Sika Deer, calf (Baby Wildlife by Toymany)

It’s about time that I get the other half of this baby set from Toymany up on the blog! My portion of this set covers the animals from Asia and North America and will reflect the other half of the figures from Africa that have been covered by my fellow reviewer, bmathison1972. Our friend from Toymany, Kenc, was so kind as to provide this set to me and as nearly all of their products have been right on the mark, this set of babies has been a welcome addition to my collection!

As a new set released in 2024 it includes infant versions of the following animals; African elephant, hippopotamus, common zebra, reticulated giraffe, white rhinoceros, and a lowland gorilla (all reviewed and posted here by bmathison), in addition to a cougar, moose, sika deer, snow leopard, dromedary camel, and giant panda. I tried to cover information for both the juveniles for each species as well as the adult version of them- anyhow, let’s just get into the review!

And now the Sika calf. Sika deer calves (they can also interchangeably be called a fawn) are born in May or June after about 30 weeks of gestation. They will weigh about 4.5-7 kg and will quickly pack on weight from their mother’s fatty milk (it starts out at about 13% fat and will increase as the calf grows up to 30% fat). While it is very young, and in some cases it has been documented as occurring right after birth, the mother will hide this young calf in vegetation and leave for some time to forage for food, returning hours later to collect the baby and nurse before leaving again. This calf will stay with its mom for about 10-12 months, it will then become independent and reach sexual maturity at around 16-18 months old.

Once the calf is grown, a stag will be around 90 lbs while a hind is around 70 lbs, they will be about 2.5 feet at the shoulder. This is also one of very few deer species that keep their spotted coat from childhood. This species originates from Japan, Taiwan, and Eastern Asia but is now found in several locations around the world such as regions in Europe, Australia, and the US. Their name is derived from the Japanese word for deer, “shika”. The deer themselves are quite vocal, with over 10 vocalizations which includes anything from whistles to screams.

And moving on to the review section, here we have another rather lovely Toymany example. This calf is walking with its head lowered and turned to its left. Its ears are cocked and its back is slightly hunched- perhaps it is looking for its next vegetable snack or keeping an eye out for fellow herd members. Despite its more demure posture, Toymany respected the species’ proportions and features such as its very domed forehead, large ears, and shorter muzzle. My particular copy did reach me with slightly warped legs due to shipping (ambient heat, packaging, and transport concerns) but this was nothing that a little warm water or a few days with some bracing between her legs couldn’t easily address. Her spots are painted immaculately on my example, and she even has the sculpted muscle visible on her chest between her front legs- suggestive of being able to dash away quickly when needed. Once again, no detail is forgotten here, she even has her dewclaws present. The brand created a lovely juvenile form of a rather rare deer species in toy form, and I hope to see a family for her in the future.

Each of Toymany’s models are offered both in sets or as individual models for purchase through their website- feel free to use this code TMAFPM10 or this link https://toymany.com?sca_ref=6246126.dDyVkfTite for 10% off!