Palo de Sangre Wooden Capybara

Add this delightful piece to your home decor!

Our Carved Wood Capybara

The one-of-a-kind capybara figurine is handmade in Colombia, South America, of beautiful, natural palo de sangre wood. The shriny red of the wood is natural, and there is no finish or stain added. The surface shine and smoothness are created by rubbing the finished product in a way that burnishes it to a beautiful, silky lustre. Each piece is an individually-designed and carved work of art. No two are exactly the same, which is the reason our order button only allows you to order one. You will receive the exact capybara you see in this photo. You can learn more about palo de sangre wood products from Colombia via this link, or check out our other capybara toys and gifts. You can also look at all of our Latin American arts and crafts on this page. This capybara was shipped to us by a Colombian conservationist to help raise funds for tapir conservation in Colombia.

About Capybaras

The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is related to guinea pigs and chinchillas. Capybara are the largest living rodents in the world, reaching lengths of over four feet long and weights of as much as 150 pounds. Their range is densely-forested parts of South America near bodies of water. While not native to lands outside of South America, capybara have been introduced to similar habitats around the world as escapees from captivity, including the marshes of Florida and the western coast of California.

Capybara are herbivores, feeding primarily on aquatic plants, tree bark, fruit, and grasses. They are themselves a favored prey of large cats and eagles, and are farm-raised for meat and pelts across South America. A Papal Bull (a document issued by the Pope in Rome) declared the capybara a fish, allowing capybara to eaten during the Catholic holiday of Lent. As a result, poaching of capybara increases during the period right before Easter.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Palo de Sangre Wooden Crocodile

Another beautiful and unique piece from our Columbian friends!

Our Carved Wood Crocodile

The one-of-a-kind capybara figurine is handmade in Colombia, South America, of beautiful, natural palo de sangre wood. The shriny red of the wood is natural, and there is no finish or stain added. The surface shine and smoothness are created by rubbing the finished product in a way that burnishes it to a beautiful, silky lustre. Each piece is an individually-designed and carved work of art. No two are exactly the same, which is the reason our order button only allows you to order one. You will receive the exact crocodile you see in this photo. You can learn more about palo de sangre wood products from Colombia via this link, or check out our other crocodile toys and gifts. You can also look at all of our Latin American arts and crafts on this page. This crocodile was shipped to us by a Colombian conservationist to help raise funds for tapir conservation in Colombia.

About Crocodiles

Crocodiles have long narrow snouts, and the 4th tooth of the lower jaw is outside when the mouth is closed. Their scales have modified to form thick tough skin. All crocodiles have eyes and nostrils are on the top part of the head so that they can lie in the water almost completely hidden from view. Crocodiles have very strong jaws. They do not chew their food. They swallow it in large chunks. In the stomach the food is broken down. They feed on a large variety of prey such as small mammals, birds and even cattle. Crocodiles grab their prey and move to deep water, where they roll over to drown the animal. They can leap high out of the water to reach their prey if necessary.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Check Out Our eBay Auctions!

Although some of our items are not directly animal-themed, such as the tagua nut (vegetable ivory) jewelry above, they are all here for the same reason: the proceeds help us help the tapirs and their habitat in the wild.

You can check out all of our current auctions here. They change rapidly, so by the time you read this post, these items may be gone and others may be in their places.

The dolphin comes without the specs, by the way. You will need to supply your own! He isn't picky. You can give him just about any kind of gasses to hold on his nose. This dolphin may be the last of its type we're ever going to see. This is a discontinued item, and when we took the dolphin out of our online store, we didn't realize we still had one left!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Hand-carved bloodwood (palo de sangre) wooden fish folk art from South America

Call or email if you have any questions!
(888) 325-3179 (We are in Oregon, USA)

Palo de sangre is the Spanish name for this rich red wood. The English translation is "bloodwood." It is the heartwood of the trees Brosimum paraense and Brosimum rubescens. The sapwood is yellowish-white. According to Wikipedia, "Palo de sangre has a fine texture and takes a high polish. The wood is very hard and has a tendency to blunt tools. The wood is used in decorative woodworking and woodturning . . . . The Nature Conservancy considers this tree secure within its native range." Other sources give additional names: muirapiranga, satiné rubane, cacique, and cardinalwood (due to its red color). It keeps its color, and does not turn brown with age like some highly colored woods.

