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THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Kasane, Botswana)
For Immediate Release March 30, 1998 9:55 A.M. (L)
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Chobe National Game Park
Kasane, Botswana
THE PRESIDENT: I learned today that 17 percent of this country is in national parks and national preserves. They've done a great job of protecting their wildlife.
Q TASS is quoting Yeltsin as saying he's not going to be part of the 2000 campaign and he's going to support Chernomyrdin.
THE PRESIDENT: Chernomyrdin?
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: That's interesting.
Q What have you seen today, sir?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we've seen probably 20 or 30 different kinds of birds -- fascinating ones -- including some eagles I had never seen before and some storks I had never seen before and obviously the vultures and then a lot of the smaller, very beautiful birds, like this rollers. There you've got a baboon, right there, and is that an impala with it? An impala, a baboon, and three elephants right here where we're standing.
We saw a water buffalo -- I think you saw it also -- that had been wounded apparently by a lion. We saw the horns of a kudu and the skull, all that remained of what apparently was a lion kill up the road here, and the vultures were still kind of hanging around it.
It's amazing. It's been an amazing day.
Q Any warthogs? We saw some.
THE PRESIDENT: No.
THE FIRST LADY: We saw hippos.
THE PRESIDENT: We saw a lot of hippos.
THE FIRST LADY: Crocodiles.
Q Did you check out the stars last night?
THE PRESIDENT: It was amazing, wasn't it. The stars were amazing.
THE FIRST LADY: We saw the lions, too.
Q Oh, you didn't see the lions.
THE FIRST LADY: We did, Sam. We did.
Q You saw a lion?
THE FIRST LADY: Yes, we saw a mother lion and four cubs.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yes. They were up underneath a tree.
THE FIRST LADY: One of the lions was in the tree.
THE PRESIDENT: You could barely see them, and the mother lion was on her back, playing with the kids.
Q I would have killed for that. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: It was great. At one point she even had one of her -- one of the cubs? tail in her mouth. They were playing with it back and forth.
Q Can a Democratic President admire an elephant?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, and I like to see them concentrated here. (Laughter.)
Q I set you up there.
THE PRESIDENT: Actually, I was kind of jealous that the Republicans had appropriated such a nice animal as their symbol. (Laughter.) I think they're fascinating, these elephants are.
Q At the restaurant last night, did you check out any of the zebra or crocodile?
THE PRESIDENT: I tried it all.
Q Those elephants produce more dung than any other animals. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: If you write that, make sure you say he did it, not me.
Q But make sure you say the President was smiling.
Q Mrs. Clinton, have you enjoyed it?
THE FIRST LADY: Oh, very much.