April began with new frontiers conquered for one of our newest rescues, Alia. First thing in the morning, Wamata, Talek, and Arthi climbed over the low wooden fence surrounding a small area of bushes within the compound. Alia, who is slowly gaining in confidence, followed them.
The four elephants enjoyed a quiet browsing session in their off-limits patch. When the rest of the herd began ambling out to the forest, Wamata, Talek, and Arthi popped back over the fence to join them. Alia tried to follow, but could not clamber back over. She lifted one leg and then another but did not have the dexterity to push her body over the barrier. Trumpeting in frustration, she gave it one final try — and succeeded! She ran up the path, to be welcomed with rumbles from the rest of the herd.
That same day, Wamata and Arthi discovered that there are some frontiers they aren't quite ready to explore on their own. The two got so engrossed in a sparring match that they drifted away from the herd and deeper into the forest. When the game finally came to an end, they realised they were on their own. Trumpeting in alarm, they began bush bashing in every direction. Muridjo and Mzinga arrived minutes later, with the rest of the herd in tow, to reassure the not-so-brave pair. Confidence restored, Arthi led the orphans even deeper into the bush. He may be one of the youngest in the herd, but he is always happy to lead — provided he has back-up!
Olomunyak's greed knows no bounds. Not content with pinching cubes from neighbour Arthi the evening before, he continued his quest for extra food the following morning. The previous day he had knelt with bottom aloft to squeeze his trunk under the partition and suck up some extra treats; this time, he simply marched into Arthi's stockade. Our very stout boy walked out of his room, hung a right, and popped into his neighbour's room. A minute later, out he came — and into Daba's room. A few minutes after that, he headed for Wamata's. Eventually, our young man on a mission was rounded up and sent up the path to join the herd in the forest.
Kipekee is a determined young elephant — with an army of back-up support when her ambitions outreach her abilities. One morning, she decided to mimic the bigger girls. Nyambeni, Muridjo, Mzinga, and Talek sometimes balance on their hind legs and stretch their trunks up high to pull down branches from acacia trees — a tricky skill which requires practice. Undeterred, Kipekee thought she'd give it a go. She tried to lift her front legs off the ground a couple of times without success, then eventually lifted them so high that she lost her balance and fell trumpeting to the ground. The reaction was predictable: All the older girls, and good old Taroha, ran to her rescue, dusting her off and helping her back to her feet.
Mzinga is an influential member of the herd — and she is also very naughty. She has been known to run around the compound, dodging the Keepers, hiding behind the rubbish area, and pinching pellets from the stores. She is especially good at ignoring the Keepers when she is misbehaving. One afternoon, she tried to sneak back to the stockades in search of tasty leftovers — but her plan was foiled by a family of warthogs. She pounded around the corner and straight into the pigs, who gave her such a fright that she turned tail and headed back to the herd.
Just like human beings, elephants favour one side of their body. Most seem to be right-footed and right-tusked — but not Talek. After pulling down branches, she prefers to use her left foot to tear off tasty leaves. When her tusks are long enough, it will be interesting to see whether she favours her left tusk too.
Notty and Tytan continue to be the best of friends. Although they sleep apart, they spend the entire day together. Being covered in hair, Notty does not like mud bathing, but she does enjoy dusting and rolling in the grass.
Both are growing up, and their personalities — and species — are becoming clearer: if something gives them a surprise, Tytan reacts by charging with his head down, as a rhino is wont to do. Notty, meanwhile, Notty runs around kicking her hind legs like an excited donkey.
Muridjo is a good leader. She gives the other orphans plenty of independence but steps in when it matters. In familiar territory around the stockades, she prefers to bring up the rear, where she can keep an eye on everyone. Deeper in the forest, however, she assumes the lead, knowing that the others wouldn't know where to go.
One of Pardamat's favourite pastimes is pestering the girls — or anyone, really — but our rogue seems to be growing up. One morning, he and Alia had some joyous moments together. They paused browsing and engaged in a friendly game, pushing each other with trunks entwined. When Pardamat rolled on the ground, Alia play-mounted him. He played with her gently, rather than with the strength he uses in games with Olomunyak or Taroha.
Nyambeni shares Pardamat's unpredictable character. One day she can be incredibly nurturing and conscientious; other days, she wants to do her own thing. At the morning mud bath, we often send Pardamat and Nyambeni a few metres away to browse in the bush, as they can be rough to any unknown faces. One day, Mzinga decided she was not happy with this arrangement and kept trying to sneak off to join her two friends. She is a very determined girl, so we let her have her way.
Taroha is such a water baby. One afternoon, he had a wonderful time playing beside a stream — not drinking from it, but swinging his trunk from side to side and splashing the water. He then lay in the mud beside the stream and wriggled around, blowing bubbles with his trunk. Muridjo watched on. She is also a playful elephant, but not quite playful enough to join Taroha's crazy game.
Maxwell the rhino had a good month, punctuated by morning visits from the orphaned elephants. Taroha remains his closest friend in the herd — the calm elephant stands by his gate, waits for the rhino to approach, and rests his trunk over his head. It rained a lot in April, much to Max's delight. His enclosure was very muddy and he lumbered around, lay down to cover himself in thick mud, and settled to graze on pellets with several warthogs.
The month also brought a funny run-in with giraffes. The elephants were ambling through the bushes and the giraffes were leaning over to graze when they came across each other — and both over-reacted. The orphans trumpeted and ran in every direction while the startled giraffes stood up and cantered away. Feeling threatened, several small elephants headed directly for the Keepers. We called everyone’s names and, eventually, the herd calmed down. They regrouped as they gathered in a precautionary protective cluster around Kipekee.