World Wildlife Fund Canada~ Adopt an Animal this Holiday Season!

What do you buy for the person who has everything? How about a gift that gives back to the planet as well as the recipient? World Wildlife Fund has the answer to your holiday shopping woes--Symbolic Adoptions! Add to the family by adopting an animal at risk and give a little piece of environmental security.
We often seek meaning through the act of holiday gift giving! We want to give a piece of ourselves, perhaps we wish to share our good fortune, or perhaps we are just looking for a gift that transcends tangible "spoiling", looking for the intangible, a gift that truly reflects pure altruism. We all wish to be charitable to give-back to the earth but who doesn't love being presented with a beautifully wrapped parcel to unravel? World Wildlife Fund understands the significance of gift giving and has created the perfect holiday solution--a gift that will change the world for the better combined with a cuddly representation of that change! World Wildlife Fund Wildlife Adoptions, only $40 {$30 of which is considered a tax eligible donation amount}, include: an adorable stuffed toy, a reusable gift bag created from recycled plastics, a certificate of adoption, a letter identifying you as the gift-giver, and a report detailing the work your donation is helping to support! What a wonderful gift for children and adults alike.

By giving an environmentally conscious gift like a Wildlife Adoption you are giving not just to one person but rather your gift extends to everyone inhabiting this earth! And remember one small action combine with the acts of many creates change!
Two of the many precious species of wildlife you can have a hand in saving are attached to my very soul through the depths of experiences I will not soon forget! Because I hold such an affinity to these animals after living in the arctic, I received the Adoption package for the polar bear and the caribou. These species are linked to humanity through a timeless environmental dance of tradition, and mutual respect that has sometimes faltered but must never go unrecognized!

The Inuit called the majestic polar bear "Nanuk" ᓇᓄᒃ. More than any other animal, we recognize Nanuk as a symbol of the north, its vast and untamed beauty, rugged and impressive. Like the arctic Nanuk is both beautiful and potentially dangerous. It is these characteristics which command respect and the Inuit have had a unique bond with Nanuk for time in memorial.

To the Inuit the spirits of men and bears are interchangeable perhaps this belief stems from the many similarities between man and polar bear--the musculature of a polar bear is uncannily similar to humans, they eat many of the same foods and they are able to stand and walk on their hind legs, or sit and lean against something as if in relaxed contemplation! Inuit legends reflect the mythical relationship between man and bear, stories of bears living in igloos {snow houses} and secretly shedding their polar bear skins to take human form.

The Inuit also share something else with the polar bear, the destruction of their habitat! Melting sea ice, due to climate change provides a shorter hunting season for both the Inuit and the polar bear, industrialisation is devastating and shrinking their territory, and toxins and pollutants are being absorbed into the food supply, a food supply which sustains both the animal and human inhabitants of the arctic!

The caribou, "tuktu" ᑐᒃᑐ, are perhaps an animal forgotten by southerners. The Tuktu are certainly less romantic and majestic when compared to the polar bear...unless you have actually had the honour of watching a vast herd of caribou thunder across the tundra! The people of the north however, the Inuit and the Dene, consider caribou the manna of life itself.

Many subgroups of both cultures have relied most heavily on caribou for food, and clothing and at one time even shelter.

Once again Climate Change and the thinning ice present the caribou with a more precarious existence. Relying on migration patterns, traditional patterns which have provided them nourishment and safe ground for calving. The caribou are now finding travelling their traditional migration routes more challenging. Some are rerouting their migrations, some are drowning, falling through thinning ice. Warming climate patterns increase precipitation creating deep, wet snow which inhibit movement in winter and help to breed an increased number of parasitic insects in summer.

This disruption to the lives of the caribou also mean disruptions to the lives of the peoples of the arctic who still rely on the caribou for healthy sustenance. As in all ecological systems all things are connected and humanity is not precluded from this web of life!

Purchasing a $40 gift seems a minuscule price to pay to help repair the web, a web that connects all living things including ourselves! Treat a family with the Adopt a Family option or if you want to make an even larger contribution give the WWF Gift of a Living Planet--an environmentally friendly virtual gift. Yes, you can adopt a family of polar bears, panda bears, arctic fox, or even orangutans! A perfect gift for everyone on your list this holiday season--not convinced perhaps some of the other fabulous WWF gifts I will be reviewing may entice you further!

World Wildlife Fund Canada also wants to give a gift! Two Canadian Northern Mama readers will receive World Wildlife Fund Wildlife Adoption Packages!

To Enter:

• Visit the World Wildlife Fund Online Store and tell me which animal you would love to adopt. {Required}

Extra Entries:

• Follow Northern Mama {via google friends connect}
• Be a Northern Mama Facebook Fan
• Grab my Button
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway
• Blog about this giveaway with a link back here {please include the link to your post with your comment}
• Donate $5 or more to World Wildlife Fund
• Make a purchase from World Wildlife Fund

Giveaway open to Canadian residents only! Giveaway ends December 4th, 2009 10:00pm CT. Please read Giveaway Rules for further details.