Each elephant has a unique personality. Our ever-expanding Nursery herd reminds us of this fact every day. Some orphans are introverts, others are extroverts; some have a flair for drama, others just go about their business.
Since Kindani has been adjusting to her new room, she hasn’t quite enjoyed the open stockade in the evenings compared to the closed smaller stable she used to be in. As of late, she is always really happy to see the Keepers walking around in the morning to let all the orphans out. In the evenings, although she does sleep, she is more alert and constantly listening to what is happening. Being alert like this will be such a good trait when she is watching over her own herd in the wild.
As the Keepers let her out this morning, she went running over to Maxwell’s gate, where the large rhino was standing to greet her and the other orphans. After a brief interaction with Max she ran up to the top of the stockade compound where she greeted Neshashi and shared some of her greens with her. She then proceeded to greet some of the newer rescues who were remaining with their stockades for the time being.
When it was time for the orphans to head off to the forest, Kindani was happily in the front running and trumpeting as she led Naleku, Kerrio, and Rama. Rama, who was born bow legged, has been having some issues with his one hind leg being swollen and as a result he has not been running around as much and didn’t follow the girls.
Once in the forest, Naleku and Kindani were busy running around chasing away all the baboons that were busy foraging. Later in the day, Kindani walked over to her best friends Kinyei and Bondeni, where she enjoyed a long nap. It is always so sweet as Bondeni and Kinyei stay close by her side watching over her as she sleeps.
As the new arrivals settle within the Nursery herd, they start to form new friendships very quickly. Lodo and Tingai are becoming closer and closer friends, and lately they have been spending all day with one another whilst out in the forest. Although they arrived at different times, they were both rescued from Laikipia and are both quieter than some of the other orphans. Lodo is still very shy around the Keepers and will only be really comfortable with them when he is having his milk. During the milk feeding time, the duo also get very unhappy when they are separated into the smaller groups, wanting to run down after one another.
Latika and Sagateisa have also formed a budding relationship and are always around each other. They will move at the same pace and will quite happily spend their whole day browsing near one another. This afternoon, they didn’t even notice the rest of the Nursery herd walking off to the milk feeding point. They were so happy browsing, that the Keepers had to even come looking for them and escort them to the milk feeding point.
Naleku and Olorien continue to shadow little Kerrio and they escort her down to have her milk and remain by her side until she finishes her milk. They continue to protect her against the naughtier orphans such as Lorigon and Bondeni.
There were heavy showers throughout the evening and this frightened some of the orphans. Kinyei, Bondeni, Olorien and Roho all had a very restless night rumbling and struggling to sleep as the rain hit against the roof of their stockades. Maxwell on the other hand loves the rain and as soon as it started he came charging out of his room to enjoy a long wallow in his mud bath.
In the morning, when the orphans were being let out of their rooms, Max was still charging around his stockade enjoying the rain and the mud. He was so busy that he didn’t notice Bondeni and Naleku standing at his gate waiting to greet him. They waited a couple of minutes before heading off back to the rest of the Nursery herd to greet them, and little Kerrio. During the orphans’ midday mud bath, Max was visited by a wild male black rhino. This caused quite a stir as Max was not pleased with his new visitor and was running around kicking up his back feet and panting loudly. As the Keepers walked back to the forest, they scared off the rhino who ran off back to the park.
This afternoon, as the orphans were down at the mud bath for their 3 o’clock bottles of milk, Kerrio and Choka were being so naughty and wouldn’t leave poor Mukutan alone. Every time Mukutan tried to relax they would come running after him as he would always yell and run off. The Keepers quickly stepped in and chased the naughty duo away, they both quickly ran away and hid behind Naleku as they knew they were in big trouble. Mukutan then settled with the bigger boys Roho, Rama, Barnoti and Oldepe.
During the midday mud bath, the first group of orphans were very quiet and none of them were interested in wallowing as it was still quite cold in Nairobi. Mukutan was the only one that was curious and walking near the visitors, saying hello as he passed by. The younger orphans were so relaxed that they didn’t spend want to spend much time down at the mud bath and quickly wanted to head back to the forest.
