We often say that the orphans are dictated by their ‘tummy clock’ — no matter what, they always start making their way to the mud bath, just in time for their midday milk feed. When food is at stake, they are remarkably accurate timekeepers!
Some wild elephants and ex-orphans came to share lucerne with dependent orphans this morning. Ex-orphan Melia and her baby Milo were among them. When the dependent orphans decided it was time to leave for the bush, they left the older elephants behind finishing up the lucerne.
While their friends browsed, Bondeni, Dololo and Sattao grouped together and looked as though they were having their own private conversation, heads bowed towards each other. As the orphans responded to their ‘tummy clock’, they started to browse while making their way slowly towards the mud bath for the midday milk feed. When they arrived they found some wild bulls already wallowing in the mud bath. When he finished his milk bottles, Esoit decided to join the bulls to cool off in the water. After he came out to join his friends who were enjoying a soil dust bath. Mutara and her baby Mambo came to join the babies and joined in the dusting session on the loose soil. Mutara scooped up a huge amount of soil in her big trunk and threw it in the air and on her back, as some of the smaller orphans watched on with admiration.
Back out in the bush, Olorien was being very affectionate with Larro, while Bondeni used his trunk to explore Kinyei's ear which was quite funny to watch. Esoit and Larro then decided to browse together from the same bush quite contentedly. Later, Lodo and Olorien led the group back home to the stockades in the evening.
It was a quieter morning today in terms of how many wild elephants and ex-orphans chose to visit, but there were still some around. Lualeni and her two babies Lulu and Lexi were among some of the wild elephants who arrived to share lucerne with the dependent orphans.
Later in the morning, Kindani, Bondeni, Kinyei and Suguroi had their own private conversation and browsing session away from the rest of the group. Mutara and her herd came to join the orphans at one stage, and the Keepers made sure to keep a close eye on Narok! When it was time, they all walked together as one group towards the mud bath; it seemed Mutara’s herd felt like cooling off at the same time the dependent orphans would have their milk feed.
As usual there were some wild bulls drinking and wallowing at the mud bath while the orphans were there. Some enjoyed wallowing as Sities watched them from the edge of the water. The orphans then walked over to where the loose soil is piled for a dust bath, accompanied by Mutara, Mambo and Narok. Mambo became very playful and started charging about on the dust pile. Mutara, Mambo and Kainuk then decided to go back to the mud bath for another, quieter, wallowing session! Kainuk was being an excellent nanny for Mambo and kept close watch over him. Challa was present too and quietly wallowing in the mud bath.
The orphans looked very active and busy browsing this afternoon, as if they all wanted to concentrate on feeding and not messing about. Roho, Sagateisa, Naboishu and Naleku chose to browse together as their own little group, and later Naleku led the herd home for the night. They all walked in a line looking quite tired and ready to reach their stockades after a long afternoon of browsing.
In the evening we had large groups of ex-orphans and wild elephants arriving at different times to drink water.
The orphans guzzled down their milk bottles on this beautiful morning before coming out to have their lucerne breakfast. Some ex-orphans arrived to share lucerne with them too. Sunyei and her baby Saba were present, and Saba was running around with the orphans trying to play pushing games. Eventually the two-year-old settled to play with Suguroi, before following her mother back out to the bush. Kinna’s herd then arrived; they came running in for water and were clearly very thirsty, before settling to have some lucerne as well. The dependent orphans decided it was time to browse and walked out to the bush in the direction Sunyei had taken.
All the orphans quietly concentrated on browsing this morning, with even the bulls in the herd taking a break from their wrestling matches to concentrate on feeding. We kept watching Bondeni and Esoit to see if they would give into their usual wrestling match, but the two young bulls looked very intent on filling their tummies.
While at the mud bath most of the orphans decided to wallow after having their milk bottles. Lodo and Esoit managed to get themselves into a bit of trouble when they decided to walk through the area where the mud was thick and deep. They got stuck but after struggling for a bit they managed to free themselves. Jotto, Dololo, Ambo and Kuishi thoughtfully came back to rescue their two friends, but by the time they reached them, they were already free. They all walked together to join their friends who were showering themselves with loose soil. Some wild bulls arrived and drank water from the trough.
In the afternoon the orphans looked very busy browsing and didn’t really play many games. They browsed right up until it was time to return home.
It was an interesting morning for the dependent orphans, as a huge herd of wild elephants and ex-orphans joined them at the stockade compound. Most of the ex-orphans with babies were present, which was a wonderful sight. This included Kinna with Kama and Kaia; Wendi with Wiva, Wema, and Wimbi; Yatta with Yoyo and Yogi, Galana with Gawa; Sunyei with Siku and Saba; Naserian with Njema; Lualeni with Lulu and Lexi; Loijuk with Lili; Lenana with Lapa; and finally Nasalot with Nusu and Noah. All the orphans, wild and dependent, interacted nicely together. The wild babies especially enjoy sizing up their age-mates in the dependent herd.
