Grizzly Bear, Female (2004) (Wildlife America by Schleich)

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is the world’s second largest carnivoran and has the largest distribution of any bear species, with a range stretching across Europe, Asia, and North America. They even once inhabited the Atlas Mountains of Africa. As with any animal with such a large range there are many subspecies of brown bear and in North America none is more well known than the grizzly (U. a.  horribilis), the horrible northern bear.

Historically, the grizzly inhabited most of North America, from Alaska to Mexico and eastwards into the Midwest. Now it is found only in Alaska, western Canada, and in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Today we’re looking at an older figure that caught my eye while browsing Toy Animal Wiki, the 2004 female grizzly bear by Schleich. There are many figures that depict this subspecies, with Mojo, Papo, Safari, and Schleich all having at least one in production. So why did I choose a 20-year-old figure and was it the right choice? Let’s find out! 

We’ll start by figuring out the scale. Grizzly bears vary greatly in size, even among their own subspecies, with coastal populations reaching a larger size than those inland. The largest grizzlies are those that live along the Alaskan coast, where males (boars) can reach 858 lbs. (389 kg.) and females (sows) can reach 356 lbs. (207 kg.). These Alaskan grizzlies should not be confused with the Kodiak bear, another subspecies of brown bear capable of weighing over 1,000 lbs. (453 kg.). Meanwhile, grizzlies living in the Canadian interior reach a modest weight of 306 lbs. (139 kg.) for boars, and 209 lbs. (95 kg.) for sows, not much larger than the American black bear.

The reason I’m going through all of this is because the Schleich grizzly is rather small. It stands 2.5” (6.35 cm) tall at the shoulders and measures 4” (10.16 cm) in length. But let’s not forget that Schleich specifically markets this figure as a female and if we also consider it to be one of the smaller inland bears then it should still scale well enough with our collections. Scaled down from a length of 78” (198 cm) the figure comes out to be 1/19 in scale. Scaled down from a shoulder height of 40” (102 cm) yields a scale of 1/16.

This figure is presented striding forward with the head lowered and the left rear foot pushing it forward. It’s not a particularly dynamic pose but it captures the classic silhouette of the grizzly perfectly, especially with its prominent hump over the shoulders, compact build, and robust features. I find this relaxed posture to be more appealing than the more dramatic roaring pose of the current Schleich grizzly.

The dished face is nicely accentuated by the layered ruffs of fur along the sides of the head. These shaggy ruffs run from the ears, down around the face, meet and sag at the neck, flow down along the chest, and then deviate and run along the sides of the torso. The hair elsewhere is simply etched into the sculpt with shaggier hair along the limbs and finer hair along the back. A patch of tight curly hair is sculpted on the hump.

Other fine details include nicely defined facial features, and I particularly like the slightly curled lower lip. The paws are broad and large with formidable claws that aren’t as refined as in modern models but still decent enough. The bottoms of the feet are wrinkled but there’s no real attempt to sculpt foot and toe pads. The illusion of a furry coat does not hide the underlying anatomy, which includes muscular forearms and slightly visible protruding hips.

This bear is painted light brown with a darker brown rump and dark paws. The face is paler than elsewhere and there’s some decent blending of various browns around the face and head. The nose is black, and the eyes are brown with black pupils with a bit of asymmetry going on. The claws are painted tan. There’s a bit of white inside the nostrils and mouth. The paint inside the mouth ends up looking like bucked teeth so I would have preferred it if it were left unpainted.

Taking its age into account this is an excellent grizzly bear figure. In addition to being decently accurate, well proportioned, and nicely posed, it also has an appealing vintage look that’s unique to Schleich figures from its era. Those with a one-figure-per-species collection might prefer something more recent and refined but for those with multiple examples of a species, or vintage collections, this one is not to be overlooked. Although long out of production this figure can still be found on eBay for a reasonable price, about $10.