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The orphans and Keepers awoke to a clear sky which they knew would mean a hot day ahead. Jotto and Mapia entwined their trunks in morning greetings soon after leaving their stockades. The orphans settled for their morning lucerne as ex-orphan Barsilinga emerged from the east, all alone, to join them. It’s nearly two years now since Barsilinga’s foot injury kept him anchored to the Ithumba dependent herd for almost a year, and it is wonderful to see him fully out and about in the wild. Ambo chose to share lucerne alongside his favourite girl Kamok this morning. They both seemed to have a long conversation, but of course we couldn’t know what they were talking about. Ambo later moved to share lucerne with Nabulu. After Nabulu had her fill, she walked down to the water trough to drink. Shortly later she was joined by Mapia, Kauro, Kuishi, Jotto, Roho, Malima and Sagateisa.

Later in the morning Mapia chose to take a break and engage Jotto in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Then Mapia moved to play with Ambo. Ambo chose to surrender, since Mapia proved to be much stronger than him. The orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans came across a small water hole in the bush and decided to have fun rolling and splashing there before proceeding for their noon milk feed. They had their milk then walked straight back out to continue browsing without wallowing, as they had already splashed about earlier.

The orphans had a quiet afternoon and browsed calmly for the rest of the day. In the evening, ex-orphan Makireti came to the stockade compound in the company of two suitors. It seems Makireti is in season, but she wasn’t amenable to the advances of her two suitors and was trying to get away from them. She came close to the stockade wall, where the two bulls couldn’t follow her. They waited for Makireti, but eventually they got tired and left. However, they returned later in the evening in search of Makireti again.

It was another quiet morning as the orphans came out of their night stockades to find no other elephants in the lucerne feeding area. It was a surprise for Naleku, Suguroi and Sagateisa, who had been used to the presence of so many elephants joining them every morning. The orphans settled briefly for lucerne then passed by the water troughs to have some water before Kauro led the way out to browse.

Out in the bush, Jotto and Mapia, who endure endless wrestling matches in a bid to establish their dominance, were at it again. The two boys engaged each other into a pushing match that ended in a draw, once again. Ambo tackled Dololo but their game came to an end when Rapa passed by and separated the two boys. Naleku and Suguroi found a patch of damp soil and decided to take a break from browsing to enjoy a rolling game. Rapa moved to feed with Neshashi while Kuishi teamed up with Naboishu. It was quite a cool day and apart from the odd pushing match, the orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning, until Larro led the first group to the eleven o'clock milk feed.

After all the orphans had their milk, Sattao led the herd for a bush mud bath in a large puddle of water that collected close to the road from the recent rains. They all had a lot of fun in the mud. Sattao, Malkia and Kuishi were enjoying themselves so much, and were the last ones to leave the little mud hole. The herd then walked to the western side of Ithumba Hill. Musiara settled to browse with Naboishu while Kamok teamed up with Ambo once again. When it was time to head home for the night, Larro took the lead. Upon arriving back at the stockades, we were surprised to find Nasalot, Noah and Rapsu there, as we thought all the ex-orphans had left the area. They left shortly after the orphans went into the compound for the night.

It was another bright and clear morning when the orphans left the compound after their morning milk bottles. Sattao headed straight to a nearby rock to scratch an itch, before joining his friends who were feeding on lucerne. Ndiwa and Mapia walked down to the water trough and had some water before starting to head out for the day. The rest of the herd followed and they all settled in the Kone area.

Mukkoka teamed up with Musiara to play with some damp soil. They kicked at the soil with their feet to loosen it up before scooping it with their trunks and throwing it on their backs. Neshashi found a dry fallen tree that she used to scratch her itchy neck. Jotto engaged Malkia in a pushing game while Naleku settled for a soil dusting exercise. Shortly before mud bath time, Naleku and Pare found a suitable rock that they used to scratch their bellies on.

