Continuing last month’s baby boom in Ithumba, April brought yet another addition to our extended elephant family — Lualeni’s newest kid, Luki!
In the very early hours of 29th April, when it was still dark out, the Keepers saw a small family group of elephants outside the stockades. They could just make out the form of Lualeni with her two daughters, Lexi and Lulu — and with them was a brand-new baby, who had been born only hours earlier! Lualeni clearly made the pilgrimage home right after delivering her little boy. She was accompanied by Oltaiyoni, who has been appointed the baby’s main nanny.
The following morning, Lualeni and co. were still waiting outside the stockades, clearly eager to make proper introductions. Right after having their milk bottles, the dependent orphans made a beeline for the group. Our notorious baby lovers, Naleku and Suguroi, tried their best to spend time with Luki, but his protective sisters quickly steered their brother towards their mother. Lualeni later linked up with the dependents at mud bath, where Luki had his very first mini wallow, before heading north. Read more about Luki's arrival.
In fact, Naleku and Suguroi didn't succeed much this month in their quest to spend time with the newborns. Another day, Yatta was at the stockade compound with her daughter, Yara. The baby-obsessed girls walked close to Yatta, seeking permission to interact with Yara, but the tiny girl resolutely stuck by her mother’s side.
Other orphans have more success in their friendships with the wild-born babies. For instance, Nasalot’s oldest son, Nusu, has become best friends with young Mundusi. Wherever Nasalot and her sons go, Mundusi follows. He and Nusu are about the same age, so the friendship makes sense. It’s so wonderful to see bonds forming between our orphans and the wild-born offspring.
Our semi-independent orphans — Kuishi, Sattao, and Larro — are thriving. They sleep outside the stockades, but link up with the dependent herd first thing in the morning. For now, this arrangement suits them: They get the independence of nights in the wild, but also the comfort of spending their days ensconced in their usual routines.
However, Kuishi seems very keen to recruit more members to her little group. One morning, something startled the orphans and they scattered in all directions. The Keepers managed to wrangle everyone back together, only to realise that Kuishi, Larro, and Esoit were missing. It was obvious that Kuishi took advantage of the momentary mayhem to kidnap Esoit. Kuishi is constantly attempting to make off with her beloved little boy, but the Keepers are usually successful at blocking her.
An hour later, the Keepers found the truant group hiding Esoit in some nearby bushes. They slowly marched the group back to the stockades — the girls may be ready for independence, but Esoit is still young! From now on, we have to be even more vigilant, because it’s becoming a tug of war between the Keepers and Kuishi over who will keep Esoit.
Roho has developed a funny habit of snagging a free ride. He clambers atop a friend and hangs on as they shuffle away — why put in the effort of walking when a friend will do it for you? We can usually find him riding on Kinyei and Naleku, who are long-suffering and ever-patient of the young rogue’s antics. One day, when Kindani led the group into the mud bath, Roho took advantage of those nose-diving into the water and caught free ride after free ride on their backs!
Lodo remains our undisputed wallowing king — any time he finds water, be it a small puddle or a big pool, he paddles in. He is usually joined by Suguroi, Olorien, and Roho, although they are a bit more finicky about their swimming conditions. Bondeni, Vaarti, and Mayan aren’t opposed to swimming, but they seem to prefer other activities, like finding a nice rock or tree branch to scratch on.
The month ended on a wonderful note. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Suguroi led the way to the mud bath. To our surprise and delight, we found Jotto and Musiara — who had been missing in action for a year — were waiting for us, relaxing by the pool. The boys left the Ithumba area in April of last year and hadn’t been seen since. Despite all the time that had passed, they knew exactly the time and place to meet their human-orphan family. Jotto was a bit reserved, but Musiara was very interactive and even went to check if there was any milk left in the crates.
The dependents exchanged greetings with Musiara. Our new boys — Mukutan, Choka, and Loldaiga — were amazed by the eight-year-old’s calmness. Olorien informed the boys that Musiara was once like them, but he has moved on with his life. Suguroi exchanged greetings with Jotto and tried to bring him out of his shell. Later, Musiara and Jotto followed the orphans to the browsing field, perhaps wanting to catch up on a year’s worth of news.