01 June 2016

The Ex Orphans were at the stockade compound early in the morning. Soon after the gates opened for the juniors to come out, Lenana walked in to welcome them. She met with Narok and they entwined their trunks in morning greetings. Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe walked down to the water trough where three wild bulls were drinking water. The three new babies raised their trunks to sniff the wild bulls then turned and left. Orwa engaged Makena in a pushing game as Lualeni lay down to allow Wiva to climb on her. Wiva was playful this morning and soon after playing with Lualeni, she walked down and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. From time to time she mock-charged and threatened the orphans with her ears raised. She played this way with Olsekki, Laragai and Bomani. She later moved to watch a pushing game between Lenana and Narok. Wiva tried to stretch her trunk up to communicate with Lenana but she couldn't reach Lenana's mouth, so she gave up and followed Enkikwe to the water trough. At the browsing field Enkikwe went down on his knees to uproot a shrub with his mouth since he tried with his trunk but he couldn't manage. The orphans had a quiet morning and concentrated only on browsing. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by twenty wild bulls and the Ex Orphans. Teleki engaged Makena in strength testing exercise, Vuria tried to intervene but Makena resisted and pushed him away leaving Teleki to enjoy playing with her. Bomani tried to invite Kithaka to a pushing game by holding his trunk but Kithaka didn't respond. He disengaged himself from Bomani and walked away. Bomani walked towards Chaimu where they both engaged in a pushing game; unfortunately Bomani bowed out after he was hit hard by the no nonsense Chaimu. Shortly before leaving, Teleki learned a few pushing techniques by engaging Kenze in a pushing game. Laragai lagged behind playing with Wiva when the orphans returned back to browse. The keepers had to intervene by calling Laragai to make sure she didn’t disappear with the Ex Orphans. Laragai heeded the keepers call and ran to join her friends. In the afternoon, Olsekki settled to browse with Vuria and in the evening, Orwa, Narok and Teleki took a break from feeding to participate in a soil dusting exercise.

02 June 2016

It was a quiet morning as the orphans strolled nonchalantly out from their stockades. The orphans had the compound to themselves as no one else joined them for lucerne or water. Bomani started his day's activities with a soil dusting exercise. Orwa took some lucerne and then went down on his hind legs to play and eat it at the same time. Vuria, who was close by, came running over and tried to take the lucerne away from Orwa's mouth. A pushing game ensued as Orwa tried to fight for his lucerne. Shortly later, a civet cat emerged from the north, which frightened some of the orphans. Narok gathered courage as one of the leaders of the group and she went to defend the group. She trumpeted and charged at the civet. The civet cat didn’t wait around to be trampled on by Narok and ran as fast as its legs could carry it with Narok behind it in hot pursuit. Narok returned back to her friends still in charging mode when the civet cat disappeared. Narok was welcomed back by Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe who congratulated her for a job well done. Narok happens to share the same stockade with Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe and the new babies were proud to have someone to defend them when there is any danger around. The morning couldn't be complete without Vuria and Bongo having their pushing game and so they went for it. Later, Vuria settled to browse with Bomani before shifting to join Barsilinga. Towards mud bath time, the juniors were joined by Mutara and her group. Sities accompanied Siangiki, Enkikwe and Olsekki to their eleven o'clock milk feeds. At mud bath time, the temperatures were moderate and only Narok, Teleki, Bongo, Garzi, Laragai and Mutara participated in wallowing. Teleki emerged as the star of the day by having a prolonged mud bath as the rest exited and walked away for a soil dusting exercise. Teleki followed them later after feeling that he had done enough wallowing. In the afternoon the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major events to disturb them. In the evening Yatta and Mulika’s groups in the company of six wild bulls reported for water at the stockade. Shortly before dark Yatta rumbled, signaling her members that it was time to leave and so she led the way back into the bush.

03 June 2016

It was another quiet morning this morning. The orphans settled for lucerne immediately after leaving their stockades. Shukuru started her day by participating in a soil dusting exercise while Orwa got a free ride from Narok. Soon after Narok disengaged from Orwa, she turned and retaliated against him. Shortly later, Narok lay down to relax and Vuria came running over and started scratching his belly on her. Bongo was standing nearby and came over to assist Narok, by pushing Vuria away. After feeding on lucerne, the juniors passed by the water trough and armed themse At the browsing field, Bongo settled to browse with Vuria and Vuria turned against Bongo and decided to ride on him. Bongo disengaged from him and went to feed far away where he would not be disturbed. At around ten o'clock in the morning, the orphans were joined by the junior Ex Orphans, Makireti, Mutara and Chaimu’s groups. At mud bath time Chaimu teamed up with Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe to show them the best way to cool themselves. After mud bath Shukuru and Garzi joined five wild bulls that had just arrived to drink water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area where Vuria teamed up with Bomani. In the evening, Olsekki and Siangiki spent some time browsing with Orwa.

04 June 2016

The orphans settled for lucerne immediately after leaving the stockade. Half Trunk and his friend were drinking water at the water trough and left immediately after having enough. Olsekki started his day by scratching his neck on the nearby rocks. After arriving at the browsing field, Bongo and Vuria engaged one another in a pushing game that lasted for a while. After the game, Vuria took a break and leaned on a nearby rock before resuming browsing. Shortly before mud bath time, the juniors were joined by Mutara and her group and who thereafter escorted the juniors for a mud bath. The sun was very hot and this prompted some of the orphans who rarely participate in wallowing to be the first in the line of getting into the water. These were Orwa, Barsilinga, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Bomani. After mud bathing, the orphans headed for a soil dusting exercise before returning back to the browsing field. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area. The sun was still hot and the orphans walked and fed under trees that had good shade. Lemoyian settled to browse close to Siangiki and Enkikwe and from time to time Lemoyian would snatch food from Siangiki’s mouth. Siangiki didn’t tolerate this behaviour from Lemoyian and so she moved away. In the evening, Bongo, Vuria and Orwa spent some time having a nice soil dust.