On the way to the mud bath, the orphans came across a small pool of water. Kuishi decided to get in and roll around, watched over by Mapia, Jotto, Naleku and Nabulu. At eleven o'clock, Sattao and Roho led the first groups for their milk feed. It was quite hot and after having their bottles, the orphans decided to walk to a small dam of water they know of in the bush. They didn’t want to swim in the main big waterhole, which they found to be too cold, but they did fancy a quick splash in a smaller, muddier puddle. When they were done, Malima led the way for the afternoon browsing session. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans browsed without any distractions for the rest of the day.

The sky was pregnant with dark, heavy clouds this morning. Sure enough, about an hour after the orphans came out of their rooms, the heavens opened with big, fat rain drops. Ignited by the rain, the orphans were suddenly in a very playful mood. Ndiwa, Kamok, Ambo, Mukkoka, Kuishi and Malkia led their friends with gusto in these new water activities. After having fun rolling on the ground, Ndiwa and Mukkoka felt a little itchy and scratched against some rocks. Eventually the rain stopped, and almost simultaneously the orphans stopped their rolling games. They then scattered out and browsed happily, enjoying the cool weather brought about by the rains.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Neshashi led the way for the midday bottle feed. The orphans had their milk, then Roho led the herd to continue browsing. As they walked out to the bush, they came across a fresh new waterhole where they decided to roll about for a short while, before proceeding further into the bush. We noticed that suddenly Naboishu had a bit of a limp, and he appears to have sprained his ankle while playing. We are sure he will recover soon though. Roho teamed up with Larro to browse while Ndiwa chose to browse next to her friend Malkia. In the evening, Nabulu led the way back home for the night.

The orphans drank their milk at six o'clock in the morning. It was still quite dark as there were heavy black clouds. Ten minutes after the orphans came out of their stockades, the skies opened and it started raining. They abandoned feeding on lucerne and ran out to the bush, where they could have fun in the rain. Ambo, Kauro, Kuishi and Musiara were so excited and started rolling all over the place, smearing themselves with red mud. Eventually, they all settled to browse in the Kanziku area where they enjoyed browsing in the cool, damp weather.

Sattao chose his friend Ambo to browse with while Musiara enjoyed feeding with playful Roho and Larro. The rain came to an end about an hour and a half later, which prompted more of the orphans to take a break from browsing to roll on, the now sodden, soil. They spent so much time playing that when they finally resumed browsing they looked very serious in their task and there were no further distractions, as if to compensate for the lost time while they were playing.

At the mud bath the orphans just had their milk and chose not to swim today. Nabulu led the way straight back out to the bush. The orphans browsed calmly for the rest of the afternoon to the west of the hill; they looked tired after spending so much time playing this morning! In the evening, Neshashi led the way back to the stockades for the night.

After briefly settling for lucerne this morning, Sagateisa took the lead, which was a nice change for her! Mukkoka started the day by participating in a soil dusting exercise, while Neshashi opted to browse with Roho. Mukkoka was joined by Naleku, Ambo, Kuishi and Malima. Suguroi came across a tree stump that was about three feet high and used it to scratch her thigh. Soon after Ambo and Kuishi had enough of soil bathing, the boy and girl engaged each other in a wrestling match that ended in a draw.

Later, Roho, Neshashi, Suguroi, Jotto and Mapia came across a puddle of water that they splashed in for a bit before going back to browsing on the nearby shrubs. Mapia engaged Jotto into a strength testing match that didn't last for long, as Jotto chose to surrender and start his journey towards the mud bath. He was clearly eager for his milk bottle today! Naleku, Neshashi and Suguroi saw Jotto leaving towards the mud bath and decided that there was no way they could be left behind. The three girls ran and overtook Jotto and continued running until they got to the mud bath for their milk. After all the orphans had finished their bottles, Larro led the way over to the water trough. Again, in the current wet weather, the orphans opted not to swim today.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Two lesser kudu antelopes passed by and were spotted by Malkia, Ndiwa, Dololo, Kauro and Kamok. Dololo and Kauro volunteered to chase away the harmless antelopes, just for the fun of it! The lesser kudus didn’t hang around to be charged at by the two boys; instead, they sprinted off into the bushes amidst trumpeting from the naughty elephants. In the evening, Pare and Rapa decided to leave the herd and disappear, only to reappear back at the stockades in the dead of night.

