Botswana

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After 58 Years, a Huge Change in Botswana

'We lost this election massively,' says leader of party that has ruled since independence

(Newser) - Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi conceded defeat in the general election Friday, in a seismic moment of change for the country that ended the ruling party's 58 years in power since independence from Britain in the 1960s. Masisi's concession came before final results were announced, with his Botswana...

Botswana Has Unearthed a Very Large Diamond

The 2,492-carat stone is the largest found in the country, 2nd-largest to be brought out of a mine

(Newser) - Botswana says one of the largest diamonds ever found has been unearthed at one of its mines and will be put on display. The Botswana government believes the huge 2,492-carat stone is the biggest discovered in the country, and the second-biggest ever brought out of a mine, reports the...

Botswana Is Irked by Germany's Elephant Suggestion

It offers to ship 20K animals to Germany so it can see what it's like living among them

(Newser) - A suggestion from Germany's Environment Ministry didn't go over so well in Botswana. President Mokgweetsi Masisi took issue with the ministry's recommendation that tighter limits be put in place on importing hunting trophies, saying that conservation efforts had led to a surging elephant population that hunting helped...

400 Elephants Dropped Dead. Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find
400 Elephants Dropped Dead.
Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find
in case you missed it
Oct 28, 2023 12:10 PM CDT

400 Elephants Dropped Dead. Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find

In a first, researchers link 'Pasteurella' Bisgaard taxon 45 to blood poisoning

(Newser) - Experts believe they've gotten to the bottom of a "conservation disaster" that killed hundreds of endangered African savanna elephants across Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the explanation isn't likely to soothe those hoping to save the beautiful beasts. Nearly 400 elephants of all ages were found dead in...

One of the Biggest Diamonds Ever Is Found

At 1,098 carats, it would be the third-largest gem-quality stone in history

(Newser) - There's no estimate yet on what price it may fetch, but it's safe to say the coffers of Botswana will be getting a nice little bump. Miners found a diamond believed to be the third-biggest "gem quality" stone in history, reports Reuters . (See what it looks like...

Video Emerges of 'Inept' Elephant Hunt by NRA's Chief

One critic calls shooting by Wayne LaPierre 'inept' and 'clumsy'

(Newser) - A video shot for an NRA-sponsored TV series was hidden from the world for nearly eight years—until now. The footage, obtained by the New Yorker and the Trace , shows CEO Wayne LaPierre and his wife, Susan, shooting two savanna elephants in Botswana in September 2013. (The elephants have since...

Cause of Mass Elephant Die-Off Is Revealed
Cause of Mass Elephant
Die-Off Is Revealed
in case you missed it
Sep 26, 2020 1:30 PM CDT

Cause of Mass Elephant Die-Off Is Revealed

Botswana blames bacteria in water holes, not poaching

(Newser) - Researchers were baffled when elephants began dropping like flies in the African nation of Botswana earlier this year. Now, government researchers say they've figured out what happened, and it doesn't involve poachers. Instead, they say a naturally occurring bacteria in watering holes is the culprit, reports the BBC...

Cows With 'Butt Eyes' Ward Off Deadly Attacks
Experts Paint Eyes on
Cow Butts—and It Works
in case you missed it
Aug 15, 2020 2:40 PM CDT

Experts Paint Eyes on Cow Butts—and It Works

Researchers find a low-cost way to save cattle in Botswana

(Newser) - Want to save cattle from predatory attacks? First, paint eyeballs on their butts. Then see what happens. That's pretty much the gist of a new study out of Botswana—and it worked, Happy Mag reports. Researchers at the University of South Wales painted the eyes on cow butts to...

Mystery Surrounds Sudden Deaths of Elephants

At least 356 carcasses found, many near watering holes in Botswana

(Newser) - Hundreds of elephants have been found dead of unknown cause in Botswana in what's being called a "conservation disaster." Some 169 carcasses were spotted in the Okavango Delta—home to 15,000 of the country's 135,000 elephants—during a single three-hour flight in early May,...