05 June 2016

Tomboi and four wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough early this morning. Soon after the juniors were let out and settled to eat lucerne, Tomboi left the wild bulls and joined the juniors to feed. Barsilinga ran into trouble with Orwa when while passing, he stepped on the lucerne that Orwa was eating. Orwa was so annoyed he pushed Barsilinga hard in the back; Barsilinga just away from Orwa complaining about the action he had taken against him. Siangiki settled to feed on lucerne with Olsekki while Narok joined Tomboi. Shortly later, a wild herd consisting of two mothers, four children and one wild bull reported for water at the stockade water trough. One of the wild babies was about five months old and when the orphans spotted it, they all stopped feeding and came down to play with the baby; Narok, Garzi, Bomani, Olsekki and Laragai surrounded the baby. The mother's baby threatened to push the orphans when they started navigating the baby towards the west. In the browsing field, Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe browsed together while Teleki and Vuria spent some time in a strength testing exercise. Mutara’s group arrived at mud bath early and relaxed under a tree to wait for the juniors. As the orphans were drinking their milk, fifteen wild bulls reported for water at the mud bath. One of the bulls had an arrow wound on the left side of his belly which was reported to the vet unit. Laragai, Teleki, Vuria and Bongo were brave enough to join the bulls to drink water but withdrew when the group started to grow in number. Enkikwe, Siangiki and Olsekki walked up to the water trough to try their luck but upon arriving close to the bulls, they got scared and walked away. With a second thought, Enkikwe gathered the courage and forced his way to the water trough and took as much water as he could. The bull with an arrow wound walked down to join the juniors in mud bathing. Vuria stretched his trunk towards the bulls as if trying to comfort it or understand what was wrong. The orphans performed a soil dusting exercise on their way back to the browsing field.

06 June 2016

Tomboi reported at the stockade compound with a slight limp, probably from a sprain because no physical injury was observed that could cause him to limp. Tomboi joined the juniors to feed lucerne. Shortly later, Mulika and her son Mwende showed up and joined in to feed on the lucerne. Laragai moved close to Mwende and tried to remove lucerne from his mouth. Mwende wasn't happy about that and turned and gave Laragai a back kick. Laragai rumbled to gather the other orphans to assist her in driving Mwende away. The first one to respond was Orwa who came and started pushing Mwende as Olsekki and Laragai stood by watching. Bongo settled to feed on lucerne close to Tomboi as Siangiki scratched on a nearby rock. Mulika and Tomboi headed south as the orphans headed east of the stockade to browse in the lower Kalovoto area. Siangiki settled to browse with Olsekki as Vuria settled to browse with his playmate Bongo while Garzi settled to browse with Orwa. Shortly later, a misunderstanding arose between Vuria and Bongo. The two boys halted their browsing and settled their differences with a pushing game. At mud bath time, Yatta and her group showed up. Lenana walked up to the juniors where he met with Bomani and exchanged midday greetings. She later walked to meet Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe to find out how life has been for them over the past two weeks since they have been at Ithumba. Lemoyian engaged Garzi in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time. After mud bath, the juniors and the Ex Orphans participated in a soil dusting exercise. Thereafter, Laragai assigned herself the role of babysitting Wiva. A wild bull chased off some guinea fowls that had come for water at the mud bath. The Ex Orphans then escorted the juniors back to the bush where Orwa picked a fight with Meibai. Half an hour later, fifteen wild bulls came for water. Noticeable were Half Trunk and the bull that had received treatment the previous day. He was in good condition. The afternoon was a hot one and in the evening, the orphans returned back to the mud bath where they participated in an evening wallowing before going back to the stockades.

07 June 2016

Kasigau, Makireti, Kilabasi, Kilaguni and a wild elephant were at the stockade compound early before the orphans were let out. After drinking their milk, the orphans joined the junior Ex Orphans outside the stockade and they had lucerne together. Siangiki settled close to Enkikwe and from time to time was picking lucerne from Enkikwe’s mouth. Soon after drinking water, Teleki engaged Kilabasi in a pushing game while Orwa played with Vuria. Later at the browsing field, Vuria settled to browse with Bomani as Garzi spent some time kneeling to uproot vegetation with his mouth. Narok developed an itchy ear and decided to use a nearby tree to scratch it. On the way to the mud bath, the orphans were joined by Mutara and her group. At the water trough Vuria and Chaimu had a misunderstanding about who among them should drink the water first. Their misunderstanding led to a physical fight which ended when Vuria surrendered. Orwa and Barsilinga didn't participate in the mud bath but walked to a nearby tree that had a nice shade and relaxed under it. Shukuru and Narok were the last ones to leave the water trough after making sure that they had taken enough water. The orphans had a bit of soil dusting on their way back to the browsing field. Shortly after the orphans left, six wild bulls reported for water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area where Narok teamed up with Lemoyian and Garzi with Laragai to browse. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major events.

