My Little Garden Zoo: Mid-August Visit

A few years ago on a whim I purchased little figures of a warthog, a spider monkey, and two others that escape my memory at the local toy shop.  As fate would have it, they were made by the German company Schleich, and they infested my imagination.  That was hundreds of little figurine ago in a collection that has everything (often more than one) Schleich has made in the last 8 years and some from before then.  It has expanded to include some from Mojo, Papo, Safari Ltd, and Bullyland along with a few odd pieces from other designers.  I have models and mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians cover over 130 species with some consisting of as many as 22 members (my Hartmann's Mountain Zebras), and 20 (African Lions).

Originally, I set up some planters on my deck and designed them into little habitats.  One year it grew to 110!  I have seriously pared it back since then.  The reality is it's a lot of work.  They bring me a lot of pleasure, too and guests seem to enjoy exploring them, but now I just put out a sampling every year.  This year it's around 45 species.  A couple share a space, but most have their own little ecosystem.

I will list the species I have out by continent and share some images of them here.  Again, this is about 30% of the total number of species, and many of the group displays only contain a portion of the total number of models I have for that species.

My 2018 Little Garden Zoo

AUSTRALIA

Eastern Grey Kangaroo

Not Shown: Yellow Rock Wallaby, Koala Bear

SOUTH AMERICA

Giant Anteater

Ocelot

AMAZON AVIARY

Blue & Yellow Macaw, Toco Toucan, and Hyacinth Macaw

Toco Toucan, Blue & Yellow Macaw, and Keel-billed Toucan

Scarlet Macaw and Toco Toucan

Not shown: Alpaca, Hoffman's Two-toed Sloth, and Baird's Tapir

NORTH AMERICA/EUROPE

California Sea Lion

Diamondback Rattlesnake

Moose

Wapiti

Coyote

Timber Wolves

Grizzly Bears

Collared Peccary

Not Shown: Alpine Ibex, Aviary with Geese, Ducks, Swans, and a Peacock.

AFRICA

Ring-tailed Lemur

Gemsbok

Slender-tail Meerkats

Common Hippopotamus

Hartmann's Mountain Zebra

Common Warthogs

Southern White Rhinoceros

Reticulated Giraffe

African Lion

Okapi

Not Shown: Spotted Hyena, Blue Wildebeest, Aldabra Tortoise, Common Chimpanzee

 ASIA

Bornean Orangutans

Asian Elephants

Indian Rhinoceros

Sloth Bear

Amur Leopards

Not Shown: Giant Panda, Amur Tiger