The second group, however, were full of energy. As soon as they got down to the mud bath, they downed their bottles of milk and then Esoit and Bondeni started to wrestle each other. Their game continued the entire time they were down at the mud bath, and the two bulls were having the best time chasing each other around the mud bath. Every time Esoit would run past the visitors, he would give little elephant kickbacks and then charge after Bondeni. The Keepers were busy trying to contain their excitement and every time they would try to intervene, the bulls would run to opposite sides of the mud bath.
Whilst they were busy running around, Rama was on the edge of the mud bath covering himself in mud, spraying some of the visitors. Despite his back leg bothering him, he still enjoyed his mud bath and will always be amongst the first to approach the mud bath. As it had warmed up enough, Roho and Suguroi submerged themselves in the muddy pool and were both seen bobbing around. After a lot of action the orphans were now ready to head back to the forest.
During the orphans' 3 o’clock milk feed, Kerrio spent the entire time keeping the resident warthogs far away from the mud bath. Eventually the warthogs gave up and ran back to the forest.
Neshashi has settled into the Nursery routine and just like most of the orphans she loves her milk and is fully aware of all the milk feeding times. In the mornings, if her first bottle of milk in the early hours is late, she starts to complain and knock at her stockade door. This morning, the Keepers were a little late with her 9 o’clock bottle of milk, and she was trumpeting and rumbling at them until she got her bottle.
Tingai continues to be very nervous around his Keepers and will always prefer for them to be in front of him when walking through the forest, so he is not caught by surprise. Sometimes he will even run away from them and today he kept sneaking off. The Keepers were so busy going after him and ushering him back to the herd that eventually one of them stayed close to him for the rest of the afternoon.
This afternoon was so hot, that after the orphans downed their 3 o’clock bottles they all charged into the mud bath apart from Ziwadi. All the orphans were in the middle of the mud bath wallowing whilst Ziwadi was being splashed by her Keepers as she continued to enjoy her greens. Kerrio was even in the middle of the mud bath with Naleku stood right by her side making sure she was safe. After a long mud wallow the orphans made their way back to the forest.
As Kindani has continued to be restless at night, the Keepers have decided to swap her over with Bondeni. She is now in between Bondeni and Kinyei and this seems to have put her at ease. Since she has been in the middle of her best friends she calmed down completely and has been sleeping peacefully.
Neshashi has still been getting used to some of the other orphans and today was her first big day out with the Nursery herd as the Keepers had been taking her out slowly and slowly. After the midday mud bath, Naleku, Roho, Oldepe, Kinyei, Olorien, and Kindani were escorted back to the stockade compound to walk her out. As she came out of her stockade she went dashing off to the forest and caused so much excitement amongst the herd but she eventually settled down. Throughout the afternoon, she would try and wrestle with Roho, Latika, and Choka but as they would dash off she quickly lost interest.
Rama and Oldepe were great at protecting the younger orphans as they would stand in front of her. Down at the 3 o’clock milk feed, Neshashi even enjoyed a long mud bath with the other orphans before going back to the forest for a short browsing session. Esoit, Latika, Mukutan, Ziwadi and Kamili all escorted her back to the stockade compound at 5 o’clock.
Bondeni and Roho have had such a playful day. Since they got out to the forest, Bondeni and Roho have been so full of energy, chasing each other around the forest and wrestling one another and playing hide and seek. It is always fun for the Keepers to watch the bulls and orphans playing like this and they were happy to leave the two enjoying their games.
Rama and Oldepe have been so comfortable around Neshashi, whereas some of the younger orphans like Taabu have been a bit wary of her. Kinyei, Roho, and Naleku have been busy watching over the younger orphans and protecting them from her as she is not fully aware of her size when she pushes them. Just before the midday mud bath, she was challenging Kinyei who was trying to protect Bondeni and Taabu, and it was amazing to see Kinyei stand her ground as Neshashi is so much bigger. Eventually, Naleku came over and helped Kinyei which saw Neshashi lose interest and walk off.
Neshashi attended her first midday milk feed and the Keepers were so happy with how calm she was. The supporters were a bit taken aback as she was so much bigger than the other orphans but she kept her distance and stayed amongst some of the quieter orphans. The Keepers are very happy with her and her temperament.
Lots of the orphans have always considered Maxwell to be apart of the herd. Most mornings, before they head out to the forest, they will rush over to Max’s stockade to greet him. Max will also, often, be standing at his gate, happily greeting the orphans that pass by and playing a couple of games with them. This morning, however, Max was not in as sociable a mood as before as he was too busy enjoying his Lucerne pellets.
