Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In 1926, in northeast Queensland, Australia, a group of boys happened upon a large, flightless bird and decided it would be fun to chase it. During the pursuit, one of the boys, a 16-year old by the name of Phillip McClean, tripped and fell to the ground.
This toy (#295929) was released in 2010, the same year Safari Ltd retired an earlier and very similar sculpt of a chimpanzee with baby (#272229, released 1998). So, in effect, this model was a direct replacement, and a notable upgrade.
The young chimp is piggybacking on the adult and convincingly looks like it’s clinging on tightly.
Walk-around of the Safari Ltd. Wild Safari Wildlife (male) Common Chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (Blumenbach, 1776); item No. 224729, produced in 2016. Snout-vent length is approx. 72 mm, so the scale is somewhere between 1:9 and 1:13. The human figure (South American Father by Miniland “Los Amigos del Mundo”) is approx.
Although they look very much like pigs, and are sometimes called New World pigs, peccaries aka javelinas belong to their own distinct family, Tayassuidae. Pigs belong to the family Suidae and about 30 million years of evolution separates the two families that together make up the Suina clade. While all true pig species hail from the Old World, all extant peccary species come from the Americas, although the family originally evolved in Europe.
It was an early spring evening in 1999, in central New York. I was doing what I did most evenings back then, sitting quietly on the bank of an active beaver pond with a VHS camcorder in hand, waiting for whatever wildlife might stroll by. Off in the distance I could hear a pack of coyotes (Canis latrans), a chorus of high-pitched barks and yips.
I was thinking for my next review I should do a rodent or lagomorph. I decided to review the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin, 1788) by Safari LTD, which was released for their North American Wildlife line in 2006. The figure was marketed simply as ‘squirrel’ but was clearly intended to represent this species.
Picking subjects for the “Savanah Summer” can often be a tall order. I can often be sticking my neck out trying to pick the best of Africa’s finest. This time though, it’s been easy to choose: I am finally covering the Giraffe (Girrafa camelopardalis). The tallest animals on the planet, these graceful creatures can grow to 18.7 ft tall and are found across Africa.
Review and images by Saarlooswolfhound; edited by bmathison1972
The Safari Ltd. Gray Wolf, #100509 was released as part of their 2020 additions. It is included in their Wild Safari North American Wildlife Collection. The model itself measures as 4 inches (10 cm) long and around 2.75 inches (7 cm) tall (roughly the size of a credit card standing on its long edge, or roughly 1:9.5 – 1:12.5 in scale).
Review and images by EpicRaptorMan; edited by bmathison1972
Does the Looney Tunes Roadrunner say “meep-meep” or “beep-beep“? Well, whatever it says the real roadrunner’s call is more of a “coo coo” which makes sense as they are members of cuckoo family, Cuculidae.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
North America abounds with formidable carnivores of all shape and size, from the least weasel to the bald eagle to the American alligator and to the wolf. But no other is associated with raw strength and power as much the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos).
Another “Savanah Summer” that will see us back into the water, or at least wade through it. After all, though they are known as “water horses”, the Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) does not actually swim like it’s cetacean relatives, more hopping along the bottom of the body of water they are in, so don’t venture into deep water.
Review and images by Kikimalou; edited by bmathison1972
The honey badger, or ratel, (Mellivora capensis) is a Mustelidae widely distributed in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. The animal has a fairly long but strong body, with short, sturdy legs equipped with impressive claws. It is perfectly equipped to resist fights with its fellow creatures and predators alike.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In the lush coastal rainforests of British Columbia, Canada, lives the extremely rare Kermode, spirit, or ghost bear (Ursus americanus kermodei). It is a subspecies of the American black bear in which some individuals are born with creamy white fur due to a recessive gene.
