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As many of the orphans were checking on each other after emerging from their stockades this 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 and the four elephants twisted up a few clumps of grass.

When the rest of the herd began ambling out to the forest, Wamata, Talek and Arthi popped over the fence to join them. Alia also tried to follow the herd — but she could not clamber back over the fence. She lifted one leg and then another but did not have the strength to push her body over the barrier. Trumpeting in frustration, Alia succeeded at last and ran up the path to be welcomed with rumbles by the herd. Rescued in October last year, Alia has become much stronger – but is not yet nimble enough to nip over the fence!

After the 9:00 AM milk feed, Nyambeni, Talek and Kipekee had fun playing in a small patch of thick mud in the forest. Nyambeni and Talek rubbed bellies in the mud and then Kipekee clambered on top of Talek before rubbing her belly in the mud while the older girls stood by. Our little naughty girl loves mud wallowing!

Later in the morning, Wamata and Arthi got stuck into a sparring match. As they pushed one way and then another, engrossed in the game, they moved away from the herd and deeper into the forest. When the game finally came to an end, the two friends realised that they were on their own! Trumpeting in alarm, they began bush bashing in every direction.

Of course, Muridjo and Mzinga, with the rest in tow, arrived minutes later to reassure the not-so-brave pair and the herd settled to browse around them. To his delight, Arthi then led the orphans even deeper into the bush. He may be one of the youngest in the herd — but Arthi is always happy to lead!

After it rained heavily just before dawn, the orphans did not want to get their feet wet on their way out to the forest. They stuck to the path and did not want to walk on the grass. Walking side by side in a line, if one pushed another, the other pushed back – just to keep on the path! Pardamat and Olomunyak shoved one way and another but somehow both managed to keep off the grass!

Out in the forest, the orphans settled to browse in an open clearing. On a cool morning with lots of rain on the grass, they avoided the thick bush and instead chose an open area.

After the 9:00 AM milk feed, most of the elephants stayed around the mud wallow but not Pardamat and Nyambeni. On most days, we send them a few metres away to browse in the bush as they can be rough to the visitors. Today, Mzinga was not happy with this situation! She kept trying to sneak off to join her two friends. Mzinga is a very determined girl and so we let her have her way. She joined best friend Nyambeni and, luckily, the rest of the herd was happy to carry on browsing on greens around the wallow.

In the afternoon, the herd had a wonderful time playing in a pool of water in the forest. Led by Nyambeni to the pool, some paddled and splashed while others put their faces in the water or lay down for a wallow. On hot days, Muridjo or Nyambeni or Mzinga will decide that it is time for a cool down and lead the herd to a forest pool. Our three mini matriarchs know every mud hole and dust bath in the forest.

Not content with pinching cubes from neighbour Arthi in the evening yesterday, Olomunyak continued his quest for extra food this morning. Yesterday, he knelt with bottom aloft to squeeze his trunk under the partition and suck up some extra treats; today, he marched into Arthi’s stockade. Our very stout boy walked out of his room, hung a right, and popped into his neighbour’s stockade. A minute later, out he came and in he went to 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.

We were very happy to watch Alia playing this morning. After browsing next to Arthi, Daba and Wamata for some time, she gave Arthi a small push and then the four elephants played a gentle pushing and leaning game. Although the game did not last long, it was an encouraging sign that Alia is learning to trust other orphans as she heals from the trauma of losing her mother and family.

Later in the morning at the mud bath, Pardamat and Olomunyak were climbing up the heap of dry soil, sliding down, and climbing up again. Rather than taking turns, they were pushing and shoving each other like squabbling toddlers. Pardamat is older and stronger but Olomunyak has the advantage of a pair of small tusks!

On their way back to the forest, Nyambeni and Taroha encountered a family of warthogs and gave chase. The two friends lumbered through the bushes after the nimble pigs and soon almost the whole herd was bush bashing and trumpeting. Alia was the only elephant who did not take part in this noisy game. She kept her distance, standing close to a Keeper, and did not join the others until they had settled to browse deep in the forest.

