The highlight of the month was the surprising return of a long-absent friend. One early morning in April, ex-orphans Mbegu, Ngilai, Godoma, and Tagwa wandered into the stockades — with Manda in tow. We had not seen the young bull since he was kidnapped by a wild herd ten months ago.
As usual, we opened the gates of the shared stockades at dawn and the elephants padded out for their morning milk feed. The youngest ones came out first and the oldest ones — including Tamiyoi who spent the night in her old stockade — last. Excepting Lemeki and Thamana, the orphans drank their milk in groups and walked on to the feeding trough.
Sileita soon led the herd out from the stockades to browse around Msinga Hill. Little Serenget walked along with Rokka on one side and Lemeki on the other towards the end of the line of elephants. The two girls did not allow the bulls anywhere near their new baby.
After the afternoon milk feed, Busara plunged into the main baobab tree mud bath while her friends opted for the mini water holes. Thamana and Kenderi were showing off – the bulls lay side by side in the mud with trunks twirling and feet flapping.
Climbing out of the mud, Itinyi and Dabida began a sparring match. The game became serious when Itinyi butted Dabida hard on the head and Dabida bit Itinyi’s trunk. We separated the feisty elephants and they ran off to catch up with the others who had left for another browsing session.
On a bright sunny morning, the orphaned elephants drank their milk and ate range cubes and lucerne before heading out to the browsing grounds.
Sileita took charge and led the herd out from the stockades. Rokka kept close to adopted baby Serenget and so did Lemeki. Soon Ushindi joined them as she also has a soft spot for Serenget. The four girls browsed peacefully in single file on the lower slopes of the hill.
At the afternoon milk feed, Kilulu did his best to win a bonus bottle. He drank his two bottles and then stood next to the milk van with his trunk lifted. We ignored him and continued feeding his friends while he stood waiting even after the others had gone down to the mud bath. Eventually, he gave up and joined the others!
Many elephants cooled off in the mud bath on another hot day. Kilulu lay down in the muddy water and invited Losoito to lie on his stomach. Losoito was happy to rest her forelegs on his belly until a protective Lemeki lay next to Kilulu and extended her trunk to Losoito. The younger elephant moved away from the bull to play with her big sister.
The rest of the afternoon browsing session was peaceful. Tamiyoi stayed with her former family again and followed the other elephants into her old stockade at nighttime.
On a calm morning, the orphans drank their milk and gathered at the feeding trough and on the terraces. Losoito and Baraka remained at the trough after all the cubes had been eaten, hoping that more might appear. Several elephants played pushing and chasing games including Itinyi and Kenderi who had a wonderful wrestling match.
Tamiyoi led the herd out to the browsing fields today. Arriving at the southern foothills of Msinga Hill, she found a good scratching spot and squatted against a boulder, itching her bottoms in a side-to-side movement. The orphans spread out to browse all over the hill.
In the afternoon, we brought the elephants back to the stockades for milk feeding and mud bathing. Akina took the famous rock to massage her bottoms and she was followed by Ushindi. Losoito and Tamiyoi chose the boulders close to the stockade water hole for rubbing a big portion of their bodies.
This morning, Serenget was first out of her stockade followed by Rokka, Mushuru, Losoito and Busara. Today, Losoito was trumpeting so loudly as she ran along behind Serenget that the younger girl bypassed the Keeper standing with her bottle of milk. She decided that a shove from Losoito was not worth two bottles of milk! The others ignore Losoito’s screaming as they are used to it — but Serenget can get overwhelmed.
Observing the upset Serenget, Rokka gulped her milk superfast and came over to guard her little sister so she could drink her milk slowly and in peace. We still fill the tip of her trunk with milk so it does take a long time for her to finish two bottles.
The orphaned elephants soon headed out on their daily browsing adventures. After browsing for a few hours, Sileita shepherded Mushuru away from the herd and the two girls stood quietly under the shade of an acacia tree.
The remainder of the day was peaceful. The herd visited the baobab mud wallow in the afternoon before browsing some more on their way back to the stockades for the night
On another sunny day, the dependent orphaned elephants left the stockades for the browsing grounds after breakfast in the early morning light. Sileita and Mushuru were the leaders of the herd for most of the morning. Serenget was being looked after by Rokka, Lemeki and Ushindi, who trunk touched her regularly as she wandered around, twisting up clumps of green browse.
