The Curious Compendium 2023: First of the cats!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That is a great choice Gwangi.

Capuchins!


This group of monkeys are highly intelligent and have rather sophisticated tool use; they collect water in containers, use stones as hammers, spongey material to absorb juice and make chisels to break into items (logs, nuts, etc.). They are also very social animals and are known for their array of facial expressions; this makes them popular as performers in things like movies.

[Gwangi]

Your comparison helped me decide! 

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Glad I could be of service! I think the Safari is the best on the market. But I hope to see more of these in the future as they are one of my favorite wild cats.

[bmathison1972]

Based on what I see here I think Safari's is the one I want. I don't have a jaguar yet.

You have made a wise choice 

[bmathison1972]

I have a funny story about the K&M capuchin with the banana. I ordered mine from Tapirback Gifts (or whatever they are called these days) and they sent me an all-black version. I told them I wanted the black-and-white version, as advertised on their site. They sent me something that was clearly an all-black one hand-touched up with white-out or white paint. It clearly wasn't factory painting. Uggh. Well, I eventually got the NECA 'Ace Ventura' capuchin that's better than them all.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That is bizarre. I have ordered from them several times and have never had an issue. I have never seen a black capuchin either... wonder what kind of copy it was. 

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Ocelots!


A lot of people forget that this cat ranges as far north as the Southern US! They eat up to 7% of their body weight in meat DAILY. They are another cat species that don't mind water and are seen swimming semi-regularly.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

The very last of the monkeys. 

We have a uakari, a woolly, an Atlantic titi, and an unknown Nayab (I see it got moved again back to rhesus macaque on TAW...)


Being largely arboreal, woolly monkeys rarely walk on the ground; but when they do it is often on 2 legs and using the tail actively for balance. Because their tails are so muscular and their fingers so nimble, they are often observed eating while upside down!

[Isidro]

I was unaware of a woolly monkey figurine. I've searched and found that the brand is Dillon Toys, I never heard about this brand before.

Found it for sale at Collectible Wildlife Gifts but unfortunately they do not export beyond USA.

[BlueKrono]

I was unaware of a woolly monkey figurine. I've searched and found that the brand is Dillon Toys, I never heard about this brand before.

Found it for sale at Collectible Wildlife Gifts but unfortunately they do not export beyond USA.

I'd be happy to ship something internationally if you'd be willing to cover the cost.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

The woolly monkey is from the Safari Ltd. monkey toob. At collectible wildlife gifts I think Dillon toys is a common "brand" but I believe they are reproductions of X figures usually.

Brown throated sloths!



Baby sloths will develop algae growth in their fur after only a few weeks, developing these colonies from being in close contact with their mother. They are great swimmers and do so often. Males have a bright yellow or orange patch of scent glands on their back between their shoulders (the CollectA presents this trait).

[bmathison1972]

As a group they look like they are voguing LOL

[Saarlooswolfhound]

They do look very vogue. 

Jaguarundi, Andean cat, bush dog.



Bush dogs often hunt in packs and can bring down prey as large as rhea and capybara! They have the local nickname of "vinegar dog" because of their odor. Like other dog species, they are known to use water as an advantage while hunting.

[bmathison1972]

Is the bushdog from Beauty of Beasts on Etsy? I assume the jaguarundi is a custom? I have the Yowie Andean cat, too.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Haha, nope! The bush dog is a custom done by myself out of a mini nayab badger, the jaguarundi is an original nayab mini and the Andean mountain cat of course is Yowie.

I would LOVE to get some BoB models but they tend to be pricey for my wallet so I haven't indulged just yet.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Next are more sloths; the two-toed Hoffman's and Linnaeus'.



Speaking on sloths in general again; it can take up to a month for them to digest a meal of leaves! It is not properly understood yet but it is also believed they either lick the algae growth on their fur or somehow absorb nutrients through their skin from it. Because they are rather awkward animals and their slow gut action, they descend from the canopy once a WEEK to defecate.

The Mojo holds a special place in my heart. If I am not mistaken (and I may be because it was so long ago) but this was one of the first models presented to STS by Mojo's founder Mr. James Connolly for the community to critique and influence the final product (the sable antelope was the very first I think but only(?) moderators were allowed to help initially). I remember the discussions and the excitement then... and the model is still dear to me at least for that historical trait. But I digress from my nostalgia...

[bmathison1972]

Haha, nope! The bush dog is a custom done by myself out of a mini nayab badger, the jaguarundi is an original nayab mini and the Andean mountain cat of course is Yowie.

I would LOVE to get some BoB models but they tend to be pricey for my wallet so I haven't indulged just yet.

Haha I completely reversed those two. I got a couple BoB models for proof of concept. I like them, but you are correct, they are very costly. I may or may not get any more, although I would love a bushdog!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Wild dogs that aren't N.Am. or European gray wolves are sorely underrepresented as are small wild cats. :/

Giant armadillos!


The word "armadillo" means "little armored one" in spanish. They are
  actually good swimmers and can hold their breath for 6 minutes! They also are one of very few species that eat fire ants. 

[bmathison1972]

the big AAA one in the back right (I think it's AAA) is just a standard nine-banded armadillo, in terms of morphology. It's a 'giant' figure lol but doesn't represent taxa under the umbrella giant armadillo. The Nayab figure might also be a niner, but it's really too generic to say.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I had a great encounter with one recently. I was on the side of a country road taking a quick picture in the middle of the night and an armadillo (nine-banded; not giant) emerged from the foliage behind me. Little dude walked right up to me and hung out for a bit.

Took a video and everything and proceeded to posted on social media, but forgot to save it!! So after 24hr said video was automatically deleted I even tried going through customer support to retrieve deleted files but still nothing.