Maxwell was posing at one of the gates of his enclosure as the elephants wandered out to the forest this morning and so Muridjo, Nyambeni, Mzinga and Taroha stopped off along the way. While Max stood still on one side of the gate, the girls (and the bull) stretched their trunks through the gaps. Nyambeni was holding up the rhino’s ears with her trunk while the others draped theirs over his head. The elephants soon carried on, whereupon an excited Max lumbered around his large enclosure in circles before settling to graze on pellets with several warthogs and baboons.

In contrast to most days, Tytan and Notty did not want to visit the mud wallow this morning. Usually, they race down the path with their Keepers struggling to keep up but not today. The two Keepers led them for a few steps and then Tytan and Notty changed direction for the stockades. The Keepers called them and the whole process began again. At last, the rhino and the zebra made it to the wallow where they drank their milk and rolled on the dry soil.

The two friends left and 12 elephants took their place. As many were feeding on greens after their milk feed, Taroha, Olomunyak, Wamata, Arthi and Talek wallowed in the mud pool. The dominant bull lay lazily on his side in the middle while the other splashed around and over him.

Later in the day, Olomunyak was up to his greedy tricks again. He gobbled the range cubes in his stockade, stuck his bottom in the air, and extended his trunk under the partition separating his stockade from Arthi’s. The younger bull tried to kick away the trunk with his back legs, but a determined Olomunyak was not giving up. Nicking his neighbour’s treats is becoming almost a daily routine!

In the morning the orphans calmly settled to browse out in the field. Unlike many days, not even the bulls were playing games. On some days, Taroha, Pardamat and Olomunyak begin sparring as soon as they walk out of their rooms before they even reach the forest.

Two of our toddlers were kicking off during the 9:00 AM milk feed. Usually, Wamata and Arthi are in the first group sent down for their milk feed. Today, we changed the order and what a fuss they made! As soon as we held them back and allowed Talek, Mzinga and Olomunyak to sprint through the forest to the line of Keepers, they protested with loud trumpeting and feet stamping.

Later in the morning, Alia was playing with Arthi! The two elephants rolled on the ground together, rubbing bodies while dust bathing. This was the first time that Alia has played properly and for a long time with another orphan – and we were happy to see the change. In recent weeks, she has played dust bathing games by herself and, a few days ago, she played briefly with three others but, today, Alia was even climbing over Arthi.

Back at the mud wallow in the afternoon, the herd browsed quietly on supplementary greens or drank from the water buckets. Only Mzinga was being mischievous. Our headstrong girl tried several times to walk away from the others so she could browse in the bush by herself. We kept her with the others – but she did not stop trying!

When the orphans settled out in the field as many were busy browsing, Wamata and Arthi were having playful moments rolling on the ground and covering themselves in dry soil. Wamata was lying on her side doing the Kerrio-cushion thing and Arthi was climbing on her belly and even on her face. It was not long before Daba and Kipekee piled in to the game and then there were three elephants clambering up and sliding off Wamata! Our former spoilt baby is blossoming into a caring responsible girl.

Later in the morning, it was Taroha’s turn to turn into a Kerrio play cushion. Our oldest bull relaxed on the ground while Wamata, Daba and Arthi took turns in climbing all over him. The dominant bull in the herd has a rare character – he is gentle to the young ones and they love spending time with him because they feel safe. Taroha has been like this since he first arrived at the Nursery and became besties with Mokogodo.

In the afternoon, Talek was on baby duty. She was looking after Kipekee and Daba and stuck close to them in the forest while they browsed or played in the dust. The older girls take nanny duty in turns although Muridjo does the most shifts. The youngest orphans in the herd are always with either Muridjo or Nyambeni or Mzinga or Talek. The favourite situation for Kipekee and Daba is possibly being surrounded by all four big sisters!

It was another exciting morning for Kipekee and Daba, the youngest orphans in the herd who sleep in the line of stables with Wamata between them. The three orphans were first to step out of their rooms this morning. As Wamata ambled over to stand outside Muridjo’s stockade, Kipekee and Daba started chasing each other around the area. Along the way, Kipekee was kicking over water troughs.

Watching the action from her stockade, Nyambeni was not happy. She pushed at her gate in an effort to open it and rumbled to Kipekee to calm down — but the little girl would not listen to either Nyambeni or the Keepers.