In the afternoon, we shepherded the orphans back to the stockades for another milk feed and mud bath. On the way back, Baraka — who is jealous because she is no longer the youngest elephant in the herd — gave Serenget a little push and we intervened to protect Serenget.
On a hot afternoon, many of the elephants cooled off in the wallow. Juni, Epiya and Akina submerged their bodies in the muddy water while Sholumai and Mushuru stood on the edge, slapping water over their bodies. After walking back out to browse, many clustered in the shade of trees.
The orphaned elephants enjoyed their morning milk bottles and a brief playing session in front of the stockades before moving out at the beginning of a busy day of browsing. Along the way, mischievous Kilulu was, as usual, turning back to face the Keeper with the camera in a bid to have his picture taken. He loves attention! So does Ashanti who often heads straight over to a man with a camera.
The herd spread over the lower grasslands to browse. Sileita and Mushuru walked off for a private browsing session before rejoining their friends. Sholumai, Ushindi and Dabida also walked off on their own, clambering over the rocks on Msinga Hill before returning to the herd.
In the afternoon, the elephants visited the baobab tree mud wallow. Rokka encouraged Serenget to climb into the main wallow and many soon joined them in the muddy water. Serenget stood calmly on the edge watching the others kicking water with their feet, running around and rolling in the mud. She did not lie down in the water. Noticing her standing quietly, Lemeki led Serenget to the mini water hole where she was happy to play.
On another bright morning, after filling their bellies with milk, range cubes and lucerne, the orphaned elephants played in front of the stockades. Kenderi and Itinyi engaged one another in a friendly sparring match; Busara, Baraka and Losoito played pushing and chasing games; and Thamana and Lemeki stood with trunks entwined.
The herd soon headed out from the stockades to spend the morning browsing on the lower slopes of the hill. Lemeki and Losoito browsed side by side over the rocks while Rokka, Mushuru and Busara walked towards the afternoon milk feeding area, perhaps in a bid to get there first. As Ushindi, Sholumai and Baraka played and rolled around in a dusty erosion gulley, Epiya and Juni stood in the shade of a tree.
In the afternoon, the elephants drank their milk in groups of three or four and ambled on to the mud wallow. Lemeki lay on her side with trunk twirling in a deep mini water hole, inviting Mushuru to join her. The younger girl squeezed in next to the mini matriarch. Afterwards, Lemeki had a dust bath with Ashanti in a dry ditch and Baraka massaged herself against Dabida as she stood under a tree. When Dabida lay down for mud bathing, Baraka followed her.
The dependent elephants left the stockades for their daily browsing adventures straight after breakfast. They wandered up the rocky slopes of Msinga Hill browsing in the sunshine and then spread out over the savannah, browsing on green grass and creepers while walking towards the baobab tree mud wallow.
In the afternoon, Rokka led Losoito, Epiya, Baraka and Busara down to the milk feeding area. They gulped down their milk in seconds and proceeded on to the water trough so the next group could take their place. Kilulu and Akina were in the second group. Mischievous Kilulu tried to grab a bottle from Akina’s mouth but we pushed him away and on down to the wallow.
After a brief mud bathing session, the elephants walked back out to the bush. Later in the afternoon, Kenderi and Kilulu had a wrestling match, Dabida massaged herself against Hildana while he browsed, and Juni stayed close to Baraka, Akina and Busara. Tamiyoi did not return to the stockades this evening, choosing to stay out with the other ex-orphans.
Today was a special day because we had a surprise visitor. In the early morning, ex-orphans Mbegu, Ngilai, Godoma and Tagwa wandered into the stockades with Manda! We had not seen the young bull since he was kidnapped by a wild herd ten months ago.
Our orphans surrounded Manda, rumbling and trunk touching as they welcomed him back to the stockades. Rokka was very happy to see him and so was his best friend Itinyi. Manda looked well and healthy and his tusks were very long.
