Over the course of the summer I reviewed the entirety of Safari’s famous and sadly discontinued Tennessee Aquarium Salamanders line, a set of 7 life-like and life-size models released in 1995 (one in 1997) and retired in the mid-2000s. But I also hinted at a spiritual successor that, while not in the line, fits alongside them in theme, style, and production…also geographically.
Brand: Safari Ltd.
Red-tailed Hawk (Wings of the World by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (6 votes)
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Some years ago, back when I was living in a condominium smack dab in the middle of downtown Ottawa, Ontario, I was walking home from the gym when I decided to take a shortcut through a parking garage. Lo and behold, I came across a large red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) in the midst of devouring a common rock pigeon!
Reef Squid (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (5 votes)
The reef squid, also known as the Caribbean reef squid (Sepioteuthis sepioidea) is a small member of the Loliginidae (pencil squid) family. At first, it might seem like a somewhat random addition to Safari’s Incredible Creatures line, just one out of over 300 squid species and with nothing particularly remarkable about it.
Right Whale (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.1 (9 votes)
Walk-around of the Safari Wild Safari Sealife 2017 Right Whale, Eubalaena sp.; item No. 2042-29. Total length is approx. 233 mm so the scale is between approx. 1:47 and 1:80 for an animal of 11-18.5 m total length. Human figure (man in suit by Preiser, last image) is approx.
Ring-tailed Lemur (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (6 votes)
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Lemurs are primates endemic to the island of Madagascar. Although superficially similar to monkeys, they have evolved independently from them and can easily be distinguished by their enormous eyes and pointed muzzles. Of the 100 species described, the most famous and popular one of all is probably the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta).
Roseate Spoonbill (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (6 votes)
Walk-around of the Safari Ltd Wild Safari Wildlife 2016 roseate spoonbill, Platalea ajaja (Linnaeus, 1758); item No. 224829. Total length is difficult to estimate but may be around 127 mm if the figure was fully stretched out. Bill length is 32 mm and wing chord is 50 mm so the scale is approx.
Sahara Desert TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (8 votes)
The Sahara Desert covers about 25% of the African continent and is the largest hot desert in the world, with an area of 3,600,000 square miles (9,200,000 km). This immense ecosystem is made up of sand dunes, some of which are 500’ tall, stone plateaus, sand seas, gravel plains, dry valleys, and sand flats.
Sally Lightfoot Crab (Incredible Creatures by Safari Ltd.)
4.5 (2 votes)
If there’s any animal ready to jump in the line, it’s the Sally Lightfoot crab (Graspus graspus). Also known as the red rock crab, G.graspus belongs to the genus of ‘lightfoot crabs’ that are named such due to their rapid movements and ability to leap from rock to rock along the shorelines, with the ”Sally” rumored to have been named after a Caribbean dancer.
Salmon Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (9 votes)
It’s Shark Week once again, the Discovery Channel’s weeklong marathon of shark documentaries that has been 34 years running. So popular is Shark Week that it’s practically a national holiday here in the United States. National Geographic has gotten in on the action too with their own Shark Fest which celebrates the cartilaginous fishes with an entire month of shark content this year.
Sand Tiger Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.4 (5 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
Animals with misleading names are baffling and humorous at the same time. There is the great white shark, which is about 80% gray, the bearcat, which is neither a bear nor a cat, A red panda isn’t a panda, a horny toad isn’t a toad, the list goes on.
Sawfish (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.4 (7 votes)
Not to be conflated with sawsharks, sawfish are a family of rays belonging to the Pristidae family. This family is distinguished by an elongated rostrum. This “saw” is equipped with specialized external “teeth” and sensory structures to aid in electroreception and prey capture. Sawfish share ancestral affinities with the guitarfish. Currently, five species across two genera are recognized.
Sea Lamprey (Great Lakes Fishery Commission by Safari Ltd)
5 (7 votes)
Back in time for Halloween with our scary animals! Some are traditionally ‘Halloween’ animals, but this one is more in the spirit…one that rightly feels disturbing and causes nightmares in some places for real. I am speaking of the sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus, one of those animals that just seems appropriately creepy for the season.
Sea Otter, pair (Monterey Bay Aquarium by Safari Ltd.)
3.5 (4 votes)
Today’s item will mark the blog’s first post on otters, as we’re covering the sea otter (Enhydra lutris). Sea otters are part of the Lutrinae subfamily of mustelids that includes all of the genera of otters. Three subspecies are recognized between the Asian sea otter in Russia and northern Japan, the northern sea otter in Alaska, and the southern sea otter in California.
Sei Whale (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (3 votes)
Off the Norwegian coasts, a species of whale is known to appear alongside schools of pollock, thus the sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) is aptly named the ”pollock whale” in their language. Though recent genetic studies warrant the revision of the Balaenoptera genus, data shows that the sei whale is the blue whale’s (B.
Shark Ray (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (6 votes)
It’s a shark! No, wait, it’s a ray! It’s a shark-ray! Although all ray in the front and all shark in the back the shark ray (Rhina ancylostoma) really is a species of ray, but in appearance it looks like some kind of transitional form, making it easy to see the close relationship between sharks and rays.