Since many of our senior Ithumba orphans have gone wild, the ‘next class’ of boys are busy establishing their dominance as the new herd dynamic takes form. Jotto and Mapia are embroiled in an endless wrestling match, with small breaks for eating and sleeping. For the most part, they are evenly matched, so their bouts usually end in a draw. We had to laugh one day when Ambo and Dololo were having their own competition. Rapa, who is their elder by a year, intervened and separated the two, as if he disapproved of their petty pushing match.
The orphans and Keepers awoke to a clear sky which they knew would mean a hot day ahead. Jotto and Mapia entwined their trunks in morning greetings soon after leaving their stockades. The orphans settled for their morning lucerne as ex-orphan Barsilinga emerged from the east, all alone, to join them. It’s nearly two years now since Barsilinga’s foot injury kept him anchored to the Ithumba dependent herd for almost a year, and it is wonderful to see him fully out and about in the wild. Ambo chose to share lucerne alongside his favourite girl Kamok this morning. They both seemed to have a long conversation, but of course we couldn’t know what they were talking about. Ambo later moved to share lucerne with Nabulu. After Nabulu had her fill, she walked down to the water trough to drink. Shortly later she was joined by Mapia, Kauro, Kuishi, Jotto, Roho, Malima and Sagateisa.
Later in the morning Mapia chose to take a break and engage Jotto in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Then Mapia moved to play with Ambo. Ambo chose to surrender, since Mapia proved to be much stronger than him. The orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans came across a small water hole in the bush and decided to have fun rolling and splashing there before proceeding for their noon milk feed. They had their milk then walked straight back out to continue browsing without wallowing, as they had already splashed about earlier.
The orphans had a quiet afternoon and browsed calmly for the rest of the day. In the evening, ex-orphan Makireti came to the stockade compound in the company of two suitors. It seems Makireti is in season, but she wasn’t amenable to the advances of her two suitors and was trying to get away from them. She came close to the stockade wall, where the two bulls couldn’t follow her. They waited for Makireti, but eventually they got tired and left. However, they returned later in the evening in search of Makireti again.
It was another quiet morning as the orphans came out of their night stockades to find no other elephants in the lucerne feeding area. It was a surprise for Naleku, Suguroi and Sagateisa, who had been used to the presence of so many elephants joining them every morning. The orphans settled briefly for lucerne then passed by the water troughs to have some water before Kauro led the way out to browse.
Out in the bush, Jotto and Mapia, who endure endless wrestling matches in a bid to establish their dominance, were at it again. The two boys engaged each other into a pushing match that ended in a draw, once again. Ambo tackled Dololo but their game came to an end when Rapa passed by and separated the two boys. Naleku and Suguroi found a patch of damp soil and decided to take a break from browsing to enjoy a rolling game. Rapa moved to feed with Neshashi while Kuishi teamed up with Naboishu. It was quite a cool day and apart from the odd pushing match, the orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning, until Larro led the first group to the eleven o'clock milk feed.
After all the orphans had their milk, Sattao led the herd for a bush mud bath in a large puddle of water that collected close to the road from the recent rains. They all had a lot of fun in the mud. Sattao, Malkia and Kuishi were enjoying themselves so much, and were the last ones to leave the little mud hole. The herd then walked to the western side of Ithumba Hill. Musiara settled to browse with Naboishu while Kamok teamed up with Ambo once again. When it was time to head home for the night, Larro took the lead. Upon arriving back at the stockades, we were surprised to find Nasalot, Noah and Rapsu there, as we thought all the ex-orphans had left the area. They left shortly after the orphans went into the compound for the night.
It was another bright and clear morning when the orphans left the compound after their morning milk bottles. Sattao headed straight to a nearby rock to scratch an itch, before joining his friends who were feeding on lucerne. Ndiwa and Mapia walked down to the water trough and had some water before starting to head out for the day. The rest of the herd followed and they all settled in the Kone area.
Mukkoka teamed up with Musiara to play with some damp soil. They kicked at the soil with their feet to loosen it up before scooping it with their trunks and throwing it on their backs. Neshashi found a dry fallen tree that she used to scratch her itchy neck. Jotto engaged Malkia in a pushing game while Naleku settled for a soil dusting exercise. Shortly before mud bath time, Naleku and Pare found a suitable rock that they used to scratch their bellies on.
On the way to the mud bath, the orphans came across a small pool of water. Kuishi decided to get in and roll around, watched over by Mapia, Jotto, Naleku and Nabulu. At eleven o'clock, Sattao and Roho led the first groups for their milk feed. It was quite hot and after having their bottles, the orphans decided to walk to a small dam of water they know of in the bush. They didn’t want to swim in the main big waterhole, which they found to be too cold, but they did fancy a quick splash in a smaller, muddier puddle. When they were done, Malima led the way for the afternoon browsing session. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans browsed without any distractions for the rest of the day.
The sky was pregnant with dark, heavy clouds this morning. Sure enough, about an hour after the orphans came out of their rooms, the heavens opened with big, fat rain drops. Ignited by the rain, the orphans were suddenly in a very playful mood. Ndiwa, Kamok, Ambo, Mukkoka, Kuishi and Malkia led their friends with gusto in these new water activities. After having fun rolling on the ground, Ndiwa and Mukkoka felt a little itchy and scratched against some rocks. Eventually the rain stopped, and almost simultaneously the orphans stopped their rolling games. They then scattered out and browsed happily, enjoying the cool weather brought about by the rains.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Neshashi led the way for the midday bottle feed. The orphans had their milk, then Roho led the herd to continue browsing. As they walked out to the bush, they came across a fresh new waterhole where they decided to roll about for a short while, before proceeding further into the bush. We noticed that suddenly Naboishu had a bit of a limp, and he appears to have sprained his ankle while playing. We are sure he will recover soon though. Roho teamed up with Larro to browse while Ndiwa chose to browse next to her friend Malkia. In the evening, Nabulu led the way back home for the night.
