Norman Travers was my husband’s grandpa and was the amazing man who started Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservation in Zimbabwe in the 1950’s. Norman is walking with their lion, Cassius (named after Cassius Clay, later Muhammed Ali). He would often adventure off into the African bush with Cassius, Dudley their pet warthog, Bere the hyena, Potter the Otter, their two Labradors, a daschund and a cat. His love for the wildlife was as close as it was for his own kids and today, his grandchildren are continuing his amazing efforts to conserve and protect the wildlife of Zimbabwe and Africa.

Imire was founded in 1948 by Norman and his wife, Gilly Travers. Originally farmers, they had a great passion for wildlife and conservation, which led to the establishment of Imire as a wildlife conservancy in 1972. The conservancy is located in the Mashonaland East District of Zimbabwe dedicated to the conservation and welfare of wildlife, with a specific focus on the protection and breeding of the critically endangered Black and White Rhinos.

In 1987, 250 black rhino were removed from the Zambezi Valley due to a distressing rise in illegal rhino poaching. These rhino were relocated to private conservancies for safety. Imire was granted custodianship of seven orphaned calves and became an intensive black rhino breeding station. To date, Imire has successfully released 11 rhino into the wild. The Black Rhino Breeding Programme at Imire is now world-renowned, helping to protect Zimbabwe’s heritage with the successful re-introduction of this incredible endangered animal, back into the  wild.

I have been lucky enough to experience Imire first hand and as a result, the wildlife I encountered was the catalyst for my Safari collection shown across this website. You can view the full range here.

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Travers

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