The WWF's 25th anniversary in 1986 prompted a wave of conservation-themed commemoratives from Pacific island nations, many issued primarily for the collector market with minimal domestic circulation. Samoa's contribution honored the tooth-billed pigeon, a ground-feeding bird endemic to Samoa that had been hunted close to extinction and remained critically vulnerable throughout the 1980s.
Tanumafili II, who co-headed state with Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV until the latter's death in 1983, was the sole O le Ao o le Malo by this issue date.
The WWF's 25th anniversary in 1986 prompted a wave of conservation-themed commemoratives from Pacific island nations, many issued primarily for the collector market with minimal domestic circulation. Samoa's contribution honored the tooth-billed pigeon, a ground-feeding bird endemic to Samoa that had been hunted close to extinction and remained critically vulnerable throughout the 1980s.
Tanumafili II, who co-headed state with Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV until the latter's death in 1983, was the sole O le Ao o le Malo by this issue date.