Dr Lynne Mactivish, a Zimbabwean native fled the country of her birth with her family as refugee's. From as young as Lynne can remember she has always had a passion for animals, starting with the day her father Dougal, came home with a small Weaver Bird that she would nurture as a 4 year old.
Lynne now lives in a small wooden house, on her South African game reserve, living out her childhood dream, and walking in her fathers footsteps.
One day everything would change, and Lynne would discover her real purpose. Lynne would come across her White Rhino, Winnie, lying dead on her side. What was most significant about Winnie's death is that she had a fully formed calf inside of her, and was about to give birth. Poachers had hacked away at Winnie's face with machetes all for her prize'd horn.
Lynne sat there next to Winnie's body, and would make a promise to become Winnie's voice, and devote her life to these animals that are on the verge of mass extinction. A powerful image from that day, of Lynne sat next to Winnie's lifeless body would go viral, and feature in major news publications across the globe.
All of a sudden the shy girl from Zimbabwe, would share a powerful message about these amazing creatures with national media outlets like CNN, The New York Times, The LA Times and LADBible to name a few.
Winnie's death was the saddest day of Lynne's life, but she would always keep her promise to be Winnie's voice. From South Africa Lynne would start a 5 year scientific study, into the de-horning of Rhinos, to protect them against poachers. Lynne set about telling the world of these methods and world listened to Winnie's voice.
Lynne teaches conservation to 300 students annually, and has received an Honorary Doctorate of science from the university of Brighton.
Her reserve have not lost any Rhino's to poachers since.
#LoveYourJourney