The figure we’re looking at today is not one that I deliberately added to my own collection, it was one that was given to my barely one year old daughter while visiting some relatives. They handed her the pig to play with and then insisted she should keep it. Well, she’s too young for this sort of toy, so it has been sitting on my shelf until she reaches the recommended “3 years and up” age.
Northern Crested Newt (Tennessee Aquarium Salamander Collection by Safari Ltd.)
5 (7 votes)
For the first time since I introduced the Tennessee Aquarium salamander figures with the fire salamander we are going back to Europe, the northern crested newt, Triturus cristatus, and this is also the last European species in the series. This one is item number 210572, the sixth and final figure in the original 1995 releases–and the penultimate figure in the series overall.
Fire Salamander (Tennessee Aquarium Salamander Collection by Safari Ltd.)
5 (6 votes)
After so many fish, it was time to take on a group of animals that I’m less familiar with…from a set that is either a holy grail for collectors (if they missed it), or a treasured part of the collection (if they didn’t miss it!) It’s a series of salamanders and newts produced by Safari Ltd in association with the Tennessee Aquarium.
Beaver (Mojö Woodland by Mojö Fun)
4.1 (7 votes)
During my teenage years I found myself living on a 50-acre farm complete with a creek running through it, fallow fields, and woodlands abutted against vast National Forest land that made the wilderness seem endless. It was the perfect playground for a young lad obsessed with animals and nature. My favorite place to visit amidst all that was the local beaver pond, and I spent many evenings just quietly sitting along the bank of the pond, VHS camcorder in hand, observing wildlife.
Jersey Cow (Farm World by Schleich)
4.2 (6 votes)
If you’ve ever seen a cow that you initially mistook for a deer it was probably a Jersey cow. With their large doe-like black eyes, small size and delicate build, and light brown coloration, Jersey cattle are one of the loveliest breeds of cattle around. The breed comes from the island of Jersey, one of the British Channel Islands and is an ancient breed, having been on the island for 1,000 years and a pure breed since 1763.
Eurasian Spoonbill (Wild Animals by Papo)
4.5 (10 votes)
Some of my favorite birds are the spoonbills of the genus Platalea within the Threskiornithidae family. Spoonbills are wading birds found on every continent except Antarctica and characterized by the broad, flatted tip on their bills. Sweeping their bill back and forth underwater, spoonbills use their bill tip to gather up small invertebrates, amphibians, and fishes.
Gypsy Mare (Horse Country by CollectA)
4.8 (6 votes)
In keeping with a tradition that I started two years ago I’m reviewing an Irish animal for St. Patrick’s Day. Only this time I decided not to review a wild animal but a domestic one instead. In finding a subject to review I researched what livestock breeds come from the Emerald Isle and although I was able to find some, very few of them had figurines to their name.
Three-spined Stickleback (Freshwater Fish Pictorial Book 1, revised release, by Yujin)
5 (3 votes)
This figure is the Three-spined Stickleback (or Tiddler, or Tiddlebat, in Great Britain, because that’s kind of hilarious), Gasterosteus aculeatus, number 12 from the first series. This is the only representative of the stickleback order in the set; phylogenetically, they are grouped with more familiar spiny fish like scorpionfish, sea-robins and wolffish (at one time they were grouped with seahorses, pipefish and kin in Sygnathiformes, but that is no longer considered correct).
Cormorant (Marine Life by Papo)
4.7 (10 votes)
My recent review of the Safari blue-footed booby motivated me to review another Suliforme bird that I featured in a comparison photo in that review, the 2020 Papo cormorant, which is also my most recent acquisition.
Cormorants, along with shags, make up the Phalacrocoracidae family, made up of about 40 species.
Braunvieh Cattle, Cow (Farm World by Schleich)
5 (4 votes)
From the Alpine region of Switzerland come the Braunvieh cattle, a dairy breed that has its roots in the Bronze Age and the breed for which the oldest herd book is known, spanning the years between 1775 and 1782. Braunvieh is German for “brown cattle” and the breed is also known as the Swiss Brown.
Clydesdale Stallion (Horse Country by CollectA)
5 (3 votes)
The Clydesdale is a breed of draft horse that originated in the valley of the river Clyde, in the county of Lanarkshire in Scotland. They are the result of breeding imported Flemish stallions with small native draft mares during the 18th century. Later, in the 19th century, Shire horses were also used in the breeding program.
Salers Cattle, Bull (Farm Life by Papo)
5 (4 votes)
Before we begin the review, I would like to thank Happy Hen Toys for supplying this figure for review. Happy Hen Toys is a U.S. distributor of animal figurines and a member and supporter of the Animal Toy Blog and Forum. Of particular note is that they’re one of the few U.S.
Eurasian Otter (Wild Life Europe by Schleich)
5 (5 votes)
The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) is the widest ranging of all otter species, with a distribution covering most of Europe, large portions of Asia, and even part of northern Africa. It is also the most commonly made otter species by toy companies, although the North American river otter and sea otter are well represented too.
Leech (Giant Microbes)
4.3 (6 votes)
What better creature to feature for spooky season than a parasitic blood sucking worm with important ties to antiquated and horrifying medical practices? Although there are 680 described species of leech what we’re looking at today is the European medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis) which is the species most used in medical practices, as both the common and scientific name suggest.
Gray Wolf, 2015 (Wild Life America by Schleich)
3.8 (9 votes)
Carrying on with Spooky Season here on the Animal Toy Blog, it’s time to look at the “big bad wolf” and based on its appearance, this one certainly fits that description. It’s the Schleich 2015 gray wolf (Canis lupus). If I’m being honest, it’s not a figure I would pick for my own collection.