It was wet in the morning, following more rain overnight. Neshashi was the first one to come out of the stockades and went around checking on her friends. The orphans settled briefly for lucerne, then Neshashi and Sana Sana led the way out to the bush. Ndiwa came across a nice rock that she used to scratch the side of her tummy on, while Suguroi scratched her trunk against a tree. Roho briefly teamed up with Sana Sana to browse and then left to join Mukkoka for a wet dust bath. Nabulu settled to feed from the same shrub as Ambo, while Kauro settled to browse with Kuishi. Naleku took a break from feeding to have fun digging at the soft soil with her tusks and throwing it over her body. Kuishi passed by and decided to join the little girl in her cool soil bathing exercise. Dololo boycotted all the fun and games and instead chose to concentrate on plucking leaves from tall trees. Musiara found a nice tree stump that he used to scratch his tummy on, before walking over to Malima to browse with her for most of the day.

As the day progressed, Ndiwa, Malkia, Kuishi, Sagateisa, Jotto and Naboishu took a break from feeding to have fun playing in some mud they came across. 

After having their noon milk feed, the orphans had their milk bottles then headed to the water trough. Once again, they didn't bother wallowing as they have their choice of places in the bush at the moment, with so many puddles and bush mud holes available whenever they feel like cooling down. The orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Ambo, Naleku, Malkia, Kamok and Kuishi took a break for a while to enjoy an afternoon wet soil bath. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. Towards bedtime Pare and Rapa lagged behind again and only returned to the stockades well past midnight.

After leaving their stockades, Suguroi, Naleku, Sagateisa and Musiara settled for a scratching exercise along the wall of the compound. Shortly later, all the orphans headed straight out to browse without waiting for lucerne like they normally do. They were eager to begin browsing on all the fresh green vegetation shooting up thanks to the recent rain, and thought there was no need for lucerne today!

They walked east of the compound, where Kuishi, Mapia and Jotto came across some water collected on a rock, which they decided to drink. Ambo teamed up with Sattao to browse for a little while. Musiara had an itchy neck and found a nice tree that he used to scratch against. Sattao then abandoned Ambo and moved to join Neshashi to browse. Rapa and Pare, the two new independent boys, moved away from their friends to browse on their own, while Jotto engaged Kauro in a private conversation. Kauro, Kamok, Rapa and Pare are appending a lot of nights out these days, and returning in the morning. Perhaps Jotto Jotto wanted to find out from Kauro what it’s like to stay out at night!

Roho, Sagateisa, Malima and Sattao took a break from browsing when they came across a muddy patch. The two boys and two girls quickly changed colour from grey to red by rolling and smearing themselves with the red clay earth. Later, they were joined by Mapia and Nabulu.

At mud bath time the orphans had their milk bottles then went for a drink of water. They avoided the big mud bath, but walked to a big puddle they have discovered recently in the bush, where they had a lot of fun splashing about. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where they fed calmly for the rest of the day. Ambo teamed up with Malima to browse for a bit.

In preparation of the new Nursery gradutes expected towards the end of the month, the Keepers decided to make some changes to the sleeping arrangements in the night stockades. Ambo, Musiara, Sattao and Mukkoka were promoted to class four, and Jotto, Mapia, Kuishi, Nabulu, Dololo and Malima were moved to the fifth class, while Malkia, Sana Sana and Ndiwa were promoted to the final class, joining Kamok, Kauro, Rapa and Pare, who are slowly assimilating themselves back into the wild by spending more nights out these days.  

