Playful Otters in Snow on U.S. stamps for winter

A set of four Otters in Snow forever stamps was issued Oct. 12, 2021.Continuing a recent tradition by the United States Postal Service of offering stamps with a wintry theme near the end of the year.

 

Otters in Snow, a new booklet of 20 stamps from the U.S.Postal Service, features four different scenes of the alert and playful North American river otter reveling in winter's white landscape.

 

With original illustrations rendered in pen and ink with watercolor, the stamps are arranged in blocks of four.From upper left andmoving clockwise, they depict an otter poking its head一seen in three-quarters profle一from the surface of an icy body of water,an otter sliding on its back,tail frst, down a snowbank; an otter chest-deep in a snow drft, facing the viewer, and another ottersliding down a snowbank.In the stationary poses, snow clings to the otters' fur. In the views showing motion, small snowballsrace the otters downhill.

The four designs highlight the otter’s playful spirit with whimsical scenes and expressions.

 

A denizen of riparian areas throughout most of the United States and Canada, this elegantly long and sleek mammal (Lontracanadensis) is designed for lfe in and around the water.Besides webbed feet,it has a muscular tail, about 40 percent of its entire body length, that powers it in swimming and diving. Otters may look a bit awkward when walking, but they are nothing butgraceful as they twist and loop through the water, slide down snowbanks, or frolic in the fuffy white stuff. When they glide acrossice to get to an opening and dive into the water below, it is because they depend on river creatures for their winter dciet. le mayshiver at the thought, but their dense double-layered coats insulate them against the winter cold and keep them from freezing.

 

Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps with artwork from illustrator John Burgoyne. The Otters in Snow stamps are beingissued as Forever stamps.