Out in the bush Bondeni started his usual playfight with Esoit while the rest of the orphans concentrated on browsing. Kinyei and Kindani slowly started to face in the direction of the mud bath and this alerted the rest of the herd that it was time for their noon milk feed. Led by Kinyei and Kindani they all slowly made their way to the mud bath.
One wild bull arrived to have some water while the orphans had their milk feed and a short dust bath. He cut a lonely figure next to all the orphans! Larro started to walk slowly back out to the bush to continue feeding and the rest of the herd followed soon after. Mukkoka was the last one to leave the mud bath area as he was enjoying a dust bath.
It was a hot and dry afternoon and the orphans concentrated on browsing. At one stage they bumped into some of the ex-orphans as well, who were with some wild elephants. Eventually, the ex-orphans moved on and the dependent orphans slowly started to make their way back to the stockades for the night, led by Kuishi and Larro.
There were a lot of ex-orphans and wild elephants outside the stockade compound again this morning. They are all coming for fresh water from the water trough as well as to share some of the lucerne the Keepers put out for the dependent orphans. While the dependent orphans were enjoying their breakfast milk bottles, the ex-orphans anxiously waited for them to come out, for they knew that when they did, the Keepers would start distributing the bales of lucerne. The area was so full of impatient elephants it was hard to even spread out the lucerne! In the end at least all the elephants got their share and for a while it seemed very peaceful as all the elephants looked content.
It is very dry now as we await the rains, which will hopefully arrive in November. Fortunately, there are still some areas with enough food to browse around Ithumba. Mukkoka stretched his trunk high into the branches above to reach some tasty leaves, while Bondeni and Esoit were busy browsing together as friends. Roho browsed by himself off to the side. Suguroi chose to browse next to nurturing Larro. When it was time, Larro led the way to the mud bath, followed by Suguroi, Lodo and Sagateisa.
Roho led a big wallowing party into the mud bath when he was done with his milk feed. Later, as he dried off on the loose soil, he decided to climb on Kinyei who was also soil dusting. Naserian and her baby Njema came in to say hello briefly, before walking away again.
This afternoon the dependent orphans passed by Lualeni with her two babies Lexi and Lulu who were heading towards the stockade compound as well. When the orphans arrived home they found a lot of elephants outside the compound drinking water.
Galana and Gawa were among the ex-orphans who visited the dependent orphans this morning. Gawa was sharing from the same pile of lucerne as her mother when there seemed to be a commotion in the lucerne feeding area. The dependent orphans thought it was getting too busy, so they started to make their way out to browse in the bush instead.
Out in the bush, Roho decided to start a playfight with Naboishu, while Kinyei played with Olorien. Naleku looked as if she wanted to join in with Olorien and Kinyei, but then thought better of it and walked to find a nice shrub to feed on. While some were playing, others decided to concentrate on browsing and filling their tummies!
While the orphans were at the mud bath, some wild bulls filtered in and out to have some fresh water. Naserian and Naisula with their babies Njema and Nyx were busy playing in the water. The orphans just had a dust bath and went back to the bush to continue browsing, without having a mud bath. Just as the orphans were leaving the mud bath, Loijuk arrived with her baby Lili to have a quick wallow before following the dependent orphans for a while.
Later in the afternoon it was really hot and some of the orphans sought some respite from the heat by taking shelter under some trees.
Once again, the stockade compound was full of elephants. The dependent babies had their milk bottles and joined the ex-orphans and wild elephants waiting outside. The water bowser arrived and it didn’t even have a chance to park properly before the elephants surrounded it, as they knew that it was bringing fresh water to the troughs. The dependent orphans and ex-orphans interacted for a while in the lucerne feeding area until the dependent orphans decided it was time to head out for the day. It was fun to watch the three wild-born babies Mambo, Nyx and Wimbi playing with some of the orphans like Roho, Bondeni and Olorien, while their mothers Mutara, Melia and Wendi were busy feeding on lucerne.
Kinyei was observed being very affectionate to Lodo while browsing. Esoit and Kuishi browsed together as well. Kuishi is always taking good care of Esoit and we think that’s because of his slightly lame leg.
As soon as they arrived at the mud bath, after having their milk feed, the orphans walked straight up to some wild bulls who were having water at the trough. The bulls were very patient and happy to share water with the youngsters. When they were done they walked out to the bush to continue browsing, leaving behind Bondeni with the big boys. Bondeni has always been on the small side and he looked even smaller now next to the huge wild bulls! What he lacks in size he makes up for in courage however, and he was quite content to stay drinking alone next to the wild bulls until he had his fill, evidently not in a hurry at all. When he was done, he slowly walked to catch up with his friends.
Some of the orphans took time to relax in the shade of some trees this afternoon as it was very hot. When they arrived back at the stockade compound this afternoon they found only a few wild bulls and no ex-orphans. We haven’t seen Ngasha recently but we are still searching around to see if we can see him.
It was a cloudy morning today, but as usual, we had a few ex-orphans and wild elephants at the stockade compound. The orphans did manage to enjoy their lucerne peacefully however without any interference from the older elephants, as there were only a few ex-orphans around.
