This blog is where I would like to share my collection and newest acquisitions. The name Bluestem Zoo goes back to my days of playing one of my favorite games of all time, Zoo Tycoon 2; it was the name of my first zoo (named for my excessive use of a favorite shrub in the game, the big bluestem) and has been the name of all of zoos in every virtual setting. However, I'm excited about the prospect of having the "zoo" in physical form on a shelf.
My collecting habits are ... a bit particular, you could say. I include animals lost in historical times, as well as late Pleistocene wildlife, as I like to think of Bluestem Zoo existing in some alternate reality where these animals would reasonably be alive in a perfect world.
I adore zoos and zoological parks, so naturally I began acquiring little animal figures from their gift shops whenever I would visit. In a strange sense, it was like bringing the animal home, as a memento of my day there. Over time, this began to grow into a small collection. The "exhibits/habitats" and complexes featured here are inspired by many of my favorite real-life zoos and aquariums.
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| Masai giraffes at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX. |
However, my biggest complaint about the hobby would have to be the severe lack of animal figures from recently extinct species. Animals such as the aurochs, thylacine (historically called the Tasmanian wolf), dodo, quagga, Stellar's sea cow, bluebuck, Japanese wolf, Falkland Islands dog, great auk, Labrador duck, Carolina parakeet, ivory-billed woodpecker, passenger pigeon, golden toad, bubal hartebeest ... I could list more. For whatever sad reason, toy companies refuse to produce them, so the animals remain lost and forgotten, which is a shame. A few companies have stepped up and produced a couple from the list; Collecta produced a female thylacine with a joey in its pouch, and Mojo released a thylacine as well (which is now quite rare, but could use a re-release and new paint application), as well as a quagga (also no longer in production and rare).
If you would like to become involved in the animal model-collecting hobby, there are two wonderful communities you can participate in to converse with other collectors:
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