.