It is very dry at the moment so the orphans concentrated on looking for food. Kuishi has been looking after little Esoit since he arrived from the Nursery and although he is very capable, she likes looking after him more than any of the other babies. She's always with him out in the bush and likes browsing with him. Slowly the orphans started to walk in the direction of the mud bath as they knew it was time for their midday feed.
There were some huge wild bulls who had come for fresh water but they were very friendly and happily shared water with the orphans without disturbing them. Esoit, Bondeni, Naboishu and Lodo all looked up to these huge bulls that they were not used to seeing at the Nairobi Nursery! None of the orphans could be bothered to wallow today as it wasn’t too hot, so when they were done drinking they slowly drifted off into the bush to continue browsing while the Keepers had their lunch.
Everyone was quite active this afternoon, perhaps as a result of the cooler weather. A number of orphans chose to play; Ambo and Naboishu were busy engaged in a wrestling match and Esoit and Bondeni took the opportunity to have their second pushing game today. Olorien was rolling around on the ground and the Keepers thought she resembled a little frog while she did her exercises! Later the orphans started walking back home for their evening milk bottles and to safely go to sleep for the night.
Kinna, Nasalot, Lualeni and Sunyei’s families joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. After having their fill and playing with their wild friends for a while, Roho, Sagateisa and Kindani led the way out to the bush. On the way, the three orphans in the lead got distracted by some loose soil that they used to have a soil dusting exercise.
Out in the bush, Esoit engaged Bondeni in their usual strength testing exercise. When the going got tough, Bondeni surrendered and went off with his oldest friends Kinyei and Kindani. Larro settled to play with Lodo while Olorien played with Suguroi. Slightly later the orphans were joined by Tusuja, Sapalan, and Enkikwe, who are now living wild. Jotto teamed up with Kuishi and Esoit to browse. Later, Roho and Naboishu had a disagreement over a branch they came across at the same time. This resulted in a fight that went on for quite some time, and while the two were battling it out, opportunistic Lodo passed by and picked up the tasty branch for himself! By fighting, Roho and Naboishu ended up losing the prize, and they felt a little foolish when they realised.
Ambo led the first group for the midday milk feed, followed by Musiara. It was very hot and as soon as the orphans had their milk, Sagateisa led the herd for a mud wallow. After splashing about and enjoying larking around in the water, Naleku led everyone out again. Sagateisa remained in the water the longest, and later joined a few wild bulls heading to drink water at the mud bath water trough. She is such an independent young girl.
The orphans dried off on the loose soil before being led back out to browse by Dololo. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly for the rest of the day.
Orwa, Bomani, Olsekki, Sana Sana, Malkia and Enkikwe spent the night just outside the stockade compound and joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne. Kenze, Kalama, Chyulu, Cheka, Melia and Milo showed up a bit later. A wild bull arrived and we were surprised to see that he only had a quarter of his tail. He was a new bull to us, and he walked up to where the orphans were enjoying their lucerne to learn more and see what was going on. He didn't taste the lucerne but left after a few minutes after he had completed his investigation.
Milo ran into trouble with Naboishu when he bumped him from behind. Naboishu turned and pushed Milo as punishment for disrespecting him. Milo ran to report Naboishu to his mother, but Melia didn't react as she understood that her son can be a rascal sometimes! Kinyei, Bondeni and Kidani walked away off to the side from where their friends were enjoying eating, and started a game of rolling on the ground.
Later in the morning, Bondeni came across a rock that he used to scratch his belly on. When he was done he spotted Esoit who he decided to tackle. Esoit was ready for him though, and the two boys had a pushing game that lasted for quite some time, before Esoit’s guardian Kuishi intervened and separated them.
At mud bath time it was very hot, but only Roho, Sagateisa, Naboishu, Naleku, Lodo, Suguroi and Mukkoka decided to fully wallow in the water. The rest just waded through the shallow end. After having some fresh water and playing for a bit in the red soil, Kinyei, Kindani and Bondeni led the way back out to browse. The heat continued into the afternoon and at one stage the orphans had to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree until it was cooler. In the evening, Olorien led the first group back to the stockades, while Kindani led the second one.
Sapalan and Enkikwe spent the night just outside the stockades and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. Later, Orwa, Kibo, Kanjoro, Mutara’s herd and Mambo, Barsilinga and three wild bulls arrived. Kinyei and Larro walked down and joined two wild bulls briefly to have some water. When the orphans had enough lucerne, Kindani led the way out to the bush. Kuishi lagged behind to spend time with Mutara’s herd, before leaving to run and catch up with her friends. When she caught up she found Esoit waiting for her. Perhaps poor Esoit thought that Kuishi had abandoned him to join the ex-orphans. It doesn’t seem like Kuishi is going anywhere anytime soon though as she is far too besotted with Esoit!
Olorien teamed up with Lodo to browse while Roho engaged Naboishu in a strength testing exercise. Sagateisa came across a bent tree that she used to scratch her belly. At mud bath time, Suguroi led the first group for their milk feed and Kindani led the second one. It was a hot day and all the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath after having their milk. When they came out they went to dry off on the loose soil and had fun rolling about there and throwing soil in the air with their trunks.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. It was still very hot and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under some trees until it became cooler. Eventually they continued browsing without any major distractions, as they wanted to fill their tummies before heading home. In the evening, Orok, Tomboi and Kasigau were among the wild bulls that came for water.
Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Enkikwe, Mutara, Mambo, Kainuk, Chaimu, Suguta, Turkwel, Ithumbah, Iman and Queen's family joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. The wild babies were very busy being social with the dependent orphans. Naleku had a brief chat with one of the babies in the wild elephant Queen’s family. Yoyo had a disagreement with Kuishi that resulted in a fight. It has been a while since we have seen Yatta’s oldest daughter Yetu. We presume that she is with Mwende, who is a similar age to her. The last time Mwende was around she was pregnant, so perhaps Yetu is with her. Since she is in the company of her mother as well, our ex-orphan Mulika, we are sure all is well. After feeding on lucerne, Kindani led the orphans out to the bush.
Dololo decided to remain behind with Mutara’s herd. He used to be the absolute favourite with this herd, before Mutara had her baby Mambo, and they always used to try and kidnap him to spend time with him! Suguta was always particularly fond of Dololo, and she patted him in an affectionate way, but the truth is they had to devote all their time to being excellent nannies to Mambo. Perhaps she was hoping Dololo might join them so they could have two little boys to look after! Kanjoro, who used to be with Mutara’s herd as well and the only bull in the group, left them some time back to spend more time with wild bulls, as they do. When he was ready, Dololo left Mutara’s herd near the compound to find his friends.
The orphans had a quiet morning as they concentrated on browsing up to around eleven o'clock when it was time for the midday milk feed. The orphans had their milk then participated in wallowing before winding up the mud bath activities with a soil dusting session. In the afternoon, the orphans were joined briefly by Kinna, Kaia, Kama, Nasalot, Noah, Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Loijuk and Lili. The two groups parted ways later. In the evening, on the way back to the stockade, the orphans passed by the small roadside mud bath where they cooled off before heading home.
Kauro and Rapa were outside the stockade compound when the dependent orphans came out this morning. Six wild bulls were busy drinking water. The two boys joined the orphans for lucerne. Loijuk, Lili, Wanjala, Kauro, Ndiwa, Neshashi, Malkia, Chyulu, Cheka, Tumaren and Ndiwa joined later. After the orphans had enough lucerne, Mukkoka led the herd away to begin their day out in the bush.
Rapa and Kauro decided to follow the orphans. Rapa had a brief strength testing exercise with Lodo before leaving with Kauro. Suguroi rolled on the ground quite content in her own company, while Bondeni played with Naboishu. Olorien and Sagateisa settled for a soil dusting game while Larro teamed up with Kuishi to browse. The rest of the morning was quiet.
At eleven o'clock in morning Kindani led the first group for their noon milk feed while Naleku led the second group. Ndiwa escorted the last group to the mud bath. The weather was chilly and none of the orphans felt like wallowing. They had some water and a short soil dusting session before going back to browsing to the west of Ithumba Hill. Kindani teamed up with Suguroi in browsing as Esoit engaged Bondeni in a pushing game. It was very late in the day for them to have their wrestling match, which they normally do first thing in the morning! It was Lodo who led the first group back to the stockades in the evening and everyone was happy to follow him.
Kindani left the stockade in the morning with a branch in her mouth. She met with Larro on her way out and Larro took the branch from her! Kindani didn't resist or complain because Larro is older than her and she knew there would be consequences if she tried to fight back. Being the placid girl she is, Kindani just gave in and headed straight to the water trough where she was joined by her friends Kinyei and Bondeni. The three inseparable friends shared water as Kindani sought comfort from her friends.
Musiara teamed up with Dololo to browse this morning while Esoit settled to browse with Kinyei. Bondeni practised how to peel the bark from trees using his tusks, while Naboishu and Roho took a break from browsing and rolled around having fun on the ground. At mud bath time, almost all the ex-orphans were present and interacted with the dependent orphans for about half an hour. It was quite cool so the orphans didn’t spend much time at the mud bath, as it was ideal browsing weather. Olorien led the way back to the bush. The afternoon was quiet as everyone browed calmly and heartily for the rest of the day.
Melia and Milo were outside when the orphans came out this morning. The Keepers put out some lucerne pellets and shortly later Zurura with two wild bulls arrived too. The little rascal Milo tried to engage Sagateisa in a pushing game but Sagateisa wasn’t interested, and continued feeding on pellets as Milo continued to push her from behind. Naleku passed by and Milo changed his mind and turned to play with Naleku, as he wasn’t getting very far with Sagateisa. Naleku was ready for Milo's games and played with the little bull for some time, until Milo grew tired and went to nurse from his mother. When the pellets were finished Kindani led her friends out for the day.
Esoit teamed up with his favourite Kuishi as all the orphans browsed quietly throughout the morning.
