Not a zoo talkers animal
359177
Cute, but it was billed as a zoo talkers animal and it is not.
1207778
This is a VERY tempting buy, but don't bother. Our 60 lb black lab had it in pieces within 3 minutes!

We then closely read the packaging and it said it's a "fetchinG toy, not a chew toy."

It's a tongue!!! Are you serious? Not a chew toy?

Stick w Kongs. Very sturdy and durable.

Oh, and avoid the mustaches too from this company. They're thinner and likely the same poor quality rubber.
4650410
The reason this 3 cd set was compiled is really conservationist.  The decline of New World parrots due to deforestation, capture for pets, and use for food and feathers, prompted an attempt to record and therefore familiarize conservationists with detectable and identifiable means to track and record species census counts.

All this is very well for the serious ornithologist, Neotropical birder and scientists.  For the average listener this is an exercise in unpleasant noise, stretched out for three hours and nineteen minutes.  The majority of species receive multiple recordings of perched and flight calls.  The unfortunate thing is that few of these are recognizable as patterned or unique vocalizations.  All noises made by all macaws sound alike to my ears.  All noises made by all parakeets sound alike to me, etc. etc.  Even a trained musical ear can detect almost nothing to distinguish one species from another.  So for the average listener, this becomes an unpleasant assault on the ear by loud screams, chatter and alarm notes - all made by the most unmusical group of feathered friends on the planet.

Here are 140 species - 14 macaws, 56 parakeets, 16 parrotlets and 54 parrots.  The sixteen species of parrotlets are somewhat charming- their quiet chatter is endearing rather than annoying.  There are also a few parrot species whose voices form distinct vocal patterns and/or sounds that do make them recognizable:  Blue-Headed, Blue-Cheeked, Blue-Fronted, Red-Browed, Mealy, Yellow-Lored and especially the Yellow-Crowned.

This is not a set for the average birder. At $39.95 it is a hefty price to pay for discs that can be of little interest to anyone other than the groups identified at the beginning of my second paragraph.
1611006
I purchased these for our cockatiel, thinking that they were similar to the balsa wood chews that she likes. They are not balsa, but some other hard wood. I could see a rabbit or similar small mammal liking these, or even a larger parrot. They are too hard for a cockatiel or similar sized parrot to chew up, although they seem like they would last a while if the parrot is interested.
3093477
My dog loves this toy. However, it is not a squirrel. No bushy tail, looks more like a wolf
3870938
The story line here is very cute. Boy wants a pet. Boy looks at several. Boy decides on Rhinoceros. He soon learns that they are not all that exciting. You can't pet them, play fetch with them or keep them in your house.  Then, one day something happens and he learns that this pet has some unique talents.  It's a child's story, so the "plot" is unlikely, as you might expect.

While my kids thought it entertaining, it isn't the kind of book that you can read again and again. The writing is simple so that very young children can appreciate it. My 4 and 6 year old girls lost interest quickly.

