In honor of "psychedelica" - get your own frogfish 3-D plastic puzzle!

Frogfish are strange sea animals whose legs have evolved to behave like feet. A new frogfish was discovered about a year ago, and the big news on February 26th of this year is that it was designated a new species. For reasons you'll see if you follow the link, they called the fish "psychedelica." You can read about the new frogfish and see the video here. If you want to buy the puzzle above, come see our frogfish 3-D puzzle at Tapir and Friends Wildlife World online gift shop! There are many different species of frogfish, and ours is one of the few that lives in shallow water. We have lots of 3-D plastic puzzles, and a number of them are species that live in the ocean.

New plastic jellyfish at Tapir and Friends

Our new plastic jellyfish is now online and ready to order. It's realistic and durable, and is just as interesting in the underside view below as it is in the upright view. We're pleased to add this wonderful sea creature to our extensive collection of sea life educational toys and collectible replicas.

New plastic moose figure online

I put our new plastic moose replica online today. It's quite realistic and has a lot of nice features, from the bell under its chin to the clearly cloven hooves. You can find it in Tapir and Friends online gift shop. Come have a look! It's flexible, too, almost like rubber.

Customer service is what we do!

The case of the missing alligator . . . heron with frog, and a few other critters from the swamp. . . .

. . . Solved!

We love getting e-mail confirming our great customer service. It always brightens our day, but the real surprise is that our customers are surprised. Shouldn't we all expect great customer service when we do business with someone? Yes, of course! And you've probably noticed that the little niceties that we used to expect have often disappeared from the business scene. I know that personally I expected to be treated respectfully and kindly, and yes, I still expect the people I buy from (goods or services) to be not only polite and helpful, but sometimes even to go that extra distance with a smile. It doesn't happen as often as it once did. I know that *I* notice it these days when someone gives me great service, and I appreciate it. Our customers often seem surprised when all we've done is what we enjoy doing - helping you with a smile!

Here's another letter we received from a customer today. We appreciate it that you appreciate us! Let's make the world go around a little easier today, OK? All of us!

February 25, 2009 2:06 PM
To: tapir@tapirback.com
Subject: Re: Delivery Confirm: (etc.)

Sorry, it was here, my wife mistook it for something else I'd ordered! Thanks for your prompt help, you are great!

~ M.B. in Georgia

We and our scorpion are "awesome" :)

We haven't seen a photo yet, but the scorpion was purchased to go on a hat for some event. Today John wrote:

Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2009 6:07 AM
To: Tapir
Subject: RE: Sales Receipt from Tapir and Friends Wildlife World

Got it yesterday. You guys are awesome.

~ John in Ohio

Thanks, John. We love to help and we love feedback!

Sheryl and Sue

Plastic or rubber ammonite

We've got lots of new plastic animal replicas to put online, and the ammonite is now finished and uploaded. Take a look at this ancient cephalopod in our gift shop. I've also posted something about taking its photo on my own blog. Usually, these items are fairly easy to photograph, but this one was a challenge! We give you nice big photos, and we want them to look like the real thing so you can truly see what you're getting before you buy.

Otter art: Unusual hand-made ceramic giant otter

This is an unusual find! Our artist in Colombia made several ceramic giant otters. When you look at a picture of the real South American Giant River Otter, you'll see that the design on the front is typical of this interesting species. Come check out our otter gifts at Tapir and Friends Wildlife World Gifts!

This stuffed wolf cub makes a lovely gift!

Do you know anyone who likes wolves? We think they'll enjoy this cuddly stuffed wolf cub from Tapir and Friends Wildlife World Gift shop! You can purchase online and you wolf will be deliverd within only a few days. We can ship it to you or to the person receiving the wolf as a gift! Just let us know on our secure online order form. With all the talk about wolf conservation these days, we think the wolf cub will interest many of you who are looking for a perfect gift. The price is reasonable. Come check us out online! See the stuffed wolf cub at Tapir and Friends.

Beautiful realistic hand-made, hand-painted jewelry for frog lovers!

These gorgeous frogs are all hand cast of pewter and painted by hand in the USA to create stunning pins for you and your frog-loving friends. Do you collect frogs? Do you know anyone who does? Our frog pins are one of a kind! Numerous frogs may be cast from the same mould, but the paint is unique. Even when the artist repeats a general color scheme, the paint is applied by hand, so each has individual variations. And, if you like our frogs but prefer your own color scheme, give us a call or send e-mail and we'll let you know what the time frame is for your own custom frog! Give us a call toll free at (888) 325-3179 or visit our online store: Tapir and Friends Wildlife World. You may not see these particular frogs on the site until we get them posted, so you may have to call to order them. We do currently have hundreds of animal jewelry pins that can be ordered directly online. We have so many animals that if you don't see the one you're looking for, give us a call - we may have it!

New grasshopper replica in our store!

This delightful 2 1/2-inch grasshopper replica is new in our online gift shop. It's made of natural fiber and is very light weight yet sturdy. It's great for dioramas, collectibles, spring party decor, and could probably pass for a locust if you need imitation locusts! Come check out our grasshopper decor at Tapir and Friends Wildlife World online!

A new way to search - see our collection of Galapagos Islands toy animals!

We've added a new feature to help you find just the animals you're looking for! This can be useful for school projects and for collectors, or for anyone who loves animals!

Our Galapagos Islands page is the first we've put online. It has a slide show of the items in stock as well as our usual menu links. You can order directly from the menu links or go to the animal's specific page and learn more about it.

Speaking of learning, we've added a long text section to the bottom of the page so you can learn more about the various animals of the Galapagos Islands. We'll be expanding the format as time permits, and we'll soon be adding pages for other regions of the world. Some of the most asked-about areas are deserts, Arctic, Antarctic, etc. You get the idea!

