Crocodile Dundees get a grant to save crocs

The American Crocodile Education Sanctuary in Toledo was burned to the ground in September 2010, by an angry mob of Mayan Villagers, who were convinced by a psychic that the crocs had eaten missing siblings, Benjamin and Onelia Rash. After losing everything, the owners, Vincent and Cherie Rose, relocated to San Pedro and have been trying to get the sanctuary back on its feet. Tonight there is good news for crocodile conservation in Belize because ACES and the Belize Vivarium in Belmopan have each received grants of eight thousand U.S. dollars from the Summerlee Foundation in the United States. According to Cherie Rose, the funds will allow for the rescue of at least thirty freshwater crocodiles and construction of the habitat will begin next week at their new site in Ladyville.

Via Phone: Cherie Rose, Owner/Operator, ACES

Cherie Rose

“The Summerlee Foundation from the United States has actually funded ACES and also the Vivarium, the Belize Vivarium in Belmopan, which is owned and operated by a local Belizean, Tony Garel. We’re both crocodilian rescue facilities that take ill, injured or problematic crocodiles. There are currently approximately thirty Morelet’s freshwater crocodiles in need in Belize as we were notified by the Belize Forest Department. And so both our facilities wrote to the Summerlee Foundation and they granted us both a grant and split the funds between two of us. So ACES will be at the Caribbean Shrimp Farm in Ladyville. We’ll be, starting this Monday, building and creating a natural Morelet’s habitat that will be contained and secured with perimeter fencing that can rescue about half of the crocs in need and then Tony Garel will be doing the same at his facility and he will be taking half the crocs in need. So at our facility people will be able to come and view the crocodiles. We already have three salt water crocodiles there so now we’ll have approximately fifteen more and it will be totally educational where people will come and learn about the crocodiles and how to safely co-exist with them and about crocodile conservation in Belize.”

Delahnie Bain

“And this is all a part of ACES getting back on its feet after last year’s incident?”

Via Phone: Cherie Rose

“Yes ma’am, we’re still at a loss of everything and have not been compensated for everything. We were helped by the people on the island with a donation of clothing and things like that. As far as ACES itself, we’re located at Caribbean Shrimp Farm, they are just leasing us the area so we can have the crocs there. So we don’t own anything but part of your entrance fee does go to ACES to help crocodile conservation in Belize countrywide.”

Rose says the site at the Caribbean Shrimp Farm will be a complete attraction with tours of the shrimp farm and crocodile habitats, a hiking trail to a nearby Maya ruin and a restaurant with bird watching facilities. It is currently opened for business by reservation only, but is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year. But Rose emphasizes that they still need donations of construction materials.