Thought I was just unlucky but I've found a few reviews now with exactly the same issue.
Stupidly I paid £10 for this last night (normally I buy him cuddly's from the charity shop but decided to treat him). The back card said 'For tough play!'
Now I know no toy is indestructible, but I kind of expected not to pay £2 a bloody minute! 5 minutes before the trunk fell off. Seems to be a very common problem with them.
By contrast, I've included a pic of Murph with his 50p ELC caterpillar from the charity shop which he's had for 2 years now. Lesson learned, I'll stick to cheap stuff!