
Adopt An Animal symbolically from World Animal Foundation. Your WAF Adopt An Animal Kit comes in a Deluxe WAF Folder and includes: Glossy Photo of Your Adopted Animal; Adopt An Animal Adoption Certificate; Fact Sheet About Your Adopted Animal; Help Animals Info Cards Packed With Information On Animal Issues & How You Can Help Animals And The Environment. Adopt An Animal for Yourself or as a Gift...
Adopt A Rattlesnake From World Animal Foundation
Your World Animal Foundation Adopt A Rattlesnake Kit comes in a Deluxe WAF Folder and includes:
Adopt A Rattlesnake Kits make great gifts and can be sent directly to the recipient. Simply supply the recipient's name and mailing address as shipping information. We'll even include a letter stating the Adopt An Animal Kit is from you.
WAF's Adopt An Animal symbolic adoption is a one time fee and helps the World Animal Foundation to preserve the planet and protect its animals. Adopt an animal for yourself or order an Adopt An Animal Kit as a gift. Help make a difference for animals - Adopt An Animal Today!
Adopt A Rattlesnake: Help World Animal Foundation Make A Difference For Animals!
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous (poisonous) snakes that live in a wide range of habitats, and have the scientific name Crotalus cerastes. There are 32 known species of rattlesnakes, and they can be found all over the Americas, ranging from Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, to as far south as Argentina. These fascinating snakes get their name from the rattle at the end of their tails – when the snake shakes the rattle, it makes a loud noise that helps to defend the snake by warning off predators or passing larger animals. It’s basically the snake’s way of saying ‘watch your step!’
The living environment that rattlesnakes prefer can be different from species to species, though many types of rattlesnakes live near open, rocky areas that can give them protective cover from predators that might eat them. Rocks are also a great place for rattlesnakes to warm themselves by basking, and also for them to find the types of prey that they need to eat. Rattlesnakes can also be found in many other types of habitats as well, however, including prairie, marsh, and forest homes. They tend to prefer to live in temperatures between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but they’re also fairly hardy, tolerating short periods when temperatures go below freezing, and they’re even able to survive for days at a time when the temperature is as cold as 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
Rattlesnakes are predators, meaning that they hunt and eat small animals like birds, mice, rats and lizards. They lie in wait for their prey, and sense small animals using heat-sensing ‘pits’ on their faces. They kill prey by quickly striking and biting it, injecting a large amount of venom through their fangs into the animal, which causes rapid internal damage and bleeding. Some types of rattlesnakes, like the tiger rattlesnake and the Mojave rattlesnake, can actually paralyze using their venom, too.
As well as using their eyes to find their bitten prey as it runs away, rattlesnakes find and follow an animal’s scent. They then check for signs of life using their odor-sensing tongue and touch before eating their meal headfirst. It might surprise you to learn that a rattlesnake’s gastric juices are powerful enough to digest even the bones of their prey! If the snake has found a large enough meal, they’ll usually find a warm, hidden place to curl up in for a rest while they digest.
Although rattlesnakes get most of their needed moisture from the animals that they eat, they do need to drink some water as well to stay hydrated. They have a few different ways of drinking that probably look quite strange to us. In bigger bodies of water, like creeks or ponds, they put their entire head under the surface and open and close their jaws to suck in water. With small puddles or dewdrops, though, they ‘sip’ the water, or flatten their lower jaw and allow the water to run into their mouth.
These snakes have many other distinctive features as well. Their skin is made up of overlapping scales that protect their body from head to tail, and unlike their flashier relatives, rattlesnakes tend to be intricately patterned in earth tones to provide the best camouflage from their predators. A rattlesnake can feel changes in air temperature though its skin, which is important for helping it to find warm locations or protective shelters. Rattlesnakes are ectotherms, meaning that they can’t keep themselves warm – instead, they have to exchange heat with their environment to change their body temperature, basking on rocks and warm earth to absorb heat.
The sound of these snakes is unmistakable. A rattlesnake’s rattle is actually composed of scales that are made of keratin, creating several hollow, interlocked tail segments at the end of the snake’s body. The snake ‘rattles’ by squeezing and relaxing special muscles in their tail, making the segments vibrate together to make a loud noise. A rattlesnake can contract these muscles up to fifty times per second, for as long as three hours! Rattlesnakes travel with their rattles in the air to protect them, and a new tail segment is added each time the snake sheds its skin.
Interestingly, rattlesnakes also have a very good sense of smell, and use their tongues to carry smells into their mouths to their Jacobson’s organs – special organs that detect chemicals called pheromones. Although they tend to rely more on scent than sight, rattlers also have enough sight ability to spot movement during both the day and night, and they even possess some amount of color vision, too.
As adults, male rattlesnakes tend to have longer, thicker tails than females, and most rattlesnake species mate either in the summer or fall. Female rattlesnakes, who tend to mate every three years, secrete a pheromone trail that allows males to follow them using their tongues and Jacobson’s organs, and once a male actually finds a female, he follows her around for days before mating. The males of some rattler species, like the timber rattlesnake, fight with each other to compete for a certain female during mating season too. Rattlesnakes are one of the snake species that give birth to live young snakes after carrying the eggs inside them, and female rattlesnakes actually stay in the nest with their young for weeks, some even sharing mothering duties with other female rattlers as well. Who knew snakes were such good parents?
