Hi there.

As our kind former supporters know, and others may perhaps know too, Paul and I were involved in defending an attempt to grab our property by an unscrupulous speculator in the spring. This turned into an even bigger problem with our own lawyers. I can't go into details about the case but, at this distance, we now feel these two issues are behind us and, after a great deal of stress, expense and fear for the future of "our" Animal friends here, we are now hopeful of moving on without further heartache.

On a positive note, having resisted a challenge for the tenure of this finca, our presence here, we feel, is now more secure.

In the intervening months our attempts to repopulate this area, which, though remote, has suffered hugely in terms of Animal persecution, and surrounding habitat loss, have been rewarded by a significant increase in numbers. Though it's hard to judge how many are moving away inland and around the waterline, the number is obviously reflected in how many we see here. Some Guys, like the Conejo Pintado (Lowland Paca) and the Opossums come and go, being nightly visitors perhaps for months, then disappearing for months more, only to reappear again later. So we now tend to judge these things, where it's possible, by monitoring individual families and numbers of families, rather than by individuals, which would be close to impossible. We're sure we now have four generations of Kinkajou, with OneEyed Nellie, our first Kink arrival, still as fit and well as ever, and breeding regularly. Four generations of Conejo too, though they look so similar they're hard to tell apart. But we watch the youngsters grow big and fat, until another brood appears. The Opossums are more of a mystery as there are three distinct species and they all come and go unpredictably. Add in three Bush Rat species, Parrots, Bats and more and it's very busy here now.

Crab Eating Raccoons I've left till last as these chaps have responded to dietary supplement with great enthusiasm! Four or more generations now with between thirty and fifty individuals. We feel the numbers are now such that we must limit how much food we supplement. This will increase competition of course but this land can only support so many, and this will encourage repopulation locally

What with the past legal problems and increased numbers of mouths to feed we've now come to a financial crisis. Our income just can't keep with the expenditure. We've prioritised the Animals of course but this has led to a backlog of maintenance and upgrading which is now critical.

Having insufficient funds to employ our Indian for routine chopping, cleaning and maintenance of the boundary fence, the dock and so on, has meant me having to do these jobs with the result that work on the tent, Animal enclosures, and lots of other infrastructural work has been put on hold.

So we've now made this appeal for help open ended, hoping that some kind people amongst you can help us continue with what we're trying to do here.

Our plans include fostering a closer relationship with the national environment agency here so we can take on more rescue work, and on a more official basis. To do this will mean upgrading infrastructure here, but without funds our hands are tied.

Once on a stronger footing we should be able to generate funds locally but right now there is no way we can do this without seriously compromising what we've established so far.

If anyone were able to help us at all by donating something regularly it would help us greatly with planning how we proceed, but of course we're more than grateful for any help at all.

If anyone would like to know more about this please don't hesitate to ask. Also there are many people locally who will attest to our enthusiasm and dedication to these lovely creatures.

One of our first jobs would be to improve our communications with the Big World, which will enable us to update here and on the Facebook page regularly, with photos, stories and videos of our friends, the place and our progress.

It's not plain sailing here with a constant barrage of challenges, some joy, and more than enough sadness, but the Animal numbers are building up and hundreds of life years have, and are being, enjoyed by many species now, and in an environment free from hunting, disturbance and abuse. With help we can keep it going and over time build on what we've done so far and improve the chances for many more of the amazing creatures we've been so privileged to meet.

Thank you so much for your support, the reason we are still here for the animals is, in large part, due to your generosity and help.