Kipekee and Mzinga are influential members of the herd. When Talek or Olomunyak are excited, the others sometimes ignore them. When Kipekee or Mzinga are excited, the others react. Thus, as Kipekee darted around the stockades this morning, the other elephants began to do the same. When she ran up the path to the forest, they jogged along behind the youngest orphan in the herd!

Out in the forest, the situation became even more chaotic when Kipekee & Co came across several impalas. All were bush bashing and trumpeting as the antelopes leapt out of their way. To our relief, at last, they settled to browse in the thick green bush.

Kipekee was the centre of attention again later in the morning when 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. This is a tricky skill which requires practice — but the little girl thought she’d give it a go. She tried to lift her front legs off the ground a couple of times without success. Then she tried again, but lifted her legs 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 Kipekee to her feet.

Slowly by slowly, Alia is gaining confidence within the herd although it's taken quite a while. When she stepped out of her stockade this morning, she found Arthi casually drinking from the trough next to her gate. But the young bull had an ulterior motive. (Pardamat, Olomunyak and, recently, Arthi love pestering the girls in the herd.)

Alia walked out — and Arthi began chasing her. At first, she did her best to dodge the bull but then she found courage and defended herself. Alia stood up to Arthi and he backed down! Instead of pestering her, he began playing a pushing game with her, which Daba joined a few minutes later.

As the three were pushing each other, Pardamat and Olomunyak strode over and spoilt their fun. The boys joined in and Alia and Daba immediately walked away, leaving the three bulls to their strength contest.

Out in the forest, Alia’s great day continued. After browsing for a time, many of the orphans began playing in an area of dry dusty soil. Alia and Kipekee were playing together and our shy girl was allowing our spoilt baby to clamber on her back. In the afternoon, Alia got into the mud wallow with the herd. She paddled in the thick mud and, if someone gave her a shove, she shoved right back!

This morning in the forest, the elephants abandoned browsing and gathered in a circle to enjoy a dust bath. Mzinga began loosening some soil with her front legs and Muridjo soon came over to help. The mini matriarch is very good at making dust baths — she sat down and rotated her bottom in circles with head high and trunk flapping. Within no time, the area was clear of broken sticks and foliage and was just right for dust bathing. 

The whole family enjoyed a dust bath, playfully rubbing bodies and rolling around and mounting each other. Mzinga was the superstar today. Taking on one after the other, she engaged all four bulls in wrestling games — first Pardamat, then Taroha, then Arthi and finally Olomunyak. She spent the longest time playing with Olomunyak, the most playful boy in the herd.

The size of Mzinga’s heart surpasses those of the other older girls in the Nursery herd. She has a heart for every animal. This morning, Notty spotted the orphans having their bottles in the forest and came over to greet them. The herd did not welcome her —Muridjo, Taroha and Nyambeni flared their ears and began charging at the small zebra. But caring Mzinga walked over to protect Notty and even escorted her back to Tytan! 

As Taroha was enjoying time with Max on his way out to the forest in the morning, Olomunyak strolled over to challenge him to a pushing game. Taroha withdrew his trunk from the top of Max’s head, turned around and clashed heads with Olomunyak. Meanwhile, the other elephants were hanging around waiting until we had opened every gate.

Today, Mzinga was the last out of her stockade. In recent days, she has often been the one who comes out last – because she is so headstrong. She has been known to run around the compound dodging the Keepers, to hide behind the rubbish area and to pinch pellets from the stores. And she is especially good at ignoring the Keepers when she is misbehaving! Kept waiting in her stockade for only a few minutes, Mzinga was not happy. She was on her knees trying to open the gate herself and then tried to climb over the partition. When we opened the door, she flounced out and rumbled to the herd.

After the 9:00 AM milk feed at the mud bath, the elephants returned to the forest. Kipekee and Mzinga settled in a shallow swampy area with long green grass. They browsed for a time and then lay down in the thick mud. Within no time, everybody else had joined them except for Alia. The herd enjoyed a lengthy mud bath with Kipekee having fun mounting Talek and Wamata. As the others played in the mud, Alia continued to browse — but stayed close to the others rather than wandering off by herself.

