After Three Years, FINALLY Some Progress!

July 2005

The first three years were a series of frustrations. We could not find people to trust, we could not find who was actually in charge of the facility. Every government official we could talk to pointed to another…if they would take our calls at all, (which they usually didn't).

That began to change once we started talking to Sr. Dacarett in 2005. He took our calls, (and even returned them!) listened to us, asked for the history of our involvement and paper work. About the same time we were introduced to Raul Ramirez, Director of Ecology, by reporter Ezequiel Lizalde of the Tribuna de Los Cabos. Sr. Ramirez was very receptive also. At last…real dialogue with people who cared!

When I first got involved, the focus was building new, larger enclosures for the animals. However, the whole operation was virtually unlicensed and un-permitted. There was no trustworthy entity in place that could be held accountable for the money and materials we were bringing in and nothing was accomplished. We switched our goal to getting the two large cats out of there. WAO, in San Antonio was willing to receive them, if permits could be secured.

Once our dialogue with Sr. Dacarett began, we wanted to get a wildlife veterinarian's opinion of the current health status of the lion & tiger and the enclosure requirements necessary in order for them to stay. He agreed to let us bring in a vet.

There are veterinarians in Los Cabos, but no one with wildlife expertise, and we wanted to get an expert in there to assess the conditions and make recommendations. After numerous phone calls, a Google search and more phones calls, Vicky found Dr. Ivonne Cassaigne of Mexico City, a wildlife specialist with the National University of Mexico. She agreed to come to Santiago without charging us for her time. We would have to cover her travel expenses and Sr. Oscar Dacarett covered her hotel. The visit was set for August 12th, 2006.

To say we were excited by this monumental step is an understatement!