The Curious Compendium 2023: First of the cats!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Chamois and "feral goat"


Chamois were introduced to southern New Zealand in 1907; sent as a gift in exchange cor living specimens of ferns and small animals to the Austrian Emeror.

[EpicRaptorMan]

This is the figure that I struggled with as well. I eventually settled on the top right one (forgot the brand). It's a good figure from a unique species.

[bmathison1972]

your 'feral' goat almost looks like it can pass for a markhor!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

That is thr Papo ERM.

Blaine, now that you point it out it really does! There are a few types with less curled and wider set horns... I'm gonna have to look into this more...

Also, post image seems to be having some issues recently, hopefully it resolves soon and I am sorry if the pic isn't showing (it should pop up eventually).

Bobcats!



The largest bobcat recorded was 50 lbs; typically they are only 15-40lbs for females-males respectively.  The oldest bobcat recorded in the wild was 16 years old; on average the life span is only 7 years, and in captivity one lived to be 32!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Raccoons!



These guys are truly amazing; not just urban pests as many think of them. They "evolving IQs" meaning they learn amazingly fast. Pair this with their very nimble hands and they can open the lid on all sorts of trouble! They are so intelligent but also teachable; they can learn basic skills of a human toddler like clapping. But they get rejected for a lot of experiments due to their willfull nature.

[EpicRaptorMan]

I have the old gray Schleich one. I recently bought the new Papo one expecting to replace it, but tbh the painting on my racoon's face looks a bit off. Hmm

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Musk oxen!



These guys survive their arctic climes with specializex hemoglobin that is 3 times less temperature sensitive than human hemoglobin! Because of ferocity that males engage in to obtain or defend a harem, they often live much shorter lives than females; up to 5-10 years shorter!

[EpicRaptorMan]

I have the SafariLtd Musk Ox

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Wild cats!


This cat was extirpated from many of it's native European countries in the late 19th century; there are some plans to try and reintroduce them in some areas. However, interbreeding with feral or otherwise outdoor domestic cats threatens the population further. In the wild they live to be 10 years old, and in captivity can live as long as 16+ years!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Armadillos! (9 banded)



They are almost always born as quadruplets! Surprisingly, they are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for up to 6 minutes!

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Now we have pronghorn!



These are the fastest long distance runners in the world! They can run as fast as 56 km/h for 6 km (35 mph for 4 mi), 67 km/h for 1.6 km (42 mph for 1 mi), and 88.5 km/h for 0.8 km (55 mph for 0.5 mi). They are not designed to jump though, and prefer to climb under fences when needed. They have excellent eyesight as well and can pick out movement up to 3 miles away!

I love these animals and have had the pleasure to see them often when traveling. Locally they are referred to as "speed goats" and are truly a marvel to watch in action!

[Gwangi]

Haha, speed goats, I like that. 

I don't have a pronghorn in my collection yet. I'm very fond of the animal though, so hopefully someone makes one soon! I don't think there are any currently in production. Also, this is the rare instance where Mojo has the best figure of something!

[EpicRaptorMan]

I had a very close encounter with an armadillo once where it came right up to me while situated on the side of the road. I currently have the old Schleich one, but may get the newer one to replace it.

As for pronghorns. Would love for CollectA to make one, but for now I have the Mojo one that I repainted. Looks considerably better now.

[bmathison1972]

I had a close encounter with an armadillo too, collecting insects in northern Florida.

Speaking of insects (sort-of), the pronghorn is believed to be the 'natural' host of Otobius megnini, the 'spinose ear tick'! I am actually in the process of publishing a case report of a human who got infested with the tick in Texas 

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I have never seen an armadillo in person (captive or wild) so those are neat experiences! @bmathison1972 how wonderfully disgusting (or disgustingly wonderful?) that bit of info is. 

Marmots!





So I actually found lots of new info I didn't know in these guys. They live in colonies made up of "harems"; one male who has close relationships with 2 or 3 females. They spend about 60% of their life in hibernation and 80% of it underground! Their burrows average being 3 feet underground, but their special hibernation burrows have been measured at 23 feet! Lastly, females don't have offspring every year it is irregular; possibly due to female choice on when to reproduce?

[EpicRaptorMan]

Have you ever posted kudu? I'm considering on getting the Papo Greater Kudu but am hesitant.
Already have the SafariLtd Lesser Kudu

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Scroll down a little.

https://animaltoyforum.com/index.php?topic=3163.240

[Saarlooswolfhound]

Wolverines!







These guys' last molar in their upper jaw sits at a 90 degree perpendicular angle from the line of teeth; this gives them the ability to tear even frozen carcasses apart for a meal or split bone. They also have a superb sense of smell where they can detect carcasses buried in 20 feet of snow. They have even been known to dig out and make a meal of hibernating animals.

[sbell]

Surprising, or not, how many wolverines there actually are.

My first was a very odd one, a Dairy Queen giveaway from the late 90s(?) I think it's missing a base... but I won't complain given the unusual find that it is (found at a garage sale in 2008 or so)

[Saarlooswolfhound]

I missed out on one of those about 2 or 3 years ago and I kick myself for it! I had another interesting model pass through my hands recently (acting as a middle man for a friend in Europe). No info on it but its gotta be a figure for a hunting set or something similar; easily the best model of one I have ever seen!

This species has been spotted a few times in my state recently up around Portland Oregon of all places!