This morning, Arthi and Daba decided to have some fun while waiting for the team to emerge from their rooms. They were chasing around, pushing heads and wrestling before chasing each other along the corridors between the stockades. Out in the forest, the two boys browsed for a short time and began playing again. The youngest bulls in the herd are becoming good friends — and also quite feisty!

Wamata still occasionally shows signs of jealousy. Having been the indulged baby, she struggled to adapt to the arrival of Kipekee and to losing her position of special baby. At the mud bath this morning, Wamata felt jealous of Alia and pushed her for no reason. Mzinga ran over to console Alia and check that she was fine while Muridjo went over to Wamata and seemed to have a little chat with her — before returning to her favourite job of looking after Kipekee and Daba who were drinking from a water bucket.

Just like human beings, elephants favour one side of their body. Most of the orphans use their right feet to anchor branches to the ground but not Talek. After pulling down branches with her trunk, she prefers to put her left foot on them to pull off tasty leaves.

No one was ready or willing to join a very excited Wamata this morning. As the herd wandered out to the forest, Wamata frolicked around the others. Trumpeting, she ran ahead and back and around the others and off ahead again. Spotting a group of impalas grazing in a clearing, she cleared the area for the family.

Later in the morning, Alia and Pardamat had some good and joyous moments. They stopped browsing with the rest of the herd and engaged in a friendly healthy game. They pushed each other with trunks entwined and then Pardamat rolled on the ground and Alia play mounted him. Pardamat played with her gently rather than with the strength he uses in games with Olomunyak or Taroha.

The herd visited the mud wallow for a milk feed as usual in the afternoon. Olomunyak and Pardamat played a pushing game while the others browsed on greens or stood around quietly. Nyambeni was doing her water-bucket trick. After drinking her fill, she posed next to the bucket and then carefully poured the remaining water onto the ground while Arthi and Daba were still drinking. The younger elephants had no choice but to suck up water from the ground!

No one cooled off in the wallow today — but Mzinga did have a mud bath. Our independent girl opted to paddle in the pool of rainwater near the wallow where she was joined by Olomunyak.

This morning, we gave the orphans their 9:00 AM milk feed in the forest. As usual, we split the herd into groups of three or four and several Keepers sent each group down to several other Keepers waiting with their bottles. Many of our orphans run their fastest when bottles of milk are involved! Today, Kipekee, Wamata, Muridjo and Daba raced through the trees with ears flapping.

After finishing their milk, the elephants spread out to browse. Pardamat and Talek — who sleep in neighbouring stockades and are good friends — stood in the sunshine with trunks entwined. When Daba first arrived, he was not so playful but, in recent weeks, the little bull has emerged from his shell. This morning, he was enjoying a contest of strength with Arthi who is just five months older than him.

In the afternoon, Tytan — who is growing fast — and Notty spent time around a small patch of mud in the forest. While Notty grazed on green shoots of grass, Tytan lay down and covered every part of his body with very thick mud.

Meanwhile, Kipekee was enjoying a dust bath with her ever-present security detail. She lay on her belly with legs akimbo and trunk twirling on the ground while Nyambeni stood over her at right angles. Talek — who has become very maternal in recent months — came over to provide additional protection. Talek trunk touched the little girl, who continued dust bathing while her nanny cleared away any small sticks from around her!

On their way back to the forest from the mud wallow this morning, the herd had an encounter with some giraffe. Unusually, neither group was aware that they were about to meet. The elephants were ambling through the bushes and the giraffe were leaning over to graze. When they came across each other, both over-reacted. The elephants were trumpeting and running in every direction while the startled giraffe stood up and cantered away. Feeling threatened, several orphans headed for the Keepers. We called their names and, eventually, they calmed down and stood in a protective cluster around Kipekee.

Soon, the elephants spread out and settled to browse in the dappled sunshine. After browsing for a time, they took a break to massage themselves against trees or roll around in the dust. Pardamat found a fallen tree that was perfect for scratching. The bull massaged his bottom and then each of his back legs before straddling the tree for a belly rub!

Not far away, Tytan and Notty were browsing together in a patch of long grass. Following the recent rains, the forest is full of soft grass and the two friends did not need to walk far to fill their bellies.