Mbegu was being very smart. After bringing Manda back, she did not stay long and soon walked away with the other ex-orphans, leaving him behind. Manda was happy to see his old family but was a bit confused and missing Mbegu and the others. When he tried to follow his former mama, we kept him with the herd who were being very welcoming and would not leave him alone. After a milk feed, Manda settled down and spent the rest of the day browsing with the herd.
After the morning breakfast routine, the dependent elephants headed out from the stockades to browse over the southern slopes of Msinga Hill. Having returned from the wild yesterday, this morning Manda and best friend Itinyi sneaked away from the herd. We found them browsing with a herd of wild elephants and shepherded them back to join our herd. They put up no resistance and ambled quietly back to join the others.
In the afternoon, the orphans drank from the water trough and paddled into the mud wallow. While many of the others submerged themselves in the muddy pool, Hildana and Kenderi stood splashing on the edge and Manda lay on his belly, digging into the ground with his long tusks.
After cooling off, Rokka and Sholumai rolled around on the mound of dry soil; Kilulu and Seri posed next to them and hosed themselves with dust; and Baraka, Hildana and Seri rubbed their sides and backsides against the trees. Covered in a layer of soil, the herd ambled out for another browsing walk.
Ex-orphans Godoma, Ngilai, Tagwa, Mbegu and Tamiyoi visited the stockades this morning. They arrived before dawn, drank from the trough and waited under the tree near the entrance. We opened the gates of the three shared stockades and 22 dependent orphans padded down the path for the morning milk feed. Our 23rd orphan, Lumo, was rescued in February and is still confined to his stockade as he recovers from his ordeal.
After posing on the famous rock, Itinyi had a sparring match with old friend Manda. The two bulls pushed back and forth while the others browsed peacefully on lucerne. The orphans soon left the stockades and settled to browse at the foot of Msinga Hill. Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans walked off in a different direction.
In the afternoon, the orphans walked down to the water hole after the milk feed. Lemeki remained at the trough drinking while the rest of the herd paddled into the pool for a mud wallow. Today, water baby Losoito was first to wallow and splash in the muddy pool.
While Manda was lying on the mound of dry oil, Seri approached and invited him to play. Unsure of the situation, Manda stood up but, as he walked away, confident Seri twisted her trunk around his tail in the hope of persuading him to change his mind.
On some days the orphans are thirstier than on others. This morning, as soon as we opened the gates, the elephants sprinted out of their stockades and down the path to the line of Keepers waiting with bottles of milk.
As they sleep in different stockades, Itinyi headed straight over to greet Manda and to challenge his friend to a sparring match. Kenderi, who became Itinyi’s best friend while Manda was away, stood on the sidelines watching the contest of strength.
As the sun rose in the sky, the elephants ambled out in a long line at the beginning of a busy browsing day. In the field, Itinyi would not leave Manda alone. He was on guard duty all morning, just in case Manda made a move back to the herd of wild elephants.
In the afternoon, when the others climbed out and headed back to the bush, Kilulu held Losoito back in the mud wallow. Juni turned around and came back to check that Losoito was happy and that unpredictable Kilulu was not up to any tricks. Satisfied that all was well, Juni walked back to the herd with the other two following in her wake.
The orphans were in playful moods this morning. While Epiya and Sholumai browsed on pellets on the upper terrace and Juni and Hildana rubbed their bottoms against the famous rock, Manda was playing with both Itinyi and Kenderi. The three bulls somehow sparred together with two clashing heads while one had a break and two others clinking tusks while another had a drink. Dominant bull Thamana watched the games while standing quietly next to the trough.
The herd spent the morning browsing over and around Msinga Hill with only one incident disturbing the peace. Serenget was browsing happily next to Lemeki, Rokka and Ushindi until Itinyi snuck up behind them. He play mounted Ushindi whereupon Serenget trumpeted in alarm and squeezed herself up against Lemeki. All was back to normal within minutes as the three older girls disciplined the feisty bull and sent him away.
In the afternoon, the elephants returned to the stockades for milk feeding, mud bathing and dust bathing before heading out for a final browsing session. Later in the day, when the dependent orphans were in the stockades, ex-orphans Tagwa and Murit arrived and spent the night resting under the tree at the entrance. Mbegu, Ngilai, Godoma and Tamiyoi were not far away on the hill.
