Cuban Crocodile (Baby Animals by Yowie Group)

After discovering that Yowie figures were widely available in the United States me and my family went on a bit of a Yowie buying spree. Buying a few of the eggs just about every time we encountered them in the wild until we ended up getting more repeats than it was worth. That was in 2021 and for the last couple of years we’ve waited patiently for a new series to show up. Then, finally, Yowie announced their long-awaited new series in early 2023. But it was a Baby Animals series, just about the most boring series I thought they could come up with.  Of course, once the figures were revealed, it became apparent that Yowie was still delivering some truly unique, uncommon figures into the animal toy hobby and it was hard to stay too disappointed. There were more than a few that caught my eye even though I don’t collect baby animals per se. Now the series is officially available in stores and upon discovering them on a recent outing my wife couldn’t be dissuaded from buying any less than four. One of them turned out to be the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer), the subject of today’s review.

The Yowie Cuban crocodile is one of the figures I was most excited to find, and for a few reasons. For one, there aren’t many other options for this species available. Chap Mei had a black and white one that looked nothing like the actual species, and the PlayVision Cuban croc is long retired and hard to find. So, although this figure represents a baby animal, I was willing to let it slide just to at least have the species in my collection. And that’s because the Cuban crocodile is one of the coolest species of crocodilian alive today.

The Cuban crocodile is the most terrestrially adapted species of extant crocodilian. Its legs are proportionally long and strong, and they possess reduced webbing on their hindlimbs. This allows the Cuban croc to run, gallop, and leap efficiently on land. The Cuban crocodile is as close as you can get to something like the extinct Kaprosuchus or the other terrestrial crocodiles of prehistory. It is also said that the Cuban crocodile hunts cooperatively, but finding hard evidence to support the claim is difficult. Still, an exciting prospect worthy of research.

Cuban crocs are said to be the most aggressive species of New World crocodile, although it is quite small at a maximum length of 7.7’ (2.3 meters). Only one human fatality has been attributed to the species, but it also has a range limited to just a couple inhospitable places where encounters with humans are unlikely. Although it once ranged throughout the Caribbean the species is now restricted to the Zapata Swamp and Isla de la Juventud in Cuba.

So yeah, the Cuban crocodile is pretty cool, so cool that some proper high-quality figures of it should be available, but aren’t, so this baby one from Yowie will have to do. The Yowie Cuban croc measures about 2.5” (6.35 cm) and is presented with its tail curled around its body and head lifted upward.

Being a small figure that costs less than $3 and comes with chocolate, the figure is not that bad. Fine details are limited to a generic covering of scales that in size, shape, and distribution does not match the actual animal. The body is somewhat flat and rounded, like a pancake. The head shape matches juveniles of the species well, with large eyes and a short snout that’s broad at the base. The tail is generic and doesn’t at all look like the laterally compressed tail of a crocodilian.

Where the figure succeeds best at looking like a Cuban crocodile is with its paintjob. Cuban crocodiles have some of the brightest colors and boldest patterns of any crocodilian. They tend to range from dark green to yellow with a smattering of black and yellow markings that give them a leopard-like appearance. This figure does that well, with a dark yellow back and black spotting, and a lighter yellow underside. The eyes are green with black, elliptical pupils.

The Cuban crocodile is a fascinating, intimidating, and beautiful species of crocodilian with unique features and behaviors unlike any other species. For that reason, I’m elated to have a figure representing it and the opportunity to feature it on the blog. But the figure itself is somewhat crude and doesn’t represent an adult. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth though, until one of the other leading toy companies decides to do the species justice this one will have to do.

The Yowie Cuban crocodile is listed as “popular” which means that it should be easy to track down. If you’re not into blind bag style toys then eBay is the place to look, otherwise Yowie eggs can be found in most grocery chains, drug stores, Wal-Marts, etc. in the United States.