The sun was shining in a clear sky when the elephants padded up the path in a long line to the forest. Taroha, Alia and Arthi were browsing together this morning. Arthi found a patch of dry ground and lay down for a dust bath. As the other two continued to pull up clumps of grass, the little bull rolled from side to side and hosed up clouds of dry soil.

Notty came out of her stable first followed by Tytan a minute later. Although they spend all day together, the zebra and the rhino sleep apart. Today, both were full of energy. Notty ran out to the forest in front of their Keepers with Tytan lumbering in her wake. She ran up and down and back and forth, leading the rhino to a clearing where both settled to graze. On some days, the Keepers lead the two friends, but not today.

Later in the morning, Notty came across a herd of wild zebra. They tried to scoop her up — but she is not ready to return to the wild and found refuge with her Keepers.

In the afternoon, the herd spread out over a rocky dusty area. Olomunyak and Mzinga playing the pushing game with trunks entwined while Muridjo, Taroha and Talek had a sunbathing session on the rocks.

It poured last night and the noise of the rain falling on the tin roof upset Daba. He would not settle and paced around his stable, rumbling and trumpeting. Wamata, who sleeps in the adjacent stable, did her very best to calm him. She stretched her trunk through the gaps in their shared partition and draped it over his head.

In the morning, the herd visited the mud wallow as usual for another milk feed. Unusually, Alia led her group down the path to the line of Keepers waiting with milk bottles. Usually, she likes to be at the end of the line, but today she chose to lead Arthi, Kipekee, Pardamat, Nyambeni and Mzinga down the path.

In another sign of her increasing strength, after finishing her milk, she walked over to the wheelbarrow with Nyambeni and the two girls demanded an extra bottle. Despite their indignant trumpeting, they were not successful in their quest and were instead pushed on to join the others around the wallow.

Back in the forest in the afternoon, Talek found a massive root. She carefully picked up the prize with her trunk and somehow balanced it on her head. All the others wanted her special root — but she would not give up her prize until mini matriarch Muridjo demanded it, leaving the younger girl with no choice!

On his way out to the forest this morning, Taroha stopped off to greet Max. Our gentle bull draped his trunk over Max’s head as the elephant and rhino stood on either side of the gate. When Taroha carried on to the forest to join the others, Max lumbered around his enclosure, kicked a pile of leaves and settled to graze on his large pile of pellets.

The elephants stayed close to the stockades this morning as there is no need to wander far in search of browse. After filling their bellies, Wamata and Arthi squatted on their haunches and played a gentle version of the pushing game in the long grass while Pardamat and Taroha played a rougher version, clinking tusks, twisting apart and pushing against each other again.

Muridjo, Daba, Kipekee and Alia continued to browse while the others played around them. Daba was playing his own little game between mouthfuls. He was pulling up clumps of long grass, twirling them and balancing them on his head before popping them into his mouth.

The sun came out in the afternoon and the orphans played around the pile of dry soil at the mud wallow.  Olomunyak and Talek rolled against and over each other as they lay on their sides while big sister Mzinga laid her trunk over their backs.

Alia was back to her reserved self this morning. On recent days, she has been in the midst of the herd and even playful on occasions but today she chose to be on her own and tagged along at the end of the line. It takes some elephants, such as Alia, a long time to recover from their ordeals. We have been happy to see the changes in her this month but know that she still has a way to go.

Muridjo, Olomunyak and Kipekee were in the first group sent down for a milk feed in the forest. Olomunyak gulped his bottles and tried to pinch Kipekee’s bottle. This was a cheeky move but not a clever one, especially with Muridjo standing by. The matriarch shoved him away and fussed over the little girl.

Unbothered, Olomunyak walked away in search of a playmate, challenging first Wamata and then Nyambeni. Both girls were happy to play with him, knowing the young bull is rarely too rough. He and Wamata pushed heads while moving back and forth in the bush and then Nyambeni lay on her side while Olomunyak leant against her and rested his forelegs on her belly.

In the afternoon, somehow, our super-protective nannies managed to multi-task, looking after Kipekee and playing at the same time! With Kipekee positioned in the small gap between them, the two girls played the pushing game while Muridjo lay on her side and Nyambeni stood next to her.   