It was a bright clear sky morning. The orphans settled only briefly for lucerne before walking out to the bush to begin their day. They chose the Kalovoto area to spend their morning. All the plants are sprouting fresh green shoots and it’s this succulent new growth the orphans are after. We’ve also noticed how the orphans are now finding it acceptable to browse from the same shrubs as well. When it is very dry, some of the older orphans like Kamok, Ambo, Rapa, Malkia and Sana Sana don't like sharing shrubs with any others because they are so hard to find. Now that things are a bit more plentiful, the orphans don’t mind sharing!
Musiara and Ambo had a brief meeting and we wondered if they were talking about all the nice vegetation to be found now. Mukkoka teamed up with Naleku for a soil dusting session, while Malkia teamed up with Malima. The orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the morning up until it was time to walk to the mud bath for their midday milk feed.
Dololo led the first group to where the Keepers were waiting with the milk bottles, while Sagateisa led the second one. When they were all done, Roho decided to lead the way out to the bush, where they came across a small muddy pool. All the orphans decided to have fun in this puddle of rainwater. We suspect that Roho could small the water and led them there on purpose.
In the afternoon, the orphans chose to browse west of Ithumba Hill. At around four o'clock in the evening the weather changed. Clouds gathered and shortly later gave way to heavy rains. The orphans returned to stockades at the usual time, soaked in rain and very happy.
The orphans drank their milk at six o'clock in the morning. It was still quite dark as there were heavy black clouds. Ten minutes after the orphans came out of their stockades, the skies opened and it started raining. They abandoned feeding on lucerne and ran out to the bush, where they could have fun in the rain. Ambo, Kauro, Kuishi and Musiara were so excited and started rolling all over the place, smearing themselves with red mud. Eventually, they all settled to browse in the Kanziku area where they enjoyed browsing in the cool, damp weather.
Sattao chose his friend Ambo to browse with while Musiara enjoyed feeding with playful Roho and Larro. The rain came to an end about an hour and a half later, which prompted more of the orphans to take a break from browsing to roll on, the now sodden, soil. They spent so much time playing that when they finally resumed browsing they looked very serious in their task and there were no further distractions, as if to compensate for the lost time while they were playing.
At the mud bath the orphans just had their milk and chose not to swim today. Nabulu led the way straight back out to the bush. The orphans browsed calmly for the rest of the afternoon to the west of the hill; they looked tired after spending so much time playing this morning! In the evening, Neshashi led the way back to the stockades for the night.
After briefly settling for lucerne this morning, Sagateisa took the lead, which was a nice change for her! Mukkoka started the day by participating in a soil dusting exercise, while Neshashi opted to browse with Roho. Mukkoka was joined by Naleku, Ambo, Kuishi and Malima. Suguroi came across a tree stump that was about three feet high and used it to scratch her thigh. Soon after Ambo and Kuishi had enough of soil bathing, the boy and girl engaged each other in a wrestling match that ended in a draw.
Later, Roho, Neshashi, Suguroi, Jotto and Mapia came across a puddle of water that they splashed in for a bit before going back to browsing on the nearby shrubs. Mapia engaged Jotto into a strength testing match that didn't last for long, as Jotto chose to surrender and start his journey towards the mud bath. He was clearly eager for his milk bottle today! Naleku, Neshashi and Suguroi saw Jotto leaving towards the mud bath and decided that there was no way they could be left behind. The three girls ran and overtook Jotto and continued running until they got to the mud bath for their milk. After all the orphans had finished their bottles, Larro led the way over to the water trough. Again, in the current wet weather, the orphans opted not to swim today.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Two lesser kudu antelopes passed by and were spotted by Malkia, Ndiwa, Dololo, Kauro and Kamok. Dololo and Kauro volunteered to chase away the harmless antelopes, just for the fun of it! The lesser kudus didn’t hang around to be charged at by the two boys; instead, they sprinted off into the bushes amidst trumpeting from the naughty elephants. In the evening, Pare and Rapa decided to leave the herd and disappear, only to reappear back at the stockades in the dead of night.
It was wet in the morning, following more rain overnight. Neshashi was the first one to come out of the stockades and went around checking on her friends. The orphans settled briefly for lucerne, then Neshashi and Sana Sana led the way out to the bush. Ndiwa came across a nice rock that she used to scratch the side of her tummy on, while Suguroi scratched her trunk against a tree. Roho briefly teamed up with Sana Sana to browse and then left to join Mukkoka for a wet dust bath. Nabulu settled to feed from the same shrub as Ambo, while Kauro settled to browse with Kuishi. Naleku took a break from feeding to have fun digging at the soft soil with her tusks and throwing it over her body. Kuishi passed by and decided to join the little girl in her cool soil bathing exercise. Dololo boycotted all the fun and games and instead chose to concentrate on plucking leaves from tall trees. Musiara found a nice tree stump that he used to scratch his tummy on, before walking over to Malima to browse with her for most of the day.
As the day progressed, Ndiwa, Malkia, Kuishi, Sagateisa, Jotto and Naboishu took a break from feeding to have fun playing in some mud they came across.
After having their noon milk feed, the orphans had their milk bottles then headed to the water trough. Once again, they didn't bother wallowing as they have their choice of places in the bush at the moment, with so many puddles and bush mud holes available whenever they feel like cooling down. The orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Ambo, Naleku, Malkia, Kamok and Kuishi took a break for a while to enjoy an afternoon wet soil bath. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. Towards bedtime Pare and Rapa lagged behind again and only returned to the stockades well past midnight.
After leaving their stockades, Suguroi, Naleku, Sagateisa and Musiara settled for a scratching exercise along the wall of the compound. Shortly later, all the orphans headed straight out to browse without waiting for lucerne like they normally do. They were eager to begin browsing on all the fresh green vegetation shooting up thanks to the recent rain, and thought there was no need for lucerne today!
