Some people like spiders and others don't. I'm not sure how endearing this arachnid is. I found this spider sitting on its rope-like web (see its heavy strands) on a luscious green leaf in the Amazon Jungle in Para Province in Brazil. Tapir and Friends Animal Store has a large selection of realistic plastic spiders for sale. There is an interesting selection of stuffed tarantulas and interlocking tarantula puzzles. They are all harmless, for those of you who are faint at heart.
This imaginitive sculpture of a seahorse adorns Millenium Park in Lake Oswego, Oregon. It is not clear why the city chose a seahorse as a centerpiece for this garden, but it certainly gives the nearby lush foliage an underwater quality. Tapir and Friends Animal Store has a large inventory of aquatic creatures . Come see some of the realistic plastic seahorses, seahorse 3-d puzzles and seahorse jewelry for sale, but unfortunately none are this large.
These wonderful lifelike 3-D puzzles depicting dinosaurs and other animals are running out quickly! At the beginning of the holiday season, we had eight types of donosaurs - now we only have three left! Come on over and see what they are. As of today, these three are still in stock and ready to ship for Christmas!
Dinosaurs never lose their appeal or their popularity. They seem to fascinate everyone, and we carry dinosaur gifts for "children" of all ages! The dinosaur dinking cup above is for toddlers, but I know one child who has not advanced to drinking cups yet, but loves to hold them by the handles and bang them together. Since they are durable, this works well for everyone :)
Our dinosaur bones (or fossil) model will be fun for older children or teens and older who simply want to enjoy learning and looking at the way the bones fit together. It's a bit too simple to be called a puzzle, but as a model it can decorate a classroom or bedroom or den very nicely. Shown here is our t-rex, but we have others, too.
We love our colorful Pteranodon hand puppet, and we think you will, too! It's made for smaller hands, so is perfect for children and adults with small hands!
The Iguanodon dinosaur above is just one of the four species of dinosaur 3D puzzles we still have left in stock. Order today, they are becoming extinct rather quickly!
Our white-spotted clown triggerfish is a beauty of a puzzle! Look at the gorgeous colors, and clear fins, and the many pieces you get to put together! Children have a wonderful time with these puzzles, and, as with most electronics, they can probably work it faster than you can! NO, THE FISH IS NOT ELECTRONIC, I was just making a point. The fish has no working parts. You or the recipient of this gift get to do it all manually. The clown triggerfish comes with a blue plastic stand so it can "swim" indefinitely once you've put it together. Or, if you'd rather, you can put the pieces away for another day.
We hate to see these wonderful animal puzzles disappearing, but that is a fact. They are no longer available to us, having been discontinued by the importer. We've been looking for a new source, but have not found one. These puzzles have been among our top sellers, and they are also wonderful replicas of the real animal. Just the other day we sold out of our zebra puzzle and had to take it offline.
These wonderful 3D plastic animal puzzles are on their way to extinction. Unfortunatley, once our stock is gone, we won't be able to get them again. Although we still have over 40 realistic animal types in this fun and challenging 3D plastic puzzle format, the supplies are dwindling. They make wonderful stocking stuffers for Christmas, but we may be out by then. There is nothing wrong with the puzzles, but due to new import laws regarding paint testing, the tests have become so expensive that as of this writing, the puzzles are a casualty of the more stringent laws. The puzzles were safe before, and they're still safe, but so many tests are required PER IMPORTATION that suppliers have cancelled this product. Please check them out while we still have them. They are charming and educational, fun to put together and enjoyable to look at once they're finished. Or, you can take them apart and put them back together again. Even if they were not puzzles, these would be some of the best-looking plastic animals we know! Learn about animals as you play!
We HOPE it's not the last chance, but here's the deal. All of the 40-plus plastic 3D animal puzzles we carry have been discontinued by the US importers we buy from. These puzzles are popular with kids and adults and are both fun and a challenge for people many ages. Yet, popularity is not the problem. The manufacturers in China have raised their minimum quantity orders to to the wholesalers so high that everyone we know has stopped carrying them. I won't go into details here because I don't know all of the rules that the importers and exporters have to comply with (Sue deals with these details, and I can find out if anyone is interested), but I do know that although the toys were safe to begin with and some tests are, of course, needed, the level and frequency of the tests has been escalated beyond what many importers can afford to pay and still deliver the goods at a price consumers find acceptable. The new pricing and shortages have begun to take effect this year and we will continue to see changes as old stocks are depleted. 
How about a nice T-rex dinosaur 3-D puzzle? We have TWO T-rex puzzles in stock. You can take your pick between the one with an open mouth (above) that looks like it's roaring, and the one below with his mouth looking a little more friendly. These puzzles can be taken apart and put together any number of times. We even give you a plastic case that looks like a fossil to keep the pieces in if you don't want to store it on your shelf in the finished condition. The case also makes these puzzles good for travelling.
And of course, at Tapir and Friends Wildlife World, T is ALWAYS for Tapir! Tapir conservation is the reason we started the gift shop in the first place, and we have lots of tapirs! The unusual European-style tapir bumper sticker shown above is always a favorite.
We also have tapir jewelry to match your favorite tapir species. Can you believe that? Corinna Bechko makes these for us with the colors to your specifications. The tapir above is a Malayan tapir, and we carry earrings, pins, and pendants. You choose from a selection of colors, and you choose a color for the bead on the earrings and pendant!
We think this nice round tapir earring could be either a mountain tapir or a Baird's tapir. It has no crest, so you'd have to use your imagination if you'd like it to be a lowland tapir. This tapir, too, comes in a variety of colors and bead types, and you can get it as a pin or pendant, also. Corinna also makes a charming striped baby tapir, which could easily pass for any species!
In the plaster and ceramics department, we have this wonderful baby mountain tapir figurine made by hand in Colombia by tapir researcher and artist Sergio Sandoval especially for the Tapir Preservation Fund. Our baby tapir was first moulded in clay, then cast in plaster. The paint is all done by hand.
Oops, how did the toucan get here? He's interrupted our flow of tapirs, but we're going to let him stay. "T" is clearly also for toucan! We have this toucan in the stuffed animal form you see here, but we also have toucans made of plastic. We have have toucan jewelry made by Corinna! Come see all of our cool and charming toucan toys and gifts!
Now that we've had our toucan break, we're back to tapirs! Yes, we have so many, we haven't even put all of them on the blog. You can see our full collection of tapirs here. Above, you see our stuffed tapir, Yanisa. She's made by Hansa and everyone loves her!
These four tapirs (one of each species) show clearly differentiated traits. They're made by a Canadian biologist who loves animals so much that he got his PhD and works in a zoo. He knits each tapir for us by hand, and we've had these popular and lovable animals in stock for about 10 years or maybe longer.
Believe it or not, it's hard to find plastic tapirs! This nice example of a Malayan or Asian tapir is comparatively new to us.
Well, here we go. "T" is for Tapir! Audrey Jakab created this lowland tapir design and donated it to us in the year 2000. It's been one of our all-time favorite gift shop tapirs for nine years. We sell this design as a t-shirt and as a sweatshirt.
And this Baird's tapir t-shirt and sweatshirt have been with us even longer - since 1999! The lettering is not crooked. Years ago when we made our first scan, we didn't get it straight on the scanner. We promise, the type is straight on the shirt! It's funny how you get used to something. This scan has been with us for ten whole years and feels just like family :) Come along and join us, too! Wear tapirs - they're great for all occasions, and you can help let people know how important it is to preserve them in the wild. Your tapir shirt will make a great conversation piece!