After finishing their morning milk bottles the orphans left their stockades early as usual. Naleku, Suguroi, Sagateisa and Mapia settled to scratch along the wall in the stockade compound just as Neshashi started to lead the way out. Along the way, Sagateisa came across a nice rock that she used to scratch her belly on. Moments later, Roho passed by and pushed Sagateisa away from the rock. He wanted his own turn scratching there, but instead of being patient, he was rather rude to poor Sagateisa!

The orphans browsed as they headed towards Kalovoto. They moved fast and seemed in competition with one another over who could get the freshest shoots. It looked like they were plants they were favouring more than others today as well. The ones they liked more they would all crowd around and share before moving onto the next one. They all spent the entire morning just browsing, without messing about or playing at all!

Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans came across a pool of water that they splashed themselves with. Malkia, Roho, Kuishi, Ambo, Mapia and Musiara spent the most time in the water as their friends moved on to the main waterhole for their milk bottles. As soon as he saw the others leaving however, Mapia quickly got out of the water as well. He knows all sorts of short cuts to the mud bath and decided to surprise his friends by using a different route, arriving at the mud bath before anyone else! The orphans had their milk then waded through the mud bath water to wash their feet before heading back out to browse. Jotto, Kauro and Rapa didn't turn up for the milk feed at all, and were left behind enjoying the lush vegetation. They are slowly but surely weaning themselves of being dependent on the Keepers and their milk bottles.

The orphans started their afternoon by browsing west of the hill, but while the Keepers were having some lunch, they all quickly moved onto another spot in the Kone area. After following their tracks, the Keepers soon found them again. The day grew steadily warmer, so when the orphans came across another puddle they splashed about and cooled off there for a while. In the evening they all returned safely to the stockades for the night.

The orphans chose to have some lucerne this morning instead of heading straight out. When they were ready it was Sagateisa who led the way, and all the orphans immediately settled down and wasted no time in getting down to browsing. There was a bit of tension later when Kuishi climbed a small hill and accidentally stepped on a loose rock that gave way and slid down. The sound of the falling rock scared the orphans who all ran and huddled together. You could have heard a pin drop as all the orphans converged in a circle facing out with their trunks up, listening intently to see if there was any danger. Kuishi was the only one who remained unperturbed as she knew exactly what had happened, and she just continued climbing all the way to the top of the hill and continued browsing! After a while the orphans realised that there was nothing to worry about and so they scattered out again to resume browsing. Musiara settled to browse with Pare while Nabulu teamed up with Kuishi. Later, Musiara moved to join Naleku and Kamok.

Sattao and Pare were spotted in a competition over who had the longest trunk. They were both stretching high up to reach the leaves at the top of the same tree. It wasn’t long before the two boys realised that they are the same height and have the same length trunks, so they were both just feeding from the same level. Once they realised this they relaxed and browsed a bit more calmly together. Ambo took a break from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground. It wasn’t long before they were meant to go to the mud bath that Ambo then had a disagreement with Mapia, which resulted in a fight. Ambo’s best friend Kamok didn’t stand by and allow Ambo to be defeated, and so she intervened and pushed Mapia away. Sagateisa, Jotto, Kauro and Ndiwa separated from the herd on the way to the mud bath. It took the Keepers over half an hour to find them!

In the afternoon the weather changed, and clouds gathered obscuring the sky, which soon gave way to rain. The orphans scattered in different directions as they enjoyed the pouring rain. This Keepers had a hard time trying to gather them together again and in the process, they lost track of Sagateisa, Neshashi, Ambo and Sana Sana. The search went on while the others started to walk back to the compound, but it wasn’t long before the Keepers found the missing bunch and walked back to the compound with them as well.

It was lovely to see Barsilinga in the morning, who showed up with the small group who spent the night out, including Kauro, Pare, Kamok, Rapa, Malkia, Ndiwa and Sana Sana. They joined the dependent orphans who had already started eating lucerne. Shortly later, Ndiwa led the way out to the bush.