They walked east of the compound, where Kuishi, Mapia and Jotto came across some water collected on a rock, which they decided to drink. Ambo teamed up with Sattao to browse for a little while. Musiara had an itchy neck and found a nice tree that he used to scratch against. Sattao then abandoned Ambo and moved to join Neshashi to browse. Rapa and Pare, the two new independent boys, moved away from their friends to browse on their own, while Jotto engaged Kauro in a private conversation. Kauro, Kamok, Rapa and Pare are appending a lot of nights out these days, and returning in the morning. Perhaps Jotto Jotto wanted to find out from Kauro what it’s like to stay out at night!
Roho, Sagateisa, Malima and Sattao took a break from browsing when they came across a muddy patch. The two boys and two girls quickly changed colour from grey to red by rolling and smearing themselves with the red clay earth. Later, they were joined by Mapia and Nabulu.
At mud bath time the orphans had their milk bottles then went for a drink of water. They avoided the big mud bath, but walked to a big puddle they have discovered recently in the bush, where they had a lot of fun splashing about. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where they fed calmly for the rest of the day. Ambo teamed up with Malima to browse for a bit.
In preparation of the new Nursery gradutes expected towards the end of the month, the Keepers decided to make some changes to the sleeping arrangements in the night stockades. Ambo, Musiara, Sattao and Mukkoka were promoted to class four, and Jotto, Mapia, Kuishi, Nabulu, Dololo and Malima were moved to the fifth class, while Malkia, Sana Sana and Ndiwa were promoted to the final class, joining Kamok, Kauro, Rapa and Pare, who are slowly assimilating themselves back into the wild by spending more nights out these days.
After finishing their morning milk bottles the orphans left their stockades early as usual. Naleku, Suguroi, Sagateisa and Mapia settled to scratch along the wall in the stockade compound just as Neshashi started to lead the way out. Along the way, Sagateisa came across a nice rock that she used to scratch her belly on. Moments later, Roho passed by and pushed Sagateisa away from the rock. He wanted his own turn scratching there, but instead of being patient, he was rather rude to poor Sagateisa!
The orphans browsed as they headed towards Kalovoto. They moved fast and seemed in competition with one another over who could get the freshest shoots. It looked like they were plants they were favouring more than others today as well. The ones they liked more they would all crowd around and share before moving onto the next one. They all spent the entire morning just browsing, without messing about or playing at all!
Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans came across a pool of water that they splashed themselves with. Malkia, Roho, Kuishi, Ambo, Mapia and Musiara spent the most time in the water as their friends moved on to the main waterhole for their milk bottles. As soon as he saw the others leaving however, Mapia quickly got out of the water as well. He knows all sorts of short cuts to the mud bath and decided to surprise his friends by using a different route, arriving at the mud bath before anyone else! The orphans had their milk then waded through the mud bath water to wash their feet before heading back out to browse. Jotto, Kauro and Rapa didn't turn up for the milk feed at all, and were left behind enjoying the lush vegetation. They are slowly but surely weaning themselves of being dependent on the Keepers and their milk bottles.
The orphans started their afternoon by browsing west of the hill, but while the Keepers were having some lunch, they all quickly moved onto another spot in the Kone area. After following their tracks, the Keepers soon found them again. The day grew steadily warmer, so when the orphans came across another puddle they splashed about and cooled off there for a while. In the evening they all returned safely to the stockades for the night.
The orphans chose to have some lucerne this morning instead of heading straight out. When they were ready it was Sagateisa who led the way, and all the orphans immediately settled down and wasted no time in getting down to browsing. There was a bit of tension later when Kuishi climbed a small hill and accidentally stepped on a loose rock that gave way and slid down. The sound of the falling rock scared the orphans who all ran and huddled together. You could have heard a pin drop as all the orphans converged in a circle facing out with their trunks up, listening intently to see if there was any danger. Kuishi was the only one who remained unperturbed as she knew exactly what had happened, and she just continued climbing all the way to the top of the hill and continued browsing! After a while the orphans realised that there was nothing to worry about and so they scattered out again to resume browsing. Musiara settled to browse with Pare while Nabulu teamed up with Kuishi. Later, Musiara moved to join Naleku and Kamok.
Sattao and Pare were spotted in a competition over who had the longest trunk. They were both stretching high up to reach the leaves at the top of the same tree. It wasn’t long before the two boys realised that they are the same height and have the same length trunks, so they were both just feeding from the same level. Once they realised this they relaxed and browsed a bit more calmly together. Ambo took a break from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground. It wasn’t long before they were meant to go to the mud bath that Ambo then had a disagreement with Mapia, which resulted in a fight. Ambo’s best friend Kamok didn’t stand by and allow Ambo to be defeated, and so she intervened and pushed Mapia away. Sagateisa, Jotto, Kauro and Ndiwa separated from the herd on the way to the mud bath. It took the Keepers over half an hour to find them!
In the afternoon the weather changed, and clouds gathered obscuring the sky, which soon gave way to rain. The orphans scattered in different directions as they enjoyed the pouring rain. This Keepers had a hard time trying to gather them together again and in the process, they lost track of Sagateisa, Neshashi, Ambo and Sana Sana. The search went on while the others started to walk back to the compound, but it wasn’t long before the Keepers found the missing bunch and walked back to the compound with them as well.
It was lovely to see Barsilinga in the morning, who showed up with the small group who spent the night out, including Kauro, Pare, Kamok, Rapa, Malkia, Ndiwa and Sana Sana. They joined the dependent orphans who had already started eating lucerne. Shortly later, Ndiwa led the way out to the bush.
