Little Esoit has become known for his morning rituals. When he emerges from his nighttime stockade, the first order of business is a long stretching session. This is usually accompanied by lots of trunk waving, just for dramatic effect. Once he’s thoroughly limbered up, he finds Bondeni for their morning sparring session. It’s all in good fun, as they test each other’s dominance and build strength.
Little Esoit felt like stretching his stiff morning limbs this morning, which he did by sitting and stretching out his back legs and throwing his trunk up in the air. Roho passed by and decided to start a pushing game with Esoit while he was sitting down. Mukkoka briefly played with Sattao while Nabulu joined the dependent orphans to feed on some lucerne. Ambo walked over to her Nabulu and seemed to be chatting with her. Perhaps he was asking where she has been these past few days. When the orphans were done with their lucerne breakfast, Kindani led the way out to the bush.
The orphans decided to spend their morning in the Kone area where they browsed peacefully. Esoit and Kindani had a wrestling match, but their tussle ended up too close to where Kuishi was trying to eat. Kuishi walked in between them to end their game and encouraged them to browse with her instead. Naboishu was browsing next to Ambo.
Roho, Sagateisa, Naleku and Kinyei stopped briefly on the way to the mud bath to roll around in some loose soil. Roho and Naleku seemed to be competing who could have the best sitting and stretching exercise between them, but Naleku didn't realise that mischievous Roho had other plans. Roho quickly stood up and climbed on Naleku's back. Naleku tried as much as possible and at last managed to shake Roho off her back. She stood up and walked away as fast as possible before Roho could try climbing on her again.
At mud bath time the orphans had their milk and some fresh water from the trough. Today Naleku was the only one who decided to wallow in the mud bath before following her friends back out the bush.
In the afternoon Esoit engaged Bondeni in a pushing game while Roho, as usual, played with Naboishu. The ever-joyful Suguroi had her own fun rolling on the ground. Just before 5 o’clock, Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Kinyei was not feeling well this morning. We could tell as she was walking very slowly when leaving the stockades. She normally walks slowly, but this morning she was even slower than usual. She was also walking in a very funny way as if her muscles seemed tight; she looked like a chameleon walking along! After walking for four hundred metres or so we decided to bring her back to the stockades so she could relax, and we could try and find out what was ailing her.
Meanwhile, just as the rest of the herd were heading out to the bush, five wild elephant bulls arrived to drink some water from the water troughs. Two buffaloes appeared and seemed very thirsty as they walked straight up to the water trough without stopping and joined the wild bulls to drink there.
It has become routine for Esoit to settle into a pushing game with Bondeni as soon as they reach the bush in the morning, and today was no different! Roho chose to play with Naboishu as well. Musiara had a solo game on the ground, sitting and stretching as some of his friends watched on. Shortly later, Olorien, Naleku, Sattao, Jotto, Suguroi and Sagateisa took a break from feeding to have a soil dusting exercise.
Olorien led the way for the noon milk feed beside the main waterhole. Mutara and her group passed by the mud bath at the same time and briefly interacted with the dependent orphans before leaving again. Several wild bulls were there too, some of them were wallowing. One of the wild bulls was the one we refer to as Dad. Only Esoit and Roho from the dependent herd decided to wash their feet in the waterhole, none of the others were interested in wallowing and went for a soil dusting session on the loose soil instead. As the orphans were drinking water from the trough, we were delighted to see wild living Tomboi arrive at the mud bath too! He joined the orphans briefly for a drink.
Just as the Ithumba dependent orphans were walking back out to the bush, Queen's family arrived and joined the wild bulls drinking water. Queen is a familiar wild living elephant known to us as she is often with our ex-orphans, or visiting the Ithumba stockades with her family.
It was a peaceful afternoon as the orphans browsed to the west of Ithumba Hill. It was quite hot as there wasn’t much cloud cover and the heat of the day seemed to crescendo; at one stage some of the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a shady tree.
Kinyei relaxed for the entire day in the stockades and ate well. She didn’t seem to have any other symptoms since this morning but the Keepers kept a close eye on her.
Mutara, baby Mambo, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel, Sities and Chaimu were present in the morning during the lucerne feeding time. Ten wild bulls were occupied drinking water as the orphans and Mutara’s herd settled for lucerne. Rapa and Kauro arrived to share lucerne with everyone as well. Musiara greeted Rapa which soon turned into a strength testing exercise.
Bondeni played with Kinyei gently, as he tentatively inquired how she was feeling today. Yesterday, Kinyei spent the whole day in the stockade compound as she wasn’t feeling well, but she looks much better today. We can only assume she assured Bondeni that she was feeling okay and was fit to join them on a walk today!
Dololo walked down to the water troughs where he met a wild bull, and for a moment they stood and stared at each other. Dololo decided to give way to the wild bull as he didn't want to get himself into any trouble with the older elephant.
On the way out to the bush, Jotto, Musiara, Ambo, Naboishu and Mukkoka came across some acacia pods on the ground. They scooped up the delicious delicacy with their trunks as fast as they could! Later, Esoit engaged Bondeni in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Dololo settled to browse with Ambo as Kindani and Kinyei chose to have a soil dusting exercise. Sagateisa and Olorien joined them in soil dusting as Roho took a break from feeding to tackle Naboishu.
Later, the orphans were joined by a young wild bull, who got such a shock to see the orphans with humans. The moment he spotted the Keepers he just vanished and ran off into the bush. Lodo, who had been peacefully browsing with Mukkoka, suddenly appeared to fall out with him. We weren’t sure why, but suddenly the two bulls were fighting, although it didn’t last long, as the ‘peace-keeper’ Jotto passed by and separated the two boys.