Suguroi, Malkia and Naleku decided to have a fun moment rolling on the wet ground before going back to browsing. Roho settled to browse with Jotto and later moved to browse with Dololo. Kuishi teamed up with Ndiwa and Mapia as Rapa, Kauro, Pare and Barsilinga broke away from the main herd and left. An hour later, the weather changed and it started to pour. As usual, the pouring rain got the orphans in a playful mood. They scattered out and started playing in any running water or muddy hole they came across. When the rain stopped, they also stopped playing and resumed browsing. The orphans then settled to browse calmly up until their noon milk feed, when Suguroi led the first group to the mud bath. The orphans had their milk and didn't waste any time at the mud bath, walking back out to the bush as soon as they were done. Jotto challenged Kauro but ended up losing the game. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed quietly for the rest of the day.

It rained early in the morning which meant it was a very cold start to the day. The dependent orphans had their morning milk bottles and walked out to have some lucerne, but just as the Keepers were about to distribute the tasty grass, it started to rain. Suddenly none of the orphans seem interested in the lucerne and they all followed Naleku out to the bush.

Even after just the few recent rain showers, ithas already turned a beautiful shade of green here at Ithumba. Barsilinga is the only ex-orphan around at the moment. Naboishu started playing and rolling on the ground in the mud enjoying the rain.

When the orphans were at the mud bath for their noon milk feed, no one bothered to play in the water today, and everyone walked straight back out to browse. It is still very wet everyone and the orphans can’t help but get a bit distracted from their browsing activities to play in the mud every now and then. Malkia, Sana Sana, Naboishu, Ndiwa and Kuishi were the first to find some water and start playing. The rest of the herd were busy enjoying the fresh green vegetation. At the end of the day, they all walked back to the stockades together for their milk bottles and to go to bed for the night.

As soon as the orphans left the stockades, best friends Mapia and Ambo decided to scratch their itchy bodies along the wall in the stockade compound. Jotto warmed up his sleepy limbs by sitting and rolling on the ground, watched by Naboishu, Dololo and Sagateisa. The orphans settled for lucerne briefly before being led out to the bush by Kamok. It is so green at the moment and the orphans are really enjoying the lush vegetation as a result of good rains.

As there is so much vegetation around the orphans like to team up and share. Naboishu partnered with Larro while Kamok settled to browse with Malima, Ambo, and Sagateisa. At around ten o'clock in the morning, the orphans decided to take a break from feeding as they had been going nonstop all morning. Mapia, Sagateisa, Ndiwa, Naboishu, Neshashi and Roho converged under a tree and took a nap while standing up.

Later, Naleku led the first group to the mud bath for the noon milk feed, followed by Suguroi. The orphans had their milk bottles then jumped into the waterhole to cool off. After having enough of wallowing, Sattao and Musiara led the way out of the water, but then Kuishi took over the lead – she wanted to decide the way they would browse in the afternoon! It was a quiet afternoon and in the evening Larro led the first group back for the night.

Sana Sana, Kauro, Malkia, Kamok, Rapa, Pare, and Ndiwa spent the night outside the stockades and joined the dependent orphans for lucerne. Naboishu was happy to see his friend Sana Sana back, but Ambo was the most overjoyed to see his beloved Kamok. Jotto took Rapa aside and engaged him in a pushing game. Jotto looked as if he was asking Rapa questions, like where Rapa spends his nights and what it’s like out there in the wild. Jotto will just have to find out for himself when he joins his friends out there! Later, Neshashi led the way out.

