In what can only be described as a horrendous tragedy, the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary in Belize was burned to the ground this weekend. Today, croc fans worldwide wait to see the future not only for ACES but also for Cherie and Vince Rose, who dedicated their lives to helping rehabilitate the American Crocodile.

From CNN.com:

Bit by bit, their hope turned into reality. They built a two-story octagonal-shaped house that rested on stilts and reached 30 feet into the air. They constructed two smaller cottages for researchers and students to stay in. They dug out two acres of canals for the crocodiles. They acquired two boats.

They called the place the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary.

Most of it vanished Sunday morning, when a throng of angry villagers from a settlement about 10 miles (16 km) away torched the buildings on their property. The villagers had been told by a local psychic that the Americans had fed the two missing children to the 17 crocodiles at the sanctuary, police say.

The Roses were rescuing three crocodiles on a distant island at the time, so were not home to ward off the attack -- or possibly suffer a gruesome fate.

I first learned of ACES when Wildlife Discovery Center in Lake Forest, IL, began fundraising to bring one of their American Crocs to the facility. Cherie and Vince are in our thoughts today, and we hope for their safety as the rebuild. We will keep you posted on this as it unfolds.