It was quite overcast and chilly while the orphans were at the mud bath so none of them chose to swim after having their milk bottles. They just had some water and slowly drifted off back into the bush. In the afternoon they were briefly joined by Nasalot and her son Noah. Sagateisa, Dololo, Suguroi and Mukkoka wanted to have some time to play with Noah, but Noah was trying to avoid them like the plague! In the evening the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night.
Kinyei woke up in a playful mood today which was a very good sign that she was making a full recovery! The orphans had lucerne for a while before following Olorien out to the bush.
The orphans chose to browse in the Kona area and had a quiet morning. Larro settled to browse with Jotto while Esoit engaged Bondeni in a short pushing game. Chemi Chemi joined them briefly before disappearing the same way he had come.
Challa joined the dependent orphans at the mud bath and, after watching the babies have their milk, escorted them to the water trough to share water with them. It was very sweet to see Musiara standing next to the 19 year old ex-orphan trying to measure himself up against him. Challa was twice his size and perhaps Musiara was wondering how long it would take for him to reach that height! Challa slowly ambled off after drinking with the juniors.
The orphans chose to browse in the Kanziku area in the afternoon. Naboishu had brief talk with Jotto before moving to play with Roho. In the evening Kinyei was reluctant to get inside her stockade for fear of getting an injection booster, but the Keepers managed to coax her in eventually!
Soon after leaving the stockades this morning the orphans split into two groups; one group chose to feed on some lucerne while the others scooped up fallen acacia pods from the ground. Lodo walked down to the water trough and was brave enough to share water with a wild elephant bull. Another wild bull joined the group that was feeding on lucerne. Shortly later, the orphans left for browsing.
Esoit, as usual, played with Bondeni for a bit. Kindani took a break from feeding to have a lone game of rolling on the ground. Roho and Naboishu settled for a soil dusting game before sizing each other up and using the opportunity to test each other’s strength. Three male kudus stood up on higher ground and watched the orphans pass by. Perhaps they knew if they were any closer then some of the young elephants might want to charge at them. The antelopes decided to keep a low profile and avoid any confrontation with the likes of Roho, Mukkoka, Dololo, Esoit, Jotto and Sattao.
Only Kindani decided to wallow in the mud bath today, before joining the rest of her friends to play in the loose soil. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area again. The orphans browsed quietly for the rest of the day.
Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Mutara, Mambo, Turkwel, Suguta, Siangiki, Mundusi, Kainuk and Turkwel joined the orphans in the morning and shared lucerne with them. Mundusi, who left with Kinna’s herd a few months ago, went to greet his old friends Jotto, Musiara and Sattao. The boys had a brief meeting as the rest of the orphans left for browsing.
Jotto engaged Siangiki in a pushing game as Musiara and Kindani rolled and stretched out on the ground. Jotto finished playing with Siangiki and went to browse with Suguroi, but Suguroi walked off and settled to browse with Naboishu instead. Later, Naleku led the way to the mud bath for the noon milk feed. While the orphans were at the mud bath they were joined by several ex-orphans. Lapa was present, accompanied by his mother Lenana. The rascal Lapa joined the orphans and Mukkoka tackled Lapa in a pushing game, before Lapa left and went to play-fight with Roho instead. Unfortunately, Roho and Lapa’s game ended prematurely when Lenana came over and warned Roho away from her son. Naleku, Kindani, Kinyei and Musiara went to wallow in the mud bath. We watched as Lapa dodged his mother and went back to play with the orphans. He managed to find Naboishu and engage him in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Suguroi chose to browse with Kindani and Bondeni while Kuishi teamed up with Larro and Esoit. In the evening the orphans returned safely to the stockade compound for the night.
After leaving the stockades the orphans stopped to pick up acacia pods which had fallen to the ground during the night from the only remaining acacia tree in the compound. Four bulls were busy drinking water at the water trough. Roho, Naleku, Lodo, Kindani, Bondeni and Kinyei walked down to the water trough and joined the wild bulls. After drinking, Bondeni and Roho engaged each other in a pushing game that was interrupted by Esoit who wanted to play with Bondeni. Lodo stood back to allow them to play without realising that one of the wild bulls was about to walk that way. The hostile bull pushed poor Lodo out of the way and the young bull shouted out, but he was okay and quickly walked back to rejoin the rest of the herd, just as Kindani was leading the way out.
While the rest of his friends settled to browse around him, Bondeni decided to roll on the ground by himself. Kindani came over and knelt down, using her front legs to try and lift Bondeni up off the ground. Jotto played with Musiara while Naboishu chose to play with Roho. Later, Esoit played with Kindani as Olorien teamed up with Sagateisa to browse quietly away from the others. Ambo walked past them and walked off slightly further into the bush to enjoy some alone time.
Larro led the way to the mud bath for the noon milk feed. Ambo later realised that his friends had left and he ran after them, trumpeting to get them to wait for him. After having their milk only Sagateisa, Roho and Musiara decided to get into the mud bath, as the rest of the group went to join a wild bull at the water trough for a drink. Mukkoka engaged Ambo in a pushing game as he tried to find out why he was late for the mud bath, and to make sure he felt part of the herd after having been left behind. Naisula, Nyx, Esampu, Mteto, Kofi, Kilabasi and Makireti joined the orphans briefly and they shared water together. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day.
