The Curious Compendium 2023: First of the cats!

[Gwangi]

I adore that new WW elk but it is too large for my collection. 

[bmathison1972]

I adore that new WW elk but it is too large for my collection. 

Luckily the 2013 WS version is just about as good, and smaller!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Honshū and Hokkaido wolves!


There are no wolves on this island today. The last Honshū wolf was killed in 1905 in central Japan while the last Hokkaido was deemed extinct in 1889. They went extinct due to mixture of disease (rabies and distemper introduction) and hunting.

Honshū were the smallest of the wolves, only growing to be about 35 inches long and 12 inches tall. They resembled coyotes and jackals more than wolves. The Honshū has been genetically proven to have descended from the extinct pleistocene wolf while the Hokkaido is descended from modern gray wolves. The Hokkaido were built more like modern gray wolves in size.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Next are the red deer!





These are closely related to Rocky Mountain elk; if given the chance they can interbreed. Even such, there are core differences between the two including: elk cows carry calves for 20 days longer than hinds, and elk bulls keep their antlers for up to 35 days longer than stags, and the bugle of an elk vs the roar of a red deer are very different experiences. In either case, conservation of populations and habitat for red deer in Europe is improving their outlook still! In many areas introducing new factors the red deer hasn't faced in years such as competition with wisents, predation by any number of large carnivores, and the return of forested habitats to deforested areas, is hoped to make native herds more robust.

[Gwangi]

I have the Papo figure and seeing it here with others reaffirms for me that it was the right choice. Such a regal figure, as a red deer should be.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That is indeed a good choice for this species.

Ok, as you may imagine being a wolf enthusiast, I have lots of "gray wolves". Instead of showing them all at once, I will present them 1 photo at a time also.



My fun fact for this will be that contrary to popular belief, wolves do NOT have a strict "alpha-omega" heirarchy. The biologist who popularized the term, ironically one of the leading wolf researchers Dr. Mech, regrets his misunderstanding and consequent popularization of the idea. In reality, wolf packs are much more like human families in that each is unique and creates relationships 100% unique to them. There have been loads of studies since that show that wolf packs defy the ideology of "alpha heirarchy" and instead have far more complex family ties that also evolve as the pack experiences events in its lifetime. Being a very social animal, its no wonder their social complexity has been difficult to pin down.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Fallow deer!



I was surprised to learn a while back that these guys come in other colors! Including black and gray. Their origins are unclear because of centuries of captivity but these are the most widespread deer worldwide! Lastly, their earliest record in the US may be with US president George Washington whom kept "English deer" and there are still fallow on his historical home property of Mount Vernon!

[bmathison1972]

If you put them all in a line, they could play fallow the leader!

[EpicRaptorMan]

This might be too much work. But I suggest creating a table of contents on post #1. That way so people can go through and find specific shares.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I really do enjoy your puns Blaine.

@epicraptor man, I can probably do that if I get the time to. But I figure if anyone needs to refer to a photo they can A) go to my website to the appropriate page if it has been remodeled or B) can PM me and I would be happy to assist.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Gray wolves 1.1



Something that I just learned today... there was a study completed where researchers played howls made by Eurasian gray wolves to North American gray wolves. Despite the howls having distinctive keys and melodic traits that have classified them as very different to N.A. wolves, the N. A. gray wolves responded to a variety of howling types! This makes them "mutually intelligible" howls of communication. Makes me wonder what all can be said in such harmonics?

[bmathison1972]

Ah! Finally the gray wolf I have makes an appearance

[Gwangi]

Ah! Finally the gray wolf I have makes an appearance

Likewise!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Hmm... I forget which one you chose Blaine... is it the Papo female for both you and Gwangi? I remember discussing the newest Safari with you Blaine when it came out.

Whitetailed deer! (or White-tailed deer as both spellings are correct).




Gosh... so many things I could say about this species... where to start! Well, they can jump over fences 7 feet tall  but have been recorded as leaping 10 foot tall fences! Pairing this with their unique ability to eat over 800 different kinds of plants (including domesticated cultivars and plants toxic to many other mammals) these guys often get labelled as pests when they infiltrate someone's private garden and flowerbeds in North America. Lastly, let's address the "deer in headlights" phenomenon. Deer eyes have more rods than cones which makes it easy for them to see in low light conditions like dawn and dusk (expected for a crepuscular animal). However, because rods are responsible (more or less) for collecting light while cones collect colors for vision, when a bright light like a car headlight is shone in their face, it effectively blinds the animal. Understandably this makes them freeze until their eyes adjust and their brain catches up, at which point they will then move off of the road. But obviously... this gives them a severe disadvantage if they are nearby a man made road at their peak activity hours of the day.

[Gwangi]

I almost picked up the Schleich white-tail but decided not too, which is good since now I have my eye on Safari's. An important addition to any collection of North American wildlife!

[bmathison1972]

I almost picked up the Schleich white-tail but decided not too, which is good since now I have my eye on Safari's. An important addition to any collection of North American wildlife!

I thought after my Museum post you were considering CollectA's @Gwangi 

[Gwangi]

I almost picked up the Schleich white-tail but decided not too, which is good since now I have my eye on Safari's. An important addition to any collection of North American wildlife!

I thought after my Museum post you were considering CollectA's @Gwangi 

Yeah, probably. That sounds familiar. I was eyeballing it in the above picture too. I'm indecisive. This is why a lot of the commonly made animals aren't in my collection yet.

[Koifish]

I like Papo's, but they seem a bit big, so I will probably go with Collecta. Although I wish there was a doe to accompany him. I do wish the Hunter Dan figures were smaller; if anyone is going to make outstanding cervid figures, it's going to be the hunting brand of course

[EpicRaptorMan]

I really adore "Hunter Dan's" elk figure. But it is immensely large.

I have the Schleich Whitetail that's on the first picture, top, center. I like it but I wish the coat coloration was more like CollectA's...

[Saarlooswolfhound]

For me, Safari's captures the look best. They are rather orange, but this is meant to replicate their summer coat. I also like the CollectA, but something in the face isn't quite as good as Safari's IMO. But it represents the winter coat color which is nice. I also like Papo's, but they are a little more idealized in looks.