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.
Snub-Nosed Monkey (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (6 votes)
Snub-nosed monkeys are comprised of 5 species that make up the Rhinopithecus genus in the Colobinae subfamily. They live in southern China as well as parts of Myanmar and Vietnam. Snub-nosed monkeys get their name from their flattened noses which are thought to be an adaptation to their cold, high elevation environment.
Butterflies TOOB (Safari Ltd.)
4.3 (3 votes)
Butterflies are unquestionably the most popular and universally loved insects. You would be hard pressed to find someone that fears or loathes butterflies in the same way a lot of folk’s fear and loathe moths, for example. Even if butterflies are basically glorified, diurnal moths themselves. Butterflies and moths both belong to the order Lepidoptera and although moths first appear in the early Jurassic, 200 million years ago, butterflies don’t show up until the Paleocene, 56 million years ago, having evolved directly from moths.
Bull Shark (Marine Life by Papo)
5 (6 votes)
Counted among “The Big 3”, the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is considered one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, right alongside the great white and tiger shark. The frequency in which this species encounters humans is due to its preference for habitat that humans also enjoy, shallow warm coastal waters, estuaries, and bays.
Thresher Shark (Wild Safari Sea Life by Safari Ltd.)
4 (3 votes)
The sharks of the genus Alopias, within the family Alopiidae, are among the oddest and most recognizable sharks. Commonly known as the thresher sharks there are 3 extant species: the pelagic, common, and bigeye thresher. Their exceptionally long tail has long been the stuff of myth and speculation.
Sturgeon (Red Rose Tea, Endangered North American Animals Series IV, by Wade Ceramics)
4 (2 votes)
Here’s something a little different, and not an actual toy, but worth taking a look at anyway. This is a ceramic sturgeon by Wade Ceramics, a pottery manufacturer operating out of Stoke-on-Trent, England. Wade Ceramics got its start in the 1950’s and produced ceramic figurines up until 2018. In 1967 Wade Ceramics entered a partnership with the American Rose Red Tea company who started including Wade figures in their boxes of tea.
Wild Boar (Wild Safari Wildlife by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (6 votes)
An adaptable, intelligent animal, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) was already a successful species long before it was domesticated and transplanted around the world by humans in the form of the domestic pig (S. scrofa domesticus). Naturally, they range across Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa, where they thrive in a variety of habitats.
Pacific Oyster (AAA)
5 (4 votes)
I’ve always had a fascination for my local wildlife and since moving to the U.S. state of Maryland I’ve taken a special interest in the local fauna here, including the unassuming but economically and ecologically important oyster. Although the Chesapeake Bay is most well known for its blue crabs (which I’ve covered before), the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is a significant local animal as well.
Asian Green Mussel, large (AAA)
5 (3 votes)
Without question one of the most neglected groups in the animal toy hobby are members of the phylum Mollusca. Sure, there is a decent selection of cephalopods out there but other classes are mostly ignored, including the class Bivalvia. On the one hand it makes sense; our hobby is a niche one as is but people that collect toy bivalves are rarer still.
Monitor Lizard (AAA)
5 (4 votes)
Don’t worry, this is not a case of déjà vu, I did indeed review a AAA monitor lizard already. But AAA produced several monitor lizards and this one, although it’s probably the same species as the last one I reviewed, is substantially different. The last time I reviewed one of these I admitted that I was unsure what species it was supposed to be.
Miracle of the Earth: The Brilliance of Fireflies (Jám)
5 (2 votes)
Today I am showcasing a very interesting set. It has been a ‘Holy Grail’ set for a while and I recently completed it. The figures in this set are probably worthy of individual reviews, but since it is such a rare and unusual set, and it is unlikely anyone else would have these figures to review (among our regulars), I thought I would show the whole set at once.
Ducks (Decoy Rubber Duckies by Funrise Express)
4 (2 votes)
With the possible exception of the Teddy bear the classic rubber duck is without question the most popular animal toy in the world. And although the collecting of rubber duckies does not really tie into our own hobby you can bet that they have their own loyal following of collectors. And the selection of different ducks is astounding; they come in every conceivable color, size, and style.
Great Hammerhead Shark (Kid Galaxy)
2.8 (4 votes)
Although there are a plethora of toy hammerhead sharks out there very few of them identify the toy as anything more specific than a hammerhead. Most people probably don’t even realize that hammerhead is not a specific species of shark but rather an entire family of sharks (Sphyrnidae) that includes 9 distinct species.
Zebra Shark (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (4 votes)
When we think of sharks it is usually species like the great white, tiger, or bull sharks that immediately come to mind. If not those particular species there is at least the generic idea of what a shark looks like and indeed, many species fit that mold. But sharks are an incredibly diverse group of animals that come in all shapes and sizes in order to fit into whatever niche they’re a part of.
Monitor Lizard (AAA)
4.8 (5 votes)
Today’s review concerns a toy that is very near and dear to me because it has been with me for nearly 30 years, and it is one of only a few childhood toys that I kept into adulthood. As such, the specimen in these accompanying pictures has a few city miles on it but that just shows the years of joy it has provided me.