Mapia challenged Rapa but Jotto came in-between them, which made Mapia leave and occupy himself somewhere else. Malima chose to browse with Musiara and little Sagateisa. Kuishi came across a nice rock that she used to scratch her belly on. Neshashi teamed up with Ndiwa as Naleku opted for a soil dusting game. Malkia, Ambo, Naboishu and Jotto all browsed together. Just off to the side, Pare, Kuishi, Jotto, Neshashi and Malkia took a break from feeding to cool down and dust themselves. Sana Sana took little Suguroi and Naboishu with her and moved away from the rest of the herd.

It was quite funny watching Neshashi on the way to the mud bath. She had eaten enough food so the grass she was pulling up she was just throwing in the air and letting fall on her back. After their bottles it was only Barsilinga, who had joined the dependent orphans earlier in the morning, who decided to wallow.

Sagateisa, Sana Sana, Jotto, Neshashi, Larro, Suguroi, Roho and Naleku split from the herd and decided to go to the smaller mud bath on the roadside to roll in the wet soil. Roho attempted to climb on Naleku, but this really annoyed her. She tried as much as possible to disengage herself from Roho, but eventually she turned to face him, trying to understand the reason why he was being so confrontational.

In the afternoon, ex-orphans Wendi, Wema, Wimbi, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Galana, Gawa and Makena briefly joined the orphans as they browsed west of the hill. They made away with Sagateisa, Ndiwa and Rapa, without the Keepers’ knowledge. The ex-orphans brought the three orphans back to stockade.

It was a quiet morning. The orphans left their stockades and settled for lucerne briefly before heading out. The orphans didn’t go far however, as today we welcomed three new arrivals from the Nairobi Nursery! The lorry carrying Olorien, Lodo and Esoit arrived at Ithumba at 9:42 AM. The doors to the lorry were opened and there the tree babies stood, waving their trunks in the air, picking up all the new smells of Ithumba. They were given a milk bottle before being walked down to the water troughs to meet with their friends from the Nursery and the rest of the Ithumba herd. Naleku, Suguroi, Sagateisa and Neshashi were brought first to meet the new babies. Naleku and Suguroi recognised the babies instantly. Neshashi didn’t seem bothered at all by the arrival of her old friends and ran into the stockades, thinking that it was an extra milk feeding time! The rest of the herd then followed her into the stockades, including Olorien, Lodo and Esoit. The second group to greet the new arrivals were Roho, Naboishu and Larro. Roho, of course, recognised Olorien and Esoit, having spent so many years with them in the Nursery. Roho entwined his trunk with his old friend Esoit, and later with Olorien, too.

The rest of the herd arrived slowly and in groups, so as not to overwhelm the new babies. Each and every one wanted to say hello to the new arrivals. The orphans then started browsing, heading in the direction of the mud bath for the noon milk feed. Jotto tried to lie down, to entice the new ones to come and play on him, but the herd didn't give them a chance as they ushered them towards the milk feeding area. Olorien, Lodo and Esoit enjoyed feeding on all the lush, green vegetation. Olorien appeared so very calm and at ease with her surroundings; you would never be able to tell she only arrived today! One could tell that Lodo was new, as every now and then he would charge about nervously, although he would soon settle down again.

At the mud bath, Olorien, Lodo and Esoit were led by their seniors to have their first mud bath in the big dam. While wallowing, Mukkoka attempted to ride on Lodo, but he was cautioned by the Keepers to stop such rude behaviour towards the new babies. The orphans didn't stay in the water for long and left to continue feeding on the lush vegetation. They were briefly joined by Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Yebo, Kinna, Kaia, Wiva, Teleki and Mwende. Dispute being new to the area, Esoit is always looking for a wrestling partner and so challenged Yogi, while Kuishi challenged Wiva. Both matches ended in a draw. Shortly later, the ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba hill near Kone dam. It was quite cool, and the three new babies looked extremely comfortable in their new environment. It was clear they weren’t feeling too hot in Tsavo, as the Keepers kept an eye on them to see if they were drawing any water from their stomachs, which elephants do when they feel very hot. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day without any major events unfolding.

