White Rhinoceros, 2016 (2010) (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)

Today I am presenting one of my favorite ‘large mammals’. As a kid growing up in Phoenix, one of my favorite animals to see at the Phoenix Zoo was the white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum. As with most large, familiar animals, this species is no stranger to toy form. Today we are looking at the 2016 repaint of the 2010 offering by Safari Ltd. When I tackled rhinoceroses for my Synoptic Animal Collection, I was aware of the pending release of the 2019 figure by CollectA. Still, this version by Safari was more appealing to me, and reminded me of the animal I grew up admiring. In fact, all of my rhinos – extinct and extant – are by Safari Ltd! They have a…nose…. for this group!

The white rhinoceros is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. There are two species, the southern white rhino (C. simum simum) and the northern white rhino (C. s. cottoni), the latter of which unfortunately is functionally extinct due to habitat loss and poaching.

The white rhino is the largest of the five extant species of rhinoceros. Adult males can have a shoulder height of up to 1.86 meters and averaging a weight of 2,300 kg; the female has a shoulder height of up to 1.77 cm and an average weight of 1,700 kg. The figure can not be reliably sexed. It has a shoulder height of 6.2 cm and a length of 12.5 cm, making it on average 1:30 in scale.

This figure is a 2016 repaint of the original 2010 model. and the figure has a nice, realistic texture and a matte finish to the paint job. I like that Safari Ltd. has re-sculpted or re-painted a lot of their earlier Wild Safari models with more texture and non-gloss paint finish (today’s review is a new sculpt, not just a repaint). Wrinkles in the hide are well-sculpted and there is a hint of the rib cage visible mid-body. The horn is average in length, in contrast to the 2019 figure by CollectA which seems to show a maximum size for the species!

For a general animal collector, a white rhinoceros is probably a given. Most folks are likely to lean towards their brand of choice. But personally, this figure comes highly recommended by me. It is still readily available most places.