From coast to coast, Canada’s wild places are disappearing. This holiday season, you can make a difference and purchase gifts that are unique and meaningful for your friends and loved ones. Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Gifts of Canadian Nature are symbolic gifts of habitat that you can protect in honour of someone. Don’t clutter up a loved one’s life with more “stuff.” Instead, give them a gift as vast and beautiful as our Canadian wilderness – beautifully packaged and small enough to fit under a tree!

Gifts of Canadian Nature featured species: Caribou

Facts about the caribou

• Mountain caribou are one of the most endangered herds of mammals in North America. The herd found on Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Darkwoods property is the only herd that crosses the border into the United States.
• These Canadian icons are the largest migratory mammal in Newfoundland and Labrador, some caribou weigh in at 700 lbs.!
• Antler size is an indicator of dominance within the herd.
• Caribou rely on lichen for their primary food in the winter. They find this places like NCC’s Darkwoods property.
• Habitat loss is one of the biggest threats to caribou in Canada.
• Nature Conservancy of Canada is working across Canada to protect the big, continuous tracts of land caribou need to survive and even thrive.
• Large, concave hooves splay widely to support the caribou in snow and function as scoops when it paws through snow to uncover lichens.
• Caribou are usually quiet, but they may give a loud snort. Herds of snorting caribou may sound like pigs.
• The caribou is North America’s “reindeer” – help protect its habitat this holiday with a Gift of Canadian nature!
• You can help by giving a symbolic Gift of Caribou Habitat this holiday!

You can help the caribou!

Give a Gift of Canadian Nature – a gift as vast and beautiful as our Canadian wilderness – and help protect animals across Canada, including thecaribou this holiday season.

Gifts of Canadian Nature featured species: Canada lynx

Facts about the Canada lynx

• At a glance, the Canada lynx seems just like a housecat.
• This stealthy, secretive cat is a solitary, nocturnal hunter that needs hundreds of square miles to survive.
• Lynx are mainly nocturnal. They are most active from two hours after sunset to one hour after sunrise.
• Lynx tend to be secretive and even experienced hunters rarely see one in the wild.
• The Canada lynx can’t run fast except over short distances, so it stalks or ambushes its prey at close range.
• Lynx have large feet, which help it to travel over snow. The lynx, like the snowshoe hare, can spread its toes in soft snow, expanding its “snowshoes” still farther.
• The lynx has large eyes and ears and depends on its acute sight and hearing when hunting. The lynx’s claws, like those of most other cats, are retractable and used primarily for seizing prey and fighting.
• Mother Lynx bring food to her cubs and allows them to play with it before eating it, thus training their hunting skills.
• Canada lynx population is declining in the eastern Canadian provinces, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
• Nature Conservancy of Canada is working across Canada to protect the big, continuous tracts of land Canada lynx need to survive and even thrive.
• Give a Gift of Canadian Nature and help protect Canada lynx habitat!

You can help the Canada lynx!

Give a Gift of Canadian Nature – a gift as vast and beautiful as our Canadian wilderness – and help protect animals across Canada, including the elusive Canada lynx this holiday season.

 

Gifts of Canadian Nature featured species: Northern saw-whet owl

Facts about the northern saw-whet owl

• The northern saw-whet owl’s mating call sounds like a saw being sharpened on a whetstone.
• This summer, Luna the northern saw-whet owl became the new star of TELUS’ mobility campaign.
• Like all owls, their ears are not placed symmetrically on their head. One side is lower than the other. This aids the owls in locating prey from the tiny noises they make.
• The northern saw-whet owl is one of the smallest in North America.
• The tiny northern saw-whet owl is often mistaken for tame because it holds still in self-defence until a threat passes.
• You can help by giving a symbolic gift of Northern Saw-whet Owl Habitat this holiday!

You can help the northern saw-whet owl!

Give a Gift of Canadian Nature — a gift as vast and beautiful as our Canadian wilderness — and help protect animals across Canada, including the northern saw-whet owl, this holiday season.

Gifts of Canadian Nature featured species: Newfoundland marten

Facts about the Newfoundland marten

• A genetically unique population of martens has been isolated on the island of Newfoundland since the last ice age.
• The size of a house cat, the Newfoundland marten has a long, slender body, and sharp claws that help it climb trees.
• Much larger than its mainland cousins, the “giant” Newfoundland marten needs a larger range.
• Newfoundland martens need as much as 2,470 acres (1,000 hectares) to survive – 10 times more than their mainland cousins!
• Food is scarcer here, and Newfoundland martens must cover more ground to seek it out.
• Habitat loss and fragmentation are among the main threats to this species.
• You can help by giving a symbolic gift of Newfoundland Marten Habitat this holiday!

You can help the Newfoundland marten

Give a Gift of Canadian Nature — a gift as vast and beautiful as our Canadian wilderness — and help protect animals across Canada, including the critically imperilled Newfoundland marten, this holiday season.

Gifts of Canadian Nature featured species: grizzly bear

Facts about the grizzly bear

• The 800-lb grizzly bear starts life as a 1lb cub.
• Plants make up 80 to 90 percent of the grizzly bear’s diet, and berries are the most important item in its diet.
• Less than 10 percent of the grizzly bear’s range is considered protected today.
• The grizzly is a true wilderness creature that can survive only in relatively undisturbed areas.
• Grizzlies need as much as 1,800 square kilometres to survive.
• People are the biggest threat to top predators, including grizzlies.
• The grizzly’s total range in North America has shrunk more than half.
• You can help the grizzly by giving a symbolic gift of Grizzly Bear Habitat this holiday!

You can help the grizzly bear!

Give a Gift of Canadian Nature – a gift as vast and beautiful as our Canadian wilderness – and help protect animals across Canada, including the majestic grizzly bear this holiday season.