Animal adoption is great way to get involved in animal conservation. It is a much more personal experience than just donating and you are able to see exactly where and how your money is going to help your chosen animal.

There are many different places that offer adopt an animal programmes, all of which provide a great service both to you as donors, providing regular updates on how your money is helping, and to the animals, who benefit greatly from every penny that is received through animal adoption programmes.

Here are just a few of the many adopt an animal programmes to be found on the web:

WWF
Animals Available: Giant panda, polar bear, orang-utan, bottlenose dolphin, bengal tiger, asian elephant, black rhino, amur leopard, hawksbill turtle, adelie penguin.
Cost: £3 a month
Extras: A gorgeous soft toy of your animal, updates about your adopted species 3 times a year and loads more interesting stuff
The WWF is the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organisation, with unrivalled resources for helping to conserve and protect animals around the world.

The WWF Adoption programme enables you to adopt a wild animal for yourself or a friend for a small regular monthly donation. This will help the WWF to safeguard the future of these species and is an excellent way to show your support to the worlds wildlife and help to fund conservation for a small monthly fee.

There are a range of animals to choose from, all of which are in desperate need of your help.

WDCS

Animals Available: Choice of 6 dolphins – Sundance, Rainbow, Moonlight, Spirit, and Mischief

Cost: £4 a month by direct debit

Extras: A personalised certificate, fluffy dolphin with name badge, interactive DVD, full introduction brochure, regular newsletters.

WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, is the world’s most active charity dedicated to the conservation and welfare of all whales, dolphins and porpoises. Money raised is spent on urgent conservation, research and education projects that really do make a difference to the daily lives and long-term security of thousands of whales, dolphins and porpoises around the world.

The dolphins of Scotland’s Moray Firth are amazing but they face many dangers that threaten their survival. When you adopt a dolphin you will build a special link with an individual and help us to protect the whole population and give them a safer future.

Born Free Foundation

Animals Available: Tiger, lion, lioness, cheetah, african elephant, asian elephant, gorilla, chimp, leopard triplets, leopard, wolf, orca, turtles, giraffe, moon bear.

Cost: £30 per year

Extras: Great gift pack and regular update news

From small beginnings, the Born Free Foundation has grown into a global force for wildlife, with a personal passion for wild animals and desire for positive change at the heart of their organisation.

Adopt an animal with Born Free and you’ll help provide the care and protection each animal needs. Adopters receive a great gift pack and regular update news. So if you love wild animals, adoption with the Born Free Foundation makes an ideal present, for yourself or someone you care for.

ZSL

Animals Available: Ellish and Savannah the Giraffes, Pipsqueak and Ringo the Meerkats, Thug the Hippo, Karishma the Elephant, Ricky and Rita the Rockhopper Penguins, Elvis the Chimp, Mjukuu the Gorilla, Maktoum the Cheetah, Lumpur the Tiger, Spike the African Lion, Lucifer the Asian Lion, Bounty the Squirrel Monkey, Billy the Ring-tailed Lemur, Harri the Otter Kiyo and Misha the Aardvarks, Raja the Komodo Dragon, Dom the Sealion, Wellington and Winslow the Brown Bears.

Cost: £40 for one year

Extras: Free e-ticket to the zoo – so you can visit your animal, access to exclusive animal web pages, featuring fascinating facts, pictures and videos of your animal Personalised e-certificate, to download and proudly display subscription to Wild About, ZSL’s award-winning quarterly magazine and email updates to keep track of what your animal has been up to.

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats.

As well as knowing that you are helping your animal, you also receive a free e-ticket to the zoo – so you can visit your animal, access to exclusive animal web pages, featuring fascinating facts, pictures and videos of your animal Personalised e-certificate, to download and proudly display subscription to Wild About, ZSL’s award-winning quarterly magazine and email updates to keep track of what your animal has been up to.

Each adoption helps ZSL to continue their global conservation work for endangered species.

One World Wildlife

Animals Available: Badger, dolphin, otter, owl, bear, lion, tiger, polar bear, elephant, gorilla, whale, bat, turtle.

Cost: £30

Extras: An adoption certificate, a photo of your animal, four postcards of your animal, One World Wildlife information booklet on your species, a soft toy of your animal. For £10 extra you get a beautiful book all about your animal as well.

One World Wildlife is a British-based conservation charity that undertakes and supports ecological research, sustainable development initiatives and environmental education projects.

Adopt an animal with One World Wildlife and make a real difference to conservation projects around the world. Choose from a wide selection of animals, from the cute and cuddly to the fantastically fierce.

The Living Rainforest

Animals Available: White-cheeked Turaco, Goeldi’s monkey, Roul roul Partridge, Red-billed toucan, Jungle Carpet Python, Bird-eating Spider, Pygmy Marmoset, Dwarf West African crocodile, Freshwater Stingray, Asian Water Dragon.

Cost: £40

Extras: A signed adoption certificate, one free visit to The Living Rainforest to see your adopted animal your name displayed at The Living Rainforest an adoption pack including a photo of your chosen animal and an information sheet about your chosen animal, a small gift item from the Living Rainforest shop.

The Living Rainforest is operated and run by the Trust for Sustainable Living. The mission of the Trust is to further the understanding of sustainable living in the UK and abroad through high-quality education.

Many rainforest animals are threatened by habitat loss and over-exploitation. Animal adoptions make a positive difference by helping to ensure that the animals at The Living Rainforest receive the best care possible, and by supporting vital education and conservation work. In many cases, adopters also help keep threatened species alive.

The Aspinall Foundation

Animals Available: African elephant, african wild dog, bush dog, barbary/atlas lion, cheetah, siberian/amur tiger, now leopard, sumatran tiger, black & white colobus monkey, black & white ruffed lemur, de brazzas monkey, diana monkey, drill baboon, grizzled leaf monkey, sifaka lemur, western lowland gorilla, black rhino, malayan tapir, rothschild giraffe, fishing cat, margay, pallas cat, meerkat.

Cost: £3 per month

Extras: Your adopted animal PC wallpaper your adopted animal e-factsheet an e-certificate for your adopted animal a monthly e-newsletter about our parks twice yearly updates on your adopted animal by email a FREE entry to Howletts or Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks – so you can come and visit your animal!

The Aspinall Foundation is a world leader in animal husbandry and conservation and has to date returned gorillas, black rhino, Przewalski’s horses, cape buffalo, ocelots, and pythons to protected areas of their ancestral homelands.

You can help protect, feed, maintain health and enrich through play, the animals in their care in Kent and around the world. An online animal adoption is one of the best ways to help The Aspinall Foundation and makes a wonderful gift for both the animals and animal lovers.