The Curious Compendium 2023 Tour Finale: Griffons!

Huzzah! I am back... my first bout of Covid took me out for a week. I apologize for the delay. Let's get back to it!

More mixed antelope!

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For the striped duiker: they have the biggest brains proportional to body size of any antelope! The word "duiker" is a local African word for "diiver"; referencing their uncanny ability to dive into foliage to escape predators.

I think "duiker" is better translated as "diver". But maybe "driver" is just a typo.
I love your group shots btw.
Keep them coming.

Yes, I meant diver. Thank you for catching that Simone!

[quote="Saarlooswolfhound"]Geez... I really was out of Teusday. Here are the African buffalo! Sorry for the delay!

African buffalo!



And what about brown and polar bears?

Thank you Sergey! I will show my bears soon in the North American and European mammal category. :)

Nice figures again

Thanks Andreas!

Pangolins and hedgehogs!

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Giant pangolins can gobble up 70 MILLION insects each year! They have no teeth to chew, so they eat sand and small stones to grind the food in their stomach. They also do not have external ears but can hear well.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thank you Sergey! I will show my bears soon in the North American and European mammal category. :)

widukind wrote:

Papo's hedgehog is so adorable!
A very nice little flock of models.

Thank you everyone. :)

My last antelope group! Another mixed one (topi, waterbuck, eland).

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Fun facts: Waterbuck get their name from their affinity to it. They are always found near a water source and use it often to evade predators. They also have an oily secretion in their skin that makes their fur waterproof! And it does not smell nice.  ::)

Alrighty! There is only about a week's worth left of photos and then Africa is wrapped up. (I know, it took forever...)

Mixed group of smaller fellas.

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Fun facts for naked mole rats! For these guys, a quarter of the muscle mass is located in their jaws! They can live to be 30+ years old (an anomaly amongst their relatives). Similarly to insects, they have partitioned "jobs" like soldier, burrower, or forager. Soldier rats have been known to fend off predators like snakes til the death!

Very interesting

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

[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.

Wow that does put it into perspective, though I am sure tigers are one of the most represented species out there. Your collection is a wonderful selection of variety and I love seeing it. :)

I really like those large mongooses, are they AAA?

Very good figures

Thank you all. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], those are the AAA mongooses. :)

Okapi!

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These guys ONLY live in one country in the wild, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their tongue is long enough to clean both their eyes and ears (I find the photos of this action a bit disconcerting!). Lastly, they seem to have an appetite for bat guano... it is uncertain why, but the working theory is that it operates similarly to animals who eat clay (which they also do).

Interesting trivia . What brand is the small okapi at the bottom right? Great to see a Britains!

Thanks Andreas and Roger!

The Britains is indeed a nice model. :) The small one you pointed out is the Yowies US. Sadly, one of the harder ones to find (at least for me when they were in stores here). It took a while to get that one and the mandrill of the same series.

Nice flocks again Paige

No Mojo Pangolin ?

Thanks, I didn't realise there was a Yowies okapi.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Thank you all. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], those are the AAA mongooses. :)

Okapi!

Okapi are one of my favorites to collect! I'd love to find the Bullyland ones. I made a Congo diorama just so I could display my okapis

Thank you everyone. :)

Kiki, I do have the Mojo pangolin but it with his other Asian compatriots.

Honey badgers!

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Fun facts: They are the only living species of the Mellivorinae genus. They have been known for primitive tool use (using branches or loose stumps to boost themselves up to a food source for example). Lastly, they CAN be killed by the venomous snakes they hunt, but often when bitten (if the fangs can get through their thick skin) they go into a coma-like state while their body metabolizes the venom and then "wake up" to finish their meal or find another.