As soon as Kindani, Bondeni, and Kinyei came out of their rooms they ran over to Max’s top stockade gate and tried to get his attention. They were pulling and pushing at his gate and rumbling to call him over, but Max was far too hungry to pay attention. This morning, he was also happily sharing his pellets with the resident warthogs. Seeing that Max was not at all interested in them, Kindani, Kinyei, and Bondeni went and browsed on the stockade boundary.
This morning, Kerrio came out of her stable and walked straight over to Sagateisa’s room to greet her. As always, Naleku came over to check on her before proceeding to greet all the other orphans and make their way out to the forest.
Kindani continues to thoroughly enjoy her new room between her best friends, Bondeni and Kinyei, and she has been sleeping so well lately. This morning, she came barreling out of her room and ran straight over to Roho and challenged him to a brief wrestling match before she was interrupted by Bondeni. Since she has been sleeping so well, she is no longer taking long naps in the forest and has been staying awake all day long.
Taabu, Choka, and Esoit continue to be such gentle young bulls who are always so playful and calm. Although Choka can be a little naughty at times and will join Kerrio in chasing after Mukutan, Taabu and Esoit are always so gentle towards the other orphans and are happy for Mukutan to spend time with them. Esoit continues to be an extremely playful bull who is always eager to wrestle Roho and Bondeni.
This afternoon, however, Esoit was being so mischievous, behaving much like his naughty friend Bondeni. The Keepers wonder if he has perhaps picked up these habits from Bondeni himself. During the midday milk feeding time, Esoit kept trying to steal milk from the wheelbarrow and the Keepers kept having to chase him away. At one point, he even managed to steal one of the bottles and then was running all over the mud bath area, holding onto the bottle as the Keepers chased after him. Eventually he dropped the bottle and the Keepers sent him to the naughty corner.
Ziwadi continues to be such a gentle and calm girl to the rest of the Nairobi Nursery, and she is one of the favourites amongst the younger orphans and new rescues. The Keepers have noticed that the new arrivals will always stay close to Ziwadi as they get closer to the rest of the herd and form their other friendships. Since Neshashi has been spending more and more time out with the Nursery herd, she too has been spending all her time with Ziwadi.
This morning, as the orphans were busy moving around and browsing, Ziwadi decided to wander off and she was closely followed by Neshashi. Somewhere along the way Neshashi and Ziwadi got separated and Neshashi was left on her own. As soon as Neshashi lost sight of Ziwadi, she began to yell out and the Keepers were immediately on the lookout. Neshashi was running all over the place but when the Keepers yelled out her name she calmed down and ran towards them and back to the rest of the Nursery herd. The Keepers then ushered Ziwadi back to the herd.
Latika has such an appetite, every free moment she has she is either on her knees getting the fresh bits of grass or headfirst getting the freshest branches. She only takes a break from eating when she is down at the mud bath, and this is when she will mostly interact with the other orphans.
Esoit had an action-packed morning as he arrived in the forest. As soon as he got to the forest, he saw a troop of baboons and immediately ran after them. He could be heard rumbling and trumpeting as some of the orphans were still arriving, and he was running from left to right chasing after all of them. Bondeni immediately joined him and started charging around, but they were both quickly stopped by Roho who seemed to want to have all their attention and Roho began to chase after Esoit. Esoit ran straight towards his Keepers, and the Keepers chased Roho away.
Since Mukkoka and Naboishu’s graduation, Kindani has become the fastest at running down for her milk and getting back to her stockade first. She is constantly protesting at her Keepers as she wants to be the first to be let down or to be allowed to head back to the stockade compound first. In the evenings, however, the Keepers do allow her to head off in the first group. This evening, however, Suguroi managed to sneak past the Keepers and the race was now on between her and Kindani. Suguroi flew past her and Kindani was so unexpecting that she didn’t manage to catch up with her, and Suguroi was the winner.
Kinyei and Roho used to be the best of friends pretty much wrestling every day, but over the last couple of weeks they have not wrestled so much. Today, however, as soon as they woke up, they were immediately chasing after one another and wrestling. Their game continued for most of the morning, until Kinyei got distracted by something in the forest, the Keepers wandered if perhaps she had smelt some of the impala nearby. Once she had lost concentration, Roho also lost concentration and the two went about their morning browsing activities.