Mutara’s herd arrived early at the stockade compound. It was still dark and the dependent orphans hadn’t even had their milk bottles yet. Later as dawn broke, Kibo, Kofi, Chaimu, Makireti and Kilabasi arrived with a few wild elephants. The playful Mambo chose to play with Mukkoka and later moved on to play with Suguroi. Musiara, Jotto and Sattao had a small meeting, but they soon separated – we’re not sure what they could have been chatting about!
When the orphans had enough lucerne, Kindani led the way out to the bush. Bondeni chose to play with Esoit as is their usual routine in the morning. Kinyei settled to browse with Kindani while Jotto played with his little friend Musiara. The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any interruptions from other elephants or wildlife.
After their noon milk feed, Musiara, Roho, Naleku, Suguroi, Kindani, Kinyei and Lodo decided to go for a mud bath in the main waterhole. Nusu, Loijuk, Lili, Sunyei, Saba, Siku and Narok joined the orphans for a bit before leaving again. The rest of the day was peaceful as the orphans browsed quietly and contentedly.
As they waited for their morning milk bottles, Kinyei tackled Kindani and Bondeni in a light pushing game to bide their time.
As they came out of their night stockades, the orphans scooped up some acacia pods from the ground, a delicious snack for elephants, before going for their lucerne breakfast. Twelve wild bulls were also present this morning. Naleku and Suguroi walked down to where the two bulls were drinking and who were happy to share water with them. Sagateisa led the way out today and the rest of the herd followed behind her — everyone, this is, except for Ambo. He lagged behind enjoying his share of lucerne, before running to catch up with his friends. Ever since Kamok left with some of the ex-orphans, Ambo hasn’t found anyone to replace her as his closest friend, and we often find him spending time on his own. We are sure he will make a new, close friend soon. We think perhaps he is waiting for her to come back, but it has been a while now since Kamok returned with the ex-orphans. She is clearly enjoying her independence and time in the wild! Just before it was time to head to the mud bath for the noon milk feed, Dololo engaged Mukkoka in a pushing game while Bondeni, Roho and Olorien settled to browse together.
The orphans had their milk bottles then went to the tough for some water. Esoit played with Suguroi while Ambo settled to play with Naboishu. The orphans didn’t feel like wallowing today and one by one they drifted off into the bush nearby to browse, while the Keepers sat and had their lunch.
Later in the afternoon while browsing in the Kanziku area, Kinyei decided to take a break from eating and roll around on the ground. She thought some of her friends might join her, but they were all busy browsing! Sagateisa was happily browsing next to Sattao while Kuishi was with Esoit. Larro browsed next to Mukkoka and Roho. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed peacefully altogether.
Kilaguni joined the orphans in the morning to share their lucerne breakfast with them. Jotto politely shared his lucerne with Kuishi while their friends Esoit and Sattao had other ideas. The two bulls ran down to the bush in front of the compound to feast on the acacia pods that had fallen in the night from the trees there. Later, when Kinyei was leading the rest of the herd to begin their day in the bush, the two boys ran to catch up with them.
Musiara, Dololo and Mukkoka teamed up together to browse while playful Bondeni chose Olorien to spend the morning with. The boys Naboishu and Roho took a break from feeding to have a wrestling match while Ambo played with Mukkoka. It was nice to see Ambo enjoying a friendly game with one of the other orphans. Lodo developed an itch and found a nice tree to scratch against. The rest of the morning was quiet.
Just before eleven o'clock in the morning, Sagateisa led the way to the mud bath. The sun was shining and the orphans walked through the shallow end of the mud bath to briefly splash their bodies and cool down; only Roho, Lodo, Naleku, Suguroi and Esoit decided to wade right into the water to wallow properly.
Ex-orphan Challa, in the company of some wild bulls, showed up while the orphans were there, but he left with them when they had all had enough water. Jotto walked close to a wild bull and looked as if he was measuring his height against him. The bull didn't even bother acknowledging Jotto and slowly walked away. In the afternoon, Kuishi browsed with Esoit while Roho teamed up with Naboishu. The little friendship trio Bondeni, Kinyei and Kindani came across some loose soil that they used for a lengthy soil dusting session.
As soon as they finished their morning milk bottles the Keepers opened the gates and the dependent orphans came out to begin their day. They started eating their lucerne breakfast where they were joined by several wild bulls. Jotto was enjoying rolling on the ground until Musiara came over and tried to engage him in a pushing game. At the moment we have a different leader amidst the dependent herd every day, instead of just one elephant who likes to be at the head of the group. Today it was Olorien who took the lead, and everyone followed behind her out to the bush. Roho teamed up with Naboishu to browse and it seems as though they came to a truce this morning. The two bulls wrestle on an almost daily basis, but today they simply chose to feed next to eat other quietly. Bondeni and Kindani found a fallen tree which they scratched their bodies against.
Naleku led the way for the noon milk feed. Only Roho, Mukkoka, Suguroi and Musiara wanted to wallow in the mud bath while the others had some water. They all chose to enjoy the loose soil however, and rolled around and threw soil everywhere using their trunks. Dololo played with Mukkoka while Roho used the opportunity to climb on Lodo while he was on the ground.
At some stage in the afternoon, while the orphans browsed in the northern Kalovoto area, Kauro, Rapa, Tumaren and Narok passed by, unbeknownst to the Keepers. The four ex-orphans managed to convince six dependent orphans to go with them — Esoit, Kuishi Jotto, Sagateisa, Dololo and Mukkoka. When it was time to head back to the stockades, the Keepers nearly fainted when they realised that the six were missing! It was a race against time before it became too dark to look for them, so the Keepers immediately mounted a search.