Murit and Tagwa were waiting outside the stockades this morning as we prepared breakfast and opened the gates. Our elephants emerged and lined up at the feeding trough with the two ex-orphans.
The dependent herd left the stockades and settled to browse over the northern side of Msinga Hill while the visitors walked off towards the Mzima Springs water pipeline. Sholumai, Ushindi and Dabida — who have become good friends — browsed side by side for a long time.
In the afternoon the orphans came down the hill for their usual milk feed. After a brief mud bathing session, they walked away from the wallow to a nearby group of trees. Water baby Mushuru was left splashing in the muddy water but soon caught up with the others.
Some stood in the shade while others rubbed their sides against the trees. After stuffing a trunkful of browse into his mouth, Itinyi massaged his neck against a tree. He was showing off to Dabida, Seri and Hildana who were waiting to take his place.
On a wonderful sunny morning, the elephants stood quietly in their stockades but rushed out as soon as we opened the gates in anticipation of bottles of delicious milk. Manda is happy to be milk dependent again. Ex-orphans Murit, Tagwa, and Tamiyoi were with the dependent herd but Mbegu and Godoma did not visit today.
After browsing on lucerne, Murit stood by while many orphans tumbled around on the mound of red earth. He waited until they had moved away before lying down for a dust bath. When Epiya approached Murit, perhaps to spar with the prone bull, he ignored her and continued hosing himself with dust.
In the afternoon after the milk feed, the orphans went down to the baobab mud wallow. Many cooled off in the muddy water before covering their wet bodies with a thick layer of protective red soil.
In the evening, a de-snaring team brought a two-month-old male zebra to the stockades. They rescued the zebra after he was found among a herd of cattle.
This morning, several elephants began playing outside the stockades while the others continued to enjoy range cubes and lucerne. Kilulu and Hildana were playing the pushing game next to the water trough and Itinyi and Manda were also wrestling. When the contest became serious and Itinyi rammed his friend with the broad part of his head, Dabida — to our surprise — pushed her way between the bulls to separate them.
Serenget was watching the games from the lower terrace — but not for long. When Itinyi grabbed her with his trunk and tried to climb onto her back, she pushed him off and ran to the older girls who were playing on the dust hill. Dabida was also bothered by a bull this morning — after his game with Hildana, Kilulu did his best to play mount her, but our feisty girl gave him a strong shove.
Led by Juni, the herd wandered out to browse with Lemeki and Losoito bringing up the rear. They spread over the slopes of the hill, browsing for a time and then standing in the shade of trees in the hottest part of the day.
In the afternoon, almost the whole herd cooled off in the mud wallow. Sholumai, who spends less time with Sileita than she used to, was rubbing her body against Sileita’s while the two girls enjoyed a dust bath. Sileita was happy to be with her old Nursery friend.
During the night, sadly, the young zebra rescued yesterday died peacefully while asleep.
The stockade dependent elephants were up early ready for breakfast. Feisty Losoito was pushing Baraka away from the feeding trough so she could have the whole space for herself. Rokka, who does not like crowded spaces, walked off to the terraces to enjoy range cubes in peace with Itinyi, Sileita, Mushuru and Busara. Lemeki strolled over to the dust pile followed by Rokka and Busara who both love a morning dust bath.
The orphans later left the stockades for the browsing fields and settled to browse on the north-western side of the hill. Ashanti led the orphans up to the summit while they browsed on delicious shrubs and acacia branches.
In the afternoon, Rokka led the herd back to the stockades for another milk feed. As usual, Serenget — with her special way of drinking milk — was the last to finish. After she had carefully poured every drop into her mouth, she joined the other orphans in the mud wallow.
Manda, Itinyi, Akina, Ashanti, Baraka and Epiya took centre stage during the afternoon dust bath. The six elephants climbed all over each other and hosed clouds of dust over their bodies while Kilulu tried unsuccessfully to play mount Dabida next to them.
Covered in thick mud and dry dust, the orphans wandered out to the bush to browse some more.
