Gifts of Canadian Nature

Every holiday season I struggle to buy gifts for the same few people in my life. You know the ones - the friends who have everything, yet want nothing. The people who always seem able to find you that perfect gift, but can’t give you any idea of what they themselves want. Well this year I’ll show them!

Even better, this December I won’t have to engage in mortal combat for a mall parking spot, wrestle my way through the holiday crowds, do battle with queue-jumpers or spend endless hours fussing with ribbons and wrapping paper. Instead, I plan to slip into my comfiest pjs, pour myself a full-bodied zinfandel, fire up my favourite holiday tunes and head online to Gifts of Canadian Nature.

Through Gifts of Canadian Nature you can save an acre of habitat for iconic Canadian animals like the grizzly bear and the caribou. Here are some of the animals you can help safeguard, by protecting the places where they live.

  Saw-whet owl
Perfect for any bird watcher, who can resist the saw-whet owl’s unblinking, saucer-like, yellow eyes? This tiny owl gets its name from sounding like saw being sharpened on a whetstone.

  Caribou
For those who appreciate that touch of holiday magic the caribou is for you. They may not be Rudolph, Donner or Blitzen, but these caribou are a symbol of Canada’s true wilderness. These majestic mammals need large, connected tracts of land to survive.

  Newfoundland marten
Have a friend who likes to stand out in the crowd, the Newfoundland marten is for them. This particular marten is genetically distinct from its mainland cousins, having been isolated on the island of Newfoundland since the last ice age.

  Grizzly bear
We all have someone in our life that has everything so why not get them a grizzly.  Did you know the 800 pound grizzly bear can start in life as a one pound cub. Once grown, these majestic animals need as much as 1,800 square miles to survive.

  Canada lynx
The cat lover will love a lynx. At first glance this lynx may seem like a regular housecat, but this stealthy, secretive cat is a solitary, nocturnal hunter that needs hundreds of square miles to survive. This feline’s toes spread apart, acting together like snowshoes, allowing it to glide across wintery expanses.