SAN MARCOS, TX — Heads up animal lovers. The U.S. Postal Service will release 30 million Bobcats in the hometown of the Texas State University Bobcats June 1 with the issuance of a new 1-cent stamp.

The official First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony will take place at the San Marcos, TX, Post Office, 301 N Guadalupe St. at 11 a.m. CDT June 1. Available nationwide that day in coils of 3,000; the stamps can be purchased online at usps.com/shop, by calling 800-STAMP-24 (800-782-6724) or by visiting Post Offices.

Postmaster Ana Rodriquez, along with members of the community and other Postal Service officials will provide stamp dedication remarks and unveil the stamp image. The event is free and open to the public.

The Stamp Design
Illustrator Nancy Stahl of New York City used photographs of bobcats as the basis for her design. The bobcat’s golden eyes and pink nose make a striking contrast with its fur, rendered in shades of brown. Stahl has created illustrations for several stamp issuances, including Florida Panther (2007), Dragonfly (2008), and Dolphin (2009, reprinted in 2011), designed in a similar graphic style. Her illustration for the Save Vanishing Species semipostal stamp (2011), featured a portrait of an Amur tiger cub.

Proficient, Patient Hunter
Beyond its role as Texas State University’s mascot, the bobcat is a medium-size cat, and a proficient hunter, stalking its prey with patience and stealth. Much of its diet consists of rabbits and rodents, but the bobcat is not particular when it comes to choosing its next meal.

Bobcats are found in a wide range of terrestrial environments, including mountains, forests, and deserts. Their coats can range in color from beige to brown, with dark spots and stripes. Tufts of fur on the tips of their ears, and short bobbed tails, help distinguish bobcats from other felines. Bobcats are mostly nocturnal and live in solitude, finding dens in caves or rocks. They mark their territory with their scent. In the wild, bobcats can live more than 12 years.

Customers may view the Bobcat stamp, as well as many of this year’s other stamps, and vote for their favorite stamp on Facebook at facebook.com/USPSStamps, through Twitter @USPSstamps or on the website Beyond the Perf at beyondtheperf.com/2012-preview. Beyond the Perf is the Postal Service’s online site for background information on upcoming stamp subjects, first-day-of-issue events and other philatelic news.

How to Obtain the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark
Customers visiting the San Marcos, TX, Main Post office on Friday, June 1, may obtain the Bobcat 1-cent stamp first day of issue postmark in person at the retail window during normal business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Customers unable to attend the event have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at a local Post Office, at The Postal Store website at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-782-6724. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes to themselves or others and place them in larger envelopes addressed to:

Bobcat Stamp
Postmaster
301 N. Guadalupe Street
San Marcos, TX 78666-9998

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes by mail. There is no charge for the postmark. All orders must be postmarked by Aug. 1, 2012.

How to Order First-Day Covers
The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the quarterly USA Philatelic Catalog, online at usps.com/shop or by calling 800-782-6724. Customers may request a free catalog by calling 800-782-6724 or writing to:

U.S. Postal Service Catalog Request
PO Box 219014
Kansas City, MO 64121-9014

Philatelic Product
There is one philatelic products available for this stamp issue:
789162, First-Day Cover (1 Bobcat, 1- $0.44 U.S. Flag), $0.89.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.