Stuffed Alligator or Stuffed Crocodile for Valentine's Day!

Do you know anyone who loves alligators and crocodiles? We have a beautiful, big and VERY SOFT stuffed crocodile that would make a perfect Valentine's Day gift for just about anyone! "Walter the Friendly Crocodile" is 3 feet long, he's in stock and ready to roll! Walter makes a great gift for an adult, because he's big enough for a grownup to cuddle. He's light weight, and even kids can carry him around or give him a loving squeeze! Check out Walter in our Tapir and Friends online gift shop. We can ship in the US in time for Walter to be the unusual Valentine's Day present you're looking for!

Very popular animal eyeglass holders (Peeper Keepers)

Some of our most popular and exciting animal gift shop items during the past few years have been our line of hand-painted animal eyeglass holders hand-carved out of wood. Above you see the parrot without his glasses, and below, he's sporting a pair of . . . well, you decide if he has good taste or funky, but they are certainly colorful! The eyeglass holders each come with a notch to hold your glasses. If you've had a trouble finding them, this may solve the problem!

Kids also find our Peeper Keepers a fun way to feel proud of wearing glasses. And, they are so decorative! In addition, hey . . . can you ever have too many animals in the house? We think not!

Here's a letter we received today from a customer who agrees:

Many thanks. The parrot has rave reviews from my classes and I ordered a spare in case he wandered. Now Grandpa wants one too.

~ K

Sue wrote back:

Glad to hear the peepers are such a great success! Thanks again for your new order.

But where's the rub? Aye, it is here. As popular as these items have been for us, the US importer has decided to discontinue them! Now is your chance! Some of the animal styles are still plentiful as of this posting, while others have already gone out of stock for good. We will keep looking for another source, but it may be impossible for us, as a smaller business, to find a source in China because we can't buy in the huge quantities required for production. We'll keep them in stock as long as we can get them. But for now we have to say that if you want one or more, it could be the last chance. No, this is not a ploy, we're saddened every time one of the animal styles disappears. Here is our order page for this teriffic line of carved wood animal Peeper Keepers! We have alligators, bears, dragons, and that is only the start! Come take a look!

Another very happy customer

I accidentally posted a Happy Customer letter on my personal blog. Here is the link!

~ Sheryl

Carved wood writing pens in the shape of animals

The deer pen and hummingbird pen are only two of our popular carved wood animal pens. Tapir and Friends Wildlife World specializeds in lifelike realistic animal toys and gifts. These cute pens are among the hundreds of items you can buy online on our site. Please come visit! Here is the page of carved wood animal pens. Follow the link! Thanks!

We also have tigers, elephants, moose, lions, bears, and more.

Collectible dodo birds in our store

Our lifelike stuffed dodo bird is soft and fabulous. Who wouldn't want to take him home? We ship around the world, so it's clearly a possibility!

We also have this realistic plastic dodo bird for animal replica collectors and anyone interested in extinct and unusual birds and animals. Come on over and take a look!

Olive the Stuffed Octopus is back!

Olive Octopus, one of our all-time favorite and best loved stuffed animals is back in stock! For about a month we couldn't get her for you - during the height of the Christmas season, no less! Now she's back and ready to come curling and slithering into your life. She is big, huggable, and something every octopus-lover needs in their life! She can be found in our Tapir and Friends online gift shop. Come take a look!

If you already have Olive, or if a big stuffed octopus isn't your cup of tea, we also have octopus fridge magnets, plastic octopi, and a very cool octopus plastic 3-D puzzle!

Lions, polar bears, pandas (toys and gifts)

The Discovery Channel listed the top 10 animal stories for 2008, and the top three were about Christian the Lion, giant pandas and polar bears. If you loved these stories, or love these animals, we have some nice gifts and memorabilia for you. Above is one of our selection of plastic lion gifts or collectibles. We also have lion eyeglass holders while they last, and we even have a carved wood lion writing pen!

We have giant panda puzzles and eyeglass holders (Peeper Keepers). Let our friendly panda keep your glasses where you can always find them! The glasses look cool on this panda, but they don't come with it. You can put your own glasses on its cute black snoot!

This realistic plastic polar bear is one of several polar bear items we carry in our online shop. Just about everyone is concerned about polar bears this year with melting ice. What wonderful animals these are! Students are including them in their Arctic dioramas for school projects, and they also make memorable toys and collectibles. We ship anywhere in the world, and our prices are affordable in this day and age where we're all watching our wallets! Come take a look.

Throny devil lizard 3-D puzzle

You and your kids will love this three dimensional plastic lizard puzzle! It looks a lot like a desert horned toad, but it's an entirely different species. It has approximately 20 interlocking parts, and is fun for many ages. I personally find them a lot of fun to assemble, and they're not as easy as they look unless you're under the age of about 12! The kids have a great time with them. We have quite a number of animal species available including dinosars. They can be a great indoor activity when it gets so cold outside! You can get several puzzles and have a timed contest, or put the pieces of a number of different animals all in one pile and let each person find the pieces for their own animal. When you're done, you can either put them away in their plastic case, or keep them on the shelf as an animal toy collectible replica!

Stuffed penguins, plastic penguins!

This beautiful stuffed emperor penguin is realistic and makes a wonderful gift for penguin lovers of any age. It's made by Hansa, so it has all of the quality and details you would expect from a company that makes their stuffed toys by hand and follows their own unique designs. Modeled after a real penguin, this stuffed animal is sure to bring a smile to someone's face!

We also have a surprisingly wide selection of small plastic penguins of several species, as well as a very realistic plastic penguin parent and chick replica 4 1/2 inches tall. Come take a look! We are located in Astoria, Oregon, and we ship around the world! We've been doing business online since 1996.