08 June 2016

Thirty wild elephants and forty five Ex Orphans were at the stockade compound early before dawn. When the water was turned on, the elephants went for the precious commodity. When the gates opened for the orphans to come out, Lualeni walked in to welcome the orphans out. It came to the time for lucerne and the juniors couldn't wait to be pushed by their seniors. The juniors each picked a bit of lucerne and ran far away to avoid trouble with their seniors. The orphans left for browsing soon after finishing the lucerne they had in their mouths. At the browsing field, Teleki spent some time in soil dusting and later engaged Lemoyian in a pushing game. Lemoyian surrendered and moved to play with Bomani. Vuria met with his playmate Bongo and they entwined their trunks before resuming browsing. At mud bath time, the juniors were joined by the Ex Orphans and fifteen wild bulls. Barsilinga had a brief strength testing exercise with Makireti. Laragai left with the Ex Orphans and half an hour later returned to join her friends charging and trumpeting. In the afternoon, the sun was still hot and the orphans took a break from feeding and converged under a tree until the temperatures dropped again so they could resume browsing.

09 June 2016

It was a less busy morning as the orphans settled for lucerne with no other elephants joining them today. The orphans walked around freely in the stockade compound with Orwa, Bomani and Kithaka opting to scratch on the nearby rocks. Siangiki, Enkikwe and Olsekki huddled together in one place to feed on the lucerne as Laragai picked lucerne and tossed it up before heading to drink water. Shortly later, the other orphans followed her. At the browsing field, Bongo and Vuria started their day by engaging one another in a pushing game while Shukuru spent some time in an early morning soil dusting. Bomani settled to browse close to Narok and from time to time, Narok put her trunk in Bomani's mouth. Shortly before eight o'clock in the morning, Mulika with a few other Ex Orphans passed by the stockade for water. The members in her group comprised of Nasalot, Makena, her son Mwende, Zurura, Ishanga and two wild bulls. Soon after taking enough water, Mulika led the group towards mud bath. Later in the morning, Olsekki and Enkikwe settled to browse with Bomani and Barsilinga. Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans were joined by the Ex Orphans where Vuria exchanged greetings with Lenana. The Ex Orphans escorted the juniors to the mud bath. The mud bath was brief and soon they parted ways with juniors heading towards Kalovoto while the Ex Orphans headed west of the Ithumba hill. In the afternoon, the juniors were joined by Makireti’s group where Orwa got the opportunity to play with Kasigau. Teleki and Olsekki spent some time soil dusting and soon they were joined by Shukuru. In the evening, the Ex Orphans in the company of five wild bulls reported for water at the stockade. Noticeable was a bull that was treated nearly a week ago near the Imenti dam and he was in good condition too and healing well.

10 June 2016

Six wild bulls with Melia, Kalama, Olare and Kandecha were at the stockade compound early in the morning. Soon when the water was turned on, the wild bulls occupied the water troughs while the Ex Orphans stood at the entrance waiting for juniors. After drinking their morning milk, Narok led the way out and they settled to eat lucerne. When the bulls had enough, they stepped aside to let the juniors have water. Laragai, who is always quick in everything, was the first one to get to the water trough and join one of the bulls who hadn't stepped aside yet. Later Shukuru joined in but backed off when she saw two of the wild bulls coming back for water. Later, the senior Ex Orphans started trickling in and this prompted the juniors to start their journey to the browsing field, so as to avoid confrontation with them over of lucerne. The orphans had a quiet morning until mud bath time where they were again joined by the Ex Orphans and fifteen wild bulls. Laragai had a part time job of babysitting Wiva while Kithaka stood behind a wild bull to smell him, before heading for soil dusting. Teleki spent some time learning new pushing tactics from Zurura while Makena engaged Orwa in a strength testing exercise as Kanjoro played with Kalama. A while later, all the groups parted ways. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area and they stayed browsing here for the rest of the day.

11 June 2016

Mutara and her group joined the orphans as they came out of their stockades. A few minutes later, Mulika and her group showed up too. Laragai, who is always at loggerheads with the two wild born babies Mwende and Yetu, walked over to Mwende and started pushing her. Mwende defended herself as she slowly retreated to her mother. Mutara pushed Teleki when he tried to take some lucerne that was close to her, while Meibai played with Bomani. Laragai went to try to play with Nasalot when Mwende retreated to her mother. Nasalot was too tall for her though and so it proved to be difficult for Laragai. In the end Laragai just stepped aside to give way to Nasalot. Moments before leaving for browsing, Teleki engaged Meibai in a pushing game, a game that Teleki. Makena followed the orphans to the browsing field where she engaged Orwa into a strength testing exercise. Later Orwa got the opportunity to play with Mwende but Makena intervened and separated the two. Half an hour after the orphans had left, Yatta’s group with wild elephants checked in at the stockade for water. One of the wild females had a baby the size of Wiva and Wiva tried to charge at the baby but she was quickly whisked away by her nannies. Whilst browsing, Bomani engaged Garzi in a pushing game, while Bongo played Vuria in a game that ended when Vuria tried to mount on Bongo. Narok lay down to play and this prompted Bomani to quit playing with Garzi and go and roll on Narok. Shortly before mud bath time, Kilaguni engaged Mutara in a pushing game as Sities assigned herself the role of taking care of Siangiki, Enkikwe and Olsekki. Vuria, the fastest runner, led the first group to the mud bath while Sities escorted the last group that consisted of Siangiki, Enkikwe and Olsekki for their milk (because the boys are still so greedy they have to come last!) The weather was chilly and none of the orphans wanted to get into the water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area where Kilaguni and Vuria spent some time in a strength testing exercise.