Barnoti and Rama have become very close friends and since Rama has not been keeping up with the rest of the herd, Barnoti has been quite happily spending time with him. He sticks to his pace and refuses to follow the rest of the herd. Today, he spent his whole day with Rama just breaking for their milk feeds.
Mukutan continues to be such a shy but yet noisy little bull. He is very shy around his peers and continues to complain for no reason, yelling out and rumbling constantly. Much like Naboishu, when Mukutan complains it is very loud and does disturb the other orphans. Kerrio and Choka continue to terrorize this shy boy as they seem to enjoy scaring him and hearing him yell out. This afternoon, they both kept pushing him as he would try to get close to the mud bath. The poor boy eventually walked far away from them near Oldepe, Lodo, Latika and Kamili who were all happy to keep him company.
Bondeni was the last to be let out this morning and this seemed to really upset him. As Kindani and Kinyei were let out he looked around and noticed that all the other orphans were already out, and he immediately began to yell out and rumble. As he was yelling some of the orphans had already started heading off to the forest, but Kinyei came running back. By the time she got close to his stockade, one of the Keepers had already opened his gate and he came charging out.
This afternoon, down at the mud bath, all the orphans were so hot that they downed their milk bottles and then charged over to the muddy pool. There were so many orphans in the mud that the pool was just full of big bellies and trunks and tails waving about. Kerrio was in the middle protected by Olorien, and as soon as Naleku finished her bottle, she came rushing over to get Kerrio out of the middle of the excitement and to the side. Ziwadi was happily on the edge of the mud bath, splashing mud on the parts of her body she could reach but not covering everywhere. Mukutan was the only one to continue browsing and didn’t want to have a mud bath, so the Keepers splashed him a little bit to protect him from the sun.
Unlike most of the orphans in the Nursery herd, when Suguroi wakes up she doesn’t rush around greeting the rest of the herd but instead charges through all of them and then starts to head out to the forest. She will often start browsing at the border of the stockade compound and then be accompanied by Tingai, Latika, Lorigon and Lodo, who also don’t spend too much time greeting all the other orphans. Once the rest of the herd has joined, they all head out to the forest together.
The last couple of days Barnoti has been rather quiet and has been struggling with his health, not eating as many greens and just not as active. He has been spending most of his time with Rama, and the two spend most of their days together. They are both being treated, and the Keepers are monitoring them closely to make sure they are okay.
Although Bondeni is smaller in size, he is constantly trying to test his strength against the bigger boys such as Roho, Oldepe, and less frequently Rama. As the orphans were settling out in the forest, Bondeni was busy challenging Oldepe to a strength testing match. They were playing for quite some time and Bondeni never backed down and they chased each other around the forest. Eventually, Bondeni changed partners and started to challenge Roho. Their game continued right up until they were interrupted by Esoit who now wanted to challenge his friend Roho. Esoit and Roho then chased each other off into the forest.
Kerrio has just grown from strength to strength since her arrival at the Nursery and the Keepers are so happy with how well she is doing and how strong she is doing now. These days she is seen happily running and keeping up with orphans such as Choka, Taabu and even Mukutan when she is not chasing after him. Some days she even tries to race them, and they all have such fun together.
This morning, as the orphans arrived in the forest, Sagateisa was seen following Ziwadi around the forest and browsing happily beside her. Ziwadi is always happy to have company with the other orphans and she continues to be so gentle and welcoming with them. Unlike Olorien, Kinyei, and Suguroi, Ziwadi hasn’t ever pushed or bullied any of the other orphans. Sagateisa was so comfortable following Ziwadi around to the best browsing spots.
Sagateisa much like Ziwadi is also a very gentle young girl and is so welcoming to the rest of the herd as she too doesn’t like to push the other orphans around. She has also gained so much condition since her arrival at the Nursery and the Keepers are so happy with her progress. She has begun to stand her ground against some of the other orphans when they playfully try to push her around. Now she can stand strong against orphans such Kerrio, Choka, Olorien, and even her closer friend Latika when she is being a bit of a bully. She has also started to push against the bigger orphans Kindani, Kinyei, Naleku, Bondeni, Suguroi, and Esoit. It is great to see her growing in confidence but also condition as she is looking so healthy.
