The Curious Compendium 2023-2024: Shih-tzu, maltese, pekingese!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Also this is an update for my website The Curious Compendium!

Ok, all pages are up to date and viewable! Some small aesthetic things are still wonky due to the editing updated but all pages currently available are viewable.

https://thecuriouscompendium.wixsite.com/curiouscompendium

[Gwangi]

The gray fox is my favorite fox species and one of my most wanted figures. Would be nice of Safari to make one!

[bmathison1972]

I remember seeing grey foxes in Florida. From a distance, I saw these long-tailed mammals trying to climb trees. I thought they were squirrels at first, but when I got closer it was a female grey fox teaching her pups how to climb a tree. The grey fox is one of only a couple dogs that can 'climb' trees, and by climb I mean scamper like a squirrel or cat and not just jump on onto a branch

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I haven't seen one in person but they are incredible climbers! And a handsome species... *nudge* Safari? *nudge*...

Peccaries, a porcupine, and a pika! 



My peccaries probably should move to my South American mammal fauna but for now they live with this category as that is the context I first learned of them. Although they look like pigs, they im fact are not! They evolved from a common ancestor but are cousins of true pigs. They belong to the group called Tayassuida and have some distinct differences from the Suidae group.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Brown and Grizzly bears!





Bears in general, when in torpor, don't lose much muscle mass in comparison to other animals because they can recycle their body's waste products efficiently in order to maintain those muscles during their winter sleep. Due to climate  change numerous bears are denning and waking much later and earlier than ever before; some bears are event starting to reject hibernation at all

[bmathison1972]

that's an un-bear-able amount of ursids! 

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Only the bear-necessities Blaine! More to come.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Next up are skunks! Here we have striped.



These guys have incredible accuracy when it comes to their iconic defense mechanism. Up to 3 meters away they can hit the bullseye; literally! (They target the eyes of their predators). But they can spray up to 6 meters away, thought they lose accuracy at this distance. They also can spray with one or both glands at a time, and can control if it is a direct stream or a mist. At any rate, I reccomend a healthy distance when observing these guys in their habitat.

[bmathison1972]

I initially got the CollectA one, but it came with a horrible paint job and I later suspected it was modeled after a juvenile. I have since replaced it with the older Schleich version which is great. I got the PV skunk in an eBay bycatch, and it can also serve as a good example in a synoptic collection.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I have the safariLTD Striped skunk. I like it. Just is a little big for my liking. Wouldn't mind replacing it with Schleich's.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

And back to bears: Polar bears!





Beyond being the largest living land predator this is apparently alsona subspecies of brown bear thanks to a discovery of a jawbone on a Norwegian island about a decade ago. These guys are actually fairly lived in the wild, they can survive up to 25 years before age related complications may take them.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Here is a double post (belated update for today, early one for tomorrow)

Spotted and hooded skunks!



Apparently they only have one natural predator; great horned owls (from what I read) have a poor sense of smell.

Grolar/Pizzly bear and Mexican grizzly!



Pizzly or Grolar bears occur when wild brown bears or grizzlies encounter polar bears and interbreed. This reults in the hybrid animal; it can present itself as more grizzly like in appearance or more polar bear in physique but either way they result in a very pale blonde mixture of colors.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Next are Alpine Ibex!



This animal is the inspiration behind the Capricorn zodiac sign and has long held in the esteem of being a mystical and important animal. The real thing however, I found in my reading, actually has an "undersized" heart for a mammal; this is believed to aid in restricting heat loss but means they also adopt ectothermic behaviors like sun basking.

[bmathison1972]

I didn't realize there had been so many previously made. The Schleich 2024 model will be my first.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I have the old Schleich one. I believe it is from 2006. Was one of my first figures alongside the okapi and black rhinoceros at the time.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I really like the first Schleich and the most recent models myself.

last of the Black bear family!




My favorite fact is that these guys do not only come in black. They can have white patches on their chest like their Asian cousins, they can be brown (chocolate), cinnamon (reddish brown), blonde (yellowish pale), Kermode/Spirit (white pale), and glacier (gray or blue). And of course, any shade in between these, mixture between body, face, and legs, and the white patches can be present on any/all these base coats.

[bmathison1972]

I have the most recent Safari black bear (the one that shares its sculpt with the Kermode), but the upcoming one from Schleich looks very nice. I have contemplated getting the new Schleich so I can then get the Safari Kermode (I don't want the two variations to be the same sculpt). But honestly, one black bear is enough for me, so Safari it will be .

[EpicRaptorMan]

A size conscious collector. I was trying to find one that went good with my Schleich polar bear and grizzly bear...so I took opted for the original Schleich one.

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Just a quick update for my website under renovation. The home page has had some items restored and the about page as well as the external resources pages are redone! Check them out if you like. The North American and European Mammals page should be live in a week or two I think.

https://thecuriouscompendium.wixsite.com/curiouscompendium

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Mountain goats! So excited for Papo's release.






They are not actually goats, they are closely related to antelope and belong to the bovidae family. Their tongues are black! They are also pretty small; only 3.5 feet at the shoulder and 5.5 feet long and approx weigh 180-280 lbs (rough size of females to males).