Lion and Dino - Upside and Downside

One of the benefits of working at Tapir and Friends is that my office gets to look like this. Unfortunately we don't carry these products, though. The cardboard cutout lion was found at a garage sale, and the inflatable T-rex was on my list of things to order for the store when I discovered that the manufacturer was selling them to my potential customers online for the same price I would have to pay for them. It's all part of our changing world. The lines between wholesale and retail have become permanently skewed. Navigating between the Scylla and Charybdis of China and a diminished customer base has become part of any online retailer's daily routine. I'm glad I get a chance to live with such endearing office-mates, though. It helps.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

T-Rex Dinosaur Flashlight

As useful as he is cute!!

Our Animal Carabiner Flashlights

Our carabiner animal flashlights are the coolest way to make sure you always have a light nearby! Look at the tail, they simply open up to snap onto a key ring, backpack, belt, book bag, or anyplace else a person can hook something. The light is surprisingly bright for such a small flashlight! Keep one next to your bed, by the back door, inside your car or on your bike. The light is bright enough to find things in the dark - such as finding the lock on your house or car door. Helps keep both kids and adults safe when unexpected scenarios come up. Just press the button on the critter's back, and you have light! Is there a better way to find the outhouse on a camping trip than to let our flashlight animals find the trail for you? Or what about lighting your way on Halloween? Fun for birthday parties, as stocking stuffers, or Hanukkah gifts for any age. Check out our other dinosaur toys and gifts and our multi-style animal flashlights. The animal flashlights page also shows you what the lights look like when the light is on! If you have a teeeeeny little screwdriver, you can pop in a replacement battery. However, we've noticed that the lights last for quite a long time on the original battery.

About the T-rex

The Tyrannosaurus or T-rex meaning tyrant lizard appeared on the scene during the Late Cretaceous about 65 million years ago. Although full skeletons have been found throughout North America in Alberta, Montana, South Dakota, Saskatchewan,and Wyoming, some have been found in Mongolia as well. Some skeletons have been measured to 45 feet in length. It walked on two legs and had a huge skull and an enormous tail to help with balance. It had two small powerful clawed forearms. There is debate whether this carnivore was just a scavenger or a killer itself.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Tyrannosaurus Dinosaur Bones Replica

The Tyrant Lizard...after a SERIOUS diet!!

Our T-Rex Skeleton Replica

Our small plastic tyrannosaurus bones toy is just the right size replica for a shoebox diorama. This tyrannosaurus skeleton model will fit in a shoe box along with examples of skeletons of prehistoric animals you might find in a museum. Create a landscape with rocks, plants, grass, make a river or stream from anything that strikes your imagination. Have them lie in the mud and there you go - a scene of life on our planet. Our plastic toy tyrannosaurus skeleton is made of solid plastic and is quite durable. Be sure to take a look at our other dinosaur skeletons.

About the T-rex

The Tyrannosaurus or T-rex meaning tyrant lizard appeared on the scene during the Late Cretaceous about 65 million years ago. Although full skeletons have been found throughout North America in Alberta, Montana, South Dakota, Saskatchewan,and Wyoming, some have been found in Mongolia as well. Some skeletons have been measured to 45 feet in length. It walked on two legs and had a huge skull and an enormous tail to help with balance. It had two small powerful clawed forearms. There is debate whether this carnivore was just a scavenger or a killer itself. It is the largest animal known to have walked the earth.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

*NEW* - Plastic Dinosaur 3D Puzzles!

The undisputed King of Predators...now as a 3D puzzle!

Our Tyrannosaurus 3D Puzzle

The details on this 3-D puzzle animal toy add another dimension, so you could say it is 4-D (3-D + details)! It is certainly one of the more detailed we have seen, making it an interesting replica as well as a fun toy for adults and children above the age of 3. This delightful dinosaur model measures 5 inches from nose to tail and 3.5 inches tall. It comes assembled. The pieces are cleverly fitted, flexible, and not too difficult to assemble. When complete, this highly-detailed dinosaur stands nicely on its own for display on your shelf, TV, computer monitor, etc. Check out our other 3-D Puzzle Animals, as well as our other dinosaur toys.

About Tyrannosaurus

Dinosaurs represent the dominant terrestrial lifeforms on planet Earth for 135 million years, from the beginning of the Jurassic period through the end of the Cretaceous period approximately 65 million years ago. While no human ever lived during the age of dinosaurs, modern palentologists have learned much studying the fossilized remains of these magnificent creatures.

The Tyrannosaurus (meaning tyrant lizard) or T-rex appeared on the scene during the Late Cretaceous about 65 million years ago. Full skeletons have been found throughout North America in Alberta, Montana, South Dakota, Saskatchewan,and Wyoming, and some have been found in Mongolia as well. Some skeletons have been measured to 45 feet in length. It walked on two legs and had a huge skull and an enormous tail to help with balance. It had two small powerful clawed forearms. There is debate whether this carnivore was just a scavenger or a killer itself.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic T-rex Skeleton Model

The Tyrant Lizard King in his prehistoric glory!

Our T-rex Skeleton Model

This realistic-looking T-rex skeleton model is made of strong plastic and is sturdy when assembled. There are about 10 separate pieces, some large, with easy to follow assembly instructions and a diagram. The bones look weathered and connect with one another through pegs or joint sockets. The head swivels slightly, the legs move slightly and the jaw opens and closes. The finished model is 7 inches tall and is 9 1/2 inches long from nose to tail. This miniature t-rex skeleton replica makes a nice display, a gift, or toy for children or adults and could work well for school show-and-tell or as a school science project. Check out our other dinosaur model toys and gifts.

About the T-rex

The Tyrannosaurus or T-rex meaning tyrant lizard appeared on the scene during the Late Cretaceous about 65 million years ago. Although full skeletons have been found throughout North America in Alberta, Montana, South Dakota, Saskatchewan,and Wyoming, some have been found in Mongolia as well. Some skeletons have been measured to 45 feet in length. It walked on two legs and had a huge skull and an enormous tail to help with balance. It had two small powerful clawed forearms. There is debate whether this carnivore was just a scavenger or a killer itself.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Dinosaur Tracks

Seeing a dinosaur skeleton in a museum may be thought-provoking, but seeing actually tracks in nature is downright exhilarating. Just South of Tuba City, Arizona, on a large tract of Navajo Nation land are the footprints of countless dinosaurs that roamed a marsh during the Jurassic Period about 200 million years ago. These are known as "trace fossils" since it is hard to say whether the prints are from one or many different, in this case plant-eating, Dilophosaurus wetherilli. What became of them, who knows? Tyrannosaurus Rex didn't arrive on the scene until 65 million BC, 135 million years later and the above herbivore had long been extinct. Tapir and Friends Animal Store encourages people to study the facts about dinosaurs and extinct animals and to become comfortable with the incredibly long history of life on the planet. See the wide selection of plastic dinosaurs and dinosaur skeleton puzzles for sale. They are so useful for science projects and as teaching devices.

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

"T" is for Tapir!!! . . . and T-rex and Toucan

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!