Mukutan continues to be such a timid bull, but unlike Tingai he seems to have a very naughty side to his personality. During the 9 o’clock milk feed, he was being such a troublemaker, trying to sneak off with the first group of orphans to get his milk. He managed to sneak past and run down with the first group but when it was time from him to move aside for the next group of orphans, he kept trying to sneak off to the wheelbarrow to steal more milk.
The tables were turned this morning as Mukutan continued to cause mischief at the wheelbarrow. As soon as he saw Choka and Latika having their milk bottles, he charged straight for them in an attempt to steal their milk. He was being so naughty that he managed to push them both off their bottles but the Keepers quickly intervened chasing him away. As the Keepers were chasing him off, he yelled out in protest making such a noise that all the orphans were getting annoyed with him, much like they did with Naboishu.
Spending some time in the naughty corner seemed to work as Mukutan didn’t cause any mischief during the other milk feeds.
It was another scorching day for the orphans and when they were down at the mud bath for their midday bottles of milk, they all quickly downed their bottles and then dashed off to the mud pool. Oldepe and Barnoti gulped down their bottles and then ran to the edge of the mud bath. They were pretty much mimicking each other, spraying mud all over their bodies, covering every inch. Oldepe then entered the water and submerged himself in the water. Rama remained on the edge splashing mud everywhere. Soon they were joined by Suguroi, Roho, Esoit, Tingai, Kamili, Lodo, and Naleku.
As the orphans were getting ready to head back to the stockade compound for the evening, it suddenly started pouring with rain. This caused chaos amongst the orphans as some ran off back to their stockades but others such as Ziwadi, Lorigon, Tingai, Lodo, Neshashi, and Suguroi ran off into the bushes. Ziwadi, Tingai, Lodo, Neshashi and Suguroi were all quickly found but Lorigon was nowhere to be seen. As the Keepers were ushering the group back to the stockades, some were looking for him. As they were busy looking, they suddenly spotted him peacefully walking back to the stockade compound, so they accompanied him back and with all the orphans safely home, they settled for the evening.
It was a very wet and chilly morning after the heavy rains. It was funny as orphans such as Sagateisa, Kamili, Choka, Kerrio, Mukutan, Barnoti, and cheeky Bondeni were all reluctant to leave their rooms in the mud. As they came out, it was as if they were tip toeing around the muddiest parts and trying to keep their feet as dry as possible. All of them were protesting and rumbling at the Keepers for making them head out to the forest.
Other orphans such as Esoit, Tingai, Kerrio, Kindani, Kinyei, Rama, Oldepe, Lodo, Olorien, Taabu and Lorigon, were all having the best enjoying the mud, running around, and splashing about. They would even splash around in some of the bigger puddles in the forest. Lodo, Olorien, Kinyei, Oldepe and Taabu all enjoyed a mud bath in one of the puddles before resuming their browsing activities.
The orphans had a wonderful day out in the forest.
It was another wet morning as there more heavy showers throughout the evening. Some of the orphans such as Rama, Oldepe, Bondeni, Olorien, Suguroi, Naleku, Kamili, Taabu, Latika, Kinyei and Kerrio all enjoyed an early morning mud bath out in the forest. All the mud pools in the forest were so full that they were spoilt for choice, and they ended up choosing the biggest of the mud puddles. Kerrio was having so much fun rolling around with Taabu, Olorien, and Latika, and climbing on each other. Naleku was being a little bit of a spoil sport as she kept trying to interrupt Kerrio’s game, but Kerrio was not listening to her at all. Eventually Naleku stopped worrying and joined in on the fun.
Today was a very sad day as Barnoti collapsed, the Keepers had been monitoring him since the first day he lost his appetite but unfortunately his condition continued to worsen despite all the treatments they were giving him. As he was very weak the Keepers chose to keep him within his stockade, so he didn’t overexert himself. They would continue to monitor him and try to give him some drips and medication to help him.
This morning, Barnoti continued to show signs that he was feeling weak, so the Keepers kept him within the stockade compound, feeding him fresh greens and trying to get him eat and drink more. The Keepers also wanted to make sure that he was relaxed and comfortable, so they did not want him overexerting himself trying to keep up with the rest of the herd. Elephants are so intelligent, and the Keepers could see that Rama was looking for his friend and knew something was wrong, so they gave him extra love and attention today to help him whilst he was out in the forest.