Suguroi, Malkia and Naleku decided to have a fun moment rolling on the wet ground before going back to browsing. Roho settled to browse with Jotto and later moved to browse with Dololo. Kuishi teamed up with Ndiwa and Mapia as Rapa, Kauro, Pare and Barsilinga broke away from the main herd and left. An hour later, the weather changed and it started to pour. As usual, the pouring rain got the orphans in a playful mood. They scattered out and started playing in any running water or muddy hole they came across. When the rain stopped, they also stopped playing and resumed browsing. The orphans then settled to browse calmly up until their noon milk feed, when Suguroi led the first group to the mud bath. The orphans had their milk and didn't waste any time at the mud bath, walking back out to the bush as soon as they were done. Jotto challenged Kauro but ended up losing the game. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed quietly for the rest of the day.
It rained early in the morning which meant it was a very cold start to the day. The dependent orphans had their morning milk bottles and walked out to have some lucerne, but just as the Keepers were about to distribute the tasty grass, it started to rain. Suddenly none of the orphans seem interested in the lucerne and they all followed Naleku out to the bush.
Even after just the few recent rain showers, ithas already turned a beautiful shade of green here at Ithumba. Barsilinga is the only ex-orphan around at the moment. Naboishu started playing and rolling on the ground in the mud enjoying the rain.
When the orphans were at the mud bath for their noon milk feed, no one bothered to play in the water today, and everyone walked straight back out to browse. It is still very wet everyone and the orphans can’t help but get a bit distracted from their browsing activities to play in the mud every now and then. Malkia, Sana Sana, Naboishu, Ndiwa and Kuishi were the first to find some water and start playing. The rest of the herd were busy enjoying the fresh green vegetation. At the end of the day, they all walked back to the stockades together for their milk bottles and to go to bed for the night.
It was a beautiful, rainy morning — which meant it was very cool. The orphans had their morning milk and walked out to feed on lucerne, but didn’t stay there long before deciding to walk out to the bush to begin their day of browsing. Barsilinga, Ndiwa, Pare, Rapa and Kauro found where the dependent orphans were browsing and came to join them, having spent the night out by themselves. Sattao was browsing together with Roho and Sagateisa. The orphans were all quite happy browsing and seemed quite content as the rain fell. The Keepers wore their raincoats to keep dry. Roho and Larro started playing, rolling on the ground, with Roho scooping and tossing chunks of soil in the air and on his back.
At the mud bath, the orphans had their milk bottles and then some of the herd decided to go to the edge of the mud bath and splash about in the mud there. After months and months of drought, the babies were really enjoying the water today! They came out of the main mud bath and then went over to a smaller muddy puddle in the bush where they played some more.
Eventually the orphans knew they had to get back to browsing. Neshashi and Sagateisa walked quickly ahead of the others, eager to find some fresh greens, and the Keepers had to call them back to join the rest of the herd. Later everyone convened, ready to walk back to the stockades together for the night. Now that the rain has arrived, we haven’t seen any ex-orphans or wild elephants recently; only Barsilinga is around at the moment, escorting the new independent group Kauro, Pare, Kamok, Rapa, Malkia, Ndiwa and Sana Sana.
The Ithumba dependent orphans had their milk bottles and came out of their stockades on another cool morning. Once more, it had rained overnight. The orphans decided to have some lucerne and after a while, Mulika arrived with her children Mwende and Mkuu to join them. We were surprised they came to say hello, as it has been raining for the past few days and normally we don’t see any ex-orphans, but we were happy to see them. Once the dependent orphans decided to leave to begin their day out in the bush, Mulika and her calves were left behind feeding on the remaining lucerne, until they too walked off, in a different direction.
All the orphans were enjoying the fresh green vegetation this morning. Musiara and Mapia browsed together and nearby, Pare found a small muddy puddle which he started playing in. Neshashi was busy browsing and was evidently very happy and relaxed, as every now and then she would throw some grass on her head as well, just for the fun of it. Suguroi was busy playing and rolling on the ground. She then recruited some friends to join her in a muddy puddle so she, Larro, Roho and Mukkoka all had a great time splashing about together.
After having their noon milk feed the orphans just chose to walk through the waterhole and wash their feet, without getting in to wallow properly. It’s too cold at the moment for them to want to get right into the water to swim!
Whilst the orphans browsed in the afternoon it started raining again. As they walked back to the stockades for the night, several orphans lifted their trunks into the air, smelling something. As we got closer to the compound, we realised they were smelling Barsilinga, who appeared out of the bushes from the direction they had been smelling. We received 25mm of rain today and it is looking so nice and green everywhere. Barsilinga joined the orphans at the compound as the dependent orphans went in for the night. Kauro's group stayed until they had finished some supplement pellets before walking out to join Barsilinga out in the bush for the night.
The orphans drank their milk bottles as fast as possible this morning, eager to begin their day. They had some lucerne pellets and while they were eating, ex-orphan Naisula arrived with her baby Nyx. Naisula and Nyx shared lucerne with the orphans until the orphans decided it was time to head out to the bush.
As we received more rain last night, it was still very wet everywhere. The orphans were walking fast, as if there was always more and better food to find in front of them. Suguroi found a suitable rock to scratch against for a bit, before starting a pushing game with Neshashi in the mud. Roho was busy rolling in his own pool of water, before getting out and rolling on the ground to dry himself. Pare took a break from browsing to scratch his bottom on a tree and then ran to catch up with his friends who were making their way towards the mud bath for their noon milk feed.
After all the rain recently, the sky was so clear and the orphans felt the scorching sun beating down today. Following their milk bottles, Nabulu led the way into the main waterhole to swim and everyone followed. The waterhole is full to the brim at the moment! Once they had cooled down, they decided to apply some suncream as well, and they came out and continued their fun in a small muddy pool close by. They really enjoyed smearing the mud all over their bodies as they rolled around.