This would be cute for ages 2 - early 4, but not much older. There just isn't enough of a story line or clever writing to keep the older children interested after a couple of reads.
2415872
Again, this is not a toy for a large bird. The wood pieces are way too small. This is not what I understood it to be from the add. For the price it really should be larger to be worth buying. I do not recommend this toy.
4204454
I don't know what sound that cute puppy makes but it is neither puppy nor dog.  It sounds like something on crack or meth.
3688025
My granddaughters, ages 3 and 6 fought for the puppy, by the same company, but ignored this elephant.  Also, where the puppy is soft and cuddly, the elephant had a hard head and unyeilding body.  No cuddle factor here.  The sound of the elephant was annoying, in my opinion.  And its moves were not exciting.  I recommend the puppy instead.  The only one that showed any interests in the elephant was the grandson, age 9, and I'm not sure why.  Maybe boys like mechanical things more than cuddly things, and this elephant just seemed cold and mechanical.
4595388
He is not a cute bear, do not let the photo fool you! Squeaks well and replacement squeaker is a great feature but this bear is UGLY!
4705704
Is this some kind of torture chamber for little mammals?
Seriously, in this day and age, there are much more reliable forms of research that do not involve animals.  Their physical attributes are just too different from ours to make their use in research plausible.  Enough already.
162244
My two shelties will play with pretty much anything, but they didn't like this toy and still don't. I bought it because, well, it was cute and had the squeakers in it, which I thought my dogs would love. I think what stopped them from loving it is that it's not easy for them to hold it in their mouth, so they don't really know what to do with it. They might drag it around a couple of feet, but then it gets heavy and there's nothing for them to do with it. It's a mat, so you can't really throw it and play fetch. It's not really good for sitting with and tearing apart, as they do with most of their plush toys. I would not recommend this product. There are so many others out there that actually have a purpose and/or are made for a specific activity (chewing, throwing, etc.), so I would say go with one of those rather than waste your money on this strange, purposeless toy.
379499
As other reviewers have written, this book's title is highly misleading and thus the book is disappointing overall. The book is about urban wildlife more generally and it's management and not at all about backyard gardening for wildlife. If you want a book about that see the classic "Noah's Garden" By Sara Stein or the more recent "Suburban Safari" by Hannah Holmes.
If you're interested in urban wildlife issues more generally, this is an ok book. The stories about monkeys in Florida, Brazil and India are interesting, written from a journalist's perspective. The style allows you to feel like you're right there "in the action" so it's easy to keep reading. It makes for good, light bedtime reading.
However, the writing is certainly not great. It is loose and unfocused at times with extraneous text. For example, during the story about chasing tamarins in Brazil a few lines appear about meeting a woman who asks for a cigarette. This adds nothing to the story and is so random as to seem mindless and raise an eyebrow.
Most disappointingly, by the end, the author does not develop any sophisticated conclusion or provide new perspectives about urban ecology. He actually brushes off the task by saying that he doesn't know what we should do about urban wildlife. This does not reflect an author who took his task very seriously.
3374727
This is supposed to be a dog toy!  When squeezed the toy says:  "There's no need to fear, Under Dog is here!".  The plush polyester material is fairly tough, but I doubt that it will stand up to rough use by a pet.  Also, it contains a small battery, wires, and a speaker!  I bought it as a gift to my daughter who has recently purchased her first home.
1860320
This book is not a species key.  It's not a field guide.  It's not a care guide.  It's a random photos collection of the species inhabiting this region.

Picture quality ranges from fabulous to very poor.  Many photos are of minimal use for proper identification.  The angles of some photos hide important diagnostic characters.  Male/female comparison shots are provided for some species.

Although every recognized species is pictured, you only get photos of pickled type specimens for two of the African sideneck (Pelusios) species.

No discussion of range is given for species covered.  Habitat photos are few, but those present are useful.

Husbandry information should not have been included.  It is given via symbols for each species' requirements, with a key provided in the back.  Most of the information is so general and arbitrary that it may be misleading.

If the purpose of this book is to serve as a visual treat, it serves its purpose well.  It has limited technical use in the reliable recognition of species/subspecies.  It has no use for application of husbandry.  That being said, I do enjoy my copy.
176841
I grew up loving Berenstein Bears and want to raise my daughter with a love for animals and a responsible attitude toward owning animals but this book definitely doesn't support that attitude. The bears went to go to a pet store to buy an animal and instead get a free puppy from their farmer friend whose unspayed dog had an accidental litter. They did acknowledge the responsibilities of owning a pet, but when they irresponsibly didn't secure the puppy and she damaged their home they turned her into an outside dog.

I worked at an animal shelter and I with that kind of attitude we wouldn't have adopted to the Berenstein Bears!
4214119
fur is soft and curled position is cute, especially when set into bed.  HOWEVER, body is not at all cuddly but rather hard, feels  like cardboard under the fur and worst part is that the breathing/purr sound cannot be turned off without taking out the battery.  Really needs an on/off switch.  I could not give it away to my grandchildren.  Their parents did not want the irritating sound on constantly and did not want their children fussing with removing batteries.  I tried setting it into crib at nap time and child did not love it because it's not soft to cuddle.