Later in the morning at the mud bath, the orphans were joined by Mutara’s herd, Kinna, Kaia, Kama, Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Challa, Olare, Lenana, Lapa, Malima, Oltaiyoni, Enkikwe, Sapalan, Siangiki, Namalok, Olsekki, Barsilinga, Neshashi and Ndiwa. The orphans had their milk then walked to have a mud bath. It was quite sweet to watch Kama saunter over and join the dependent orphans while they were swimming. Roho had a strength testing with Naboishu while still in the water and they had a lot of fun sparring. Later, Kama pushed Roho aside so that she could challenge Naboishu too. Their game ended in a draw. Meanwhile Olorien had some kind of disagreement with Lapa that resulted in a fight. Suguroi, who was passing by, assisted Olorien in fighting Lapa. Lapa couldn't withstand the strength of two girls and so surrendered and walked away.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where they were joined by Mutara’s herd again. An hour later, Mutara’s group walked off, but in doing so they kidnapped Naleku, Sagateisa, Suguroi, Roho, Olorien, Naboishu and Dololo at the same time! It took the Keepers three hours to locate the kidnapped babies and led by Naleku, the orphans were frog-marched back to the safety of the stockades for the night.
Early before dawn lions were heard roaring near Kone dam, which might be the reason why the stockade compound was deserted this morning. Only four bulls were present. The orphans had their milk bottles and came out of their night stockades. One wild bull walked up to join them feeding on lucerne pellets for a while. When they were done the orphans headed east of the compound, to avoid any possible encounter with the lions heard earlier.
It was a quiet morning as they manoeuvred their way through the hills north of the stockade while feeding. It was Olorien who signalled that it was time for the noon milk feed and started to lead the herd towards the mud bath. Only Roho, Lodo and Kindani decided to wallow in the waterhole after having their bottles. These are the current water babies in the herd who always love to swim! They later went to dry off on the loose soil as the rest of their friends settled to drink water, where several wild bulls joined them. After the orphans had enough water, a friendly and obliging wild bull volunteered to escort the youngsters back out to the bush. He wasn’t that sure about the Keepers, however, so he decided to part with the orphans after a short while.
In the afternoon while the orphans browsed, Kinyei came across a bent tree that she used to scratch her neck. In the evening, Naleku led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Kithaka, Barsilinga and Olsekki, who arrived late at night and slept outside the compound, probably due to fear of the lions in the area at the moment, joined the dependent babies for their lucerne breakfast. Shortly later more ex-orphans reported. Zurura and Buchuma were among them.
Larro led the way out to the bush and the orphans settled to browse north of the stockades. They all scattered out, each trying to find enough browse to eat.
At mud bath time the orphans were joined by Vuria, Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Nasalot, Noah, Chyulu, Cheka, Loijuk, Lili, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Narok, Mundusi, Nabulu, Mteto, Malima, Oltaiyoni, Teleki, Barsilinga, Karisa, Namalok, Makena, Kitirua, Maramoja, Sana Sana, Malkia and several wild bulls. After having their milk, the dependent orphans joined some of the ex-orphans already mud bathing. Kinyei, Narok, Kama and Kitirua were the last ones out of the water. While his friends started to walk out to the bush, Ambo refused to join them, and instead insisted on staying with the group of ex-orphans. It was only later in the evening that he was escorted back to the stockades by his wild-living friends. Meanwhile, the rest of the herd spent their afternoon west of the hill. It was very hot and for a while they had to browse in the shade until it was cooler and they could come out into the open again. Roho browsed with Kuishi, as Esoit and Bondeni engaged in their usual wrestling match!
The area was calm in the morning as we heard no roaring lions in the night like the past two days. Several wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs as the orphans came out of their night stockades. Shortly later, the ex-orphans showed up and joined the orphans. Bondeni found a suitable rock that he used to scratch his rear end on. Kinyei warmed up her sleepy limbs by having a pushing game with Lodo. Lapa was there with his mother, Lenana. This funny wild baby seems to have an ongoing feud with our Olorien, and this morning was no different. He walked over to Olorien and pushed her from behind, but Olorien decided not to retaliate today, and just walked away. After having enough lucerne, Jotto led his friends out to the bush where they settled to browse in the Kanziku area.
Dololo, Ambo and Sattao split from the main herd and headed north. It was another hot day and once again Olorien led the way to the mud bath. She is a good time keeper for the dependent herd! All the orphans had their milk and then Naleku led the team into the mud bath to cool off. After wallowing, Suguroi led the way to the loose soil so everyone could dry off.
While browsing in the afternoon, Naboishu, Larro and Sagateisa separated from their friends and disappeared into the bush, but the Keepers were quick to track them down before they got too far! All three were safely brought back to join the herd. Roho led the way back to the stockades for the night.
The orphans settled for lucerne in the morning soon after leaving their stockades. Ex-orphans Chyulu, Cheka, Rapsu, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Yatta, Yogi and Yoyo arrived to join the orphans. They all fed peacefully together and an hour later, the dependent herd withdrew from the ex-orphans and headed east to begin their day of browsing.
Bondeni and Esoit started their day in the usual way — with their perfunctory warm-up exercise and sparring match. Kuishi passed by and decided to collect her favourite little friend Esoit, which brought an end to the two bulls’ pushing games! Musiara came across a nice tree that he used to scratch an itchy ear. The orphans generally had a quiet morning and browsed calmly as they slowly made their way to the mud bath for their next milk feed.
