Tiger, Standing Adult and Cub (Wild Animals by Papo)

Review and images by Suspsy; edited by bmathison1972

The charismatic Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is the nominate tiger species and probably the one that most people envision in their minds when you mention tigers to them. Native to the Indian subcontinent, it rivals the Siberian tiger for the title of world’s biggest living cat. Males regularly reach more than 500 lbs in weight and more than a few weighing in excess of 600 lbs have been recorded. And perhaps the biggest one ever weighed at least 715 lbs; the mounted specimen is currently on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Here we’ll be looking at not one, but two Bengal tiger toys from Papo, generously provided by the lovely chaps at Happy Hen Toys. Granted, they have not been officially labelled as such, but I’ll explain my reasoning in due course.

First up we have a fully grown adult male, immediately obvious from his visible scrotum. And what’s also immediately obvious is that this tiger isn’t in the usual walking pose that most of his plastic brethren are put in. No, this one is rearing up on his hind legs, with his tail curved sharply to the left and firmly planted in order to complete the tripod. He stands nearly 11.5 cm tall. His front limbs are raised and outstretched and his deadly claws are fully unsheathed on his right paw. And his head, which is turned slightly to the right, is sculpted with mouth wide open, teeth bared, and eyes ablaze. You can almost hear his savage roar when you look at him. It’s clear that this guy is seriously steamed and in the midst of a skirmish. Tigers are known to rear up on their hind legs when fighting, so presumably this one is duking it out with a rival over territory.

Our tiger’s fur is painted light orange with white for his underside and the insides of his limbs, and plenty of black stripes, including an all-black tail tip. White is also applied on his ears and around his yellow eyes. Salmon pink is used for his nose, the inside of his mouth, and the pads on the soles of his paws. Finally, his teeth are an off shade of white, his mouth is outlined with glossy black, and his claws are a slightly pinkish shade of beige. Bengal tigers are known to have a lighter orange coloration than their smaller Sumatran relatives. Another key difference is that the male Sumatran tiger possesses a particularly thick ruff around its face, thicker than the one on this toy. As well, the beautifully sculpted fur doesn’t appear thick and shaggy enough for its owner to be a Siberian tiger either. And finally, as I noted in the introduction, the Bengal is generally perceived to be the tiger, so I reckon it’s safe to conclude that this toy does indeed represent one.

Concerning accuracy, this tiger features an enormous head with the correct dentition and visage, and correctly shaped and proportioned limbs. The muscles in these limbs, as well as in the neck and torso, are very visible and really give off a sense of raw power and ferocity. The claws are fully unsheathed on the right paw, and it doesn’t take much effort to imagine how devastating a single swipe would be. The claws on the left front paw, however, are sheathed, and I feel like it would have even cooler if they weren’t. Nevertheless, this is definitely the scariest-looking tiger figure I’ve laid eyes on. And rightly so, for the Bengal tiger is arguably the most formidable living land predator in the world. Its prey includes all manner of ungulates that share its habitat, from wild boar to deer to antelope and to water buffalo and gaur. It has also been known to attack and kill other carnivores such as dholes, Indian wolves, leopards, sloth bears, Asian black bears, mugger crocodiles, and king cobras. And there have even been some documented instances of successful killings of Indian rhinos and Asian elephants!

But now let’s talk about something more endearing: this utterly adorable rearing tiger cub! This one too is a male and he’s sculpted in something of a mirror pose to his dad, with his head turned to the left and his tail bent to the right.

Our little man stands about 5 cm tall. His mouth too is wide open, but only two of his tiny lower teeth are visible. His arms are outstretched, but I honestly can’t tell if his claws are supposed to be unsheathed or not. He is painted a slightly lighter shade of orange with black stripes, faint white on his front, black stripes and paw pads, light brown eyes, and a light pink mouth.

And for his size, this youngster’s fur and musculature are very well sculpted. As with many mammals, tiger fathers don’t play any role in raising their cubs, but for the purpose of fantasy, it’s easy to imagine this little one is learning how to be fierce by imitating his daddy.

The Papo standing tiger and cub are two superb toys that ought to please any animal aficionado, regardless of age. I’m planning on packing this pair into my six year old son’s stocking for Xmas, and I’m sure he’s going to be very happy. You can acquire both the adult and cub through Happy Hen Toys’ website. Thanks again to them for the samples!