New baby rhino calf at Imire!
Exciting black rhino update!
One of our female black rhino, Kamuchacha has just given birth to her second calf!
As many of you know, most of our rhino are now free-roaming around the conservancy. Kamchacha is not allowing us a close up of her new baby yet, but any sighting is a good sighting and this glimpse was caught on video early this morning. Our newest addition has been named “Khanya” meaning ‘Light’ in Ndebele by ProFeeds Zimbabwe, whose continual support is invaluable and so deeply appreciated by Imire.
Thank you also to our incredible scouts – every rhino birth is testament to your dedication and passion. With fewer than 600 black rhino remaining in Zimbabwe, every new birth is truly a victory for the conservation efforts in this country. Thank you to everyone involved!
Stay tuned for updates on our Facebook and Instagram pages.
For more information about visiting Imire or volunteering, please click the relevant links on our website.
- Published in Conservation, Rhino, Updates
Volunteer Feedback – April 2019
Read testimonials from volunteers who participated in the Imire volunteer programme during March 2019. Check out our Facebook page for more reviews – www.facebook.com/imire.zimbabwe
- Published in Updates, Volunteers
Family volunteering at Imire
The Larsson family from Sweden, volunteered together at Imire in February 2019. Read about the amazing time they had, and why they think Imire is the perfect place for a family holiday in Africa!
- Published in Updates, Volunteers
Volunteer reviews – March 2019
Read testimonials from volunteers who visited Imire in the first part of 2019. For more testimonials you can look for posts on our Facebook page, and also visit the review section – www.facebook.com/imire.zimbabwe
- Published in Updates, Volunteers
Earth Hour 2019 #Connect2Earth: Saturday 30th March
As part of Earth Hour 2019, we asked some of our dedicated staff to explain why nature matters to them, and why they decided to make caring for the environment part of their life.
- Published in Community, People Of Imire
Vultures: why you should care
We recently had a visit from the Birdlife Zimbabwe team, who are investigating the possibility of introducing a Vulture Safe Area at Imire.
Seven of Africa’s 11 vulture species are on the edge of extinction. The species has a bad press, saddled with cultural perceptions of death, decay and malevolence, so there is often little compassion for their welfare.
However, vultures play a vital role in preventing the spread of many diseases, including anthrax, rabies, TB and botulism – and are affectionately known as Nature’s Clean-up Crew.
Vulture safe zones are areas where it has been established that vultures can be protected, and where birds are likely to congregate.
- Published in Conservation
K9 unit update – Murwi’s progress
In fantastic and encouraging news, our anti-poaching dog Murwi, continues to excel, taking part in her first live operation where she successfully tracked and apprehended a poacher.
This win for Murwi is a massive and positive achievement and the culmination of many long hours of training and hard work in 2018. She continues to train daily, gain in fitness, knowledge and experience, and form even stronger bonds with the K9 Unit Handlers.
Word has spread about her prowess and she is undoubtably a huge asset to our anti-poaching efforts here on Imire. In January she featured on prime-time UK television, appearing on the BBC One Show, which was very exciting indeed! You can watch her segment here.
Should you wish to help support Imire’s Anti-Poaching and K9 unit, please get in touch.
- Published in Conservation, People Of Imire, Rhino
A new women’s maternity ward opens
After much hard work, a new maternity ward and women’s shelter has opened at one of our nearby rural clinics.
There was previously nowhere for new mothers to stay once they had delivered their babies, so they would often go to the clinic (depending on transport being available), give birth and walk or get a lift home once they had ‘rested’ for a short while.
Imire received generous funding, allowing a maternity shelter at the clinic to be built, along with a new 3-bedroom house at the clinic for the on-call nurses to stay in. This means there is now a 24 hour service to the community – something which is vital to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.
- Published in Community, People Of Imire
Proud to partner with Padding Africa
One of the most recognised needs at Numwa School, and through the Southern African region in general, is the lack of sanitary wear for girls. Through donations brought by The Zimbabwe Gecko Society, and a partnership with Padding Africa, the sewing group at Numwa School are making reusable sanitary pads, and are now running a self-sustainable project. The Group is made up of rural women, together with teachers from Numwa School, who gather twice a week to meet the needs of the children at the school.
- Published in Community, People Of Imire
VAWZ Sterilization and Vaccination Campaign
Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation were delighted to work along side Vawz in 2016, introducing for the first time to the Wedza Community the much needed campaign of sterilizing the dogs in the area. Vawz brought down a wonderful team of committed vets, who worked tirelessly for three days, educating and encouraging the rural people of the need to take on this responsibility. The welfare of the dogs after the operation was a joy to witness as was the pride of the owners.
This will hopefully be an on going programme, as the community members have realized the benefits of having a loyal one man dog by their side.