At first light, we opened the doors of the three shared stockades. Ashanti was standing in front of the door, blocking the exit in the hope that she would be first to the range cubes feeding trough. Out she sprinted — but the other orphans padded out close behind and soon caught up with her.
After the milk feed, Manda — who is really enjoying his bottles of milk — invited Losoito to join him for an early morning dust bath. The two friends rolled against each other on the red soil.
Before long, the elephants headed out from the stockades for their daily browsing adventures. They spread out over the rocky Msinga Hill, browsing on shrubs as they ambled in the direction of the mud wallow.
In the afternoon, after drinking her milk, Serenget jogged down last in line to the mud wallow. Manda was splashing in the mini mud wallow but everyone else was in the main pool. Some paddled and others lay in the muddy water while Rokka, Itinyi and Sholumai dug down with their tusks.
After cooling off, the herd walked back out to continue browsing over the savannah. Serenget settled to browse in an area of green grass; Manda stood in the shade of a tree, resting his trunk and tusks on the tree; Thamana and Lemeki walked along side by side holding trunks; and Kilulu and Itinyi had a light sparring contest.
After finishing breakfast, the orphans bonded and played in the area in front of the stockades. Lemeki and Losoito were having a dust bath and Rokka soon joined them. Sileita was already making her way out to the browsing grounds followed by Mushuru and Sholumai. Manda — remembering his months in the wild — tried to wander off in the opposite direction with Itinyi and Ashanti but we called them back.
The whole herd then headed out from the stockades and settled to browse on delicious shrubs over the slopes of Msinga Hill, walking towards the baobab mud wallow.
In the afternoon, Serenget, Rokka and Busara ran down in one group for their milk feed. Rokka and Busara gulped their milk and padded on while Serenget sipped hers slowly and sprinted to catch up with her friends. Other groups ran down the hill and on to the wallow for a dip and a dust bath.
After splashing in the mud wallow, Serenget joined Kilulu, Sileita, Ashanti, Dabida and Ushindi at the water trough and Manda rolled around on the mound of dry soil. Meanwhile, the other elephants continued cooling off and playing in the mini mud wallow.
On a wonderful morning at the stockades, ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit joined the dependent orphans for breakfast after not visiting for a few weeks. After breakfast, Murit took on Itinyi in a serious sparring game in the compound.
Meanwhile, Ndotto was standing in the feeding area asking for more range cubes since the two bulls were late and not many pellets were left in the trough. When none were forthcoming, Ndotto walked over to greet newbie Lumo (who is still confined to his stockade). He touched Lumo briefly with his trunk before scooping up a large clump of greens and jogging away with the stash balanced on his head.
The elephants soon headed out to browse in the bush. Manda led the others up to the peak of the hill where they spread out to browse. Manda disappeared into some thick shrubs and euphorbia on the hill but we intercepted him and shepherded him back to the herd. Thamana and Juni were browsing together — the two orphans have become good friends and often choose to be close.
In the afternoon, the orphans padded down the hill for another milk feed. Before the milk van had even arrived, Seri and Akina were sprinting down to the area side by side with Epiya and Lemeki in their wake.
The dependent orphans filled their bellies and hung out in front of the stockades in the early morning as usual. No ex-orphans visited today. Hildana, Kenderi and Kilulu rolled on the dry soil while Epiya and Akina stood tall to browse over the fence and Juni draped her trunk along Busara’s back while she drank from the trough.
Led by Juni, the herd headed out to browse over the slopes of Msinga Hill. Manda, Itinyi and Ushindi walked away from the others towards the water hole on the hill. We intercepted the three wanderers and shepherded them back to browse with the herd.
In the afternoon, Rokka led the first group down for a milk feed and a mud wallow. Most of the orphans splashed in the muddy water as it was a very hot day. While many lay in the middle, Thamana spent a long time standing on the edge thinking about wallowing, before finally climbing in. Serenget did the same but did not paddle in the mud until the others had climbed out.
The herd spent the rest of the afternoon wandering over the savanna before returning to the safety of the stockades for the night.
