Yowie is an Australian chocolate brand, originally produced by Cadbury. It made its mark on the confectionary market by selling chocolate shells with an unusual treat inside: plastic figurines of Australia’s greatest wildlife and folkloric creatures.

The company later branched out into rare species from across the globe. Here is how much the rarest Yowie figurines can fetch on today’s market, from the extinct Diprotodon to the Sumatran Orangutan.

Platypuses – $461

The Duck-Billed Platypus is a particularly unusual mammal, due to the fact that it lays eggs and has venomous spurs on its feet. At first, scientist in the 1700s didn’t believe the creature was real. But it is now a great symbol of Australian wildlife, closely protected by conservation laws.

These animals made it into Yowie’s Premier Series, available in Australia and the United States, in 2017. After attracting 26 bids on eBay.com, two Yowie Platypus toys sold for an impressive total of $461.32 in August 2023.

Giant Frog – $250

In Yowie’s Animals With Superpowers range, the very rarest inclusion was the Pacific Giant Glass Frog, which the company proclaimed would only turn up in 1 in 1000 chocolate shells. This animal is native to Ecuador and Colombia, dwelling in mountainous cloud forests.

Unsurprisingly, this toy is especially popular among collectors, selling for $250 on eBay.com in August 2023.

Baby Giraffe – $249

The cute Baby Giraffe of Yowie’s Baby Animals Series is the most recently produce toy on our list. Dating to 2023, this toy is one of the most recognisable mammals from the woodlands and savannahs of Africa. There are nearly 100,000 giraffes recorded in the wild today.

One seller on eBay described this toy as “super rare”. It reached an impressive sale total of $249.99 in July 2023, making it stand out against other creatures in this series, including the Yellow Bellied Glider and the Iberian Lynx.

Dingoes – $78

Dingoes, an ancient species of wild dog native to Australia, first made it into Yowie’s Animals With Superpowers Series in 2021. These two variations sold for $78.47 in August 2023.

“I have for sale a rare Yowie series 1 Dingo colour variation,” the seller wrote. “Being sold with the standard Dingo as well. The one on the left is the standard colour and the one on the right is the rare variation. Great condition. Original papers included as shown in the photos.”

Masked Owls – $60

The Australian Masked Owl is a species of Barn Owl, found in the nation’s non-desert regions as well as Southern New Guinea. Their beautiful heart-shaped faces and impressive wingspan make them a popular sight for bird-spotters, though the species is in decline.

Popular too with collectors, the Masked Owl made by Yowie can earn considerable sums in online sales. $60.43 was the final price of one colour variation trio, sold in August 2023.

Kiwis – $67

A famous symbol of New Zealand, the flightless Kiwi bird is found nowhere else. They have a very good sense of smell, thanks to their nostrils being positioned at the very far tip of their beak. Their eggs can weigh as much as 20% of the grown bird’s body weight.

Yowie produced two colour variations of the Kiwi, with beaks in either orange or red. One duo sold for a total of $67.58 on eBay.com in August 2023.

Siberian Tiger – $45

The Siberian or Amur Tiger is a subspecies that roams Russia and northern China. These powerful creatures are known to occasionally kill and eat bears. There are less than 600 left in the wild, due to heavy poaching and illegal deforestation.

In July 2023, the Yowie toy earned $45.48 in an eBay.com auction. The seller described it as “very rare, never played with”: “Paper in perfect condition. Free postage in Australia only, but will post overseas.”

Pencil Toppers – $42

The only non-animal-themed product on our list, these Pencil Toppers depict a range of cartoonish pollutants that could harm wildlife. Named Ooz, Blob, Slob, Spark and Munch, these characters threatened to harm the Yowie Kingdom, within the brand’s fictional universe.

Dating to 2000, these Pencil Toppers have sold for the impressive sum of $41.63 – not bad for a free confectionery giveaway!

Orangutan – $45

The critically endangered Sumatran Orangutan roams the jungles of Indonesia, where it can grow to a height of 1.7 metres. They eat a wide range of fruits, vegetables, bird eggs and insects, and will use sticks to root around in termite nests.

Yowie has released a Sumatran Orangutan toy twice: in its Australian Super Series and its American WCS Series. The toy sold for $44.84 in July 2023.

Syrian Wild Donkey – $38

The Syrian Wild Donkey, better known as the Syrian Wild Ass, once dwelled across the Arabian peninsula. Now extinct, it was impossible to domesticate and grew to only one metre tall, making it the world’s smallest wild equine.

Yowie’s Forgotten Friends Series included the Syrian Wild Donkey, which one seller has described as “very rare”. The toy sold for $38.43 on eBay.com in August 2023.

Tasmanian Devils – $34

The spectacular Tasmanian Devil is native to Australia’s island state of Tasmania, though now it roams New South Wales on the mainland. It is the biggest carnivorous marsupial, and will eat carcasses as well as hunting its own prey. Its loud screeches and strong odour have made it one of the most distinctive animals around.

Yowie’s Tasmanian Devils come in two colour variations, with either pink or yellow markings around the face. The pair sold for $34.33 in August 2023, with the seller writing: “I have owned these Yowies toys since they came out in the 1990s. I am selling some other variations I have from Series 1 and can combine postage if you buy a few.”

Diprotodon – $30

The largest marsupial ever to have lived, Diprotodon is an extinct example of Australian megafauna. It could grow to 1.8 metres in length and had extremely powerful jaws for grinding down huge mouthfuls of vegetation. It died out around 11 million years ago, survived by relatives like wombats and koalas.

This toy was released as part of Yowie’s Lost Kingdoms collection, along with various dinosaurs of Australian origin. It earned $29.99 in an eBay sale of March 2023.

Newt Salamander – $27

Newts are a type of salamander – and there are no newts or salamanders native to Australia. However, the Smooth Newt was introduced to Melbourne in recent years and may pose a risk to native wildlife. Yowie released their Red Spotted Newt, native to North America, in their series Colors of the Animal Kingdom.

Yowie’s Red Spotted Newt has sold for $26.99 on eBay.com in August 2023. It’s one of the more common Yowie toys, falling into the category ‘Popular’.

Parrot – $22

The Orange-Bellied Parrot can only be found in southern Australia, where it is known for its bright green head band and of course, its bright orange underparts. It is considered a small parrot, measuring only 20cm in length.

In 2018, Yowie released their take on the Orange-Bellied Parrot, and it has proven popular with collectors. One such toy sold for $21.99 in an online sale of September 2023.

Pelicans – $16

There are eight species of this extraordinary bird worldwide, and the one with the largest bill is the Australian Pelican. Also found in Fiji, Indonesia and New Zealand, it roams large bodies of water like Lake Grassmere. As well as fishing, this bird is a vicious hunter that kills and eats other birds.

Yowie made three variations of their pelican toy, with varying amounts of light blue, black and purple markings. The trio sold for $16 on eBay.com in August 2023. “In great condition, [these] have been keep in protective case away from dust or little fingers,” the seller wrote.