The Curious Compendium 2023 Tour Finale: Griffons!

Beautiful hippos! I hope Papo rereleases their female hippo. I missed out on her

Great collection, I see much variety, different poses and nice figures. Congratulations.

Thank you my dear friends!

African wild ass! 

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Some facts. Their large ears developed to help disperse heat in their desert climate. They are the smallest wild equid species. There are only 570 left in the wild, with 150 in captivity. Part of this recovery issue is their hybridizing with feral domesticated varieties of donkey.

Pygmy Hippos!

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Fun facts: they have a 4 chambered stomach like ruminants, but because they use microbes to ferment their food and they do not chew their cud, they are NOT ruminant animals.

Love these hippos! Those CollectA ones were one of my first CollectA figures. I love how smooth they are

Nice figurees again :)

Very nice Hippos!

I love to read through your thread and all the fun facts you include. I'm learning so many new things! And it is always fun to search the figures that I already have in your collection photos. You have a very nice collection!
Do you know if the adult pygmy hippos actually have specified genders or are the models genderless?

Thank you everyone!

Katy, I am not 100% sure and my collection isn't easily accessible to check. I would bet the CollectA is sexed, their other hippo is. The Safari I would bet not. The calf is probably too young...? I can try to check this weekend.

Next is the spotted hyena!

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Fun facts! Their heart is roughly double the size of any similarly sized mammal. They are the only mammal that can tear and break down elephant hide and bone. Those jaws have been measured at producing forces of up to 1100 PSI (pressure per square inch)! That is some of the strongest in the animal kingdom, and amongst the strongest of any mammal recorded! I could go on and on for these guys...

Thank you for your answer!
No pressure on that.

An addendum!

Asian bats!

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Asian pangolins

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Oryxes are next in line! Several species here.

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Let's talk about the fringe-eared oryx in the room... it is a customized model done by myself. This subspecies was first announced as its own species, later demoted to subspecies status, and talks have began to return its original status to it. These guys' bodies can get up to 115 degrees F (46.1 C) before they suffer any consequences of overheating! They also spar with their lance like horns when competing for females, and with these formidable weapons they do not seriously nor intentionally gore each other! Although, lions are fair game and have been recorded as fatally gored by them.

Lovely oryxes! I love your custom fringe-eared oryx! The old Schleich one is such a gem. I've been meaning to get one for my collection but I can never find any in good condition for a reasonable price. I'm hoping we can get a standard-sized Addax from Safari in the future...

I like antelope figures

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Oryxes are next in line! Several species here.

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Hi, what is the brand of grazing oryx?
2nd one in top

That is a custom repaint done by myself. I don't remember the brand of the original model... I will update if I can think of it.

Oryx antelopes are lovely animals!
And now I see how big the Papo Oryx is in comparison to Schleich's. Oh boy...
Your custom and repaint look super!

Beautiful antelopes, and very nice photo.
Congratulations .

Thank you my friends!

That oryx is a Toy Major! I remembered finally.

And the Papo is indeed gigantic, buts its a very nice figure.

Chimpanzees and bonobos!

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The most iconic species are hard to find unique facts on... here goes: Chimpanzees cannot swim! They often have to cross rivers but their muscle density and proportions prevent them from effective swimming. There are 4 subspecies; Central, Western, Eastern, and the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees. There may be a 5th but it hasn't been officially set apart just yet; the Southeastern chimpanzee.

Some of my favorite animals showing up here, the hyenas and the wild ass, the pangolins, the oryx . . . beautiful selection of creatures!

I went to a conference one time that was held on a private conservation center (White Oak, in Florida, you might be familiar). They had a huge heard of wild ass living just across the street from my little cabin for the week. An experience I will never forget!

Thank you Andreas and Jill! I have never been to Florida but that experience sounds amazing... I can imagine having wild asses as neighbors! (pun kinda intended...? )

I have a few more addenda. I will try a brief explanation for anyone curious to read it... Since my big move, I have been terrible about keeping up on my collection cataloging. I am generally much better visually than just remembering these days, so with my huge collection stored in boxes now due to space constraints rather than the good ol' days of bookcase displays I have had an ever worse time. I still remember something like 95% of my models and what they are, but this presentation has been a case in point... I have made a few mistakes in this thread. I am really surprised no one pointed them out to me! (Feel free to in the future, I welcome kindly placed corrections). Anyway, these are models I either mistook the continent of origin OR  completely misplaced them in the wrong "family portrait" and these are the corrections for them. I am SURE there will be more as I continue.

Sun bears
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moon bears
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miscellaneous Asian animals
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miscellaneous Asian rodents
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Clouded leopards
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And a few other Asian cat species
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Wildebeest!

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Fun facts: there are 2 species of wildebeest; the blue and black wildebeest. Blue wildebeest are known for their migration while the black wildebeest usually do not migrate. Also, the blue wildebeest has 2 intriguing color variations worth looking up... the king's and the golden wildebeests!

Great herd