WWF - Niuafo'ou (Tonga) 1992 [Niuafo'ou Megapode]

Official WWF FDCs for the 1992 Niuafo'ou Megapode issue (45c and 60c)

Niuafo'ou is the northernmost island in the Kingdom of Tonga (a sovereign state and an archipelago comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres of the southern Pacific Ocean). This volcanic island is about 3.5 miles long and 3 miles wide and has two lakes at its caldera, the larger of which is 4 kilometers wide and 84 meters deep. The volcano last erupted in 1946 and settlers have returned to the island by 1958. By 2006, there are less than 700 inhabitants in the island.

It is known as the Tin Can Island because mail to and from the island was delivered and picked up by strong swimmers who would retrieve packages, "sealed up in a biscuit tin" and thrown overboard from passing ships. When the island had its own airport built in 1983, mail delivered via Tin Can stopped, although the Tongan government commemorated this tradition by issuing Niuafoʻou stamps.

Official WWF FDCs for the 1992 Niuafo'ou Megapode issue (80c and T$1.50)

In 1992, Niuafo'ou partnered with the WWF to issue stamps depicting the Polynesian Megapode (Megapodius pritchardii). This bird is endemic to Tonga and population of this species is concentrated around the inner slopes of the caldera. Niuafo'ou Megapode do not incubate their eggs with body heat but bury them. Chicks are already quite developed when they hatch: with open eyes, with bodily coordination and strength, with full wing feathers and downy body feathers, able to run, pursue prey, and may be able to fly. They independent from the moment they hatch and receive no parental care. 

Official WWF Maximum Cardsfor the 1992 Niuafo'ou Megapode issue (45c and 60c)

The Niuafo'ou Megapode population is estimated to number 450-650 mature individuals, roughly equivalent to 680-970 individuals in total. Despite a decrease in human collection of the eggs of the Niuafo'ou Megapode and their reintroduction in other islands of Tonga, the population of the species continue to decline, possibly because of changes in the ground temperature where the eggs are incubated.

Official WWF Maximum Cards for the 1992 Niuafo'ou Megapode issue (80c and T$1.50)