If you'd like us to bring you back a souvenir, we'll be happy to do so. But it won't be ivory.

When we arrive in Botswana, at Seretse Khama International Airport, this is what we will see.

It's a life size elephant statue dedicated in 2015. It weighs 5,000 pounds, is composed of the tusks of elephants that died of natural causes, and was created by a group of young artists in Gaborone, Thapong Visual Arts. (I think Ellen would get a kick out of knowing that student artists participated in this project:).

Why create this sculpture? Why place it in the airport? It sounds as if Botswana's leaders see their future as tied to tourism, and their tourism tied to preserving the nation's wildlife. Currently a third of Africa's elephants live in Botswana, and they are protected with the fury of a lion defending her cubs. It is illegal to kill an elephant in Botswana, but poachers can be killed with impunity.

The continuing threat to the elephant herd, and thus to Botswana's economy and people, comes from illegal trafficking in ivory. Even though an international treaty signed in 1989 outlawed ivory sales, growing demand from the new consumer societies in Asia have caused an increase in slaughter of the majestic beasts.

When he dedicated the elephant statue, Botswana's President Ian Khama said that he wanted it in the airport because most of the ivory that leaves his country illegally does so in the suitcases of visiting tourists. It's an awareness thing - I guess they do want us talking about the elephant in the room.

So - if you'd like us to bring you back a souvenir, we'll be happy to do so. But it won't be ivory.