12 June 2016

The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. A while later a bull came for water and passed by close to Orwa. Orwa, who is used to challenging his seniors, didn’t want this kind of challenge and he picked up his share of lucerne and walked far away to avoid being pushed by the wild bull. The Ex Orphans led by Wiva in front showed up at the stockade compound. Laragai walked towards Wiva to welcome her to join them in feeding on lucerne. Soon Wiva was surrounded by Narok, Bomani, Olsekki, Siangiki and Enkikwe. Soon Wiva charged at Olsekki as Ololoo played with Orwa. In the browsing field, Bongo played Lemoyian as Kithaka settled to browse with Vuria. At mud bath time the juniors were joined by the Ex Orphans again as well as twenty wild elephants. Makena engaged Orwa in a pushing game and shortly later Orwa surrendered, allowing Bomani to take over. Bomani also lost the game to Makena. Ololoo tackled Orwa and they had their own pushing game. Laragai met with Nasalot and had a brief chat before parting ways. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area where Bongo and Vuria spent some time in a strength testing exercise.

13 June 2016

Olare and her group reported at the stockade compound early before dawn and decided to take a nap before it was time for letting the juniors out. At six o'clock in the morning, the juniors were let out after their morning milk. Orwa, who likes to duel with his seniors, met with Kalama and without wasting time they engaged each other in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Later Orwa jumped to play with Murka but lost to her, as she is known for not entertaining any nonsense from the junior boys. Narok tested her strength against Kibo but ended up losing miserably. Bomani tried to take over from Orwa by tackling Murka but like Orwa he had to run for his life after he was shown what Murka was capable of. To try and gain some confidence after losing the pushing game to Kibo, Narok walked over to Chemi Chemi and engaged him in a pushing game. Lucky enough Chemi Chemi wasn't in bad mood and so she entertained Narok in a light pushing game. In the browsing field the juniors were joined by Mutara and her group. Sities, who loves the three new babies, went to settle close to Siangiki, Enkikwe and Olsekki to show them how and what to feed on. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans dared to step into the water. Bomani decided to keep himself busy by engaging Garzi in a pushing game as they waited for the keepers to have their lunch. In the afternoon, Bomani teamed up with Orwa to feed while Enkikwe settled to feed with Siangiki. Laragai spent some time soil dusting, a game that attracted Kithaka, Narok, Vuria and Orwa. In the evening, Barsilinga and Bomani had a misunderstanding that they ended up resolving physically. Lucky enough Shukuru and Narok were close by and intervened to separate the two boys.

14 June 2016

It was a quiet morning as the orphans settled to feed on lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Barsilinga shared lucerne with Lemoyian as Orwa settled close to Narok. Enkikwe and Olsekki teamed up together as Teleki decided to scratch on the nearby rocks. All hell broke loose when the Ex Orphans arrived! It was everybody for him or herself as the orphans hurriedly picked up the remaining pieces of lucerne with their trunks and started to leave to avoid confrontation with their seniors. Only Narok, Laragai, Enkikwe, and Bomani remained behind so as to play with Wiva. There was a standoff when Ithumbah, one of the Wiva’s nannies, tried to block Bomani from getting close to Wiva. The standoff between the two helped Narok and Laragai to whisk Wiva away, but before they could walk far, Yetu and Yatta managed to catch up and take Wiva with them, leaving Narok and Laragai with no option other than to follow their friends. At the browsing field, Bomani allowed Lemoyian to pick some of the food he was chewing from his mouth, but when it became too much, Bomani walked away and settled to browse with Siangiki and Enkikwe. At mud bath time twenty wild bulls were present. Noticeable was ‘Limpy’, the bull that was treated a month ago with a snare around its foot. The bull is still on the path to recovery and we are sure that is why he stayed around the security of the stockade and the orphans with their keepers. Kithaka, Bomani and Laragai braved their way through the bulls and managed to squeeze in their midst and drink water with the wild bulls. The three left immediately left though when the bulls started pushing one another. One of the bulls was pushed and slipped before falling down. A while later, Mutara and her group showed up at the mud bath. Orwa played with Kilabasi while Bongo engaged Vuria in a pushing game soon after mud bath. Enkikwe bellowed and this drew the attention of Kainuk who came running to check what the problem was. In the excitement of trying to chase away whatever it was that scared Enkikwe, Kainuk fell and slightly injured her trunk. Shortly later, Mutara led the juniors away leaving the bulls still at mud bath. Mutara took the orphans to Kanziku area where they settled to browse. Sities nurtured Enkikwe, Siangiki and Olsekki for the remaining part of the day.

15 June 2016

Mutara’s group, consisting of Mutara, Sities, Turkwel, Kainuk, Suguta and Kanjoro, had spent the night just outside the stockade and joined the juniors for lucerne early in the morning. Shukuru, Kithaka and Vuria took piles of lucerne and moved to feed a distance away from the rest. Suguta finished what she had and walked towards Shukuru where she confiscated the lucerne from Shukuru. The polite Shukuru didn't bother to rise to this but just got angry and walked away. Barsilinga and Kanjoro spent some time scratching their buttocks on the nearby rocks. On the way to the browsing field, Bomani and Lemoyian had a misunderstanding that they settled by pushing one another. Orwa tried to challenge Suguta but lost. As the morning progressed, the temperatures skyrocketed making Siangiki and Enkikwe want to relax under a tree before proceeding for mud bath. The Ex Orphans in the company of several wild bulls arrived earlier at mud bath. When the orphans got to the mud bath, Laragai with her trunk in the air went searching for Wiva. She finally located Wiva and spent some time with her as Chyulu and Suguta looked on. After mud bath, Bomani and Orwa proceeded for soil bathing as the rest of the group headed back to the browsing field. In the afternoon the temperatures dropped to a more favourable level and the orphans concentrated mainly on browsing. In the evening, Narok, Orwa and Bomani took a break from feeding and spent some time in a soil dusting exercise.

