Help Imire protect rhino.
A nonprofit fundraiser supporting
Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance IncImire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation Security Fundraiser
$49,981
raised by 427 people
$100,000 goal
New update
From Loss to Legacy: Thank You for Standing With Gomo
Gomo’s poaching was devastating. Not only to Imire, but to every person who believes that rhino deserve a future. Your incredible support in the months that followed reminded us why we continue.
From across the world, your messages, your donations, and your encouragement carried us through one of our darkest seasons. The outpouring of support was extraordinary.
As a result of your incredible donations we were able to secure the area where Gomo was killed with a high-standard, solar-powered electric fence system, reinforced with security cameras.
Your generosity has directly increased the safety of the animals Imire is entrusted to protect.
For those of you who have continued giving monthly or who stood with us quietly behind the scenes please know how deeply we value you.
Turning Toward the Future
While we will never forget Gomo, we now choose to look forward. In the past 12 months alone, eight rhino calves have been born at Imire. One of those calves, a female, was sired by Gomo before his death.
His bloodline lives on and his genetics remain part of the future of this species.
These calves represent hope, growth and sustainability. They are playful, vulnerable, powerful reminders that conservation is not only about preventing loss, it is about actively building a future.
As we close this chapter dedicated to Gomo’s protection, we are opening a long-term initiative focused on the calves of Imire and the future of rhino conservation.
The next chapter is about our ongoing mission to breed and protect rhino for their ultimate release into their original habitats. Achieving this goal depends on:
Ongoing security
Veterinary care
Habitat protection
Genetic stewardship
Community partnership
Long-term resilience
It is about ensuring that every rhino calf born on Imire inherits a world where they are protected, not persecuted.
If you would like to follow our journey please follow our new Mighty Cause Page for updates:
https://www.mightycause.com/story/SupportImire
Thank you for standing with us in grief.
Thank you for strengthening our security.
Thank you for protecting Gomo’s legacy.
And thank you for believing in the future of rhino.
Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation is a private wildlife conservancy in Zimbabwe. The Travers Family have been custodians of Imire and the wildlife there for three generations. Imire’s primary focus is the protection and breeding of black and white rhino, both species facing extreme persecution worldwide.
After an incredible nearly 20 years free of poaching, Imire faced a devastating and brutal loss on Monday 28th April. They discovered “Gomo” a 22-year-old black rhino male, massacred in a remote section of the Imire property, killed instantly, both his horns removed by axe at the base.
Despite the best efforts of Imire’s Anti-poaching rangers and K9 detection unit, the poachers escaped with their target.
Rhino protection is an ongoing war. Rhino horn, in reality, a valueless keratin, alike to human fingernails, fetches prices of up to $60,000.00 per kilogram on the black market in Asia. These high prices, poverty and high unemployment in Zimbabwe are the perfect ingredients to fuel a thriving illegal trade.
Imire and the Travers Family, led by Reilly Travers, have collectively dedicated their lives to rhino conservation. This loss is personal and devastating. Immediate and rapid changes are required at Imire to keep up with poachers whose tactics, technology and networks are ever strengthening.
- Immediate concerns for Imire involve the addition of even more layers of protection. These layers include:
- Increasing security of fencing using camera technology and sensors as an early warning system.
- Replacing decaying wooden poles with steel fencing poles.
- Increasing the number of electrical strands on the boundary fence.
- Increasing the number of drones in the Drone Unit and training more rangers as drone pilots.
- Increasing the number of weapons for rangers in the field.
The costs associated with this type of security, protection and implementation add up quickly. This campaign supports Imire’s efforts to protect their remaining rhino population and the new babies that give us hope for the species.
We are asking for your support. Help Imire increase the chances of their rhino’s survival. Help ensure your children see rhino and grow up in a world where we did something to stop extinction. Lend your voice to something that really matters. Share our posts, stories and campaign links. Donate if you can. Volunteer on conservation projects. Talk about poaching and conservation with friends. Assist us in this effort. We would be so grateful if you would partner with us to make a real difference.