As the afternoon went on clouds started to gather and it felt very humid. Eventually it started to rain and once again the orphans started playing in all the running water everywhere. It is as if the rain activates their most playful mood! Eventually they started to make their way back to the compound for the night, sauntering along looking quite slow and tired after all their fun and games today. Once back at the stockades, Kauro and Kamok’s group went inside to eat all the supplements put there by the Keepers, but once they were done, they walked back out to spend the night out again.
Kamok and Kauro’s group arrived first thing in the morning to greet the dependent orphans and spend the day with them, as they normally do. Together as a group, the orphans decided they didn’t want to spend long eating any lucerne, so they walked out to the bush in search of tasty fresh shoots instead.
Out in the bush, Kauro started chatting with Ambo and later he went on to play fight with Rapa. Kinna and Yatta with their herd were seen walking towards the stockade compound. This is the first larger group of ex-orphans to visit us since it started raining. Normally, once it starts raining, we don’t see the ex-orphans for some time — so perhaps other parts of the park are yet to receive more rain! The orphans later found a waterhole and started playing in it. Roho was certainly the most playful. He together with Malkia and Musiara were the last to come out of the water and join their friends. As the orphans started to make their way towards the mud bath, Kauro stayed behind browsing on his own.
It was a very straightforward feeding time today. Everyone had their milk bottles and then immediately started to file out to continue browsing, with no one wanting to wallow in the mud bath. With all the bountiful vegetation around now, everyone is just so eager to browse! Although it didn’t rain today, there are still signs that there is more to come. Kamok and Kauro’s group came back to the compound with the rest of the herd as usual but once they had finished the supplement food they walked back out and off into the bush to continue browsing through the night.
Kamok and Kauro’s herd arrived this morning as usual to join the dependent orphans for lucerne and spend the day with them. It was a very quiet morning today as the orphans concentrated on browsing. There have been so much fun and games recently every time it rains and with so many fun mud pools everywhere, it seemed like the orphans wanted to be more serious about browsing today. When it was time, Sana Sana led the herd to the mud bath area for the noon milk feed, and because it was quite a warm day, all the orphans chose to swim in the main waterhole after as well.
In the afternoon Roho, Naleku and Suguroi chose to browse together. Malkia decided she deserved a break and rolled on the ground for a little while. Her companion Suguroi played with some loose soil and threw some on her body to keep cool as well. It wasn’t long before Neshashi came over and decided to copy her nursery friend. The orphans returned home later in the evening with full tummies and quite content.
Yatta’s herd passed by the stockade compound again this evening, but didn’t stay long. When they left, Ndiwa from Kauro and Kamok’s small group decided to join them. She left and walked off into the night with them, leaving behind Kamok, Kauro, Rapa, Pare, Sana Sana and Malkia, who also walked off into the bush after finishing their supplement food.
Sagateisa woke up in a happy and playful mood this morning! She was running about and even while feeding on lucerne, she seemed full of beans. Last night, just as Kamok and Kauro’s group started to walk off into the bush, we heard lions roaring. Everyone wisely came running back of their own accord to the compound to spend the night in with the others. This morning, they came out of their own stockade and joined the dependent orphans for lucerne, before walking out to the bush for the day.
As soon as the orphans found an area with nice vegetation to browse in, Roho found a perfect muddy puddle. At first it looked like he, Sattao and Musiara were going to play in it, but actually they just walked through it, washing their feet, followed by some of the others. It seems they felt it was too cold for an actual mud bath this morning.
By the time the orphans made their way to the mud bath for their milk bottles however, the day had warmed up a bit and some of them decided to get into the main waterhole. They enjoyed wallowing and later came out to join their friends who had already left for the bush to continue browsing. Kamok started scratching her neck on a tree while Kauro was playing and rolling around on the ground after playing in some mud. Jotto, Sagateisa and Larro were browsing together and having their own private conversation. Later the babies started walking back home in the evening.
As usual, we do a headcount on the way back to the stockades. We have come to expect Kamok and her group of Kauro, Rapa, Pare, Malkia and Sana Sana to lag behind. But today, they managed to recruit Neshashi and Mapia too! They continued browsing in the bush somewhere until they decided to come back of their own accord and join their friends in the night stockades later in the evening. We had no rain today and saw no other wild elephants.
It was a quiet morning today and the orphans didn’t really take their lucerne feeding time very seriously. While some chose to pick at the supplement grass, others like Jotto and Ambo just started playing around after having hardly any. They are all so excited at the prospect of all the fresh green vegetation to be found around the Ithumba Hill at the moment that they don’t seem that concerned with the lucerne! Kamok and her herd came to join the dependent orphans. They tend to sleep outside the compound these days after having some of the branches that the Keepers put out in their stockade in the evening.
While walking out to the forest, Sattao and Mapia started playfighting and later Jotto came to join them. Mapia surrendered and Jotto continued playfighting with Sattao. For the most part, however, the orphans concentrated on browsing. They walk far and fast, thinking that the best greens are still to be found in front of them, and none of them like crossing over where their friends have just been.
It turned into quite a hot afternoon. After all the rain we have had recently, the sky felt very clear and the hot sun beat down. Following their noon milk feed, the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath which they all enjoyed very much. That is everyone except for Sagateisa, who didn’t want to wallow and hid in the bushes while the rest of her friends swam.
The hot weather continued into the afternoon, but the orphans focused on browsing. They later went to cool down in a large puddle that has formed next to the road in one of the culverts. Kamok stayed next to her favourite Ambo all afternoon. A bit later, they met with some ex-orphans from Wendi’s herd who were also enjoying browsing. They interacted a bit, but eventually the dependent orphans started walking back to the stockades for the night. They walked back past the small waterhole along the road to play in the water again before proceeding home. Ambo, Kamok and Musiara enjoyed playing in the water the most.