It was becoming a very hot day and eventually Suguroi led the first group to the mud bath. All the orphans quickly finished their milk bottles so they could jump into the cool water. When they were done, Sagateisa was the first one in and the rest of her friends soon followed. They had such fun splashing and rolling about. Only Bondeni, Jotto and Ambo decided not to get into the mud bath. After the orphans had enough of wallowing, Kindani led her friends for a soil dusting exercise. While the rest of his friends started to make their way away from the mud bath, Ambo lagged behind with the wild bulls beside the water trough. After interacting with them politely for a bit, he rejoined his friends.
The heat continued into the afternoon and the orphans decided to take a break from browsing to relax under some trees.
It was a clear morning and we knew it was going to be another hot day ahead. Kaia was sleeping just outside the compound, with her mother Kinna and older sister Kama watching over her. As soon as Kaia heard the orphans coming out she woke up and joined them to wait for lucerne from the Keepers. Sagateisa led everyone out to the bush today, when they were ready. Larro and Kuishi escorted their friend Esoit. As they walked along, Kuishi pushed Larro aside; she wanted to have Esoit all to herself!
The orphans settled to browse north of the stockade compound. Olorien, Roho, Sattao and Kindani came across some loose soil which they had fun playing with and throwing on their bodies. Bondeni had his usual pushing game with Esoit, as Jotto settled to browse with Mukkoka. Later, Kindani came across a small anthill and had fun rolling and sliding against it. Naleku concentrated on peeling bark from some trees using her small tusks.
Soon after finishing their noon milk feed the orphans decided to get into the mud bath to cool down. A wild bull, who appeared a bit aggressive, joined the orphans while they were wallowing, but the orphans were a bit uncomfortable with that. Suguroi led the herd out of the water and away from the wild bull, to keep the Keepers safe as well. Esoit headed for a soil dusting exercise but unfortunately he decided to lie down on the wrong side, the right side with the stiff leg. Kuishi and Larro realised the mistake Esoit had made and stood by his side. Kuishi tried to help him up but she couldn't manage. After struggling to get up for a bit, Esoit managed to turn himself to a sitting position and from there it was easy for him to get up. Once he was up on his feet, Kuishi led him away, and looked as though she was talking to him about how to be more careful when playing around! Kilaguni, Challa and Buchuma graced the mud bath session and later Kilaguni escorted the dependent orphans back out to browse.
Musiara chose to feed with Ambo for most of the afternoon. In the evening the orphans returned safely back to the stockade for the night.
Sunyei, Saba, Siku, Loijuk, Lili, Enkikwe, Mteto, Naisula, Nyx, Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Kauro and Rapa joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning as it is very dry and they would like all the extra food they can get at the moment! Sagateisa had a disagreement with Lili that resulted in a fight. Loijuk, who was nearby, separated the two girls. It was Suguroi who took the lead out to the bush today, and led her friends east. Fourteen wild dogs passed by which drew the attention of the orphans. Mukkoka, Dololo, Ambo and Roho started charging and trumpeting in an effort to scare them away. The wild dogs disappeared as fast as they could! The orphans calmed down and resumed browsing. Musiara came across a nice rock that he used to scratch his belly on. Esoit engaged Bondeni in their usual strength testing game, which was cut short by Kinyei who came in between the two boys.
The orphans browsed calmly as they headed towards the mud bath. It was another very hot day, and when they arrived they found twenty wild bulls between drinking water and mud wallowing. The orphans had their milk then headed straight into the mud bath to cool off. Sagateisa, Naleku and Kindani trumpeted for joy! After swimming, Bondeni, Kindani and Kinyei headed straight to the area where the loose soil was piled high, so they could roll around and dry off. The result of being wet and then soil dusting provides a thick layer of soil stuck to the skin which acts as a good sunscreen. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area where they spent a quiet afternoon.
The ex-orphans reported in large numbers this morning to join the orphans for lucerne. Lili played with Sagateisa. Lodo held a brief meeting with Kinyei. The competition for lucerne was high and rather than get in the way, the dependent orphans decided to leave and head out to the bush. They chose to go north east of Ithumba Hill. Kinyei teamed up with Esoit to browse while Olorien and Bondeni had their own game of rolling on the ground. Kuishi teamed up with Larro while Mukkoka competed with Naboishu over who could reach the high leaves from a tree. Esoit left Kinyei and went looking for his playmate Bondeni. The two boys had a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Bondeni eventually gave up and went to join Kinyei to browse instead. Naleku and Larro found suitable trees that they used to scratch their necks against. Later, Kinyei and Bondeni shared the trunk of a tree to scratch the side of their tummies.
At mud bath time, a wild bull accompanying baby Milo and Melia tried to charge at the milk bottles that had been neatly arranged on the ground in preparation for the arrival of the babies. Pare arrived in the company of several wild bulls for a while and enjoyed a mud bath, then walked away. It is wonderful to see the seven year old so settled in the wild at Ithumba and in the company of wild bulls. Meanwhile the dependent orphans had their milk then headed for a swim in the mud bath.
