Steller’s Sea Cow (Yowies Forgotten Friends Series A by Cadbury)

The order sirenia has long been fascinating to me, the main herbivorous marine mammals that have survived throughout the Cenozoic. The one that interests me the most (even inspiring my ATB name Sirenia) is, unfortunately, no longer living, the Steller’s Sea Cow. These giant sirenians lived around Commander Island in the Bering sea, being hunted by locals. They were already vulnerable by 1741 when they were discovered by western explorers, who found them so delicious that, by 1768, a mere 27 years later, they were all gone. There are only a small handful of models of this amazing species, usually small models, like this one from Yowie’s Forgotten Friends.

To the model! The colouration is perfect, a mix of greys and browns common in sirenians like manatees, really good. The bumpy skin kinda works, but I do feel it is a little over done, but not terrible. The pose is fairly neutral, but I think you would struggle to make a very dynamic pose with this figure. Like most Yowie figures, it’s quite small, measuring 2.9″ long and 0.5″ high. Quite nice.

To accuracy! It’s pretty much accurate, all the features you’d expect to see. The only things I would say against it are the flippers, being a little too squared and short for the species, and the neck being too long, not quite having the bulk that it should do. Not the best, but far from terrible.

This is a nice little model of a species not made very often. Not the best, but it does still work well. It is long discontinued, so if you do want it, eBay is your best bet. Steller’s sea cow models aren’t common, and I feel they are worth it if you see one, no matter the model, to show just how quickly species can be wiped out if we aren’t careful.