We had tropical storm conditions overnight, but all of the animals are safe. With only minimal tree damage at the sanctuary, we are all thankful.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who were not as fortunate and for those that may still be in Dorian’s path.

Managing a sanctuary with over 100 rescued wild animals is especially stressful in times of natural and manmade disasters. We have contingency plans in place for every conceivable situation, but that does little to minimize the stress when the time comes.

As of the most recent update, Hurricane Dorian is moving NW toward the coast of Florida. The sanctuary is under a tropical storm warning right now. We are as prepared as we can be. The animals are in their safety areas and we are now just holding our breath.

Thankfully, Dorian’s most recent path looks like it will stay offshore and not make landfall…and we hope that the forecast remains accurate. We will still have high winds, but not nearly the devastation that was predicted earlier when Dorian was a Category 5 hurricane and supposed to hit Florida directly.

Of course, the forecasted path of this huge storm can change at any moment. We will remain prepared and will update you if anything changes. Meanwhile, we hope for the best for our friends and family on the east coast and in the Bahamas.

Forest Animal Rescue is constantly purchasing supplies and equipment to help ensure the safety of the sanctuary in emergencies like this. Not only are we regularly building safety areas for the animals, but we also keep trees in and around habitats pruned on an ongoing basis. We are installing a 10,000-gallon water tank with a high-volume water pump for fighting fires and refilling fire trucks at the sanctuary.

With your help, we can stay prepared for whatever emergency arises, whether it is a hurricane, fire or other disasters.

Thank you in advance for your donation to our Disaster Fund.

tree·age

The animals are all safe, their safety areas held strong. The new building is intact even though it had no doors or windows installed yet.

The bad bad news is that we have tons of trees down and lots of them landed on our perimeter fence. In he end, not too bad. Nothing some extra hard work and funding can’t fix.

I will post photos and more information when I am back online properly. Limited connectivity and running on generator power for now.

Watch more for updates on what we need to recover.

Meanwhile, you can donate or volunteer

The sanctuary has been through hurricanes before. In 2004 we were located a few hours south, near the Peace River. We were directly hit by hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne over a period of only 6 weeks. We sustained $200,000 in damage but had no injuries or escapes.

Attempting to evacuate 100 animals in an attempt to avoid the path of a large unpredictable storm is impractical. Experience has shown that the best way for a facility like ours to plan for a storm like Irma is to shelter in place.

The animal habitats are solidly constructed well above the flood zone. Each large enclosure has a structurally reinforced safety area attached. The animals come into their safety areas on a daily basis for feeding, observation and to ensure that they receive the proper supplements and any medications needed. Since it is a normal part of their daily routine, it is a positive experience for the animals to move into these secure areas in preparation for the storm.

Hurricane Irma is on track to do severe damage to a large portion of Florida. We don’t know how seriously we will be impacted, but we are as prepared as we can be.

All we can do is hope for the best – and be prepared for the worst.

We are sure that we will sustain substantial property damage.

Large amounts of our regular support has already been redirected to disaster relief with hurricane Harvey. Now with Irma, it could be some time before our donations return to normal levels to care for the animals, let alone provide the resources we need to repair property damage from the storm and finish our Animal Care Building.

We have seen this before – it is a normal pattern. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by these natural disasters, but if you are an animal lover and donating to hurricane recovery, please remember that animals still need your support as well as the humans.

If you’re currently outside the state and want to help, consider an item off our Amazon Wish List here: http://a.co/aMX1ZCf

If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to help with hurricane recovery or caring for the animals you can do so securely right here:

If you prefer, your tax-deductible gift can be mailed to:

Forest Animal Rescue
640 NE 170th Ct.
Silver Springs, FL 34488

To monitor how we are doing after the storm, please watch for more posts on our website join us on Facebook – we will post updates as soon as we are back online after the hurricane passes.

Please share this message with anyone in our animal welfare community and beyond.

May you be safe and secure in the coming hours.

We had substantial rain, wind and some tornadoes in the area, but all of the animals (and humans) are safe.

The animal habitats are unharmed, but with 80 acres of wooded land, we have lots of trees down and damaged and have some equipment that didn’t do so well.

The 17,000 watt generator at the sanctuary kept the freezers, the well, and everything else running smoothly through power outages.

Unfortunately, the intern/volunteer houses are still without power. The power company says that it may be back on as soon as tomorrow.

What we need:

• Tree service – if you or someone you know does professional tree-trimming, we have some HUGE trees that are damaged and threatening to fall on parts of the sanctuary

• Volunteers to help clean up the debris – If you would like to help and have not already done so, please complete a volunteer application so that you can be added to our volunteer email list. We will be scheduling work days soon.

• New equipment and equipment repairs – We are in need of new chain saws, hedgers, pole saws, chains, straps and anything else that can be used to clean up the mess – as well as repairs to our equipment.

We won’t let this slow us down – we are still working on our Animal Care Building as well as the constant expansion of animal habitats.

Would you like to join us?

There was a lot of wind and rain, but fortunately we had minimal damage.

A large tree limb was blocking the driveway this morning but all of the animals and people are safe and sound. There are a few more bands of thunderstorms that will pass through yet, but the worst is over.

Thank you for all of your calls and emails checking on us – we truly appreciate your friendship and support.

Now to clean up the mess! 80 acres of woods after a windstorm can leave a lot of debris to clean up. Do you want to volunteer?