The Curious Compendium 2023 Tour Finale: Griffons!

Taos wrote:

The Nayab Wild boar is in fact a Giant Forest hog even though it is marketed as a Wild boar.I have the book that they used to produce this model and its definitely a Giant Forest hog.

 It is what I thought! Thank you for the info Taylor!

Kikimalou wrote:

Very nice "sounder" Paige

Rogério, I've been interested in Bullyland ever since Susanne put a spell on me...  

Yes, I know, it is the exact same here.

Roger wrote:

Surely I love the Arctic Foxes family portrait but I am so much curious about the squirrels. Where did you read about red squirrels interbreeding with grey squirrels? I'm only aware of grey squirrels interbreeding with fox squirrels. The Eurasian red squirrel belongs to the same genus but at least in Europe they do not interbreed and introduced populations of grey squirrel are contributing to the decline of the red squirrel. I know in America there is the American red squirrel but that one is not a close relative.

I did not delve into this really, I think the mention of it that I came across was to prove that these species have evolved to be different enough that they CANNOT interbreed any longer.

I am excited about the giant hog, I knew it was discussed but I don't have the knowledge in that area to make the decision myself, so this is exciting! I will implement that change sometime to reflect.

Ok, now on to my last canid group to present: Channel Island's fox and my gray fox.

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The Channel Island fox is one of the smallest canids in the world, but it is the largest native mammal to the island. These guys descended from mainland gray foxes and has been reduced to about 12 inches at the shoulder and usually about 5 lbs. These foxes nearly went extinct due to non-native introductions of ungulates and consequent dispersal of golden eagles; but in 1999 a conservation effort to remove these threats has led to a population rebound. One of few success stories for the canine world.

The rare Joy City Gray fox

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Roger wrote:

Surely I love the Arctic Foxes family portrait but I am so much curious about the squirrels. Where did you read about red squirrels interbreeding with grey squirrels? I'm only aware of grey squirrels interbreeding with fox squirrels. The Eurasian red squirrel belongs to the same genus but at least in Europe they do not interbreed and introduced populations of grey squirrel are contributing to the decline of the red squirrel. I know in America there is the American red squirrel but that one is not a close relative.

I did not delve into this really, I think the mention of it that I came across was to prove that these species have evolved to be different enough that they CANNOT interbreed any longer.

I completely misread this, you say they can swim and can't interbreed, and I decided to mix things up. I'm sorry, I think I read too many posts at once, and by the time I commented, I had already mixed everything up. Please forgive your old crocodile friend."

There is nothing to forgive my friend! Thank you Andreas and Roger. :)

Peccaries, a porcupine, and a pika! 

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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.

Really unusual

Brown and Grizzly bears!

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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!

Many many bears

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Brown and Grizzly bears!

Great collection of brown bears. I like the pose of the sitting bear at the bottom right in the first photo. Are there any visible differences between Eurasian brown bears and Grizzly bears?

What a great finale that is! Bears are Best.

Thank you everyone! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], there are subtle differences between populations, and then theres isolated populations like Kodiak Island.

@DutchBear, this isn't the final post of the topic. I mean "finale" as I intend to keep my website updated and efficiently working after this thread is complete (its been a long renovation project to optimize everything).

Next up are skunks! Here we have striped.

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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.

Many nice skunks

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

Next up are skunks! Here we have striped.

Nice Two tones striped band

I know I'm overdoing it, but could you do a comparison topic on Papo 50240 Brown Bear, Mojo 387216 Grizzly Bear and Safari 181329 Grizzly Bear?

rogerpgvg wrote:

Great collection of brown bears. I like the pose of the sitting bear at the bottom right in the first photo. Are there any visible differences between Eurasian brown bears and Grizzly bears?

I don't think Blaine's link will help that much.
There are several differences and there is even a new systematic about the several brown bear subspecies. The most noticiable difference and the one which is easily translatable to a toy is that Grizzly bear have a much more conspicuous hump.

This might be a little better to help with subspecies ID. :) Not the best narration but the information is good.

And back to bears: Polar bears!

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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.

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

Spotted and hooded skunks!

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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!

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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.

Nice again