It was a very cloudy and cold day today so none of the orphans were interested in having a mud bath after their milk bottles. They were quite peacefully enjoyed the fresh greens around the mud bath and happily browsing amongst each other. Bondeni as always wanted to be the star of the show and kept running around the cordoned off area splashing mud up at the visitors. The Keepers eventually managed to calm him down and then the Keepers were led back to the forest for a quiet afternoon of browsing.
Bondeni continues to be such a playful and naughty character and as always, he loves to show off during his midday milk feed when all the visitors are around. Recently, he has developed another new naughtier habit as soon as he downs his milk he quickly charges off towards the bushes and runs straight through the crowd and then hides in the bushes. Once no one is looking he then comes charging back, giving everyone a fright. The Keepers have had to remain on high alert to make sure they stop him and of course keep the visitors at a distance until he runs back. This bull is so cunning that he seems to watch for that exact moment when all the Keepers are busy feeding the other orphans and then he charges, so recently one Keeper must remain on the Bondeni lookout.
Today, during the midday feed, Bondeni managed to sneak past the Keepers and to the bush but then when he tried to run back the Keepers were onto him, so they stopped him. Bondeni then hid in the bushes, rumbling at his Keepers. This caught the attention of Esoit who now wanted to help his friend, so every time the Keepers tried to keep Bondeni in the naughty corner Esoit would stand guard and protect. Eventually, both Bondeni and Esoit were sent to the naughty corner.
Once back in the forest the orphans had a quiet day of browsing.
This morning, Maxwell was in one of his bad moods and as soon as he woke, he kept chasing the resident warthogs away and did not want to share his Lucerne pellets with them. The warthogs are used to him being friendly most days and then unfriendly others, so as soon as they know that he is in a bad mood they all quickly run away. He would walk towards them huffing and puffing and then kicking up his back legs in protest. The warthogs spent their morning in the nearby forest leaving Max in peace. Once Max had finished his Lucerne pellets, he went to his normal spot and enjoyed his morning nap. With him now napping the warthogs came back and enjoyed some of his pellets and then also napped in the sun.
Neshashi continues to be such a gentle big girl and she is always so excited to head out to the forest in the mornings. Having stayed in her stockade slightly longer than some of the smaller orphans she has thoroughly been enjoying her time in the forest, browsing with the rest of the Nursery herd. She is always so gentle with the other orphans and her Keepers, and the Keepers are so happy with her progress.
Sagateisa, Latika, and Kamili have also been getting closer as friends and spending more and more time together. Throughout the day, they spent most of their time accompanying one another throughout the forest and browsing near one another. They are all such gentle girls and are always so happy to be around one another.
Another duo that are very similar temperaments and really enjoy spending time with each other, is Tingai and Lodo. Both these bulls are still a bit nervous around their Keepers and the other orphans and tend to keep their distance apart from at the mud bath. They are both quite shy when it comes to the wrestling games and tend to keep their distance, browsing together and wandering off on their own missions.
Lorigon, who can also be quite shy when he isn’t charging his Keepers and other orphans, also enjoys spending time with Lodo and Tingai. Often throughout the day, Lorigon will wander off to find them and then will spend some time browsing with them. Lorigon much like Tingai is a little bit of a Houdini, as he too loves to hide in the bushes. Despite sometimes disappearing, they are all very gentle bulls.
Barnoti continues to struggle with his health and the Keepers have had to have him on IV drips and other medication most days to help him with his energy. Despite all their efforts and visits from the vets, his condition has continued to worsen, and the Keepers have kept him within the stockade compound so that he can rest and continue to be monitored. Rama continues to check on his friend and walk past his stockade in the mornings to say hello. Most of the other orphans also know that he has not been well, and they all check in on him before heading out to the forest.
Neshashi seems to be in a bad mood today as she kept on bullying the other orphans that tried to approach her. She was also being especially greedy when it came time for the orphans to run down for their milk as she kept wanting to be in the first group and pushing all the other orphans aside so she could run down first. The Keepers had to usher her to the back so she wouldn’t bother anyone, much like they did Kiasa when she misbehaved.
Today was a very sad day, as we lost dear Barnoti. Despite everyone’s best efforts, Barnoti’s condition continued to worsen over time and without a definitive answer as to what may have been wrong, everyone struggled along with him trying to get him better. The decision was made to conduct a post-mortem to hopefully get more answers. Barnoti was surrounded by his human and elephant family as he took his last breath and all the orphans could be heard rumbling within their stockades and stables, knowing something was wrong.
