125 years of dresden zoo - Germany / German Democratic Republic 1986 - 50 Pfennig

125th anniversary of ZOO Dresden On the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the zoological garden in Dresden, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of the German Democratic Republic publishes four multi-colored special postage stamps. Special Cancellation from May 27 to July 26, 1986 125 Years of the Dresden Zoo Ever since the opening of the Dresden Zoo in 1861, monkeys have been introduced, and the first ape came to the zoo in 1873. Even today, this is the oldest zoological garden in the GDR as a "primate zoo", d. h. that in particular half-monkeys, animal monkeys and apes characterize its livestock. In the history of the Dresden zoo, two directors have made a name for themselves, especially through their publications on the orangutan biology. Gustav Brandes and Prof. Dr. med. Wolfgang Ullrich. It is thanks to their findings that today the breeding of these imposing apes, which are threatened with extinction in the wild, is no longer uncommon in many zoos. The zoological garden of Dresden has set itself the task to obtain by continuous breeding of several species of monkeys some representatives of the rare in the natural habitat of relatives of man to posterity. Four monkeys, which are exhibited in the Dresden Zoo and have already been bred, show the motifs of the present stamp series for the 125th anniversary of the zoo. 50-pfennig score: Mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) The bright coloring of the face and the anal region of the male mandrillas earned this baboon's fame the distinction of being among the three most colorful mammals: Duck monkey, hyena dog, and mandrill. In the excitement also breast and arm bends appear in blue or red color. They work together with the red-white-blue-orange-yellow face in association with the squeezed canines against predators as a shock weapon. The colorful anus region has the opposite function - is facing a competitor on the back, so he is reassured and leaves from the fight for a higher position in the ranking of the baboon herd. Thus, the colorful body regions for inter- and intra-art information transmission have very special functions. Only a few baboons are not at home in the steppe, Mandrill belongs to them. Only a small area in Cameroon and neighboring states of West Africa colonize these massive monkeys. They live on the ground of rainforests in places with little undergrowth.