16 June 2016

Chaimu, Kilaguni and Ishanga in the company of three wild bulls reported at the stockade early before dawn and relaxed outside the stockade until day break. Soon after the orphans were let out, Chaimu tried to block their way but the keepers intervened and told her to move out of the way. The bulls settled for water and left immediately after drinking enough. The Ex Orphans then showed up at the stockade compound. Laragai, who is always at loggerheads with Mwende for some unknown reason, surprised Mwende as he was passing by. Mwende was quick to turn to defend himself but quit when he saw Garzi approaching since he knew the two orphans would gang up against him. Shukuru kept herself busy soil dusting soon after she had enough of lucerne. Garzi engaged Bomani in a light strength testing exercise and thereafter moved to play with Mwende. Bomani moved to tackle Ishanga but Ishanga didn’t want to entertain him and so pushed Bomani away. Teleki had a brief moment of interacting with Orok but moved away when Orok tried to push him. Orwa spent sometime engaging Mwende in a pushing game and later engaged Ishanga in a strength testing exercise which he lost moments later. Bongo and Vuria did not want to let the morning pass without having a tussle which most of the time ends in a draw. At mud bath time, the orphans were rejoined by the Ex Orphans and thirty wild elephants. Bomani had an opportunity of playing Loijuk while Narok and Laragai spent some time with Wiva. Teleki, Olsekki, Enkikwe and Siangiki joined some of the Ex Orphans in mud bathing. Ololoo got a free ride from Suguta while Kilaguni engaged Zurura in a light strength testing exercise. Chaimu, Loijuk and Garzi participated in a soil dusting exercise. After the mud bath was over, the herds went in different directions. The orphans headed to the Kanziku area where they browsed for the remaining part of the day. In the evening, Bomani and Bongo finished the day’s activities with a soil dusting exercise.

17 June 2016

Olare and Chaimu’s groups reported to the stockade in the dead of the night and in the morning they were all sleeping soundly just outside the stockade. They woke up moments before the juniors were let out. Laragai, who was feeding close to Bomani, grabbed lucerne from Bomani's mouth several times. Bomani just walked away from Laragai because protesting would most likely result in being pushed anyway! Shortly later, Yatta and her group checked in and joined the juniors to feed on lucerne. Laragai and Narok took control of Wiva before Olare came and took over from them. Laragai moved to tackle Mwende and a short while later, the groups parted ways. At the browsing field, Shukuru settled to browse with Teleki while Orwa browsed with Lemoyian. Enkikwe developed an itchy chin and used a nearby tree stump to scratch it. Barsilinga teamed up with Olsekki to feed while Laragai joined Bomani in a soil dusting exercise. It’s really dry now and the orphans kept themselves busy trying to eat enough food before mud bath time. Yatta and her group arrived earlier at the mud bath where they were joined by the orphans. Olsekki, Siangiki, Enkikwe, Bongo, Teleki, Vuria, Narok and Lemoyian headed straight for wallowing soon after drinking their milk. When the mud bath was over Shukuru, Lemoyian and Narok opted for a soil dusting exercise before going back to the browsing field. In the afternoon the sun was still hot and the orphans converged under trees to hide from the scorching sun. They resumed browsing later when the temperature dropped. In the evening Olsekki, Siangiki and Narok spent some time soil dusting exercise.

18 June 2016

All was quiet this morning when the orphans came out of their stockade, as there were no other Ex Orphans around. Some of the junior orphans like Vuria, Laragai, Kithaka, Bomani and Garzi took their pile of lucerne and moved back a distance to avoid being disturbed whilst eating. After some time, they started moving on to the bush to browse with their keepers. On the way to where they were going to browse, they met the Ex Orphans who were going to the stockade. Some orphans started to follow them back! Sunyei and Sidai were trying to attract the new babies from the nursery and convince them to come with them. The E x Orphans separated and went straight to the water to drink. Vuria, Barsilinga and Garzi were playing together while Teleki scratched on a tree. The group later walked to the mudbath for their lunch. At the mudbath, Teleki, Laragai and Garzi came in running so fast for their milk. The orphans chose not to wallow as it was not very hot, except for Bongo who is always present in the mudbath. Later, Yatta’s group came in and drank water and hung around the area. After sometime, some wild bulls came in too, who were very thirsty and drank a lot of water. Vuria started play-fighting with Garzi while Bongo was busy playing in the mudhole. A wild bull entered the mudhole and played vigorously. The orphans at that time started moving back to the bush for browsing. Back in the bush, Orwa and Vuria actively play fought whilst the three new arrivals Siangiki, Enkikwe and Olsekki browsed together. Bomani and Laragai on the other side were busy playing. Later on, Bongo and Vuria continued with their play fight. For the first time, Shukuru was actively playing with Bomani; she has never really been this active or playful and today she is! This is a really good sign of her health. Bomani then took a stick and started to scratch his neck with it. Olsekki was scooping and tossing chunks of soil in the air whilst Barsilinga was trying to interrupt him. Bomani also started playing with Lemoyian and later Laragai led the group back home in the evening. We had two wild bulls for water this evening too.