As rattlesnakes usually take several years to reach adulthood, while still young they’re vulnerable to danger from predators like ravens, raccoons, skunks and weasels, as well as king snakes, a predator that’s immune to rattler venom. Occasionally, even ants will prey on very young snakes. Some species of rattlesnakes will gather together in large groups to hibernate in cooler weather, (though they’ll usually stay dormant during drought and extreme heat) and rattlesnake dens have been counted to hold well over 1,000 snakes at a time! They often return to the same den each year.
THREATS TO RATTLESNAKES
Rattlesnakes are threatened by a variety of human activities. Some areas host mass exterminations like rattlesnake roundups, and car accidents and destruction of rattlesnake habitats due to human development have caused some species, like the Timber, Massasauga and Canebrake rattlesnake, to become threatened or endangered in some areas.
Your World Animal Foundation Adopt An Animal Kit comes in a Deluxe WAF Folder and includes:
Glossy Photo Of Your Adopted Animal; Adopt An Animal Adoption Certificate; Fact Sheet About Your Adopted Animal; Help Animals Info Cards Packed With Information On Animal Issues & How You Can Help Animals And The Environment.
WAF's Adopt An Animal symbolic adoption is a one time fee and helps the World Animal Foundation to preserve the planet and protect its animals. Adopt an animal for yourself or order an Adopt An Animal Kit as a gift. Help make a difference for animals - Adopt An Animal Today!
Adopt An Animal Kits make great gifts and can be sent directly to the recipient:
Simply supply the recipient's name and mailing address as shipping information. We'll even include a letter stating the Adopt An Animal Kit is from you.
Why Adopt An Animal From World Animal Foundation?
Many of the planet’s most iconic and beloved animals are in trouble, and World Animal Foundation needs your help to save them. You can make a difference for wildlife and domestic animals by adopting an animal from World Animal Foundation for yourself, or adopting an animal as gift. Adopting an animal is the perfect gift for a loved one who loves animals, and helps to support World Animal Foundation's critical mission of preserving and protecting the planet and the animals that inhabit it.
The world is teaming with an amazing diversity of animals. Some species are beautiful, others bizarre — but they all are important to the ecosystem and deserve our respect, compassion and protection. Unfortunately, many animal species are declining at a rapid rate as a result of irresponsible human activities. Habitat destruction, pollution, hunting, poor agricultural practices and changes in climate are among the threats faced by wildlife and domestic animals. World Animal Foundation's Adopt An Animal program allows you to symbolically adopt your favorite animal species while supporting our important work of protecting wildlife, companion animals, farm animals and the environment.
Adopt An Animal contributions help provide critical financial support needed to preserve and protect some of the world's most imperiled and abused animals, and to combat the global forces that threaten wildlife, companion animals, farm animals and the planet. World Animal Foundation actively works to create lasting change by fighting the forces that devastate the environment, endanger wildlife and harm companion animals and farm animals. WAF is an all volunteer organization. The organization has no paid officers and uses all donations towards animal and environmental programs: direct rescue, educational programs and animal sanctuaries. Utilizing volunteerism, WAF has kept operating costs to a bare minimum while maximizing our ability to help animals.
Fast Shipping! (Note: Shipping Delays May Occur Due To Pandemic)
Shipping time for World Animal Foundation Adopt An Animal Kits averages 2 to 4 business days - USA. Allow additional time for Adopt An Animal Kits orders outside the USA. Your Adopt An Animal Packet will arrive approximately 2 to 4 business days following shipping date. Shipping & Handling for Adopt An Animal Kits within the USA are by U.S.P.S. Priority Mail.
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World Animal Foundation Adopt An Animal Kits are provided by Tree Frog Trading.
The World Animal Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of the planet and the animals that inhabit it. WAF works with other not-for-profit organizations dedicated to planet preservation and animal issues. WAF works through public education, research, investigations, animal rescue, legislation, special events, and direct action.
WAF is an all volunteer organization. The organization has no paid officers and uses all donations towards animal and environmental programs: direct rescue, educational programs and animal sanctuaries. Utilizing volunteerism, WAF has kept operating costs to a bare minimum while maximizing our ability to help animals.
​WAF has members throughout the world and on every continent.
Through our volunteer network, the World Animal Foundation attempts to make the world a more compassionate place for all animals - wild animals, companion animals, aquatic animals and farm animals. Through grass roots action and activism, WAF bridged the gap between animal and environmental issues.
The Foundation has directly rescued thousands of animals and supports wildlife sanctuaries throughout the US. In addition, WAF engages in Trap-Neuter-Return of feral cats, animal adoptions, low cost spay-neuter programs and numerous animal concerns campaigns.
Membership in the organization is free. Donations are always appreciated and needed to carryout our crucial mission of helping animals and the planet. Help make a difference!