On a wonderful sunny morning, the dependent orphans were out having their breakfast. Ex-orphan Ndotto arrived and lined up at the feeding trough with Thamana, Lemeki, Ashanti, Busara, Dabida, Ushindi and Kilulu. Rokka, Serengeti, Losoito, Sileita and the rest of the orphans were having their range cubes on the terraces.
After filling their bellies with cubes, Dabida scratched her backside on the famous rock while Busara and Losoito stood with trunks entwined, Ndotto gave Thamana some sparring lessons, Hildana stretched up high to browse on acacia branches over the fence, Lemeki posed on top of the mound of soil enjoying a dust bath, and Ashanti lay on the red soil taking a nap.
As the sun rose in a clear sky, the orphans set out from the stockades for the browsing fields and settled to browse over the open shrub vegetation, walking towards Msinga Hill.
After the milk feed in the afternoon, ex orphan Ndotto joined the dependent herd in the mud wallow. Later, the orphans resumed browsing on the hill while Ndotto sauntered away to the northern side of the water hole to join a herd of wild elephants under the trees.
After the morning milk feed, the elephants gathered either at the feeding trough or on the terraces. Reserved elephants like Rokka and Sileita prefer browsing on pellets on the terraces where there is more space and less pushing and shoving.
Soon Ndotto arrived on his own without any other members of Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans. After feeding with the herd, the visiting bull was hanging out with Hildana who is one of the oldest bulls in our herd and has recently grown a large pair of tusks. Perhaps Ndotto was encouraging him to join him in the wild.
After feeding, Ashanti lay down on her side to relax on top of the mound of dry soil with Manda a few steps behind. When Manda made a move to climb onto her back, Lemeki moved in fast to rescue and protect Ashanti.
Later in the morning, out in the field, Epiya and Kenderi walked away from the herd to browse in a private place. They spent a couple of hours on their own but were smart enough to return to the others in time for the next milk feed.
Ndotto spent the day with the dependent orphans and enjoyed a wonderful mud bath with them in the afternoon.
Ndotto was the first visitor this morning, padding up to the stockades before dawn. Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans — including Tamiyoi, Ngilai, Murit and Tagwa — arrived soon after and the two groups settled to enjoy range cubes and lucerne.
Ngilai and Ndotto had a wrestling match on the lower terrace, showing off their strength and skills to the younger elephants, while Murit and Tamiyoi lay on the mound of dry soil having a dust bath. They stretched out their trunks in invitation to the others, but no one was confident to play with the older bulls. Akina rubbed her bottoms on the wall of the lower terrace while Baraka and Juni stood with trunks entwined.
The two herds headed out from the stockades in different directions. Our herd spread out around Msinga Hill as usual and the ex-orphans walked away in the direction of the river.
In the early morning, the orphaned elephants sprinted out of their stockades and down to the milk feeding area. They drank their milk and joined Lemeki and Thamana, who are no longer milk dependent, at the range cubes feeding trough.
Led by Sileita, Mushuru and Serenget, the herd set out from the stockades in a long line with Rokka and Lemeki bringing up the rear. Half-way to the hill, Serenget trumpeted dramatically and turned back to look for mama Rokka. Responding to her distress calls, Rokka and Lemeki ran towards her. After rumbling and trunk touching, the two older girls sandwiched the younger one as they continued on with the herd.
After the afternoon mud bath, Thamana and Manda played a pushing and sparring match. After the game, Manda itched his leg on a tree some distance from the herd. Although he has settled in well after nearly a year away and is loving milk feeds, Manda still misses his wild friends and has divided loyalties.
In the morning, Sileita and Rokka scooped up range cubes on the terrace while Lemeki, Losoito, Baraka, Dabida, Thamana and others lined up at the feeding trough.
Many of the elephants covered themselves with dry soil before setting out from the stockades. Lemeki and Seri were rolling around on the mound of soil. When Seri walked away to hang out with Hildana, Busara took her place next to the mini matriarch.
Manda walked out first this morning and settled to browse on his own in the open fields. The rest of the herd joined him some time later. The orphans spent the morning on the slopes of Msinga Hill, ambling towards the baobab watering hole.
Appearing out of the bush, a wild bull trailed the herd for almost an hour. He browsed behind them but did not really join them. As the dependent elephants came close to the afternoon milk feeding area, the bull disappeared into the thick vegetation.
