Gray Wolf, mother and pups (Boxed Sets of Wild Life by Schleich)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

Wolves (Canis lupus) are burdened with an unjustly sinister reputation for a variety of reasons and one is the centuries-old myth of werewolves. One most frightful tale is that of Peter Stubbe, ‘the Werewolf of Bedburg.’ In 1589, he confessed under torture to having received a wolfskin belt from the Devil that allowed him to transform into “the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws.” I will not go on to describe the many horrific crimes Stubbe committed, or the equally horrific punishment that was meted out to him on October 31, but suffice it to say, you shouldn’t read the entire story if you’re squeamish.

Here, instead of a bloodthirsty werewolf of lore, we have Schleich’s 2019 box set of a gray wolf and her two pups. Depending on her age, a mother wolf gives birth to anywhere from four to 14 pups, but Schleich clearly preferred not to make that many different pup sculpts.

The mother measures about 9 cm long and 6 cm tall, putting her at the same scale as the black wolf from Safari Ltd. that I reviewed here nearly two years ago. Indeed, I purchased this set because I thought it would be nice for my sons to have a complete family in their animal collection. And yes, I did note at the time that the black wolf could well be a female, but as far as my sons are concerned, it’s the daddy of the pack. On that note, there is no such thing as an ‘alpha’ wolf, or a ‘beta’ or an ‘omega’ of the pack for that matter. That whole concept originated from observing captive wolves housed in close quarters as opposed to ones living free in the wild and David Mech, the scientist who wrote the book on the subject, has since declared in no uncertain terms that he was wrong. The simple truth is that the co-leaders of a wolf pack are a mated pair and the other members are their offspring.

The mother wolf is standing in a casual pose with her head held up, her mouth closed, her tail hanging down, and her left hind leg partly extended back. Her main colours are medium grey and white with some subtle dark grey wash on her back and black on the tip of her tail. Her claws are black and the padding on her paws is medium grey. Her ears are accented with dark grey, her eyes are brown, and her nose and mouth are glossy black.

The mother’s fur has been sculpted to give it as much of a thick, bushy appearance as possible, and it succeeds probably as well as it could at this size and price point. She scores high in the accuracy department as well. No mistaking this for any other canid besides a grey wolf. Her visage looks alert, but calm and content, as though she is enjoying the company of her pups.

Which would be these two little darlings. One is sculpted in a walking pose with its head looking to the left while the other has its head raised and its mouth open in a howl, or perhaps simply a plea for food. Both measure about 5.5 cm long.

The open-mouthed pup is coloured white and light grey with medium grey on its ears and muzzle, black claws and paw pads, white teeth, a pink tongue, a glossy black nose, and dark blue eyes. The other pup also has dark blue eyes and a glossy black nose, but its fur is light brown with dark airbrushing on its back and muzzle. Its ears are tipped with black, its mouth and claws are also black, and the pads on its paws are dark grey. Adult North American wolves tend to be either grey, black, or white depending on their habitat, but pups often have brown fur.

These pups have much smoother textures than their bushy mother, but are finely sculpted nonetheless, especially their heads. They also look pretty accurate, and most importantly, they look undeniably cute. They’re as far removed from a rampaging werewolf as one can get.

The Schleich mother wolf and cubs set is a pleasing and fun purchase, and probably cheaper than buying such figures individually. It’s also a good way of teaching kids that predatory animals have a nurturing side to them as well.