Researchers Make Bold Claim About Human Origins
Researchers Make Bold Claim
About Human Origins
in case you missed it
Nov 2, 2019 3:00 PM CDT

Researchers Make Bold Claim About Human Origins

Controversial study argues all modern humans originated in Botswana

(Newser) - Where you from? If the authors of a controversial new study are correct, everyone on the planet has the same answer: Botswana, Africa. More specifically, a northern swath of the country, along with small parts of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Researchers led by geneticist Vanessa Hayes of the Garvan Institute of...

135K Elephants Were Protected. Not Anymore

Hunting ban in place since 2014 is lifted in Botswana

(Newser) - The nation that's home to roughly a third of Africa's 415,000 elephants has delivered a harsh but unsurprising blow to conservationists in lifting a five-year ban on hunting the animals. "The number and high levels of human-elephant conflict and the consequent impact on livelihoods was increasing,...

Nation Might Lift Ban on Elephant Hunting

Review ordered by Botswana leader suggests using meat for pet food

(Newser) - A third of Africa's elephants—an estimated 130,000—are found in Botswana. That's one reason animal activists are alarmed to learn the country is considering lifting its four-year ban on hunting the giant animal, 87 of which were found slaughtered and stripped of their tusks in a...

Botswana Prez: Poaching Furor 'Nothing but Hysteria'

Pushes back at critics after reports of an elephant 'poaching frenzy'

(Newser) - Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi says criticism of his government's anti-poaching policy is "nothing but hysteria," following reports of a "poaching frenzy" in a country with Africa's biggest elephant population. The remark came after some conservationists expressed concern that Botswana's wildlife department had been...

Elephants Massacred After Anti-Poaching Unit Disarmed

Evidence of 'poaching frenzy' uncovered

(Newser) - A conservation group has made a horrifying find in Botswana, a country once thought to have been a bright spot amid the relentless slaughter of Africa's elephants. While conducting an aerial census of the country's elephants, they discovered the carcasses of 87 of the animals near a wildlife...

World's 5 Most Unequal Countries on Same Continent

Effects of South Africa's apartheid still felt

(Newser) - Inequality was embedded in South African culture through its apartheid system. Nearly a quarter century after its end, the country still has a long way to go. "Inequality is high, persistent, and has increased since 1994" in South Africa, which is the most unequal country in the world when...

Second-Largest Diamond in History Is Found

Only a gem among the British Crown Jewels is bigger

(Newser) - Canadian mining outfit Lucara Diamond has just uncovered the world's second-largest diamond—and the biggest one found in more than a century. Found in the south lobe of the Karowe mine in central Botswana, the Type IIa stone is 1,111 carats and just slightly smaller than a tennis...

Botswana Prez in 'Freak Accident' —With Cheetah

Ian Khama needed 2 stitches after animal claws him

(Newser) - Peaceful, prosperous, and lightly populated Botswana rarely makes international news—until its president gets clawed in the face by a cheetah. Officials in the African nation say Ian Khama needed two stitches to his nose after the "overexcited" animal kept at an army barracks jumped up and clawed him...

Google: No, We Didn't Kill a Donkey

Google on defensive after Street View image circulates

(Newser) - No, Google is not a donkey killer. The Internet giant went on the defensive after a Google Street View image that looked as if the Street View car had run over a donkey in Botswana began making the rounds on Twitter. But appearances can be deceiving: Google released additional images...

Michelle Obama, Girls Visit Nelson Mandela

Daughters, mother join her on South African trip

(Newser) - Arriving in South Africa today, Michelle Obama met Nelson Mandela for the first time and said her husband was unhappy he couldn’t join them. “Michelle Obama certainly convinced the dignitaries she is excited to be here, and said her husband is 'pouty' that he isn't,”...

Botswana's President: No Short, Fat Wife for Me

Ian Khama searching for first lady

(Newser) - Botswana's most eligible bachelor is looking for a wife, but he's not interested in any short or overweight ones—like the country's minister for local government. "I don't want one like this one," President Ian Khama said at a political party meeting. "She may fail to pass...

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