It was the first morning at Ithumba for Olorien, Lodo and Esoit. Naleku, Suguroi and Sagateisa were eager to show their friends from the Nursery the ropes, and the newcomers followed them out of the stockades. The three babies calmly followed instructions offered by Naleku about how and where to leave the stockade and which gate to use. It was an incredibly misty morning. Suddenly, out of the mist emerged Mulika, Mkuu, Loijuk, Lili, Lenana, Lapa, Ithumbah, Iman, Naisula, Nyx, Mteto, Esampu and Maramoja, who came to welcome the orphans outside and walk together with them to the lucerne feeding area.

Ambo has come to discover recently that the final year graduates don't finish all their branches in the night. So, while everyone was fussing over the new arrivals and going to have some lucerne, he took the opportunity to walk down and into the seniors’ stockades to finish off their leftovers. Nabulu interacted for a bit with Mkuu, before being warned off by Mulika to keep away from her son. Mteto, Esampu and Maramoja, who left the dependent herd recently due to their love for Nyx and the desire to be nannies, are still doing a wonderful job of taking care of the little girl. They can be seen guarding Nyx all the time! Olorien walked over to look after Iman who was being watched closely by her mother. Later, Mukkoka was seen having a chat with Lodo, Esoit and Olorien and we couldn’t help but wonder if he was showing off about all his knowledge of Ithumba.

On the way out to browse, Esoit challenged Roho to a pushing match, just like old times, but then he backed out of the game and decided just to catch up and walk along with his friends instead. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area where Neshashi teamed up with Lodo and Sagateisa chose to browse with Sana Sana. Later, Neshashi, Esoit and Nabulu opted for a soil dusting game. They looked like they were having so much fun. They were soon joined by Naleku, Suguroi, Mukkoka, Roho, Rapa, Mapia and Ambo. Naboishu and Kuishi moved away from the herd to browse on their own and returned later on the way to the mud bath.

After their noon milk feed the orphans chose to have a shallow mud bath in a water pan close to the mud bath. Little Olorien had such fun and rolled around covering her entire body in mud! Only her eyes and eyelashes stuck out. Perhaps the orphans felt a little too muddy, as once they were done in the mud they walked over to the main waterhole and had a proper swim there. Later they settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Sagateisa, Neshashi and Suguroi took a break from feeding to play at the edge of the road, rolling in the loose soil there.

The orphans returned safely to stockade compound just after 5pm as usual.

The orphans left their stockades with one less member this morning, as Lodo disappeared yesterday. More accurately, he was ‘kidnapped’ (!) by the crafty Narok and did not return during the night. We were hoping that Narok would bring him back for his milk bottles, but there was still no sign of Lodo as dawn rose. We resumed our search for the young orphan, while the rest of the herd settled to browse in between Kone Dam and the east side of the hill. This was away from where we thought the ex-orphans were, for fear of losing another baby! Finally, Lodo was located five kilometres west of Imenti Dam, having linked up with Yatta’s herd during the night. The Keepers managed to separate him from the herd, directing him towards the mud bath to join his dependent friends. However, Lodo took the helicopter in circles for nearly two and half hours, as he resisted leaving the ex-orphans. While the helicopter went to refuel, Lodo managed to evade the ground team and linked back up with Yatta’s herd! Eventually it was decided that since Lodo had been running around for over two hours non-stop, it would be better to let him relax and wait to see if Yatta and her herd would bring him close to the stockades, when we could spring into action once more.

The rest of the dependent herd had a quiet morning, with the Keepers on high alert in case any of the ex-orphans decided to stop by and try to entice any babies away. In the afternoon, Roho, Malkia, Suguroi, Sana Sana and Kuishi had a fun game rolling on the ground. Rapa engaged Kauro in a pushing game, but shortly after the game began, Rapa surrendered and decided to resume browsing instead. Larro led the first group back to the stockades in the evening while Suguroi and Naleku led the second one.