Lions are pride of this philatelist`s collection.

NYOOOZ
Vadodara
Tue,23 Jun 2015
VADODARA: A philatelist from the city has taken a fascination to the king of jungle. Bhavin Marfatia (47) a stamp enthusiast has collected over 300 stamps dedicated to lions. Marfatia`s collection features stamps with lion imprints from countries like Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, South Africa, Liberia, Tanzania, Paraguay and Republic of Ivory Coast among others.

Lions from the Gir Sanctuary in Saurashtra also feature on the stamps that belong to India`s pre-independence era. Marfatia takes pride in a rare post card featuring a lion dating back to World War II that was issued in Germany. "I have always nurtured a fascination for stamps since childhood.

Since 2005, I developed a keen interest in collecting stamps dedicated to lions. Lions are magnificent wild animals that are reducing in number across the worlds due to hunting and other reasons," Marfatia said. "Countries in different parts of the world have dedicated stamps featuring lions to create more awareness on their protection.

" Marfatia has also carefully preserved stamps featuring lions released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). "My stamps feature the Asiatic lion and African lions. Various stamps and cancellations have been issued to create awareness on lion protection....
News Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Lions-are-pride-of-this-philatelists-collection/articleshow/47781635.cms