The orphans drank their milk in groups and carried on to the wallow. Kilulu and Thamana stopped off to drink from the water trough before joining Dabida in the mini mud wallow.
The elephants spent time outside the stockades in the early morning. Many stood belly to belly at the feeding trough with a few opting for the terrace. They stood quietly sharing the space, except for Losoito who could not resist giving Serenget a shove.
Sileita and Manda were first to make a move and the two stood in the walkway waiting for the others. When Manda began to walk away, he pulled a crowd behind him. The orphans spread out to browse on the slopes of Msinga Hill not far from the stockades. Manda, Itinyi and Losoito climbed up to the summit of the hill to browse on their own while the others remained on the lower slopes.
In the afternoon, the orphans came back to the stockades to meet Lumo properly for the first time since his rescue. The young bull has been confined to his stockade as he was getting used to his new life and recovering from his ordeal.
Mini matriarch Lemeki introduced Lumo to the herd. Rokka, Busara, Akina and Ushindi welcomed him, rumbling in greeting and trunk touching the young bull. Itinyi was being protective of Lumo and making sure the rougher orphans did not come close.
Back out in the field, Lemeki kept a close eye on Lumo and saw off Ashanti and Losoito when they sauntered up to him. Kilulu and Kenderi were being very friendly — the two bulls browsed on the hill with the younger boy.
While Rokka and Sileita browsed on pellets on the terraces, Losoito and Dabida squabbled at the feeding trough. The two feisty orphans would not stand quietly — one shoved the other and then the other pushed back.
Manda was first to head out to the bush again this morning with the rest of the herd ambling along behind him. The dependent elephants settled to browse on the slopes of the hill just above the stockades. Lumo spent time with Busara and then with Ushindi and then with Serenget. The two newbies explored the hill together.
In the afternoon, Lumo, Serenget, Rokka, Busara and Sileita were in the first group for the milk feed. They ran down the hill and up the path to the stockades. After drinking his milk, Lumo walked into his stable. He is still getting used to his new routine and did not come out until Lemeki went in to pick him up.
The elephants wallowed in the muddy water and hosed their bodies with dry soil. As Epiya splashed water in every direction, Ashanti rolled onto her back in the dust. Afterwards, the herd browsed some more over the hill before returning to the stockades for the night.
The orphans padded out of their stockades at first light for milk, pellets and lucerne. Lumo stood close to Busara Dabida and Ushindi at the feeding trough while Ashanti scooped up as many pellets as she could with her short trunk.
Good friends Kilulu and Hildana played a wrestling game as Itinyi and Kenderi chased each other around, warming up for another sparring match.
As the sun rose in the sky, the orphans headed out and settled to browse not far from the stockades. Ashanti, Dabida and Baraka were browsing on delicious acacia shrubs on the slopes of the hill while Juni was scratching her belly on a large boulder.
In the afternoon, the orphans returned to the stockades for their milk feed, as we are introducing Lumo to the field in stages. After splashing themselves with muddy water from the small wallow and hosing dust over their heads and backs, the elephants wandered out for a late afternoon browse on the hill.
Ex-orphan Ndotto was standing by the tree at the gate in the early morning, waiting for the others to emerge from their stockades. Bossy Losoito was shoving everyone away from the gate of her stockade so she could be the first to come out.
As soon as we had filled the trough with pellets, Ndotto ran to the trough with the others joining him minutes later. Lumo and Serenget enjoyed their pellets away from the crowd. The two seem to be bonding nicely.
After breakfast, the orphans spread out to browse in the open grasslands, walking towards the baobab wallow. Kenderi and Itinyi played a sparring match while Juni, Ashanti and Dabida browsed together, and Sileita, Mushuru and Sholumai climbed up the hill.
In the afternoon, Lumo visited the baobab mud wallow for the first time! We sent him down in the first group with Busara, Rokka and Sileita. After drinking his milk, he paddled in the muddy pool while the others splashed and wallowed.
In a repeat of last year, the herds of ex-orphans led by Mweya, Edie and Mudanda have not visited the stockades this month. We are sure that they have ventured further afield and will return when there is less green browse.