The dependent orphans awoke this morning to find everything ready for them! The milk bottles were waiting, then they walked down to the lucerne feeding area to find bales already being distributed. Kamok was so eager to start her pile of lucerne, she was trying to untie the string using her trunk as the Keepers slowly went round doing the same. She clearly thought they weren’t moving fast enough! Just after the orphans left for the bush, Wendi's herd arrived to feed on the leftover lucerne. They were lucky, however, as the Keepers felt they had quite a lot spare, so they decided to give them some new bales – which they were very excited about!
Ambo and Musiara started playfighting in the bush, while the rest of the orphans concentrated on browsing throughout the morning.
It wasn’t until mud bath time that the orphans perked up a bit and started messing around. After their milk bottles, they all got in the mud wallow and thoroughly enjoyed splashing about, submerging their whole bodies in the deep water. Sagateisa felt like wallowing today and was the ringleader; everyone followed her into the water. Sattao and Jotto had fun wallowing together, too. When all the excitement was over, the orphans quietly continued with their afternoon of browsing.
The orphans were in a happy mood today, going to feed on lucerne before walking out to the bush to begin their day.
Roho was busy browsing with Mukkoka while Musiara chose to browse next to Ambo. Mapia and Sattao decided to take a break from feeding to enjoy a wrestling match, and Ambo did the same with Dololo. Sagateisa walked along minding her own business, flapping her ears. Soon she spotted Roho, who she likes playing with, and she started a pushing game with him that Roho was happy to oblige. Malkia took a break and rolled in some mud.
When the orphans made their way to the mud bath the weather was quite chilly, so none of them decided to wallow. They just had their milk then continued browsing. Some of the orphans decided to play and we thought perhaps this was due to the weather and they wanted to warm themselves up. Malkia and Kamok played together, rolling on the ground as they scooped and tossed chunks of soil in the air. Musiara played separately in some loose soil, lightly dusting himself. The rest of the orphans were busy browsing, though it was getting late. Eventually, the Keepers rounded everyone up to make their way back to the stockades for the night. We didn’t see any ex-orphans today.
As soon as the orphans left the stockades, best friends Mapia and Ambo decided to scratch their itchy bodies along the wall in the stockade compound. Jotto warmed up his sleepy limbs by sitting and rolling on the ground, watched by Naboishu, Dololo and Sagateisa. The orphans settled for lucerne briefly before being led out to the bush by Kamok. It is so green at the moment and the orphans are really enjoying the lush vegetation as a result of good rains.
As there is so much vegetation around the orphans like to team up and share. Naboishu partnered with Larro while Kamok settled to browse with Malima, Ambo, and Sagateisa. At around ten o'clock in the morning, the orphans decided to take a break from feeding as they had been going nonstop all morning. Mapia, Sagateisa, Ndiwa, Naboishu, Neshashi and Roho converged under a tree and took a nap while standing up.
Later, Naleku led the first group to the mud bath for the noon milk feed, followed by Suguroi. The orphans had their milk bottles then jumped into the waterhole to cool off. After having enough of wallowing, Sattao and Musiara led the way out of the water, but then Kuishi took over the lead – she wanted to decide the way they would browse in the afternoon! It was a quiet afternoon and in the evening Larro led the first group back for the night.
Sana Sana, Kauro, Malkia, Kamok, Rapa, Pare, and Ndiwa spent the night outside the stockades and joined the dependent orphans for lucerne. Naboishu was happy to see his friend Sana Sana back, but Ambo was the most overjoyed to see his beloved Kamok. Jotto took Rapa aside and engaged him in a pushing game. Jotto looked as if he was asking Rapa questions, like where Rapa spends his nights and what it’s like out there in the wild. Jotto will just have to find out for himself when he joins his friends out there! Later, Neshashi led the way out.
Mapia challenged Rapa but Jotto came in-between them, which made Mapia leave and occupy himself somewhere else. Malima chose to browse with Musiara and little Sagateisa. Kuishi came across a nice rock that she used to scratch her belly on. Neshashi teamed up with Ndiwa as Naleku opted for a soil dusting game. Malkia, Ambo, Naboishu and Jotto all browsed together. Just off to the side, Pare, Kuishi, Jotto, Neshashi and Malkia took a break from feeding to cool down and dust themselves. Sana Sana took little Suguroi and Naboishu with her and moved away from the rest of the herd.
It was quite funny watching Neshashi on the way to the mud bath. She had eaten enough food so the grass she was pulling up she was just throwing in the air and letting fall on her back. After their bottles it was only Barsilinga, who had joined the dependent orphans earlier in the morning, who decided to wallow.
Sagateisa, Sana Sana, Jotto, Neshashi, Larro, Suguroi, Roho and Naleku split from the herd and decided to go to the smaller mud bath on the roadside to roll in the wet soil. Roho attempted to climb on Naleku, but this really annoyed her. She tried as much as possible to disengage herself from Roho, but eventually she turned to face him, trying to understand the reason why he was being so confrontational.
In the afternoon, ex-orphans Wendi, Wema, Wimbi, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Galana, Gawa and Makena briefly joined the orphans as they browsed west of the hill. They made away with Sagateisa, Ndiwa and Rapa, without the Keepers’ knowledge. The ex-orphans brought the three orphans back to stockade.
It was a cloudy morning today. The orphans settled for lucerne as soon as they left the stockades. The night-gang that leaves in the evening and returns in the morning started arriving one by one. Sana Sana was the first one to arrive. As we were waiting for the rest to arrive, Malkia showed up high on a rock behind the stockade! This is the most amazing thing about elephants; just when you think you understand them, they do something spectacular to surprise you. How Malkia managed to climb up that rock then make her way down to come and join the rest of the herd is a mystery to us. Malkia, the rock climber, joined the herd and then everyone walked out to the bush together.
The orphans were briefly joined by ex-orphans Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Wiva, Sidai, Silas and two wild bulls. Naleku and Suguroi ganged up against Kaia, who of course couldn’t withstand both girls tackling her, and so she ran to hide behind Wiva. At that point Naleku and Suguroi gave up the chase as they’re slightly scared of Wiva! Shortly later, the orphans parted ways with the ex-orphans. Barsilinga, who had arrived with the night-gang, wrestled with the eight-year-old Wiva briefly before following the dependent orphans.