Palo de sangre is carved into wonderfully attractive and charming animal figures in Colombia and other regions of tropical America. The bright red color is a natural property of the wood, as is the highly finished shine on the surface (evidenced by the reflected light in the photo). These animals are not varnished, stained, or painted, but come to you in their spectacular natural finish. Fortunately, the artisans who carve them are not restricted by any means or conventions to a particular template, so you get the benefit of each individual's vision and creativity. The wood also varies somewhat from one carving to the next as far as natural color, grain, and markings. The motifs themselves are repeated (crocodiles and manatees are common; tapirs are less common), although availability depends on circumstances. We may be able to get several tapirs this month and none next month, for example. Or we may be able to get small otters one month and only large otters the next. In many cases, only one of each style is available. Please phone (888-325-3179) or e-mail if you are interested in more than one of the styles shown in our drop-down menu. These wooden animal replicas were imported to the US by the Tapir Preservation Fund. Your purchase helps support conservation of tapirs and their habitat.

The pirarucu, also known as the arapaima (Arapaima gigas) is a member of the catfish family and is one of the largest fresh water fish in the world. It is found primarily in the Amazon River and its tributaries and can grow up to 9 feet long and weigh up to 400 pounds. It is a valuable food fish for South American people and is both netted and speared and then sold in the markets. It has the amazing ability to breathe fresh air and also to burrow in the mud. This helps it survive in periods of great water level fluctuation and drought. Its scales are large and hard and are used as scraping tools and as ornaments. Although not presently endangered, there is concern that overfishing may soon impact the future of this unusual beautiful species.

Do you love carved wood?

Highly unusual baskets (water jars) from South America

About our hand-made werregue baskets from Colombia

These hand-woven baskets are special! Due to the unique construction methods used for werregue baskets, it takes several days to several months for an artisan to make each basket. Each is a work of art in itself, and no two are alike. Made from the spines of werregue palm trees, the baskets are lined internally so they hold water. The baskets are used by the local people to carry water from the rivers and lakes into the village. Inside and out, the baskets look like they're completely made of woven palm; the secret water shield is buried among the layers of the basket. Because of this, it is heavier than you would expect a basket to be. The palm fibers are also dense and slick, adding to the solid feel of these specially crafted pieces.Werregue baskets are considered to be the finest baskets made in Colombia. Their craftsmanship, detail, and the tight weaving of the fibers are easy to appreciate. They are extremely beautiful and also durable. Beneath the top layers of fiber you can see the tight coils used to shape the baskets. They are coiled tigher and of smaller diameter at the bottom of the basket. They grow as the basket widens out and they narrow again at the narrowest part of the neck below the rim.

Do you love baskets? Leave us a comment!

Today we're finding animals that start with "W"

"W" is certainly for WARTHOG! We have a very unusual item in our store - it's warthog jewelry! This special jewelry is made by hand by artist Corinna Bechko. It comes as a pin, a pendant, or a pair of warthog earrings! You can choose from a variety of colors, and if you get the warthog earrings or pendant, you can also choose a bead color to contrast or match. Corinna has a collection of really beautiful and tasteful beads. It's always fun to see what she comes up with!

We also have this nice, tusky PLASTIC WARTHOG. You'll find him in our pig section on the hoofed animals page.

We at least one "W" in our dog section, too. Above is a cute Welsh Corgi pin, hand-cast in pewter and hand-painted by some very talented artists in the US.

This animal is not a dog, but a wolf. The portrait pin is made just like the Welsh Corgi above. You can see and order our beautiful wolf portrait jewelry via our web album link.

A wrasse is a colorful tropical saltwater fish. In the ocean, they come in many bright shapes and various sizes. We were lucky enough to find one type of plastic wrasse, and you can order it here in our gift shop! Just scroll down through our plastic fish to find the pink and yellow wrasse.

"W" is also for Wild Boar. We have two in our online store. One is pictured above, and one below. Take a look see which one you like best!


This is quite unusual. We even have wild boar jewelry among the painted animal pins in our store! Isn't that cool? It's made by hand and hand-painted in the USA.

And last but not least, this is not an animal, but we carry some exquisite baskets made in Colombia. They are made by the Werregue people and are referred to as Werregue baskets or jars. These tightly-woven hand-made art objects actually hold water! Some of them do have animal designs on them, and others are strictly geometric patterns woven into the special palm fibers used for making these striking collector's items. They are still used by the indigenous people who make them in Colombia, but they are a favorite of collectors of ethinic art!