The herd had a morning milk feed in the forest again this morning. Trumpeting in anticipation, Wamata and Daba padded down as fast as they could in the first group, lifting their trunks just before they reached the Keepers. Alia, Kipekee and Mzinga were in the second group. Again, through the bushes they sprinted to drink their milk. Crafty Mzinga then headed back to tag along behind the third group made up of Pardamat, Arthi, Talek and Olomunyak. In she ran with her trunk lifted, hoping for a bonus bottle! Taroha, Nyambeni and Muridjo padded in slowly at the end, enjoyed their milk and settled to browse with the others.

In the afternoon, the elephants visited the mud bath for milk feeding and dust bathing. While some drank from the water buckets, several covered themselves in dry soil, either by rolling on the ground or rubbing their faces and bellies or by sucking up trunkfuls and hosing the soil over the backs.

Later in the day, Taroha was relaxing in the shade of a tree while Olomunyak rubbed his sides and backsides against his body. It is unusual for the dominant bull in the herd to be so easy-going!

In the forest in the morning, Alia was browsing with Pardamat, Arthi and Olomunyak. The three bulls often keep her company and have been more welcoming than Muridjo who only has eyes for Kipekee and Daba.

Not far away, Muridjo, Nyambeni and Mzinga were clustering around Kipekee. This morning, they did not allow Talek to get close to the spoilt baby and so she walked over to join Pardamat and Alia. The older girls allow Talek close to Kipekee when they are feeding but sometimes block her when they are idle.

Soon, Mzinga ambled away in search of Olomunyak who never turns down an invitation to play. She extended the challenge, he happily accepted and the two orphans settled into a playing and mounting session.

Later in the day, Muridjo led the herd deep into the woods. The mini matriarch does not lead the others if they are in familiar territory around the stockades but does if they are exploring the forest. She sauntered along in front with Mzinga and Alia bringing up the rear. Before long, they settled to browse in an open area. Mzinga and Daba wandered in a patch of long grass while Arthi had a sunbathing session on a rocky area. In between pulling up clumps of grass, he stood tall and swung his trunk over his head and down to his knees. 

It rained for most of the night and was still drizzling when the orphans headed out from the stockades to a forest of mud and puddles.

Muridjo led the others to an enormous patch of squelchy mud where everyone mucked about in ever-changing groups. Muridjo was first to play in the mud but was soon joined by Pardamat, Wamata, Arthi and Taroha. They sat and rolled and rubbed while slapping themselves with their trunks. Nyambeni joined the mud bath as some of the others stood up to browse. Olomunyak was next. The little bull rubbed his face so vigorously that he lost his balance and tipped over onto his very rotund side!

Off went Nyambeni and on came Taroha and Pardamat. The bulls nudged each other while mud bathing on their knees and bellies. Off went the two boys and on came Talek who squatted on top of a still prone Olomunyak, wiggling her rump from side to side.

When at last Olomunyak climbed to his feet as the rained continued to fall, it was to play the pushing game with Nyambeni. But the mud was so thick that neither elephant could get a firm hold on the ground. Nyambeni slid backwards up a very slight incline and the Olomunyak slid over again onto his knees! Metres away, sensible Wamata opted to go backwards down a slope to avoid falling on her face.

After browsing in the forest in the early morning, the herd visited the mud wallow for their mid-morning milk feed. They padded down the path in groups for their milk. Some of the older orphans, including Taroha, like to hold their own bottles, twisting their trunks around them. This morning, Taroha did not want to let go of his bottle even after he had drunk every drop. When a Keeper grabbed it, he let out an enormous trumpet in protest!

Kipekee was being naughty again this morning. After browsing on supplementary greens for a time, our super-confident baby tried to run at the visitors standing along the rope cordon. We intercepted the little girl and sent her over to stand with Muridjo who, as usual, did not tell her off for her misbehaviour.

After drinking their milk, our two youngest boys played a very gentle version of the pushing game. Daba and Arthi stood head to head with trunks touching and almost pushed each other!

Later in the day back in the forest, Talek lay down in a patch of very thick mud. As she rubbed her body against the ground, Mzinga walked up, pushed her bottom and lay down next to her. The good friends massaged themselves in the thick grey mud and then did some sunbathing. 

