Nearly one year ago, a group of African business leaders took part in a special safari hosted by African Wildlife Foundation leadership and conservation experts at Wilderness Safaris at Davison’s Camp, a beautiful ecotourism lodge nestled in one of the most prolific wildlife areas in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, to explore the role of African leadership and private investments in mitigating threats to Africa’s wildlife and wild lands.

Wildlife in Zimbabwe roams outside protected areas, crossing communal areas as populations migrate across the country’s rich natural landscapes. In Zimbabwe’s northern district of Mbire, situated in the Mid-Zambezi Valley and bordering Mozambique and Zambia, the increased interface between people and wildlife raises various risks for communities, wildlife populations, and entire ecosystems.

By the time the rains had failed yet again in October 2019, more than 100 elephants had already succumbed to the southern drought in Zimbabwe alone. One of the harshest dry periods experienced in the region in the last four decades, the extended drought disappeared water sources across shrinking grazing areas. Wildlife mortalities continued to rise in Zimbabwe’s iconic protected areas, most notably in Hwange and Mana Pools National Parks.

“Every day is Earth Day,” says Derrick Mugisha. An environmental scientist and active member of youth-led biodiversity protection groups, he is leading the 50th-anniversary celebration of Earth Day in Uganda.

What do millennials want? How can we run institutions that millennials actually want to work in? Why are millennials killing industries and traditions? Is avocado on toast really the defining millennial cuisine that we have been led to believe it is?

“Do you have a favorite animal?” I ask Jealous Alafai, a 52-year-old Zimbabwean fisherman along the Zambezi River.

He chuckles and says, “Of course I do!”

“Which is?”

“The elephant, because it is my totem.”

“What do you mean?”

“In our culture, we don’t eat our totem animals. In fact, we respect them.”