HomeMeet our Animal Ambassadors!

Adopt an Ambassador Animal at DNC!

Your adoption will last 1 year from the adoption date. Your donation will fund food for the animals, habitat maintanence, and enrichment supplies for our ambassador animals.

Check out our animal ambassadors below! You can visit them in person at the nature center Monday through Friday from 9am-4pm.

To adopt an animal, please email brawza@devriesnc.org or call our office at (989) 723-3365!

Basic Adoption- perfect for the animal enthusiast in your life! For $15, you will receive:

a digital picture of your ambassador animal

an official adoption certificate (digital)

an in-person meet and greet at the nature center within our working hours M-F 9am-4pm

Jr. Naturalist- Intended for kiddos, but available to anyone! Makes a great Christmas or birthday gift! For $50, you will recieve:

Please note: This level is not available for all of our animals. Items included in this level can be picked up at our nature center or shipped for an additional cost.

a printed picture of your ambassador animal

an official adoption certificate (printed)

an in-person meet and greet at the nature center within our working hours M-F 9am-4pm

A stuffed animal version of your ambassador animal

Teachers- Adopt an animal and have a virtual class pet! For $10, you will recieve:

a picture of your ambassador animal

an official adoption certificate

a virtual or in person meet and greet with your animal over zoom. In person visits may have an additional cost to cover travel fees.

To adopt a virtual class pet, please email brawza@devriesnc.org the name of the animal you would like to adopt and a preferred date for your virtual meet and greet.

Meet our Amphibians!

Frog (pictured left) is an Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Dryophytes versicolor). This species is common in Michigan and the eastern U.S. and some of Canada. Despite its name, the Gray Tree Frog varies in color from green to gray to sometimes almost white! The color of their skin changes based on a varirety of environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity.

Toad (pictured right) is an American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus). This species is common in Michigan and the northeastern U.S. and Canada. Despite the common myth, this type of toad nor any toads can give you warts!

Frog and Toad live in the same tank together. Frog sticks to the higher canopy of their terrarium while toad stays on the bottom. They are name after the characters, Frog and Toad, from the children's book series by Arnold Lobel.

Django (pictured below) is an Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). This species is common in Michigan but is rarely seen as it resides underground and lives a nocturnal lifestyle. This species is Michigan's largest amphibian species, reaching up to 14 inches long! Djanog is a juvenile and will reach adulthood in the next few years.

If you would like to adopt Frog & Toad or Django, please follow the links below. Both Frog and Toad are included in the same adoption.

Stuffed animal included with Jr Naturalist Adoption:

Meet our Eastern Box Turtles!

Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina) can be found throughout the eastern U.S. They are currently considered to be a threatened species in Michigan, which means they are at risk of becoming endangered in the future. We have special permits here at DNC that allow us to have these turtles. It is illegal to keep an eastern box turtle as a pet in Michigan.

A fun fact about box turtles is that they get their name from their shell! When threatened or scared, box turtles have the unique ability to pull their head and limbs inside their shell. They have a special hinge in their shell that allows them to pull their shell tight, so that it is sealed shut like a box!

George (pictured bottom left) is one of our male box turtles. Male box turtles are more colorful than females and have red eyes. George was hatched at a lab at CMU in 1991 before being donated to us. Box turtles can live to be over 50 years old. George turns 34 this year!

ZIlla (bottom center) is our female box turtle. She was donated to us in 2008 after being taken from the wild. Once a turtle is taken from the wild, it can not be returned once it has learned to rely on humans for food.

Moonpie (bottom right) is our other male box turtle and our newest- he was given to us in 2021. Moonpie was taken from the wild in Tennessee and was brought back to Michigan as a pet before he was surrendered to us.

Stuffed animal included with jr Naturalist Adoption:

Bagheera the Black Rat Snake

Bagheera is currently the only snake here at DNC. Black Rat Snakes (Pantherophis obsoletus) are native to Michigan and are found across the eastern U.S. in forest, meadow, and agricultural habitats. As their name suggests, their diet is made of mostly rats and mice. Bagheera was hatched at another nature center before being donated to DNC. She is over 15 years old! A fun fact about Black Rat Snakes that Bagheera sometimes demonstrates is mimicry. Black Rat Snakes mimic rattlesnakes by shaking the end of their tails in the leaves and grass on the ground. Though the Black Rat Snake does not have a rattle at the end of its tail, the motion of its tail through the materials on the ground creates a rattling noise to scare predators away!

Aquatic Turtles

We have 3 species of aquatic turtles here at DNC!

Caroline (bottom left) is a Yellow-Bellied Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta) who was donated to DNC after being a pet. She is 9 years old and can live to be into her 40s! This species is non-native to Michigan, and can be found in the wild in the southeastern U.S. This species gets its name from its big yellow belly (bottom of its shell) and the way that they slide off of rocks and logs into the water.

Shelly is our Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta) who lives with Squiggles and Vern,our Common Map Turtles (Graptemys geographica). Painted turtles get their name from the colorful red and yellow markings on their skin and shell, while map turtles are named for the dazzling lines and patterns on their skin and shell. Shelly and Squiggles (bottom middle) and Vern (bottom left) are best friend who can be found stacked up on eachother most days, just like in their photo!

Stuffed animal for any aquatic turtle Jr Naturalist Adoption:

Nigerian Dwarf Goats

We have 3 goats on our property: Pip, Petunia, and our newest addition, Patches! Patches was born on November 3rd. The goats live in our barn while we fundraise to build them a larger pasture. You can visit them from 9am-4pm each day when they are in their temporary pasture by the chicken coop! We also have treats for purchase in the nature center for $1.

Stuffed animal included with jr Naturalist Adoption:

Sponsor our Chicken Coop!

Our coop is home to 10 hens and 1 rooster! Our coop is visited by thousands of visitors each year. For $100, your advertisement will be placed on our outdoor coop for 1 year! These funds will be used to purchase food, treats, and enrichment items for the chickens.

Chicken Coop Sponsor