In the afternoon, while browsing to the west of Ithumba Hill, Naleku, Suguroi and Jotto came across some loose soil that they played with, throwing it up in the air and on their bodies too. Naboishu and Lodo took a break from feeding to scratch against some trees. In the evening, Olorien led the way back to the stockades. Motomo came for some water in the company of wild friends.
Several ex-orphans joined the orphans to feed on lucerne this morning. Kuishi, Olorien and Esoit tried to pull a string off a bale of lucerne, but they couldn't manage and had to wait for a Keeper to come and cut the strings. Sattao, Musiara, Ambo and Mukkoka walked down to the water trough and joined a wild bull drinking water. The wild bull was friendly and wasn’t hostile to the youngsters. After the orphans had enough of lucerne, Kindani led the way to the browsing field.
Lodo, who is slowly becoming closer and more friendly with Kinyei, settled to browse together with her. Hardly a day passes without Bondeni and Esoit locking trunks at some stage, and today was no different as no sooner had the orphans relaxed into a slow browsing pace, Bondeni and Esoit met and had their usual pushing game. Ambo came across two dik diks in the undergrowth that he decided to chase away. The dik diks saw him coming though and disappeared, leaving Ambo charging at empty thickets. Roho developed an itchy ear and walked to a nearby tree to scratch against the trunk. Later, Naboishu joined Roho to browse.
At eleven o'clock in the morning Larro led the first group to the mud bath for their next milk feed. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill in the afternoon as there are quite a few trees in that area with good shade. The sun was bearing down and the orphans decided to take advantage of the shade for a bit until the temperature dropped to a more favourable level. In the evening Naleku led the way back to the stockades.
After feeding on lucerne, Dololo led the way out to the bush. The sky was clear and we knew it was going to be another hot day.
Naboishu chose to browse with Larro as the three inseparable orphans Kinyei, Kindani and Bondeni browsed together. Jotto, Ambo, Sattao and Roho split from the main herd and browsed a distance away. Roho later went up to Esoit and Bondeni as he tried to sort out their differences and persuade them against wrestling today. However as soon as Roho left, Esoit and Bondeni turned against each other and started their pushing match, showing that they weren’t even slightly listening to Roho! Kindani and Suguroi settled for a scratching exercise against different trees. Later, Olorien led the way to the mud bath.
The orphans were joined by Melia, Milo, Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Chemi Chemo, Pare, Lapa, Lenana, Nasalot, Noah, Ndiwa, Teleki, Tusuja, Malkia and Challa. Olorien and Naleku briefly interacted with Milo and even got to escort him around for a bit. The rascal Milo decided that he had his mother to watch over him though and he didn’t need to be escorted, and so started pushing Olorien and Naleku. They were so happy to have the opportunity to look after a baby, Naleku and Olorien didn't mind Milo’s antics and continued walking with him. Lapa decided to confront Olorien once again, part of his ongoing quarrel with our young girl. Olorien defended herself by pushing Lapa away. Esoit and Suguroi were close by and came forward to help Olorien in driving Lapa away. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. In the evening Bondeni led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Eight wild bulls were busy drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out this morning. Two of the wild bulls joined the orphans for lucerne. Several ex-orphans showed up later too. Naleku, Suguroi and Sagateisa walked down to the water trough as they prepared themselves for the day ahead. Lodo led his friends out.
Roho and Naboishu started the day’s activities by engaging one other in a pushing game. Esoit and Bondeni were next in line, performing their daily strength testing match. As the day progressed, the temperature started to skyrocket, encouraging the orphans to seek shelter under some trees with nice shade as they tried to browse and get enough to eat as well.
Because it was such a hot day all the orphans chose to wallow in the mud bath at midday. After wallowing, Kuishi led Esoit and Larro in a different direction from their friends, thinking that the Keepers had not spotted them. The Keepers followed them and brought them back to the group before they disappeared. Suguroi chose to browse with Naleku in the afternoon as Naboishu made a truce with Roho, and teamed up together to browse with him. Musiara led the way back to the stockades when it was time to head home.
Just like he used to do, Ambo came out of his stockade and walked straight to the lucerne store. The Keepers saw him and told him to go down and instead wait patiently like his friends. The lucerne was distributed and the ex-orphans who were present joined in. Kinyei scratched her neck against the loading bay wall in the compound. Kauro carried his share of lucerne and settled far away from his friends. He likes to eat much slower than the others, due to the compromised end of his trunk, and likes the peace and quiet to do so. Lapa, in the company of his mother Lenana, pushed Olorien and turned to Sagateisa to do the same. Sagateisa understands Lapa’s behaviour well and knew his next move. When Lapa turned to push her, she was ready for anything. She stood her ground and fought Lapa until Lapa surrendered and retreated to his mother. Sana Sana escorted the dependent orphans out to browse.
Naleku and Kindani started their day’s activities with a restoring soil dusting exercise. Kinyei settled to browse with Bondeni as Mukkoka teamed up with Dololo. As the day grew warmer, Lodo decided to take a break from feeding and relax under a tree with nice shade.
