The Curious Compendium 2023 Tour Finale: Griffons!

Wonderful antelopes

I have all 4 of the large models, they're all wonderful I love how complex the different species of antelopes are, especially with their horns. I haven't posted any pictures yet, but I revisited the San Diego Zoo & Safari Park last month and was able to go on one of their Safari tours. They had a large herd of blackbuck. Since they no longer needed to breed any, they altered all the males so they would no longer reproduce. The already mature ones, their coats turned from jet black to tan like the females, but they still had curly horns. The non mature males that were altered earlier, their horns grew outwards similar to a barbary sheep, they weren't curled elegantly - a side affect of no testosterone.

It is so interesting to know all the uses of their markings and horns!

Thank you everyone! @Jolie, I have heard of that! Very interesting biology for those guys.

Undetermined species gorillas.
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Just for general gorilla fun facts: a female will have approximately 3-4 offspring in her lifetime *one baby at a time*. These animals eat HUGE amounts of plant material and are thus big vectors for seed dispersal.

Nice undetermined tribe Paige I have a soft spot for the K&M and Safari Ltd in the centre of the second photo, it's nice to see good models that aren't silverbacks.

Thank you Kiki and Andreas! I like the non silverbacks too. :)

Bongos!

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Bongo antelope are the only tragelaphus species to have males AND females with horns. They have been observed eating burnt wood after lightning storms; likely as a source of minerals and medicinal charcoal.

My favourite land animal, they are so beautiful!

Thank you everyone.

African monkeys!

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For this fact check I chose the colobus monkey. Very interesting lil guys! Their babies are born pure white. Their name comes from a Greek word for "mutilated"; this refers to the fact they don't have thumbs! This digit has regressed to the point of barely being visibly, this is likely because their diet consists of leaves and not fruit (therefore they don't need to be as dextrous as their frugivore cousins). Lastly, they have been known to munch on clay rich soils! This is thought to aid in digestion and absorption of toxins in their leafy diet.

Lovely monkeys

Lovely monkeys! Very interesting facts about the colobus monkey! It reminds me of the episode in Prehistoric Planet with the triceratops eating clay to absorb the toxic plants they eat

Thanks Andreas and Jolie. 

Mixed antelope from now on: Nyala, impala, and gerenuk. 

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Fun facts for gerenuks! They are the sole species of the Litocranius genus. They perform their upright feeding behavior with help from their specially adapted spine. Those dark spots by their eyes? These are glands that secrete a tarry substance used for scent marking; many antelope species have something similar.

Except the Nyala, I don't know any antilope up!

What brand are the antelopes in front?

I didn't know about Colobus thumb Thank you for these fun facts again

Geez... I really was out of Teusday. Here are the African buffalo! Sorry for the delay!

African buffalo!

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Fun facts: there are 5 subspecies; Cape, Congo, Sudan, Nile, and Virunga buffalo. Statistics show that these animals kill 200 humans a year in conflicts. Females are usually around 1,000 lbs while males can grow to be nearly a ton!

What a herd!

Lovely group!!

excellent herd Paige! glad to hear you are recovering from that, sorry you had to catch it. There is a lot more people here recently wearing their masks. It must still be around but the hype has died down.

What is that small one in the right hand corner? It looks like my size, 1/32nd. I've never seen it before.

Your collection is partly so interesting because it's a glimpses into percentages of how some of the species have been represented in toy form. I had no idea the cape buffalo had so many, as opposed to the bongo, which I would have assumed would be a more popular choice.

Thank you my friends!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I think you are refering to the newest Safari Ltd. Africa toob buffalo? As an aside, from my biology background in education, I think Covid will become lile the flu. There will be boosters to get once a year and it will be routine (mot quite like a common cold, but just like the yearly bouts of stomach flu). As I said, mine wasn't horrible to deal with though it was unpleasant. Anywho...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], I do not have every single model of each species presented here, but this is partly why I enjoy having broad and diverse models in one species. There are a lot things to appreciate. Artistic interpretation, cultural/psychological significance, size, quality... and that's all just when they sit on a shelf or "pose" for a family portrait. As mentioned in earlier posts here it reflects the collector too (i.e. etween my close friends like Blaine, Christophe, etc. out of 60+ tigers we may share 2 of the same figures). I enjoy the comparisons of things and my taste changes all the time.