Suguroi decided to have fun rolling on the ground, but Ambo came over and interrupted Suguroi’s game by trying to push her up. Ambo abandoned that game and moved on to play with Naboishu. Naboishu wasn’t interested in playing though and walked away from Ambo. Naleku settled to play on an anthill where she was joined by Neshashi, Nabulu and Dololo.
On the way to the mud bath, the orphans came across a small pool of water that they decided to wallow in. After having enough fun there, and covered in mud, Sagateisa, Barsilinga, Malkia and Naleku walked over to some nearby trees where they scratched their itchy bodies. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by a group of ex-orphans. Sagateisa tried to familiarise herself with Teleki as Musiara settled to play with Rapa. In the afternoon the ex-orphans took a different direction to the younger babies, who settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Nabulu teamed up with Ambo to browse while Sattao had a pushing game with Mapia. The rest of the day was relatively quiet however, and the orphans browsed calmly up to five o'clock in the evening when Neshashi led the way back home for the night.
It was a quiet morning. The orphans left their stockades and settled for lucerne briefly before heading out. The orphans didn’t go far however, as today we welcomed three new arrivals from the Nairobi Nursery! The lorry carrying Olorien, Lodo and Esoit arrived at Ithumba at 9:42 AM. The doors to the lorry were opened and there the tree babies stood, waving their trunks in the air, picking up all the new smells of Ithumba. They were given a milk bottle before being walked down to the water troughs to meet with their friends from the Nursery and the rest of the Ithumba herd. Naleku, Suguroi, Sagateisa and Neshashi were brought first to meet the new babies. Naleku and Suguroi recognised the babies instantly. Neshashi didn’t seem bothered at all by the arrival of her old friends and ran into the stockades, thinking that it was an extra milk feeding time! The rest of the herd then followed her into the stockades, including Olorien, Lodo and Esoit. The second group to greet the new arrivals were Roho, Naboishu and Larro. Roho, of course, recognised Olorien and Esoit, having spent so many years with them in the Nursery. Roho entwined his trunk with his old friend Esoit, and later with Olorien, too.
The rest of the herd arrived slowly and in groups, so as not to overwhelm the new babies. Each and every one wanted to say hello to the new arrivals. The orphans then started browsing, heading in the direction of the mud bath for the noon milk feed. Jotto tried to lie down, to entice the new ones to come and play on him, but the herd didn't give them a chance as they ushered them towards the milk feeding area. Olorien, Lodo and Esoit enjoyed feeding on all the lush, green vegetation. Olorien appeared so very calm and at ease with her surroundings; you would never be able to tell she only arrived today! One could tell that Lodo was new, as every now and then he would charge about nervously, although he would soon settle down again.
At the mud bath, Olorien, Lodo and Esoit were led by their seniors to have their first mud bath in the big dam. While wallowing, Mukkoka attempted to ride on Lodo, but he was cautioned by the Keepers to stop such rude behaviour towards the new babies. The orphans didn't stay in the water for long and left to continue feeding on the lush vegetation. They were briefly joined by Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Yebo, Kinna, Kaia, Wiva, Teleki and Mwende. Dispute being new to the area, Esoit is always looking for a wrestling partner and so challenged Yogi, while Kuishi challenged Wiva. Both matches ended in a draw. Shortly later, the ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba hill near Kone dam. It was quite cool, and the three new babies looked extremely comfortable in their new environment. It was clear they weren’t feeling too hot in Tsavo, as the Keepers kept an eye on them to see if they were drawing any water from their stomachs, which elephants do when they feel very hot. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day without any major events unfolding.
It was the first morning at Ithumba for Olorien, Lodo and Esoit. Naleku, Suguroi and Sagateisa were eager to show their friends from the Nursery the ropes, and the newcomers followed them out of the stockades. The three babies calmly followed instructions offered by Naleku about how and where to leave the stockade and which gate to use. It was an incredibly misty morning. Suddenly, out of the mist emerged Mulika, Mkuu, Loijuk, Lili, Lenana, Lapa, Ithumbah, Iman, Naisula, Nyx, Mteto, Esampu and Maramoja, who came to welcome the orphans outside and walk together with them to the lucerne feeding area.
Ambo has come to discover recently that the final year graduates don't finish all their branches in the night. So, while everyone was fussing over the new arrivals and going to have some lucerne, he took the opportunity to walk down and into the seniors’ stockades to finish off their leftovers. Nabulu interacted for a bit with Mkuu, before being warned off by Mulika to keep away from her son. Mteto, Esampu and Maramoja, who left the dependent herd recently due to their love for Nyx and the desire to be nannies, are still doing a wonderful job of taking care of the little girl. They can be seen guarding Nyx all the time! Olorien walked over to look after Iman who was being watched closely by her mother. Later, Mukkoka was seen having a chat with Lodo, Esoit and Olorien and we couldn’t help but wonder if he was showing off about all his knowledge of Ithumba.
On the way out to browse, Esoit challenged Roho to a pushing match, just like old times, but then he backed out of the game and decided just to catch up and walk along with his friends instead. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area where Neshashi teamed up with Lodo and Sagateisa chose to browse with Sana Sana. Later, Neshashi, Esoit and Nabulu opted for a soil dusting game. They looked like they were having so much fun. They were soon joined by Naleku, Suguroi, Mukkoka, Roho, Rapa, Mapia and Ambo. Naboishu and Kuishi moved away from the herd to browse on their own and returned later on the way to the mud bath.