Sana Sana, who had joined the orphans in the morning and decided to stay, had a hidden agenda that the Keepers didn't realise until it came to fruition. At eleven o'clock in the morning, when it was time to head to the mud bath, the Keepers couldn't believe it when they found Naboishu and Sana Sana were not amongst the herd. It dawned on them that the reason Sana Sana had joined the group in the morning was to kidnap Naboishu, and her mission had succeeded! The Keepers took the orphans to the mud bath minus Naboishu — but upon arriving there they found the young bull, happy as could be, in the company of the ex-orphans! Naboishu withdrew from the ex-orphans and came for his share of milk and rejoined his dependent friends. Everyone proceeded to enjoy a playful and refreshing mud bath. In the afternoon, Roho and Naboishu had a strength testing match that lasted for quite a while.
Loijuk, Lili, and Mundusi arrived at the compound in the company of some wild elephants. We noticed a wild mother with her new born baby in the group. After feeding on lucerne, Musiara led the dependent herd out to the bush.
Kindani, Olorien, Sattao, Lodo, Suguroi and Roho settled for a soil dusting session as their first activity of the day. Kindani had a funny style of kneeling down while soil dusting. Sagateisa had a brief chat with Roho before heading to join Naleku to browse. Ex-orphan Zurura passed by as he headed towards the stockade for some water. Kinyei found a suitable rock that she used to scratch her belly on. Bondeni and Jotto found a nice tree to peel some bark from – a common source of nutrition during the dry season. Suguroi briefly talked to Kindani then walked away to challenge Esoit. Esoit didn’t seem in the mood for playing with Suguroi however, as he surrendered before even the challenge started! Mukkoka settled to browse with Dololo as Naboishu teamed up with Roho. It was very hot while the orphans were at the mud bath, and they all had a lengthy swim after finishing their bottles. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area.
Mulika, Mwende, Mkuu, Yetu and Yebo, who we hadn’t seen for some time, showed up this morning to the Ithumba compound. We were very happy to see them all. They arrived to share lucerne, and shortly later, Kilaguni, Buchuma, Kalama and Mutara’s herd showed up too. Naleku, Suguroi and Olorien briefly interacted with Yebo as they wanted to know where he had been. Shortly later, Sagateisa led the herd out for the day. On the way, Kindani and Bondeni came across some rocks; while Kindani enjoyed a hearty scratch, Bondeni climbed on the rocks to pass the time and wait for his friend.
As usual, Esoit found his favourite playmate Bondeni for their strength testing match this morning, before he moved on to play with Roho. The orphans browsed north of stockades as they slowly walked towards the mud bath. A slight wind had picked up today and there were even a few clouds in the sky, so the orphans decided not to wallow today. Instead they had some water before enjoying a perfunctory soil dusting exercise before heading back out to the bush to browse. Ambo chose to browse with Musiara as Naboishu and Roho took some time off to engage in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Lodo led the first group back to the stockades for the night.
Mutara’s herd were outside the stockades when the orphans came out this morning. After lucerne was distributed, Kalama appeared in the company of five wild bulls. It was evident that Kalama was in season. At one stage one of the bulls pursued Kalama and she decided to run away as fast as she could. Enkikwe accidentally got caught up in the melee as there was so much trumpeting and bellowing from the ex-orphans. He was knocked to the ground by the bull as he hurried after Kalama, but he managed to quickly get back to his feet despite his bad leg, wondering what had happened to him! Sagateisa decided this was a good time to leave the compound and head out to the bush, and the rest of the herd followed her. Naleku seemed to get confused and took a different direction from her friends, and the Keepers had to go after her and call her back to join the herd.
Later in the morning, Esoit had a disagreement with Kindani for some reason that escalated into a fight. Kuishi, who was feeding close by, came forward and helped Kindani and Esoit sort out their differences. Ndiwa joined the orphans while they browsed, and managed to convince Ambo, Jotto, Sattao and Kuishi to leave the dependent herd and follow her to feed in a different area. Ndiwa later brought the group she went with to the mud bath area when it was their feeding time. When they arrived, she joined the ex-orphans present at the mud bath and informed Ambo, Kuishi, Sattao and Jotto that they were free to go and rejoin their friends — perhaps she found looking after her own little group a bit tiresome!
It was a hot afternoon and later the orphans decided to go and cool off in the small roadside mud bath, before Olorien led the way back to stockades for the night.
The orphans settled for lucerne in the morning soon after leaving the stockades. Mutara and her herd joined the orphans for a bit before leaving. Suguroi led the way out today. They settled to browse north of stockades and slowly made their way towards the mud bath. It was another very hot day so the orphans browsed under trees until it was time for their milk feed, when Lodo led the first group to the feeding area. Cunning Larro, who always observes the Keepers’ movements, accidentally made a wrong calculation, and stole a bottle of water instead of an extra milk bottle! As she started to drink it she realised her mistake but decided that it was better than nothing, and drank all the water hoping next time not to miss her target!
The orphans browsed in the Imenti area and sheltered under some trees until it was cooler, when they quietly continued browsing for the rest of the day.