WWF, from its inception in September 1961 (as the World Wildlife Fund) has held unrivalled position as the world's best known and most widely acclaimed organisation for the support of wildlife and wild habitats. With more than three decades of strenuous activity, it has raised and spent in excess of US$50m in the cause of conservation, an extraordinary achievement, covering over 100 countries throughut the world. WWF is an international charitable organisation and the largest organisation on environmental protection.

WWF works in the Pacific Islands countries and Papua New Guinea through its South Pacific Program, co-ordinated from a regional base in Suva, Fiji and a country office in Papua New Guinea. WWF believes that nature conservation in the Pacific should be centred on the local owners of the natural resources and based on their cultures and customs. One of WWF's key objectives in the South Pacific is to ensure that customary resource owners are recognised and equipped as the primary conservation managers.

This four stamp WWF issue depicts the rare Fijian Monkey-faced Bat - Pteralopex acrodonta. All the stamps show adults from this species in vegetation in the habitat. This bat is the only mammal that is endemic to Fiji. It is believed to be one of the world's rarest mammals and is known to occupy a small area of Taveuni Island. Only 3 animals from the area have been studied. They were caught by an Australian Museum expedition in mistnets in the summit region of Des Veoux Peak between 1,010 and 1,190 metres high on the island in mist forest.

This species is shown through biochemical studies to be distantly related to other members of the same genus found around the Pacific, but it is believed to have been isolated on Fiji for a long time. The Fijian Monkey-faced Bat appears to have differences in colour and size between the sexes from the small sample that was seen. The males are slightly larger in some dimensions. The fur, the mantle and head in both sexes is long, soft and khaki in colour, but the shorter hair over the back and rump is khaki in females and a golden colour in males. Both sexes have distinctive bright orange eyes.