Just before dark, the six missing ones were located east of the Kalovoto seasonal river. The missing group weren’t in a hurry at all — in fact, they were nonchalantly moving further east while still browsing. We knew that Narok was the mastermind behind the kidnapping. It’s not the first time she has done this! There was the time she kidnapped Esoit, Neshashi, Naleku, Lodo and Sagateisa, but the Keepers managed to find them and bring them home. As if that wasn’t enough, shortly after that incident Narok trailed the Keepers and managed to kidnap Lodo for four days before we finally managed to get him back too! The Keepers walked the missing six back to the stockades, arriving shortly before 7pm. It was a big relief for all the Keepers when they finally settled into their stockades for the night.
Malkia, Neshashi, Sana Sana, Enkikwe, Mapia, Vuria and Nabulu joined the orphans this morning. Neshashi walked up to Kinyei and conversed with her for a while, while Mapia played with Kuishi. Lodo decided to have a game of rolling on the ground, and playful Roho took the opportunity to go over and climb on him. Lodo yelled out in objection, because he didn’t want to have heavy Roho climbing all over him! Malkia came by and rescued Lodo from Roho by pushing him off, and escorting him away to share lucerne with her instead. Naboishu was being badly behaved and following Kindani trying to climb on her. Kindani ran as Naboishu followed in hot pursuit, but Kindani was faster and disappeared into the thicket. Kindani running off mustered all the other orphans, and they all ran after her into the bushes, catching up with her in the Kone area. This is where the orphans decided to settle to browse for the morning.
Later in the morning a passing buffalo caused some commotion as the orphans briefly abandoned their feeding session to, in their eyes, ‘deal’ with the intruding buffalo. The buffalo didn’t hang around for the rascal orphans who were charging and trumpeting towards him, and he ran off quick sticks, leaving the orphans charging around in empty bushes. Dololo, Bondeni, Kindani, Jotto, Esoit, Lodo and Roho eventually calmed down and realised the buffalo had disappeared.
Olorien led the way to the mud bath today, followed by Suguroi. It was a hot day and Kindani, Bondeni, Roho, Naleku and Suguroi went to wallow as soon as they finished their milk bottles. Most of the orphans enjoyed a brief soil dusting exercise, before being led back out to the bush by Sagateisa. The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
Ex-orphans Melia, Milo, Kibo, Lenana, Lapa, Taita Olsekki and Mundusi joined the orphans in the morning soon after they were let out. Milo decided to pick on Kinyei for a pushing game which went on for quite a while. Kinyei understood that Milo was a baby however, and therefore handled him very lightly. The rascal Lapa picked on Naboishu for a strength testing match that ended in a draw. Lapa then moved on to play with Esoit, who is the same age as him. Kindani walked down to the water trough and joined two wild bulls drinking water. Bondeni kept himself busy by climbing on a nearby rock. Sagateisa was once again the leader today, and marched the herd out to the bush once she had finished her share of lucerne.
The orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning. Later they were joined at the mud bath by Nasalot, Garzi, Chyulu, Cheka and Noah. Noah had a brief interaction with Naleku and then followed his mother to frolic on the loose soil. Suguroi and Mukkoka used a different pile of soil to dust themselves with. After the orphans had water from the water trough, Kindani led the way back out to the bush, where they spent a quiet afternoon until it was time to return home.
The orphans came out of their night stockades as usual after finishing their milk bottles, where they met with Melia, Milo, Kitirua, Kalama as well as a wild female and her baby. They joined the orphans for some lucerne grass that the Keepers were distributing out. The little rascal Milo tackled Naleku and later Sana Sana, but the two girls played lightly with Milo since they knew he was young and just a little rambunctious, eager to show off in front of everyone. Bondeni settled to scratch on a nearby rock and later moved on to play with Esoit.
As they walked out to the bush, Musiara played with Sana Sana while Mukkoka played with Roho. Finally the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. It’s quite dry in the Ithumba area now as we are fully in the midst of the dry season, so the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing to make sure that they had enough to eat before the end of the day.
It couldn’t all be about feeding though, especially for the young bulls, so just before their midday milk feed Lodo and Sattao took a break to engage in a strength testing match. At eleven o'clock Olorien led the first group to the mud bath. Musiara walked side by side with his Nursery friend Dololo as they went to drink from the water trough. Only Kindani, Kinyei, Lodo and Mukkoka went to wallow in the mud bath. The others decided just to have a dust bath. Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Wimbi, Kinna, Kaia, Gawa, Galana, Narok (now christened the kidnapper!) Nasalot and Noah visited the mud bath briefly and then walked off west of Ithumba Hill. Meanwhile the orphans decided to walk to the Kanziku area where they settled to browse for the rest of the day.
Mutara and her herd spent the night outside the stockades and joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. The little friendship trio Kinyei, Bondeni and Kindani had a brief meeting huddled together, and we could only wonder what they were chatting about. A wild bull joined in the lucerne feeding for a short time, and then went back to the water trough to leisurely continue drinking.
As she followed her friends out to the bush, Kindani came across a rock that she used to scratch her belly on. Bondeni attempted to climb over the same rock, but he didn’t manage due to his short stature. Mutara’s herd followed the orphans for a while and Naleku played with Mambo for a bit.
