Moose, calf (Baby Wildlife by Toymany)

It’s about time that I get the other half of this baby set from Toymany up on the blog! My portion of this set covers the animals from Asia and North America and will reflect the other half of the figures from Africa that have been covered by my fellow reviewer, bmathison1972. Our friend from Toymany, Kenc, was so kind as to provide this set to me and as nearly all of their products have been right on the mark, this set of babies has been a welcome addition to my collection!

As a new set released in 2024 it includes infant versions of the following animals; African elephant, hippopotamus, common zebra, reticulated giraffe, white rhinoceros, and a lowland gorilla (all reviewed and posted here by bmathison), in addition to a cougar, moose, sika deer, snow leopard, dromedary camel, and giant panda. I tried to cover information for both the juveniles for each species as well as the adult version of them- anyhow, let’s just get into the review!

And now for the moose calf. These calves are often born in May or June after an 8 month gestation period. There can be twins or even triplets have been recorded; this event seems to coincide with a cow getting older. When they are born, calves are about 28-35 lbs and about 2 ft tall, but can sometimes be as large as 45 lbs! These babies develop their locomotion skills pretty quickly- they can stand within hours, outrun a man within a week (reaching 30 mph), and can even swim within a few weeks of being born! They are introduced to solid foods within their first few days of life. These calves grow quickly by gaining about 2-3 lbs each day (up to 10 times its birth weight by 5 months of age) and are usually weaned around 6 months old. Their mother will protect these babies for about a year and a half, but then will turn aggressive just before she births her new calf and will chase the yearling off to encourage their independence. Only about 66% of calves will make it past their first 3 months of life, and only 49% will make it through their first winter. This may not be just because of predators and harsh weather though; winter ticks (also known as moose ticks) and any related parasites are a big factor for this mortality also.

If they can make it to adulthood, they will grow to be the world’s biggest deer species. They can grow to be 1,500 lbs and up to 8.5 ft tall at the shoulders! If the calf is a bull, it will grow antlers that as the bull moose matures can weigh up to (and exceed) 90 lbs and be over 6 feet wide. Moose really enjoy and benefit from water habitats; they can swim up to 6 mph and hold their breath underwater for up to a  minute, even diving up to 5 meters deep. But diving to such depths in fresh and saltwaters means that you also enter into another ecosystem; moose remains have been found inside and predation events have been recorded with orcas and even some shark species as the culprits.

This large calf is expertly done and can compete with any of the existing moose calves on the market. As one of the tallest standing figures of the set, it is supported on long muscular legs. As with the sika calf, this moose arrived with some warping to these thin legs, but it wasn’t anything that some warm water or braces between the legs couldn’t fix quickly. This calf has a fairly neutral posture with its right hind leg stretched behind, and head turned to the left to observe something. His ears are out turned to catch any sounds he may need to make a quick escape or follow his mother. Expertly sculpted fur detailing and leg anatomy lend a lot of credibility to this particular model. Nothing is missing; he has dewclaws, there are even thin skin flaps where his torso meets his upper leg, the inside of the ear even presents the ridges that you see in a real moose. The face has the bulbous nose and even a slight frown, something you may see in a real live calf, paired with eyes that look like they aren’t quite sure of what they are observing. This is a species all too well known to myself and I think Toymany once again hit it out of the park and gave it a very regal and nice-looking calf to pair with their existing bull. Now if only we could have a cow to pair with this young animal…

Each of Toymany’s models are offered both in sets or as individual models for purchase through their website- feel free to use this code TMAFPM10 or this link https://toymany.com?sca_ref=6246126.dDyVkfTite for 10% off!