On some days, such as today, Tytan and Notty go exploring. Notty is usually the leader of the marathon, trotting off into the bushes while Tytan plods in her wake, squeaking along the way. They insisted on walking a long way today before they eventually stopped to graze and rest.

Talek was full of energy this morning. While the others browsed in the long grass, she was chasing a group of impalas. When she gave chase, the impalas moved a short distance away and then back to the herd. (The antelopes feel safe when they are close to the elephants.) Minutes later, Olomunyak, Mzinga and Nyambeni joined the game and Talek now had a squad of supporters. The four elephants charged and bush bashed around the unbothered impalas.

In the afternoon, the sun was shining when the herd visited the mud bath. Everyone’s favourite big brother, Taroha, lay prone on the mound of dry soil with Muridjo, Kipekee, Nyambeni, Olomunyak and Talek clustered around him. They draped their trunks and pushed against the bull while he lay happily on his side. A few metres away, Mzinga was playing with Alia. The two girls entwined their trunks with Alia on her belly and Mzinga standing next to her.

This morning in the forest, Muridjo was being a very responsible matriarch. As the herd padded through the forest, Muridjo took on the rearguard role. She followed just behind the others, twirling around to check in every direction for any possible threats. To her relief there were none and soon the orphans settled to browse in a clearing with Muridjo standing between Kipekee and Daba.

Taroha is such a water baby! In the afternoon, he had a wonderful time playing next to a stream. Rather than drinking the water, he was swinging his trunk from side to side and splashing the water. Then he lay in the mud next to the stream and wriggled around while blowing bubbles in the water with his trunk. Muridjo was watching on. She is also a playful elephant but not quite playful enough to join Taroha’s crazy game!

Arthi loves to be ahead of the family whether in the forest or during milk feeds at the wallow or when coming home in the evenings. If anyone tries to overtake him, he bursts into screams. Today, we sent him back to the stockades with Daba, Kipekee, Mzinga and Talek. He began in the lead but Kipekee came from behind to overtake him. He thundered down the path trumpeting — but could not get past her

This morning in the forest, Tytan had a lengthy mud bath in the rain. He lay in a patch of thick mud that the rain was turning into a muddy puddle. Notty was standing next to him. She does not like mud bathing because she is covered in hair but she does like dust and grass bathing. After grazing for a time, she lay in the grass and kicked her legs in the air.

Tytan and Notty are both growing up. If something gives them a surprise, Tytan reacts by charging with his head down while Notty runs around kicking her hind legs like an excited donkey.

Meanwhile, the herd were browsing among the trees. The older ones pulled down branches while the younger ones pulled up tasty plants. Several orphans also massaged themselves against tree trunks and stumps. Olomunyak and Pardamat scratched their sides against a large tree stump while Talek rubbed her chin against a tree with scratchy bark.

As the others were browsing and playing, cheeky Mzinga tried to sneak back to the stockades in search of tasty leftovers. Today, however, her plan was foiled by a family of warthogs. She pounded around the corner and straight into the pigs. They gave her such a fright that she turned tail and headed back to join the herd.

Last night, Tytan was doing his trick of pushing greens towards the door. He pulled down a bunch of greens tied to the ceiling with a rope and nudged them over to the door with his snout. In the morning, we opened the door to see the rhino standing in the corner and a pile of browse blocking his path. Luckily, Mzinga was on hand to sort the situation. Before we had time to move the obstacle, she nipped in and grabbed some branches.

We shepherded Mzinga away from the door and over to join the rest of the herd as they walked up the path to the forest. They settled to browse in small groups quite close to the stockades.

Later in the morning, the elephants visited the mud bath for a milk feed. Muridjo was in the first group and Kipekee was in the second. This morning, the mini matriarch was being possessive of the baby even while a Keeper was feeding her. She draped her trunk over Kipekee’s head and stood so close that her body was almost between the Keeper holding the bottle and the small elephant drinking the milk!

Back in the forest in the afternoon, four orphans went walkabout. Wamata decided to accompany big boys Taroha, Pardamat and Olomunyak when they sneaked away from the rest of the herd and spent a couple of hours by themselves, resurfacing just before milk feeding time. They had a great time playing in the mud, rolling in the dust to dry themselves, and feeding away from the bigger girls.