In the bush the orphans were joined by Mapia, Malkia, Neshashi, Nabulu, Kauro and Rapa. Mapia engaged Jotto in a lengthy strength-testing match. Kinyei took a break from feeding to have a nice scratch against a rock, and generally the morning was quiet. Eventually Mapia, Malkia, Nabulu, Kauro and Rapa withdrew from the dependent orphans and walked off into the bush.
At mud bath time the orphans had their milk then Esoit, Roho, Kindani, Naboishu, Kinyei and Lodo decided to go for a swim. Olorien and Suguroi decided to continue feeding, and fed from the same shrub close to the mud bath. Lodo, Bondeni, Kinyei, Kindani and Mukkoka enjoying frolicking and rolling around on the loose soil. Ex-orphans Naisula, Nyx, Esampu, Mteto, Maramoja, Chyulu, Cheka, Taita, Tumaren, Naseku, Nabulu and Mapia joined the dependent babies for a while. Naleku and Suguroi took some time to play with Nyx. Protective Maramoja and Mteto took their nanny duties very seriously though, and came over to escort Nyx back to her mother. The impressive will bull known as ‘Dad’ and his friends also decided to grace the mud bath. It is always a pleasure to see this handsome bull, believed to have fathered some of the wild born babies of our ex-orphans.
In the afternoon, Sattao settled to browse with Larro as Musiara decided to relax under a tree.
A wild elephant bull joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning and peacefully browsed alongside them. After having enough, Sagateisa led her friends out to the bush to begin their day. On the way, Naleku, Olorien, Kinyei, Suguroi and Roho came across some loose soil that they threw over themselves.
Out in the bush, the dependent orphans were joined by Yatta, Yoyo and Yogi. Yogi interacted with Suguroi, Mukkoka and Roho for a while, but left when Roho became too rough and pushed him too hard. It wasn’t long after that, that Yatta decided to leave with her children and head off towards the mud bath. The orphans followed slowly behind her, as it was close to their milk feeding time anyway.
It was a hot afternoon. The orphans had their milk bottles then Kindani, Lodo, Kinyei, Roho, Mukkoka, Musiara and Sagateisa got into the water to cool off. Olorien engaged Yogi in a playful pushing game that lasted for quite some time, and she wasn’t as rough as Roho had been earlier in the day. The orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise with Naboishu engaging Roho in the middle of the soil for a strength testing match. Later, Suguroi led the orphans back out to the bush to continue browsing while they waited for the Keepers to have their lunch.
Jotto, Kuishi, Dololo, Ambo and Musiara went to relax under a tree as they felt it was too hot, and only rejoined their friends later in the afternoon once it was cooler. Olorien led the way back to the stockades in the evening.
A wild bull shared lucerne again with the dependent orphans today, and later the ex-orphans showed up. The rascal Lapa, walking alongside his mother Lenana, met with Musiara. The two boys locked their trunks in a pushing game that ended when Lapa surrendered. When the orphans were ready, Kindani led the way out to browse.
Ambo, Kuishi, Dololo and Jotto, who are in the final class of dependent orphans at Ithumba, lagged behind with the ex-orphans. The three boys and one girl caught up with their friends later when they felt that they had interacted enough with the ex-orphans. Conversing more with ex-orphans and lagging behind the dependent herd are usually the first signs of a group of orphans testing their independence.
Out in the bush, the orphans were joined briefly by wayward ex-orphan Wendi and her children. Roho tried to wrestle with Wimbi, but her older sister Wema came to her rescue. Roho ran away when he saw Wendi approaching to gather her children; for her reputation is well known! Jotto took a break from feeding to have a soil dusting session, all by himself.
Later, just before eleven o'clock in the morning, Suguroi led the way to the mud bath. Thirty-five wild bulls were there when they arrived, which is a sure sign that conditions are getting dry out there. After having their milk, the orphans went for some water from the trough, but were unable to get close because of all the wild bulls. The Keepers intervened by moving the bulls a short distance away, just for a while so the orphans could have a drink. Once the orphans were done and started filtering back out to the bush to browse, the bulls moved in again.
After drinking, Jotto met with Mundusi and the two bulls wrestled for a while, before deciding that they had better get on with browsing and getting enough to eat before returning home for the night.
Queen's family arrived early in the morning and placed themselves strategically, waiting for the Keepers to distribute the lucerne. The orphans were let out soon after having their milk and joined Queen's family in the lucerne feeding area. Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Mutara and her group, as well as Meibai were also present. Once again, Roho had a misunderstanding with Yogi. Yogi pushed Roho simply because Yatta, his mother, was present; we couldn’t help but feel this was in revenge for Roho pushing him too hard yesterday! Roho didn't even try to defend himself, because he knew there would be consequences with Yatta standing so close by. The orphans didn't stay for long and left to begin their day of browsing, leaving the ex-orphans and Queen's family still feeding on lucerne.
On the way out, Ambo decided to engage Mukkoka in a pushing game. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Kuishi chose to feed next to her favourite Esoit as Olorien teamed up with Suguroi and Naleku.
Kindani led the way to the midday milk feed beside the mud bath. The sun was hot and after finishing their milk, Sagateisa, Lodo, Roho, Kinyei, Musiara and Naleku, our resident water-lovers, jumped into the water to cool off. After having enough wallowing, the six orphans came out to dry off on the loose soil before going for a drink of water from the trough. Ex-orphan Taita showed up and briefly interacted with the orphans. Dololo was the last to leave the water trough; he wanted to spend some quality time with Taita before bidding him goodbye and following his friends.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. It was once again a very warm afternoon, and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree for a while until it was cooler.
