Woolly Mammoth baby (Prehistoric Life by Wild Safari)

After completing the 2004 Wild Safari Prehistoric Life Woolly Mammoth review, it was brought to my attention that I should take a look at the retired WS Baby. With this thought in mind, I sat down and took a close look at this little toy. I suppose I could have added a small revision to my first review and added this little figure. Even though it does complement the adult mammoth, this baby is well done and can stand out on its own.

The baby mammoth is 3.5 inches (8.9cm) long and 1.14 inches (2.9cm) high and was retired in 2011. The pose is an attractive one. Its head is looking straight ahead with its trunk stretched out in front of it. It has a classic bugle look to its trunk, as if it is tooting hello, or saying wait up. Of course it could just be reaching out for its mommy’s tail. Interestingly, there is a mop of fur on its head, and above the shoulders there is a very small hump, and then the back slopes downward. These features are typical characteristic of the species, but supposedly these features were not present in juveniles, which had concave backs like African elephants.

On the head are prominent brow ridges, big wide eyes, and very small ears the stick out on either side. The mouth is open; there is even a small outline of tongue inside. There are some small trunk ripples right in front of the eyes. The small ears are kept close but not flat to the body. As you would expect, it is covered head to toe in fur. There is a long outer covering of guard hairs that cover the upper part of the head, body, and legs. On the trunk and bottom half of the legs you see the shorter undercoat. The tail is short with long bushy end.

The texture on this model is all about the woolly fur. It has long lines of guard hair covering the upper body, with small, faint lines, for the undercoat. The muscles on the legs do bulge out a little bit, and has a little rounded ribs, but it is hard to notice with all the fur covering it.

The color is just like the adult. It is two toned with different shades of brown, which looks good and is accurate. There is a dark brown undercoat, were the guard coat of fur is a little more light brown. The toes are painted in grey. The eyes are completely brown with black pupils. Inside the mouth is a small line of pink for the tongue.

As a toy, I can see that this would please the younger kids, and find use for bigger kids. It is an active, and dare I say cute sculpt. It will find play by itself, with its mommy, or in a big herd. If a brother a sister a playing with this little guy, and it happens to wonder away from the toy herd there are plenty of predators such as large cats, or occasional T-Rex which one sibling will probably use to ambush it. So be prepared, as this can lead to one of the kids becoming upset at their sibling. The paint is robust and there are no sharp edges on this toy.

This is a beautiful piece to have. It is easy to overlook, due to its size, or just being thought of as a companion piece to the adult. For those who have overlooked it, or if you like mega fauna, you might want to take a second look. It currently retails in the 3-7dollar range, so it is very affordable. I would stock up on it if you find some. I wouldn’t say it is a rare toy but it has been retired since 2011, so finding it can be fun challenge.

You can begin your search here:Ebay