19 June 2016

It was cold this morning when the orphans came out of their stockades to feed on lucerne. They fed quietly without being disturbed by any wild elephants or Ex Orphans. Lemoyian and Laragai were separately scratching on the rocks while Garzi with Laragai play fought. The group later walked to the bush for browsing. Bongo, Laragai , Orwa and Vuria started scooping and tossing soil in the air. Bongo and Vuria later started their obvious game of play fighting while others were busy browsing. Later on, Lemoyian led the group to the mud bath for their milk. Some of them played in the mud hole vigorously despite it not being very hot weather. A group of wild bulls came in who drank water and left. Then Half Trunk with another bull walked to the mudhole and played there together with some of our orphans including Narok, Lemoyian, Bongo and Teleki. Narok, Lemoyian and Kithaka then walked straight to the dust bath and started rolling and dusting themselves. Teleki started mounting on Vuria while Orwa playing on his knees. The orphans later left back to the bush. Suguta’s group arrived slightly later at the mud bath, but they only drank water and left. Back at the stockade, we had Wendi's group with Wiva accompanied by four wild bulls and Half Trunk as well amongst them. We had also the recently independent orphans arrive with Kilaguni and Chaimu amongst them.

20 June 2016

As the orphans came out of their stockade this morning the Ex Orphans came running in for water as well. They interacted with the orphans and started playing with them as well. Ex Orphan Meibai play fought with Orwa and started climbing on him as well as a show of dominance. Laragai was busy taking care of Wendi's baby Wiva, accompanied by Narok and Garzi. Two buffaloes also walked in majestically to the stockade water trough, and drank a lot of water before leaving again. The orphans later walked away with the keepers to the bush for browsing. All the orphans were busy browsing – the temperature was slightly cooler today. Teleki started playing with Vuria in preparation for going for milk at the mudbath. At the mudbath only Suguta’s group of Ex Orphans with two buffaloes as well came to drink water. Because it was cold no one played in the mudhole. Vuria and Bomani were play fighting while Bongo and Teleki seemed to be having a conversation. Kithaka later led the group back to the bush after their lunch. Back in the bush the orphans were extra busy browsing until Barsilinga led the group back home in the evening. At the stockades today we had Olare’s herd come to drink water peacefully, and later came Mulika's group and Yatta with their babies. Finally a group of wild bulls also came in for water. Wendi's group did not make an appearance this evening.

21 June 2016

The orphans came out of their stockades and enjoyed the lucerne peacefully again this morning without being disturbed by any Ex Orphans or wild elephant. Some recently independent orphans came in later, who were accompanied by one wild bull who was so nervous of staying with young group of Ex Orphans he just drank water and left. Orwa started playing with Bongo and later with Vuria. The juniors however left to go to the bush to browse, leaving behind the Ex Orphans in the stockade compound. In the bush Lemoyian was scratching on a bent tree while Vuria played with Orwa. Barsilinga later led the group to mudbath for their milk. It was quite overcast so the orphans did not play in the mudbath, only Bongo, Vuria and Narok played in it a bit, and not very deep in the water. Narok went straight to the dust bath and started scooping and tossing soil in the air and some on her back. The group later walked to the bush for browsing. Back in the bush they were all busy browsing whilst Vuria tossed soil chunks in the air. Later, Lemoyian led the group back home. In the stockades this evening Wendi's group with her baby Wiva came in, as well as Mulika and Yatta’s herd with their babies among others. We had also two wild bulls trying to test their strength in front of the stockade compound.

22 June 2016

The orphans woke this morning and had their milk bottles before walking down to have some lucerne. Here they found Olare herd of Ex Orphans sleeping next to Shukuru's stockade; they went straight over to mingle with them and share the Lucerne. Ex Orphan Kitirua took her share and carried it to a distance away from others, and later started playing with Bomani. Orwa was playing with Vuria while Teleki was scrunching. Later the orphans left to the bush. Out in the bush Orwa was trying to mount on Vuria when playing and later Bongo rest his heavy trunk on Vuria and Orwa's back. Lemoyian started playing with Garzi and the Barsilinga led the group to mudbath. In the mudbath, it was very cold that no one played in the mudhole, they drunk water and stay for few minutes and walked back to the bush. Kithaka the naughty boy coiled his trunk and posed for a while for a photo and walked away to the bush. They were all busy browsing in the bush whilst Bongo and Vuria were scooping and tossing soil particles in the air and some on their backs, Orwa on the other side was playing with Bomani, Teleki and Garzi. Later the group walked back to the stockades for the evening. Back in the stockade, 13 wild bulls came in for a drink and with them was the bull we treated the other day for an injury caused by a poison arrow; the wound is healing and he is looking pretty strong.

23 June 2016

The orphans enjoyed their lucerne this morning without being disturbed by the Ex Orphans or wild elephants again. Orwa started scratching on the rock and later they walked out to the bush. We received some sad news from Kassala gate today when some people found an elephant carcass. We were shocked and immediately made our way to the scene where we found the dead elephant on the ground. We were very sad and cross-checked carefully to see if it was one of our Ex Orphans or a wild elephant. We confirmed that he was a wild bull of an age between 16 to 20 yrs and the cause of death was that he was shot by two poison arrows, one on his right ear and another in his back. With KWS rangers and our anti-poaching team we removed the tusks and handed them to the KWS rangers. Back in the bush our orphans were peacefully playing together. Vuria, Laragai, Bomani and Orwa were rolling on the ground. Vuria and Bongo started their usual play fight, then Narok led the group to mudbath. At the mudbath we had eight wild bulls who played vigorously in the mud together with the orphans. Kithaka was climbing on Barsilinga while Bongo and Vuria also swam deep in the water. Later on, they walked to dust bath and started dusting themselves. Garzi scooped chunks of soil and splashed some on his back; Vuria also enjoyed tossing soil in the air. Bongo was enjoyed peeling the bark from a tree branch and crushing it. In the stockade we had young Ex Orphans namely Kandecha, Kibo, Kalama, Chemi Chemi, Olare, Kitirua, Naisula, Melia, Tumaren and Murka. They came to drink water and left. We had also a small group of wild bulls who drank water and left too. All the rest of the orphans are fine and ok.