Mutara, Mambo, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel, Sities, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Kauro and Rapa arrived at the compound during the lucerne feeding session. Shortly later, a female wild elephant came with her two babies to drink water. Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi wanted to play with the two wild babies and walked down to meet them. The youngest baby of the wild elephant didn’t seem very comfortable with the friendly orphans, and confronted them. Naleku and Sagateisa battled the young brave wild elephant playfully. Eventually his brother came over and helped his younger brother in driving the orphans away. Kindani, Bondeni and Kinyei had a brief meeting amongst themselves, then started walking out towards the bush. The rest of the dependent herd decided to follow behind them.
As usual, Esoit had a morning strength testing match with Bondeni while Roho played with Naboishu. Dololo teamed up with Ambo to browse while Musiara chose Mukkoka. It was a clear day and already quite hot despite it still being morning, which prompted Mukkoka to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree.
All the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath today after their noon milk feed. Several wild bulls and ex-orphans were at the mud bath as well. Wild born baby Lapa joined the orphans and tackled Roho and Olorien. Eventually, Lapa lost to the two orphans and went back to his mother. Esoit and Naboishu were the last ones to leave the mud bath as they were having so much fun. Esoit met with Lapa and the two boys wrestled for a bit. The orphans and ex-orphans then decided to go for a group soil dusting session, where they all had a lot of fun rolling around and throwing soil with their trunks. There was a bit of drama when mischievous Roho took advantage of Mutara lying down and he decided to climb on her. Mutara couldn’t believe the audacity of the young bull and when she got up, she went wild and chased Roho away for disrespecting her. Roho ran as fast as his legs could carry him and disappeared out of sight. It seems Roho learnt a valuable lesson today about respecting his elders!
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto seasonal river, where they were joined briefly by Nasalot, Nusu and Noah. Kuishi teamed up with her friend Esoit. In the evening the orphans returned safely to the stockade compound for the night.
Only one wild elephant bull and one buffalo were at the water trough as dawn broke this morning. Later, as the orphans settled for lucerne, several ex-orphans arrived to join them. When the orphans were done with lucerne, Kinyei led the way out to the bush and guided everyone towards the Kone area.
It was a quiet morning as the orphans browsed calmly. Shortly before mud bath time, Esoit engaged Naboishu in a pushing game. Esoit lost to Naboishu and went to his adopted big sister Kuishi for comfort. Naboishu, confident from his win, decided to start another wrestling match with Roho, who is always eager to play.
At the mud bath the orphans were joined by Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Ithumbah, Iman, Ishanga, Neshashi, Maramoja, Neshashi and Narok. Whenever Narok is around, the Keepers are always tense and make sure to keep their eyes peeled, because Narok is a notorious ‘kidnapper’ and they know what she is capable of! The Keepers guarded their dependent orphans and later escorted them back out to the bush, leaving Narok and her friends at the mud bath. Thankfully, the orphans had a quiet afternoon and they browsed peacefully for the rest of the day.
Three wild bulls joined the orphans for lucerne this morning. The bulls were friendly and fed next to the orphans peacefully. As Kindani was leading the herd away from the compound, Rapa, Mapia, Kauro, Sana Sana and Malkia joined them for a while. Rapa engaged Musiara, two years his junior, in a pushing game — but it didn’t last long, as Musiara didn’t feel like playing and soon surrendered.
Kindani felt an itch while she was browsing and took a break to go for a nice scratching session. Olorien decided to join her but instead rolled on the ground by herself. The orphans browsed slowly as they walked in the direction of the mud bath for their midday feed. It was another hot day and soon after finishing their milk the orphans jumped into the mud bath water to cool off. They then enjoyed drying off on the loose soil.
It was so hot in the afternoon that the orphans had to take a break from browsing to relax in some shade for a while. Esoit led everyone home in the evening.
When they came out of their stockade, Ambo, Dololo, Kuishi and Sattao decided to join a wild elephant drinking water, before going to join their friends feeding on lucerne. Queen’s family joined the orphans, and shortly later two more wild herds in the company of the ex-orphans turned up for some water. When they were done drinking the ex-orphans joined in for some lucerne as well. Kuishi decided that there were now too many elephants around, and led her friends out to the bush so they could begin browsing.
Later in the morning the orphans were joined by Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Malkia, Mapia and Mundusi. Naleku and Suguroi engaged Saba in a pushing game, but big-sister Siku brought an end to their game by collecting Saba and walking off with her. Musiara played with Mundusi while Jotto engaged Mapia in a strength testing match. These two have been friends since Nursery days and are well matched! Jotto is tall, but Mapia makes up for that with his heavyset figure.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath they found Kibo, Challa and several wild bulls wallowing. They partook in all the usual activities on a hot day like this after having their milk — a refreshing wallowing session followed by drying off on the loose soil, before being led away by Kindani. It was a hot afternoon so Roho, Naboishu and Mukkoka decided to relax in some shade and take cover from the scorching sun. In the evening, on the way back to the stockades, the orphans were joined by Rapa, Ndiwa and Malkia.
Kindani left her stockade with a branch in her mouth. She didn't get far, however, before Roho grabbed it from her mouth. Kindani had no choice to let go, as she knew she wouldn’t win against feisty Roho if she decided to fight over it. The orphans settled for lucerne as a buffalo arrived for a drink at the water trough. Malkia, Sana Sana and Ndiwa emerged from the east and came to join the orphans. Sana Sana and Ndiwa avoided the buffalo, but Malkia was brave enough to join him for some water. Bondeni led the way out to the bush today.