Barnoti was a gentle bull, so calm and patient with all the orphans and his Keepers that he was loved by all and will be remembered as with all the orphans that are gone far too young. Rama and all his friends had a very quiet day mourning their friend who they knew was gone.
Despite having a sad and quiet previous day, the orphans seemed to be in a better mood today and this may have been since they woke up to Maxwell excitedly rolling around, enjoying all the mud from last nights showers. Naleku and Bondeni immediately ran over to his gate and were in awe watching him roll around and covering every inch of his body in mud, including his horn. As Max was too busy rolling around and scratching, they decided to head off and greet some of other orphans including Kerrio. Bondeni went off to greet some of the newer rescues and the other orphans who were out and about.
Max continued to roll around, but his fun was abruptly interrupted by the resident warthogs who came running through his stockade. He immediately stood up and charged out of his muddy pool, running after the warthogs, chasing them out of his stockade.
With all the heavy rains Nairobi has been experiencing, the orphans were having so much fun running around the forest and rolling around in all the mud. Roho, Choka, Naleku, Olorien, Neshashi and many others were busy rolling around in all the different muddy pools in the forest. When it was time for the orphans to head down to the mud bath for their midday bottles of milk, all of them were already so caked in mud that they had no interest in mud bathing and instead just enjoyed their greens.
The time has come for the Nursery’s next trio to commence their training on the translocation lorry. This time, Roho, Oldepe and Neshashi have commenced their training as they are the three oldest within the Nursery herd. Their first training session commenced at 9 o’clcok this morning when they were ushered to the translocation lorry for their bottles of milk.
Neshashi was so relaxed about the training as she walked straight onto the truck without any hesitation. The Keepers were so impressed with her and even when they were closing the gate, she remained calmed and just continued to focus on her bottle. Oldepe was a little bit more hesitant to walk onto the truck but after a little bit of ushering from his Keepers, he happily walked on and enjoyed his milk. Roho on the other hand was having none of it, he would not even get close to the lorry and just watched from afar. The Keepers tried to entice Roho but he completely ignored them so they though it would be best to leave him be as it was his first day.
Rama, unfortunately, continues to have issues with his left hind leg, which remains very swollen. As a result, he has not wanted to walk further into the forest with the rest of the herd and instead continues to stay behind. This afternoon, his old friend Ziwadi came over to keep him company and they had a wonderful time browsing near one another for the rest of the day.
Naleku has recently been running down for her midday bottle of milk with the older group as she is now apart of their age bracket. As a result, she has not been running down with her little adoptive baby Kerrio and this has been really bothering her. Each day she has been fighting the Keepers, but the Keepers want Kerrio to get used to being independent from her and vice versa.
This morning, however, Naleku managed to sneak past the Keepers and went a long way around them to join the orphans that were running down. As she appeared from the bushes, she saw Kerrio up ahead and immediately sprinted after her, rumbling and trumpeting in excitement. The Keepers at the mud bath alerted the Keepers in the forest that Naleku was there. Later, the Keepers tried again and this time they managed to keep Naleku away.
Latika is normally a very gentle and friendly girl but this after she was in a bit of a bad mood. As she was walking back to the forest, she kept pushing poor Taabu who was walking besides her. Taabu eventually got fed up and ran off to join some of the others. Later in the day, she seemed to be in a better mood and was once again being nice to Taabu.
Roho, Neshashi, and Oldepe continued their training today and at first Roho continued to refuse to enter the translocation lorry but at the 11 o’clock feeding time he finally boarded the lorry. Roho has been the only one out of the three to witness his friends graduating which is perhaps why he is a bit more hesitant. Oldepe and Neshashi continue to have no hesitation and are so comfortable on the lorry already. As with most training, the three have started to be a bit more independent from the rest of the herd and browsing happily together.
Saleita, one of the Nursery’s newer rescues, had her first day out with the herd today and she has been settling in so well. Despite some of the bigger orphans, such as Oldepe, Neshashi, Kinyei, Kindani and Olorien pushing her around a little bit, the rest of the herd has been so welcoming. She has been spending most of her day browsing with Tingai, Lorigon, Kamili and Lodo who have all been so welcoming and gentle with her.