After their noon milk feed the orphans chose to have a shallow mud bath in a water pan close to the mud bath. Little Olorien had such fun and rolled around covering her entire body in mud! Only her eyes and eyelashes stuck out. Perhaps the orphans felt a little too muddy, as once they were done in the mud they walked over to the main waterhole and had a proper swim there. Later they settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Sagateisa, Neshashi and Suguroi took a break from feeding to play at the edge of the road, rolling in the loose soil there.
The orphans returned safely to stockade compound just after 5pm as usual.
Rain was falling this morning as the orphans had their milk then left the stockades, walking carefully to avoid slipping and falling. The orphans settled briefly for some lucerne before Malima led the way out to the bush. The orphans headed east then turned around the hill behind the stockades and started browsing towards the mud bath. Ndiwa and Larro decided to roll on the wet ground, covering their bodies in damp soil. Because it looked like so much fun, they were soon joined by Roho, Sana Sana, Naboishu, Barsilinga and Naleku. Nabulu had a brief conversation with Olorien and then the two girls teamed up and walked off to their own area to browse. Malima chose to browse with little Suguroi while Mukkoka settled to browsing with Ambo in the early morning.
At round eight o'clock it started raining again. As usual this sparked a playful mood amongst the orphans who stopped browsing and rolled on the ground along the roadside, smearing themselves with red mud as the rain continued to pour. As soon as the rain stopped, the orphans also stopped rolling and quickly got up to continue browsing.
At eleven o'clock in the morning the orphans headed for their noon bottle feed. With all the rain today, they decided not to wallow and went straight back out to browse in the Kanziku area. It was a very quiet and peaceful afternoon until it started raining again! The orphans seize every opportunity to mess about in the rain and ran around, splashing in the puddles and running water. At around five o'clock in the evening just as the orphans were heading home for the night, the rain came to a stop. We received about 45mm in total.
The day started as usual today. The orphans settled for lucerne and shortly after they walked out to begin their day in the park. They walked around the hill behind the stockades and some of the orphans climbed halfway up. Some lion footprints were spotted and it looked as if they were heading towards Kalovoto. Nearing 9:00, Neshashi, Roho, Naleku, Sattao, Naboishu and Lodo, who were the group who climbed up the hill, came running down. Their running drew the attention of their friends, who panicked and scattered in different directions. The Keepers ran after them, calling and calling, but none of the orphans responded. The Keepers managed to corral about 17 of the older orphans, but the worry was the new babies, because they don't know the area well and had followed Neshashi, who never stops walking whenever she is in the lead. The Keepers realised that those who were missing were Esoit, Lodo, Olorien, Sagateisa, Roho, Neshashi, Naleku and Suguroi. They continued their search and finally, at eleven o'clock in the morning, they found them in the Imenti area, having joined Yatta’s ex-orphan herd! The Keepers, assisted by the Ithumba Anti Poaching Team, gathered the missing orphans and walked them towards mud bath.
Enkikwe, Sapalan and Siangiki in Yatta’s herd decided to accompany the returning party, but things went wrong when the trio decided to turn and go back towards Yatta’s group again! The group scattered. Due to the now thick vegetation, Esoit managed to slip away with Enkikwe and Sapalan. A second search, assisted by the SWT helicopter, managed to find Esoit with Chyulu, Cheka, Lapa, Sita and Narok. On the way to the mud bath, Chyulu and Cheka turned and ran back to their friends in Yatta’s herd, leaving just Narok with Esoit and wild-born babies Lapa and Sita. Narok made her way to the mud bath with the babies and jumped into the water for a swim to cool off. The rest of the orphans were brought to the mud bath to collect Esoit.
After picking up Esoit, Narok and the two wild born babies in her charge followed the dependent orphans, but the day was not over! Little did we know what plan Narok was hatching, which would bring about yet more stress for our Keepers. Narok played it cool and just browsed calmly alongside the group. When she saw that everyone had relaxed, she trumpeted and started running north of the mud bath. Surprisingly, Lodo followed her, joined by Sita and Lapa. Everyone present sprung up and started following the little group, trying to retrieve Lodo. Just after the mud bath, however, it started raining heavily, which hindered the Keepers’ ability to track down the wayward elephants. When the rain subsided, the helicopter returned for a second time, but it resumed before we could locate Narok and Lodo. Eventually, darkness fell, and we could only hope that Narok might take mercy on the Keepers and return Lodo for his milk bottles. It was a day like no other — a long and hectic one, rescuing one baby and losing another. The ex-orphans who are around at the moment just love the babies so very much!
The orphans left their stockades with one less member this morning, as Lodo disappeared yesterday. More accurately, he was ‘kidnapped’ (!) by the crafty Narok and did not return during the night. We were hoping that Narok would bring him back for his milk bottles, but there was still no sign of Lodo as dawn rose. We resumed our search for the young orphan, while the rest of the herd settled to browse in between Kone Dam and the east side of the hill. This was away from where we thought the ex-orphans were, for fear of losing another baby! Finally, Lodo was located five kilometres west of Imenti Dam, having linked up with Yatta’s herd during the night. The Keepers managed to separate him from the herd, directing him towards the mud bath to join his dependent friends. However, Lodo took the helicopter in circles for nearly two and half hours, as he resisted leaving the ex-orphans. While the helicopter went to refuel, Lodo managed to evade the ground team and linked back up with Yatta’s herd! Eventually it was decided that since Lodo had been running around for over two hours non-stop, it would be better to let him relax and wait to see if Yatta and her herd would bring him close to the stockades, when we could spring into action once more.
The rest of the dependent herd had a quiet morning, with the Keepers on high alert in case any of the ex-orphans decided to stop by and try to entice any babies away. In the afternoon, Roho, Malkia, Suguroi, Sana Sana and Kuishi had a fun game rolling on the ground. Rapa engaged Kauro in a pushing game, but shortly after the game began, Rapa surrendered and decided to resume browsing instead. Larro led the first group back to the stockades in the evening while Suguroi and Naleku led the second one.