Botswana

Hundreds of elephants in northern Botswana have mysteriously died over the last two months in what experts are describing as a “conservation disaster.”

I hear sounds of lions roaring. They’re very near. And I’m in a tent! All that stands between me and these lions is the tent’s canvas and, I’m guessing, maybe 30-40 yards.

The 1109-carat beast was discovered in 2015 by Lucara Diamond Corporation in Botswana, according to Sotheby’s.

Diamond-rich Botswana avoided the dreaded resource curse and established a prosperous, stable democracy—but political turmoil has begun to roil the traditionally placid society.

I’d been told that there was an incredible diversity and volume of wildlife in the country of Botswana, so on my last full day in Zimbabwe