I was feeling down after my last post about the extinction of the Caribbean monk seal, only to get a  notification a few minutes later about NWF's new wildlife adoption program. 

Here's how it works.  It's a symbolic adoption, meaning that you adopt a species that needs our help rather than an individual animal. You make a $30 donation in the name of the species of your choice which supports NWF's work protecting wildlife.  As thanks, you'll get a stuffed animal plus an adoption certificate and a screensaver featuring your adopted species. (But for me, the biggest benefit is knowing that you're participating in the protection of some amazing animals that really do need our help.)

The stuffed animals are not only really cute, they've been crafted to truly resemble the real-life animal. And you can even make an adoption in someone else's name too, which makes a great gift.

Some of my favorite species up for adoption are the grizzly bear, river otter, desert tortoise and barking tree frog.  Check out the full list of species here.