pucciManuli - A Remarkable Collection

Did you know?   Donkeys, belonging to the Equidae family, are found mostly in Asia and Australia. It is commonly believed that the ancestor of the modern donkey is the African wild ass, a medium sized donkey with a grey coat with white under-parts and muzzle, a stripe on their back, legs, and tall, upright mane with a black edge and tail with a tuft of long hair only at the tip.  The African Wild Ass was domesticated around 4,000 B.C. The donkey became an important pack animal for people living in the Egyptian and Nubian regions as they can easily carry 20% to 30% of their own body weight and can also be used as a farming and dairy animal.

Hansa is respected the world over for its finely crafted collection of our planet’s animal kingdom. Originally created for exclusive European collectors, each plush animal is meticulously handcrafted from portraits of real animals in their natural habitat.  By themselves, or paired with other Hansa Animals, these marvelous creatures make wonderful best friends for children, adults, and collectors alike.  In addition, interior designers the world over often turn to Hansa animals when designing unique, one-of-a-kind spaces.  Display them in groups, or use their large, signature animals, complete with lightweight steel frames designed to hold up to 150 pounds, to set the theme of a room.

Hansa’s chief designer pulls from his background in anatomy when researching each animal.  The fabric used for the spotted and striped animals is all custom designed to Hansa’s exacting specifications in small quanitites.  And all of the fabric used is hand-cut from intricate patterns and hand-trimmed by Hansa artisans, never stamped out by machines. An average of 42 seperate pieces are used for each small animal (some animals have as many as 240 different pieces).  The face and body of each Hansa Animal is carefully sculpted inside-out to create their distinct features and musculature that are unique to each animal. And each face is hand finished, which means that each animal is unique – just as in real life.

And every Hansa animal comes with a “Toys that Teach” tag describing each animal’s habitat, lifestyle, gestation period, care of their young and eating habits.  Hansa’s goal is to help educate children and adults alike about the natural lives of these magnificent creatures, and to understand, respect and appreciate the importance of our co-existence with all animals.

Did you know?   Donkeys, belonging to the Equidae family, are found mostly in Asia and Australia. It is commonly believed that the ancestor of the modern donkey is the African wild ass, a medium sized donkey with a grey coat with white under-parts and muzzle, a stripe on their back, legs, and tall, upright mane with a black edge and tail with a tuft of long hair only at the tip.  The African Wild Ass was domesticated around 4,000 B.C. The donkey became an important pack animal for people living in the Egyptian and Nubian regions as they can easily carry 20% to 30% of their own body weight and can also be used as a farming and dairy animal.

Donkeys have adapted to marginal desert lands. Their fur is not waterproof so must have shelter, especially when it rains.  Unlike wild horse herds, wild donkeys need less food and live separated from each other.  They have developed very loud voices, which can be heard for over a mile, to keep in contact with other donkeys of their herd throughout the wide spaces of the desert.  Donkeys have larger ears than horses to hear the distant calls of fellow donkeys, and to help cool the donkey's blood. Donkeys' tough digestive system can break down inedible vegetation and extract moisture from food more efficiently. They can defend themselves with a powerful kick of their hind legs. When a female donkey mates with a male horse, the resulting offspring is called a hinny.

Donkeys have a reputation for stubbornness, but this is due to some handlers' misinterpretation of their highly-developed sense of self preservation. It is difficult to force or frighten a donkey into doing something it sees as contrary to its own best interest, as opposed to horses who are much more willing to, for example, go along a path with unsafe footing.