24 June 2016

Whilst the orphans were busy feasting on Lucerne, 12 wild bulls came in to drink from the water trough before they left back into the bush. Orwa started playing by scooping a big bunch of lucerne and waving it in the air before putting it in his mouth. He also played with Vuria and finally Narok. Enkikwe was busy scratching his trunk and left fore-foot. Tomboi the Ex Orphan later came in to have some water and join the orphans in eating lucerne. The reason we had seen him limping a few days ago was due to an abscess and this has turned into a wound. The wound is healing okay but he still sprays dust on it to help this process and perhaps cool it down too. Orwa started climbing on Siangiki whilst Garzi rolled in the dust. Later the group walked to the bush to browse again. They were very busy the whole day in the bush and it was quite a hot day today. When the orphans came to mudbath in groups of three for their milk, there was also 7wild bulls present with one female and two young teenagers of age about 6 years. They drank water and stayed around. Because of the hot weather, our orphans played fully in the mudbath with Vuria, Bongo, Laragai, Narok, Barsilinga and Lemoyian showing their happiness by swimming very vigorously. The same group later walked to the dust bath with Bongo and Teleki walking straight away to the wild bulls at the water trough to communicate with them .Bongo stayed with them for some time after Teleki decided to leave; their friend Vuria still actively played in the mudbath. The group later walked back to the bush. A few minutes later, Suguta’s group came in with Suguta's back left foot tied tightly with a wire snare. We instantly struggled to un-tie before she went into the mud bath and we managed to free her of the dreadful thing. We were very shocked but happy that she is now a free girl. Thankfully it was not around her foot long enough to injure her either, so she is very lucky! When the orphans walked back to the bush they were busy until Olsekki led the group back home in the evening. In the stockade compound today we had Half Trunk with two other wild bulls. They drank water and left. Suguta’s group of six including herself, Mutara, Sities, Turkwel, Kainuk and Kanjoro came in too and they drank water and stayed around for some time.

25 June 2016

It was a cold and quiet morning today with orphan elephants walking down slowly to the lucerne field and meeting their wild counterparts as there were 17 wild elephants there too, with Half Trunk among them. The orphans later walked to the bush, leaving the wild bulls behind still drinking at the water trough. Orwa with Vuria were play fighting while the others browsing. Later they started walking slowly towards mudbath. There we had a group of wild bulls with Suguta's group of Ex Orphans too. The wild bull who we had treated for a snare injury (Limpy) was also there and still appears to be healing well. Our orphans such as Bongo, Laragai, Vuria, Teleki, Narok, Siangiki, Olsekki, Enkikwe and Garzi played in the mudhole as a group. Vuria was the most playful elephant of the day today. He played vigorously and later followed his group after they had left back to the bush. The wild bulls drank water and stayed cool by the mud bath. Later in the evening the orphans were led by Kithaka to go back home for milk in the evening. We also had a group of wild bulls in the stockade with Mulika and Mwende, Zurura, Kilaguni, Chaimu, Makireti, Kasigau and Kilabasi. They came in to drink water and stayed around for some time.

26 June 2016

It was a chilly morning as the orphans strolled nonchalantly out from their stockade. Six bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough as Narok led the orphans to eat some lucerne. Kithaka spent some time scratching his buttocks on a nearby rock while Laragai performed a lone game of rolling on the ground. After the orphans were through with lucerne, Lemoyian led the way to the water trough where the orphans drank enough water before leaving to browse. In the browsing field, the orphans concentrated on feeding right up to eleven o'clock when Barsilinga led the way to the mud bath. Half Trunk with three of his friends were busy drinking water when the orphans arrived at mud bath. The orphans first drank their milk before walking to join the wild bulls to drink water too. Lemoyian stood some distance away bellowed loudly to complain about something no one could explain. Narok rushed to the scene immediately to find out what was happening. Narok put her trunk in Lemoyian’s mouth and later on his back to try and comfort him. Lemoyian calmed down then walked to join his friends who were drinking water. As soon as they had all had enough, Shukuru led the way back to the browsing field. Due to the current drought, the orphans didn't waste time in funny games but concentrated on browsing to make sure that they had enough vegetation before returning back to the stockades. The dry vegetation forced Enkikwe to go down on his knees to get the grass that he really liked which a tree had fallen onto. When it proved too difficult to access it, Enkikwe tried to push the tree away and finally he succeeded. Vuria tried to climb on Bongo when Bongo passed close to him, but Bongo disengaged himself from Vuria and walked away. In the evening, Bongo took a break from feeding to soil dust himself and thereafter resumed browsing.

