Review and images by callmejoe3; edited by bmathison1972
2020 seems to be the year of the rhino on this blog with the Schleich 2018 Indian rhinoceros and the Safari Ltd 2010 white rhinoceros being the first two to be featured. The black rhino (Diceros bicornis) makes its debut for this review.
Before we begin the review, I would like to extend my gratitude towards Happy Hen Toys for sending this figure along as a review sample. Happy Hen Toys is a U.S. distributor of figures by Safari, Papo, CollectA, Schleich, and other companies significant to our hobby. In the case of CollectA they’re often the only place that sells their products at a reasonable price within the United States.
Review and images by stemturtle; edited by bmathison1972
Schleich released a lovely bonobo, Pan paniscus (Schleich Wild Life #14875), in 2024. This review will compare the figure to the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes, instead of describing it in great detail. A former name, pygmy chimpanzee, was a mistake, since the bonobo is a separate species from the chimp.
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
“A shark!” a couple exclaimed as a bowmouth guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma) swims past the aquarium viewing panel. It swished its shark like tail from side to side but has a flattened head of a ray, making it look like a hybrid of a shark and a ray.
From the Alpine region of Switzerland come the Braunvieh cattle, a dairy breed that has its roots in the Bronze Age and the breed for which the oldest herd book is known, spanning the years between 1775 and 1782. Braunvieh is German for “brown cattle” and the breed is also known as the Swiss Brown.
In recent years, the brown-throated sloth (Bradypus variegatus) has seemingly exploded in popularity. It has become a mascot for people that admire or emulate its laid-back, solitary, inactive lifestyle. In addition to that, it’s also unquestionably adorable. This popularity, no doubt accelerated by the internet, movies, and TV shows, has generated a glut of sloth themed merchandise.
Carrying on with the “Savannah Summer”, I realised that what I should do is cover the big five, five large and rare mammals in Africa. This was originally a term used for big game hunting, as they these five were the hardest to get, but is now used in safaris, being the best to go and see.
The caracal (Caracal caracal) is a small cat that lives over much of Africa (outside of rainforests and much of the Sahara Desert), the Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, and Central Asia to western India. It prefers scrub forest, thickets, savannas, marshy lowlands, rocky hills, and semi-deserts, generally in areas that are dry but offer sufficient vegetation for cover.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Chameleons are a wondrous family of lizards famous for their colour-changing abilities, independently moving eyes, and lightning fast tongues. They are found throughout all of Africa and Madagascar, and range all the way into the Middle East, southern India, and parts of southern Europe.
Walk-around of the Schleich Wild Life 14678 male common chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1776). Snout-vent length is approx. 67 mm, so the scale is something between 1:10 and 1:14. The human figure (European Father by Miniland “Los Amigos del Mundo”) is approx. 1:13 – 1:14 scale. There are only a few chimpanzee figures I really like and this is actually the first I have in my collection.
Happy Halloween! I got the special date this year, so I’m bringing you thrills and chills…in the form of the Schleich common raven, Corvus corax, item number 14241. The way ravens are closely tied to all things sinister and spooky was already well-covered a few years ago, an animal well-established throughout the northern hemisphere.
I am proud to present another kindly given sample model from our friends at Happy Hen Toys. Thank you! If you decide that you would like to add this model to your herd, you can find it on their website or wherever Schleich toys are sold! Without further ado, here is the first Schleich “pony” for the blog!
The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) are not closely related, at least not within the context of the family Accipitridae. The latter is considered a ‘true’ eagle whereas the former is a buteonine hawk. Yet, the two birds have similar breeding and nesting habits.
Native to the rainforests of equatorial West Africa, the emperor scorpion, Pandinus imperator, is one of the most familiar and popular scorpion species. Its large size, fearsome appearance, docile nature, and mild venom make it very popular in the pet trade. It should be no surprise than that it is the most commonly-made scorpion in the toy market.
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is the widest ranging of all otter species, with a distribution covering most of Europe, large portions of Asia, and even part of northern Africa. It is also the most commonly made otter species by toy companies, although the North American river otter and sea otter are well represented too.
