Review and images by Hippocollector; edited by bmathison1972
Hippopotamuses, or hippos (Hippopotamus amphibius), are very big and funny-looking animals that spend most of their time in water. Don’t let their cute appearance fool you! They are one of the deadliest animals that live in Africa and are very territorial, so it’s not the best idea to roam in their territory, so let’s look at small and safe hippos instead!
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
A baby Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) is born after a gestation period of nearly 16 months. Its weight at birth ranges between 80-100 lbs and it can stand up sturdily on its own feet within an hour. The baby is cared for entirely by its mother, who will often trample down tall plants to provide food for her little one.
For the most part, adult moths in the family Notodontidae (commonly referred to as the ‘prominents’) are relatively drab moths, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. There are exceptions, of course, but in general they are fairly non-descript (to the casual observer) brown and grey moths typical of those seen at a porch light on a warm, humid summer’s eve.
For author’s summary of species look here
This will be the last review of a cetacean species from the Monterey Bay Aquarium collection, the sperm whale adult and calf pair.
The adult female measures 29 cm, which corresponds to an 11.6 m whale at the marketed 1:40 scale. Above, you can see it scales well with the Safari Sea Life giant squid (24.5 cm/9.8 m) and the CollectA basking shark (22 cm/ 8.8 m).
Nearly two years ago to the day, I reviewed Club Earth’s Butterflies to Go collection after acquiring the last figures for that Holy Grail collection. Now today I get to do the same thing for the Caterpillars to Go collection, again having received the last figure in this Holy Grail Collection.
For the author’s overview of this species, please see this review
Despite many killer whale figures having been produced, it has been about 2 years since I’ve last covered this species. Most of them tend to fall short of my standards, but maybe things will be different for the Monterey Bay Aquarium series that rarely leaves me disappointed.
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.
While commonly referred to as the ‘Old World swallowtail’, Papilio machaon has a very wide distribution, widest of any of the Papilionidae, covering most of the Palearctic and into western North America. Part of the species’ success is its tolerance for a variety of habitats and host plants. The butterfly can be found in forests, grasslands, hilltops, Alpine meadows, tundra, wetlands, disturbed areas, parks, and gardens.
Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972
African lions (Panthera leo) are by far the most social of wild felids thanks to their practice of living in groups of around 15 to 30 individuals, commonly called prides. The males, with their greater size and distinctive manes, occupy themselves primarily with defending the pride against intruders.
When most think of rodents, they think of things like the infamous black rat and it’s fleas, the verminous plague bringers of the world. This is unfair on all fronts, including the idea of them being small, as some can get sizeable. The largest today is the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), a relative of the Guinea pig and likewise found in South America, quite commonly too.
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.
In just under two years ago, on August 21, 2019, I posted the first review here on the Animal Toy Blog. Now, I have the pleasure of posting review #500! Wow, 500 reviews just under two years! Many thanks to all the reviewers who have made this possible!
Allomyrina dichotoma is known as the Japanese rhinoceros beetle in English and kabutomushi in Japanese.
Since joining the Animal Toy Forum, the Yowie Group company has quickly caught my attention. The chocolate wrapped eggs they produce offer a wide range of toy animals inside them, many species not readily produced by other companies. For whatever reason I didn’t think I could get these Yowie eggs myself, I thought they were unique to other countries overseas.
Today we are looking at a rather ingenious set of figures by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S., representing the golden-ringed dragonfly (Anotogaster sieboldii), that was released as part of their 2021 B.I.G. Insects collection. Every year, Takara releases a set of five large and articulated arthropods in the B.I.G.