Once he reached a point he thought was good to stop, Bondeni turned and engaged his best sparring mate Esoit. Their pushing game lasted for quite some time. Kindani played with Suguroi while Mukkoka settled to browse with Olorien.
Later in the morning Kinyei led the way to the mud bath area for the next milk feed. It was really hot, and all the orphans had fun playing in the mud bath after having their bottles.
As the orphans browsed in the afternoon, Namalok decided to join them. Musiara walked up to him and initiated a strength-testing exercise. Olorien led the way back to the stockades in the evening when everyone was done browsing, and Namalok left the dependent babies to go into their stockades for the night.
A wild herd arrived outside the stockades compound before dawn but found that there was no water left in the troughs. The wild herd, knowing very well that the water bowser would soon be along to refill the troughs, waited patiently. The babies in the herd lay down to relax as the mothers kept watch, and finally the water bowser arrived. After drinking their fill, the wild elephants joined the orphans to share lucerne with them. Some wild bulls arrived too. The wild babies in the herd mingled happily with Sagateisa, Naleku, Suguroi and Olorien and they all interacted peacefully. The orphans left for browsing as soon as they had enough lucerne and chose to spend the morning in the Kone area.
Naboishu, who loves playing with Roho, invited him for a strength testing match. Roho readily accepted and the two boys were at it for a long time until Jotto passed by and separated them. Kuishi, as usual, chose to browse with her favourite Esoit while Bondeni teamed up with Kindani and Dololo.
After having their noon milk feed, Bondeni and Kinyei competed over who could get to the mud bath first. It was another hot day and all the orphans were eager to cool off. Bondeni, being a bit sprightlier and of a smaller build, managed to run faster than Kinyei and he splashed into the water. Kindani, Naleku, Sagateisa, Suguroi, Kinyei, Naboishu and Mukkoka spent the longest in the water, and Naboishu was the last one out. Bondeni teamed up with Roho for a dust bath as the rest of the herd used another pile of soil to dust themselves and dry off. Just as the dependent orphans left the mud bath area to continue browsing, the ex-orphans arrived and had their own spectacular wallowing session.
As the orphans browsed west of the hill in the afternoon, Narok arrived and managed to leave with Ambo and Jotto, but the Keepers felt sure they would return later in the evening.
There was a bit of a drama in the evening as the orphans were entering their stockades, when Naleku and Suguroi tricked Wendi’s baby Wimbi into coming into their night stockade with them. Wimbi was happy to follow them! The Keepers acted quickly to avoid any dangerous move by Wendi, who had started walking up calling Wimbi back to join her. The Keepers showed Wimbi the gate and fortunately Wimbi ran out to join her mother. Wendi then walked away with her babies, as if warning Wimbi not to go near the stockades without her. Just as we thought, Ambo and Jotto reported late in the evening and went into their stockade for the night.
As soon as the orphans had enough lucerne breakfast, Kinyei led the way out to the bush. Olorien, Kindani, Roho and Lodo took a break from browsing to mess around and roll on the ground. Kilabasi and her baby Kofi joined the orphans briefly. Musiara had a brief talk with Ambo, before parting ways to continue browsing. Esoit engaged Bondeni in their usual wrestling match, but Jotto walked by and pushed the two boys out of his way. He seems to dislike it whenever he thinks anyone is messing about for too long, especially the young bulls! The day was gradually getting warmer and the orphans browsed under some trees as they slowly made their way towards the mud bath.
Once at the mud bath, the orphans were joined by Ishanga, Oltaiyoni, Roi, Galla, Enkikwe, Mapia, Sapalan, Olsekki, Siangiki and Tusuja. Enkikwe and Mapia got into the water and enjoyed wallowing with the dependent orphans. Musiara had a light pushing game with Enkikwe while they were still in the mud bath, but their game ended when Musiara grew bored of standing in the water.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Kuishi chose to browse with Esoit while Ambo teamed up with Jotto. In the evening Esoit led the first group back to the stockades, as they were soon followed by the rest of the herd.
Mutara and her herd joined the orphans for lucerne this morning. The spoiled little baby Mambo engaged the dependent orphans in pushing games. He started with Suguroi, then moved on to tackle Naleku before being finally defeated by Roho. Roho didn't entertain Mambo’s nonsense, and he pushed him so hard he nearly fell over; Roho wasn’t sensitive to the fact that Mambo is only just over a year old, and Mambo cried out as he ran towards his mother. The nannies Suguta, Sities, Kainuk and Turkwel moved in quickly to find out what had happened to little Mambo. Roho sneaked away quietly, before Mambo exposed him to the nannies.
Ithumbah, Iman, Kofi, Kilabasi and Makireti arrived and joined everyone for the feeding session too, but it wasn’t long before everyone decided to follow Roho out to the bush. Roho has already started walking off for fear of being reprimanded by Mambo's nannies.
Shortly after 11 o’clock, we welcomed a new resident to Ithumba: Ngasha, who had become an increasingly difficult presence at Umani Springs, was relocated to Ithumba. We believe this area will be a better fit for the boisterous bull, and it is our hope that the wild bulls will teach him some manners.
Ngasha was offloaded at the stockade compound. Several ex-orphans were present to welcome him, including Wendi, Lenana, Sunyei, and Chyulu with their babies, along with Rapa and Kauro. Due to Wendi’s unpredictability, the ex-orphans were shepherded away to allow a peaceful offloading operation. Kauro and Rapa were left behind to greet their new friend. After Ngasha was offloaded, Kauro led the newcomer to meet the rest of the ex-orphans. Ngasha interacted briefly with them before heading towards Lesilau Dam.