Most of the time, Kipekee is reasonably good at sharing the attention of the older girls with Daba (perhaps because she is still the undisputed favourite). But, just occasionally, the little girl is not in the mood for sharing and this morning was one of those occasions. While Muridjo browsed in the forest with one baby on either side, Kipekee took two steps to the left to shove Daba away. This was a step too far even for the matriarch — who pulled Daba back to her side and continued browsing with both babies.

Later in the morning, the herd visited the mud wallow for a milk feed. After browsing on supplementary lucerne and drinking from the water buckets, they ambled back to the forest.

Following recent downpours, the forest is full of small pools of rainwater. In the afternoon, the herd gathered around a large puddle of muddy water. The elephants spread out with many of them taking breaks from browsing to wallow in the mud. At one time, Olomunyak, Nyambeni, Wamata, Kipekee, Taroha, Mzinga and Arthi were somehow squashed into the rainwater pool. They lay against each other playing in the mud. Sensible Alia opted for a mud bath once most of the others had gone back to browsing and only Mzinga and Taroha were still wallowing – she knew she was safe with those two!

Last night was another night of heavy rain. Wamata was first to be upset by the downpour and began trumpeting and pacing around in her stable. Kipekee and Daba — who sleep in the adjacent stables — were soon also trumpeting and pushing at the partitions between the rooms.

Muridjo did her best to calm down the three elephants with help from Nyambeni, Mzinga, Taroha and even Olomunyak. The older orphans rumbled to the younger ones and they eventually lay down again to rest. In the morning, we opened the doors of the three stables first. Wamata, who was standing by the door, ran out as soon as we opened it. She is always fast but today she was super-fast.

Walking out of her stockade, caring Talek came straight down to check on Kipekee. By then, however, the little girl was not there as she had walked up to see Tytan and was standing outside the rhino’s stockade. Minutes later, almost the whole herd was clustered around the elephant magnet that is Kipekee!

We whistled and the herd padded quietly out to the forest and spread out to browse. The remainder of the day was uneventful — although we brought the elephants back to the stockades earlier than usual because it was pouring with rain again.

It poured with rain again last night and Max enjoyed the wet weather in his enclosure this morning. His enclosure was very muddy (apart from the sheltered area where he sleeps). He lumbered around and lay down to cover himself in thick mud before settling to graze on pellets with several warthogs.

During the night, we heard the calls of lions not far from the stockades and so, in the morning, we took the elephants off in the opposite direction. We were sure that they had moved on but did not want to run any risk of encountering a lion.

After a peaceful browsing session, in the afternoon, the orphans had their milk feed in the forest. Talek was first to run through the bush for her milk with Daba, Taroha and Kipekee hot on her heels. After emptying their bottles, they spread out to browse in some welcome sunshine.

Soon, the orphans gathered around an area of dry soil for a dust bathing party! Mzinga and Talek lay on their bellies with trunks entwined with Muridjo standing next to them. Taroha was also lying on the ground with Arthi on one side and Olomunyak on the other. The two younger bulls were leaning against the older bull who, as always, calmly tolerated their antics.

The elephants have enjoyed an abundance of green browse during the rainy month of April. This morning, close friends Pardamat and Taroha lay relaxing in grass so long that half their bodies could not be seen while the rest of the herd browsed around them.

Grazing not far away in a forested area, Tytan and Notty were both watching a group of warthogs — but reacted to them in contrasting ways. While Tytan turned his attention to sharpening his growing horn against a tree stump, Notty gave chase and cantered after the pigs. Despite their obvious differences, the two animals remain close friends who spend all day every day together.

Later in the morning, the orphans had fun playing in the rain in and around the mud wallow. Nyambeni was playing with the water bucket, wedging her front leg in the bucket and then kicking it over, while Daba and Arthi had a short, sweet pushing game. Olomunyak enjoyed a face mud rub with bottom in the air and trunk swishing over the ground as several others paddled in the wallow. But it was Muridjo who stole the show! Our mini matriarch had a wonderful time wallowing and splashing and kicking the water. When it was time to leave, Muridjo just carried on swimming.

On their way back to the forest, the herd stopped off around a pool of rainwater. Two climbed in for another wallow while others splashed the water with their trunks. Meanwhile, the rain just kept on raining