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Last night around 8pm, the Nursery had a new rescue arrive. A young female estimated to be 10 months old that was rescued from the Masai Mara. She was put into the stockade neighboring Maktao’s. Maktao who at first seemed afraid of the new arrival, later calmed down and then moved closer as if to investigate who is new neighbor was. He tried to interact with her by putting his trunk through the wooden divider, but the new female seemed uninterested in interacting with him. 

Even though it has been so hot, the Keepers still have to convince some of the orphans to have a mud bath after their midday bottles of milk. Musiara, however, doesn’t need to be convinced. Once he finished his bottle of milk he walked straight into the water and began to wallow in the mud. He was soon joined by Emoli, Maktao, and Enkesha and before the end of their midday feeding time all the orphans, apart from Dololo, were in the water. Dololo doesn’t seem to enjoy wallowing in the mud. 

Emoli seems to be the naughtiest boy in the herd at the moment. This morning, after her had finished his bottle of milk, he playfully charged at Larro and Dololo who were drinking near the wheelbarrow and knocked Larro over. Larro who got a fright trumpeted loudly whilst getting back on her feet. Tamiyoi, who doesn’t always intervene, was seen charging towards Emoli. Emoli quickly ran away, as though he understood that he had done something wrong but was caught by Malima and Tamiyoi who appeared to tell him off for upsetting little Larro.  

During their midday feeding time, Maktao and Musiara were seen enjoying a long wallow in the mud bath. Maisha can sometimes play quite rough with her peers. Whilst Maktao and Musiara were wallowing, she started poking Maktao with her tusks. Maktao seemed to get annoyed with her and decided to leave the pool. He was closely followed by his friend Musiara.

Nabulu has settled well into life at the Nursery. She now knows the milk feeding times and knows that after having her midday bottle of milk, she is to have a mud or dust bath before heading back to the forest. Although she has adapted well, she is still cautious of the naughtier characters such as Kiasa. Kiasa, Maktao, and Dololo can often be spotted trying to climb on her back and disturb her during her mud bath. However, she is often hanging out with Tamiyoi, Malima, Sattao and Larro as they all appear to enjoy her company. 

She has also formed a good relationship with her Keepers. Although she loves to trumpet for more milk when she finishes her milk, she seems to always respect the Keepers when they wave her away and doesn’t push or charge them.

Due to the continuous heat, the orphans have been especially enjoying their mud baths, even little Larro has been joining in. However, some orphans such as Sattao and Dololo don’t seem to enjoy getting into the pool as the other orphans are often wrestling and rolling around in the muddy water. The two bulls keep their distance and rather enjoy a peaceful dust bath away from the commotion. We are sure that Dololo does not enjoy the mud baths because of how he was rescued when he was found alone and stuck in a muddy pool.

This morning, Kiasa, Maktao, Dololo, Mukkoka, Maisha, and Musiara were having fun charging and chasing a troop of baboons away from the Nursery herd. They managed to chase the baboons up some trees and then remained near the trees, ensuring that the baboons didn’t come down. 

It was all fun and games until Kiasa cornered a baby baboon up one of the trees. The baby baboon screamed for its mother and in response a large dominant male baboon came charging for Kiasa. Kiasa got such a fright that she quickly fled the scene, trumpeting loudly. The other orphans, having seen Kiasa run off back to the herd, quickly followed her and sought the protection of the other orphans who were peacefully browsing. 

Luggard appears to be such a happy bull. He is always seen playing with his friends Ambo and Jotto and spending time with his Keepers. This morning, once in the field Ambo and Luggard started a strength testing game and despite his leg Luggard always seems to keep up. As Luggard’s tusks have grown quite a bit he sometimes seems to accidentally poke Ambo which seems to abruptly end their games as it is quite painful. But nonetheless, the bulls always seem to enjoy each other’s company. 

Luggard seems to enjoy spending his days browsing with his Keepers, as he always stays close to them and is often given some nice branches from his Keepers. Maktao, Musiara, and Dololo also appear to enjoy Luggard’s company and these extra branches as they are often spotted near him sharing the fresh greens.  

Since the Nursery area has received some rain, this morning it was chilly and still drizzling a little. This meant the youngsters like Larro, Mukkoka, Dololo and Maktao have to be protected from the cold and wore blankets to keep them warm for most of the morning. By the afternoon the sun pulled out from behind the clouds, and the babies had the opportunity to bask in the sun and warm up. Some were dusting themselves with the damp but warm soil, and others were rolling in the muddy areas. Bigger boys like Mapia, Jotto, Ambo were digging into the loose soil with their tusks and the smaller babies like Dololo, Emoli, Maisha, Musiara and Maktao enjoyed the soil they were digging up as well, spraying it on their backs. As the evening approached however and the sun dipped lower, it became cooler and the young ones had to don their blankets once again to keep warm.

The day started off warm and sunny, but by the afternoon the clouds had rolled in and the rains had started. Larro, Mukkoka, Dololo and Luggard were quickly walked back to their stables to take cover. Unknown to the Keepers, Musiara and Maktao decided to follow their friends back to the stockade compound to also seek shelter. 

As the rains got heavier the orphans sought refuge under larger trees, some of the orphans even squeezed under the Keepers umbrellas. Maxwell, on the other hand, seemed to be loving the rain as he was spotted charging up and down his stockade and rolling around in the mud. By the end of the rain Maxwell as well as the walls of his stockade were covered in mud. 

Once the rains had stopped Larro, Mukkoka, Dololo and Luggard were let out of their stables to join the rest of the orphans in the forest.