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.
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 images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
What it lacks in size and strength, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) more than makes up for in cunning and versatility. It is one of the most widespread of all canids, occurring naturally throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, and as an invasive species in Australia.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The tiger (Panthera tigris), with its magnificent orange coat and dark stripes, is the largest living cat, even larger the lion. And it is just as famous and revered in human society as its kingly relative, from its honoured status in Asian myth and art to memorable characters such as Shere Khan from The Jungle Book, Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, Hobbes from Calvin and Hobbes, Richard Parker from Life of Pi, and Tony the Tiger, mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
The African lion (Panthera leo) is the modern day equivalent of Tyrannosaurus rex: a huge land carnivore whose raw power and undeniable charisma has led it to be dubbed “king of the beasts.” And from the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet to the biblical tale of Daniel to Richard the Lionheart to Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia to the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz to Leo the MGM Studios mascot and to The Lion King franchise, its status as a cultural icon is absolutely incontrovertible.
Noah’s Pals was a line of toy animals that featured male and female pairs of select species. The line was produced by Caboodle! Toys LLC starting in 2006 but was taken over by Schleich a couple years before production ceased. The line was divided into four subsets: Endangered Pals, Vulnerable Pals, Common Pals, and Exclusive Pals.
It’s a bit of a chunky boi
Today I’m looking at a figure of a very familiar animal–from a rather obscure line! It’s the famous (infamous?) wolverine, Gulo gulo (Linnaeus, 1758). If we want to be really sub-specific, it’s meant to be Gulo gulo gulo, the Eurasian wolverine, if the differences between Eurasian and North American populations are different enough.
It’s the holiday season and what better way to celebrate on the ATB than by looking at one of the North Pole’s most recognizable animals? The walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) occurs throughout the arctic and sub-arctic seas where they’re divided into two sub-species, the Atlantic walrus (O.
Australia, like all islands, is an isolated laboratory of sorts, one that offers a look at what the world might be like under different evolutionary pressures. The rest of the world at large operates in much the same way, no matter where you go; the placental mammals (cats, dogs, deer, antelope, etc.) dominate top tier niches.
Review and photographs by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
In Africa, the top land predator is the iconic lion. In Asia, it is the royal tiger. And in Central and South America, the tenacious jaguar (Panthera onca) reigns supreme at the top of the food chain.
Schleich’s most recent take on the jaguar came out in 2017.
Review and photos by Saarlooswolfhound; edited by bmathison1972
Editor’s note: It gives me great pleasure to present the first Blog submission by my STS forum friend, Saarlooswolfhound!!! Let’s hope this is the first of many to come 🙂
The Safari Ltd. “White Wolf”, Catalogue #220029, was originally released in 2007 and is still being produced today.
Review and photos by pipsxlch; edited by bmathison1972
Today I’m reviewing the Schleich Australian Shepherd registered by Schleich in 2012 (retired in 2016). I believe this figure is meant to depict a female.
The Australian Shepherd is, despite the name, a herding breed of US origins. It is a conglomeration of various herding breeds/types found in the US and Canada in the early to mid 1900s, especially in the western half of the country.
Review and photos by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
Melanism is a condition that causes an increased presence of dark pigmentation, such as when leopards and jaguars are born black or nearly black in colour. At some undetermined point in time after humans had bred the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) into existence, some of those dogs ended up breeding with their ancestors, grey wolves (wild-type C.
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).
Today I am in a city being hit by the first winter storm of the year…in September. Again. Which immediately put me in the mood to discuss an animal that might be far more comfortable with this miserable weather–the Canada Lynx Lynx canadensis Kerr 1792 made by Safari Ltd released as part of their North American Wildlife (NAW) line of animals in 2016.
