Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
An inevitable fact of life is that there are very few toys that can withstand rough play, especially from very small children. It was not long after the ATB posted my review of the Wild Safari American bison figure that my little boy dropped (or possibly threw) it against a bare wooden floor, causing one of the front legs to break right off.
I do not know why it took me so long to get the charismatic little Schleich warthogs. So here are the Schleich Wild Life common warthogs, Phacochoerus africanus (Gmelin, 1788). Item numbers are 14611 (boar) and 14613 (sow). The piglet has been featured in another blogpost by animaltoyforum and has the item number 14612.
Africa has some of the greatest ranges of mammals in the world, from the massive African elephant to the smaller naked mole rat. The most common are the antelopes, with small species like the dik-dik to the massive eland. This review will look at one of these great ungulates, the oryx.
Although there are roughly 440 species of shark it’s the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) that has most captured the human imagination and it makes sense, it’s one of a very small handful of sharks that preys upon large mammalian prey, our own species included, albeit rarely.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The pugnacious wild boar (Sus scrofa) is the most widespread and numerous of the wild pigs, with a natural range spanning most of Europe and Asia. It’s also a destructive invasive species in the Americas and Australia, unfortunately. And just as the grey wolf gave rise to the domestic dog, the wild boar gave rise to the domestic pig, thus making it one of the more significant beasts in human history.
A couple days ago we had a random Spring snow storm, so I took advantage and snapped a few pics of a species that would normally be home in such a climate, the snowy owl, Bubo scandiacus. What is interesting, I posted the first review on the blog and that figure was Schleich’s tawny owl.
Review and images by spacelab; edited by bmathison1972
The Leopard. One of the most iconic wild-life animals and without a doubt one of the prettiest predators in the world. A wild cat with beautiful body structure, power and flexibility, that became a cult symbol, having also enormous presence in the pop/rock culture, especially in the 70’s.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Kangaroo reproduction is truly astounding. A mother gives birth after only 33 days of gestation, upon which the jellybean-sized, underdeveloped neonate crawls blindly from the vagina to the pouch. Once inside, it latches on to a teat and continues to grow until it is finally ready to leave the pouch for good after about 235 days.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The magnificent Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is the second biggest of the three extant species of pachyderm, the second biggest land animal in the world, and the biggest land animal in all of Asia. It can be distinguished from its two African cousins largely by its domed cranium, smaller ears, and rounded back.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) derives its scientific name from its single nasal horn. A big male can weigh up to 2200 kg (4850 lbs), making it the second-largest land animal in Asia after the Asian elephant and the second-largest member of its family after the African white rhino.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
With their super-long necks and equally long limbs, giraffes are among evolution’s most wondrous marvels. It was long thought that there was only one species and nine subspecies, but a 2007 study proposed that there may be six species (at the very least genetic populations), including the reticulated giraffe, Giraffa reticulata.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Crocodiles are some of the most awesome and ancient predators on Earth, and as such, they have proven quite the mainstay in the world of animal toys. Indeed, it is probably fair to say that they are the most popular and frequent reptiles to appear in toy form.
