Jungle Creature (Eldrador by Schleich)

The jungle creature’s sheer power rivals that of the jungle dragon. Perfectly camouflaged in spite of its massive size, this ferocious guardian of the green is always ready to strike out suddenly with its deadly tendrils. 

The Schleich jungle creature was one of the very first toys for their Jungle Kingdom of Eldrador line. It is a very large toy, measuring about 21 cm long and standing slightly over 13 cm high at the tips of its middle tendrils. Its main colours are dark green and brown with black wash and dull green at the tips of its tendrils, with yellow thorns. The eyes are yellow, the tongue is red, and the teeth are white.

While Schleich’s official name for this toy is indeed “Jungle Creature,” my sons and I refer to it as a plant dragon. For certain it has the overall appearance and feel of a dragon, albeit certainly not your run-of-the-mill type. It is sculpted to look as though it is entirely made up of plant matter. The body is a mass of thick, tangled, thorny vines and the feet are like solid, knotty tree trunks. 

The creature’s head features short, peg-like teeth, jagged projections sticking out of the lower jaw, yellow thorns on the cheeks, and a crown-like array of branches growing out of the cranium. The long tail, which rotates at its base, splits into two writhing tendrils. 

And sprouting out from the back are four more such tendrils. The shorter middle pair is curling back and does not move, but each outer tendril is on a ball joint, allowing for a good range of movement. The tips of all six tendrils have curved thorns growing out of them, making them resemble grappling hooks. One can easily envision how deadly these weapons would be in battle! 

The jungle creature may be considered the flagship toy for the Jungle Kingdom, and it lives up to that honour very well. It is impressive in size and appearance, and quite a lot of fun to play with. You can still find it wherever the Eldrador line is sold.