ARCHELON

Postcard NL-2619878 from the Netherlands was a produced by ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, showing a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), an endangered species protected by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Founded in 1983, ARCHELON aims to protect sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through research, public awareness campaigns, and restoring habitats. It operates a rescue center built in 1994.

In my previous blog the World Turtle Day, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) in Florida was featured for their work in rescuing those new sea turtle hatchlings disoriented by the street lights. You can still help by becoming a supporting member or joining a rescue walk in the 2014 season that lasts from May to October.

São Miguel, Portugal

Postcard PT-357733 from Portugal shows São Miguel Island, named for Saint Michael, the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. Also referred as "the Green Island," it has a Special Protection Area containing the largest remnant of laurisilva forest on the island, habitat to the endemic and critically endangered bird, the Azores Bullfinch.

It is also the hometown of Pauleta (Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes, born April 28, 1973), a football player for the Portuguese National Team. Pauleta scored 47 goals in 88 matches for Portugal, a national record at the time of his retirement. He played in two World Cups and two European Championships.

In a Group G match against the United States during the 2014 FIFA World Cup at Arena Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil today, Silvestre Varela of the Portuguese National Team scored his team's second goal in the last minute, keeping Portugal alive with a 2:2 draw on June 22, 2014.

#451062278 / gettyimages.com

A Dawn Redwood Leaf

Postcard CN-1290114 from China shows a hand-drawing leaf of the dawn redwood (水杉), a fast-growing, endangered coniferous tree. Metasequoia glyptostroboides, is the sole living species of the genus Metasequoia, one of three species in the subfamily Sequoioideae.

First discovered in 1941, it is native to the Sichuan–Hubei region of China. Currently, the largest dawn redwood forest consists of only 5,000 - 6,000 trees in its natural habitat, while a number of smaller groups have less than 30 trees each. It is listed as endangered and known as a "living fossil".

In 1995, the Crescent Ridge Dawn Redwoods Preserve was established in North Carolina with a goal of panting up to 5,000 dawn redwood trees in the wild. Currently, with more than 200 trees thriving, it remains the only Eastern redwood forest in America, and the sole wild dawn redwood forest outside of China.

Golden Snub-nosed Monkey

Traveling Postcard US-2722710 to Czech Republic shows a baby golden snub-nosed monkey (金丝猴), perching in a highland forest at elevations between 1,500 and 3,400 meters above sea level in Sichuan, China.

According to Wikipedia, the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an Old World monkey, endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China.

The golden snub-nosed monkey is endangered due to habitat loss. It is also the most treasured national animal in China next to Panda.

The postcard was purchased from the National Geographic store at Zazzle. Copyright by Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures.

Mother & Young Baby

Earth Day celebration continues as postcard TH-165704 from Thailand arrived yesterday, showing a pair of mother and baby Asian elephants, the largest living land animals in Asia.

Since 1986, E. maximus,  one of the three subspecies of the Asian elephant, has been listed as endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In 2003, the wild population, mainly living in Sri Lanka, was estimated at between 41,410 and 52,345 individuals. According to a 2008 study, The population had declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be around 60 to 75 years. Like many other threatened species, habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation was a major factor.