27 June 2016

The stockade compound was flooded by the senior Ex Orphans and several wild bulls early in the morning. When the juniors were let out they joined the Ex Orphans and settled for lucerne together. It was everybody for him and herself as the herd scrambled for lucerne. The seniors took large piles of Lucerne with their trunks leaving the juniors with the smallest share. Wiva tried to get some lucerne from her mum but amazingly enough Wendi denied her openly. Wiva comforted herself by clinging to her mum’s milk before Laragai came with her small pile of lucerne and offered Wiva to share. Wiva felt happy and stopped nursing so as to share the lucerne with Laragai. After feeding on lucerne Laragai engaged Mwende in a pushing game while Kibo played with Narok. Kitirua settled close to Siangiki and Enkikwe while Teleki tested his strength against Lenana. Kithaka, Lemoyian and Ololoo spent awhile scratching on the nearby rocks. Later, Enkikwe, Bomani, Laragai and Olsekki all wanted to play with Wiva. Wiva, in a playful mood, turned and pushed Bomani and then Enkikwe before running away. Makena entwined her trunk with Narok in morning greetings while Teleki moved to challenge Challa and later Mwende. Ololoo attempted to mount on Orwa, which angered him. Orwa disengaged himself from Ololoo and turned to defend himself. A battle ensued that lasted for sometime before Makena intervened and separated the two boys. Noticeable among the herd was Rapsu, who had been missing for quite a long time, and Teleki spent some time learning new pushing tactics from him. Teleki later walked over to Kenze and enjoyed a pushing game. The dependent orphans parted ways with the Ex Orphans and headed east, while the Ex Orphans headed west of the stockade. It was quiet in the bush as the orphans concentrated on browsing. At mud bath time, the juniors were joined by Mutara’s group and twenty wild bulls. Kanjoro had pushing game with Narok that ended quite quickly when Narok surrendered. Noticeable at mud bath was a one tusker (a wild bull with one tusk) who we also had seen for quite some time. Teleki played with Vuria as he stood at the edge of mud bath while Vuria was in the mud. Barsilinga, Kithaka, Narok and Shukuru participated in a soil dusting exercise soon after mud bathing. Later, Mutara’s group teamed up with the orphans and headed north of the mud bath while the wild bulls headed towards Imenti area. The temperature was moderate and the orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day.

28 June 2016

It was a quiet and a peaceful morning as the orphans left the stockade and settled for lucerne without disturbance from an outsider. Only Tomboi joined them briefly for lucerne and water before heading out again. The orphans settled to browse in Kanziku area. Barsilinga settled to browse close to Lemoyian and from time to time took some grass from Lemoyian’s mouth. Lemoyian wasn't happy about this and so moved away to avoid any conflict with Barsilinga. He settled to browse close to Orwa instead, knowing that if Barsilinga followed him and started misbehaving, Orwa would handle the situation. At mud bath time, the juniors were joined by eight wild bulls, Olare’s group and Murata’s group as well. It was a peaceful interaction as the wild bulls participated in wallowing with the juniors and later shared water without any problem. Only Bomani, Kithaka, Orwa, Barsilinga and Garzi boycotted the wallowing exercise. Bomani spend some time in a strength testing exercise with Kandecha but quit when the going got tough. Melia played with Vuria and their game ended soon when Vuria surrendered. Later Vuria and Chemi Chemi had a lengthy pushing game while still in the water. After mud bath, Olare and Mutara’s groups joined the orphans for afternoon. In the evening Shukuru, Vuria, Barsilinga and Laragai spent some time in a soil dusting exercise. Shortly before six o'clock in the evening Yatta and Mulika’s groups passed by the stockade where they drank water before leaving again.

29 June 2016

Makireti, Kilabasi, Kasigau, Chaimu and Kilaguni in the company of six wild bulls arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn. Makireti and her group decided to lie down and take a nap whilst waiting for water and lucerne, and the wild elephants surrounded the water trough and waited patiently for the water to be turned on. At six o'clock in the morning, the orphans were let out soon after drinking their milk. Chaimu stood at the entrance and welcomed the juniors out by entwining her trunk with them; the first one was Narok. Shortly later, the juniors and Makireti’s group settled for lucerne. After feeding Narok played with Chaimu while Kasigau played with Kilaguni. Orwa engaged Makireti in a pushing game but soon lost and went to play with Bomani. Their game was short-lived as Kasigau walked over to them and pushed both of them away to engage Bomani in a pushing game. Bomani surrendered making Kasigau go and look for someone else to play with and lucky enough, Teleki was willing and they had a lengthy pushing game. As the orphans were preparing to leave for browsing, Yatta and mulika’s groups reported to the stockade compound. Kasigau, Kilabasi, Laragai and Narok surrounded Wiva all trying to say hello, which really made Wiva feel special. Wiva charged and moved in different directions with all these nannies in hot pursuit. Two wild dogs showed up for water and there was a lot of drama when Zurura spotted them. Zurura charged and ran towards them. The wild dogs scattered making it difficult for Zurura to get them. Zurura rumbled and trumpeted to ask for reinforcement from his friends. Within no time there was an overwhelming response as Loijuk led the response team to chase the wild dogs away. The wild dogs accepted defeat and disappeared bringing the drama to an end. The orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. The day was a hot one and the orphans browsed under trees as they looked forward to attend their lovely mud bath when the temperatures are high. Bongo engaged Vuria in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Shortly before mud bath time, the juniors were joined by Olare and her group. Six wild bulls were also in attendance, one of them having received treatment from our mobile vet a month ago, and he was doing fine. Soon after mud bath Teleki engaged Kalama in a pushing game while Olsekki had a new style of soil dusting - he knelt down and started throwing dust on himself. In the afternoon, the temperatures were still high and the orphans browsed calmly while flapping their ears and in the evening Barsilinga spent some time soil dusting.

30 June 2016

The juniors were welcomed outside the stockade by Mutara and her group that had arrived at the stockade compound before dawn. Siangiki started her day with a soil dusting exercise while Enkikwe had a slight pushing game with Kainuk. Lemoyian tackled Bomani as Narok played with Bongo. At the browsing field, Bongo played with Vuria as Teleki engaged Kanjoro in a pushing game. At mud bath time the juniors were joined by five wild bulls one of had an arrow wound to the left side of its belly. The area was swollen and it appeared as if the arrow head was still in the wound. In the afternoon the orphans spent all their time browsing and filling their bellies with greenery. In the evening, before heading back to the stockades for the night, Barsilinga took a break from browsing to have a soil dusting exercise as Lemoyian teamed up with Laragai for a final bit of browsing.