While the orphans were browsing west of the hill in the afternoon, Sunyei, Siku, Saba and Ishanga joined the orphans briefly, before disappearing again. In the evening, Sattao led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Kinyei, Kindani and Bondeni left their stockade as a little group as soon as they had finished their bottles. The three inseparable friends headed straight to the trough together, where they had some water. Bondeni is such a little imp and always has a twinkle in his eye; while the two girls were drinking, he tried to stand on the edge of the trough to make himself taller and lark around with his friends. After they had enough water, the three friends then joined the rest of the orphan herd for some lucerne.
Suguroi led the way out to the bush today. While the orphans were browsing, Musiara met a young wild bull elephant and briefly interacted with him. Perhaps Musiara wanted to find out more about this young male, as we had never encountered him in this area before. The wild bull, who appeared calm around the orphans, seemed happy to converse with Musiara for a while, before walking on to the stockade area, perhaps in search of water.
It was another day of wallowing for all the orphans again after their milk bottles. In the afternoon, Jotto teamed up with quiet Larro to browse while Lodo browsed with Suguroi. Our old friend Motomo, who only spent a brief time at Ithumba, joined some wild bulls drinking at the stockade compound this evening, and it was lovely to see him looking well.
A few ex-orphans came this morning to share lucerne with the orphans, until they decided it was time to start their day out in the bush. Jotto took a break to enjoy scratching his tummy on a bend in a tree, while Esoit did the same and scratched his neck against a tree. Kindani busied herself browsing next to Dololo and Lodo but soon Lodo got bored, and decided to start a pushing game with Esoit. When he was done messing about, Esoit walked over to Kuishi and started browsing with her.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath to have their noon milk feed, they found a wild bull having an amazing time in the water, splashing about like a young elephant. Lodo and Kinyei went to join him and later Suguroi and Larro joined in too. When they came out, Larro walked straight over to the dust bath and started playing there. Ambo and Naboishu drank from the water trough together, alongside a wild bull elephant. Other bulls were resting in the shade nearby.
The hot weather continued into the afternoon and the orphans had to take a break from browsing to rest in some shade. On the way back to the stockades in the evening, they met with ex-orphan Melia and her baby Milo. They were on the way to the compound too, to drink water.
It was a sunny morning today so we knew it would be another hot day ahead, typical of the dry season we are in at the moment. The dependent orphans shared their lucerne with Wendi and Yatta’s herd.
Kindani was feeling very playful this morning and chose to mess about with Esoit. Esoit then went to join Bondeni and Roho and the three bulls had a private conversation. Esoit seemed tired from all his antics this morning and lay down on the ground to rest, while Kinyei and Kuishi watched over him.
Today for the first time in a while the orphans decided not to have a swim. Only Esoit, our most active baby today, decided to walk through the shallow section just to wash his feet. The rest of the herd went straight for a dust bath, where Roho took advantage of Naleku lying down and climbed all over her. Naleku didn’t mind however and let Roho climb on her and slide down her tummy as they all messed about in the soil.
Back out in the bush, everyone was happy browsing and filling their tummies, until Kindani led the group back home in the evening.
When the orphans arrived back they found some wild elephants and some ex-orphans too. We did not see Ngasha today, who recently moved here from Umani.
The orphans came out of their night stockades and interacted with the ex-orphans and wild elephants around. They all quietly shared lucerne together, even some of the wild bulls, before the dependent orphans walked out to browse.
While the dependent orphans browsed, they came across Kauro and Rapa play-fighting in the bush. Naboishu and Roho were inspired by watching their wrestling match and started playing too.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath we were surprised to find it was void of any other elephants. It was so quiet with no one else around for once! The orphans had their milk bottles and some water from the trough, before walking back out to browse without wallowing.
Activities picked up in the bush however and the orphans got stuck into browsing, before taking a break to play some games too. Mukkoka starting play-fighting with Lodo for some evening exercise. As the day drew to a close, Suguroi took the lead to escort everyone home for the night.
A huge group of wild elephants and ex-orphans drinking water greeted the orphans as they arrived at the compound. We still haven’t seen Ngasha since he arrived here from Umani a few days ago, but we feel sure that he is just getting used to his new home.
The orphans were happy this morning to awake and find their milk ready! They had their bottles then came out and went straight to the lucerne feeding area as usual, where the Keepers were distributing the bales from the store. Some ex-orphans in Wendi and Yatta’s herd, as well as Mutara’s herd were around to share lucerne too.
It’s very dry at the moment so all the orphans concentrated on browsing and finding enough to eat this morning. Naboishu and Roho got bored of browsing though, and started a long pushing game. Later Lodo led the group to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
When they finished their milk feed all the orphans walked to the main waterhole to swim. Naleku was the most playful and rolled and splashed around at the back of the group. Roho saw Naleku having lots of fun and decided to swim over and climb on her back to show off. Meanwhile some wild bulls stood resting under the tree near the mud bath while the babies splashed around. Some walked over to share water from the trough with some of the orphans, but they were very friendly. When the orphans came out they dried off by rolling around on the loose soil and throwing some on their bodies with their trunks.
As Naleku walked at the front of the group into the stockade compound this evening, we came across a big herd of ex-orphans and wild elephants. They were all there for water, and were taking it in turns to walk up to the trough before walking away again to make way for another group to have a drink.