Keepers' Diaries, August 2020

Ithumba Reintegration Unit



Despite being in the grips of the dry season, the orphans at Ithumba remain in high spirits because of all the social activity and interaction going on with older ex-orphans around and huge numbers of wild elephants, interacting with them daily. The dependent orphans are greeted every morning by at least one group of ex-orphans be it Barsilinga, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Garzi, or Mutara’s herd comprised of Sities, Suguta and Turkwel. Kanjoro seems to come and go from this herd, sometimes teaming up with Kilaguni, another bull a year older, who wanders around on his own if not with Kanjoro or with his best buddy Chaimu. Both bulls are water-lovers and will mud bath even on a cold day, when none of the other orphans find a mud bath appealing in the slightest! 

01 August 2020

Soon after leaving the stockades the orphans split into two groups. One group headed for lucerne while the other settled for acacia pods dropped by monkeys. Kilaguni, who has become a lone ranger, joined the dependent orphans for some lucerne in the morning and later, walked with the orphans out to browse. Wanjala had brief pushing game with Kuishi and later played with Rapa. Sana Sana played with Malima while Tusuja tackled Mundusi. 

It was a bright sunny day and the orphans concentrated on browsing right up to mud bath time. Soon after taking their milk bottles, most of the orphans headed for wallowing and later went for soil dusting to dry their wet bodies. Namalok and Tusuja enjoyed climbing on their friends while they lay on the ground. As the orphans were getting ready to leave, one wild bull showed up and was later joined by two more. Karisa and Tusuja were the last ones to leave the mud bath and slowly walked to catch up with the others. Later in the evening, the orphans attended a roadside mud bath before heading back to the stockades. 

02 August 2020

Maramoja and Tusuja settled to eat some delicious acacia pods while the other orphans headed for lucerne soon after the gates were opened for the orphans to come out. After feeding on lucerne, the orphans passed by the water trough where they armed themselves with enough water to see them through the entire morning. 

Wanjala played with Rapa while Tusuja had a lone game of rolling on the ground. Kauro disrupted Tusuja's game by coming to pin him on the ground. Tusuja managed to stand up and decided to defend himself by fighting Kauro. Their game ended in a draw. Mundusi tackled Jotto as Dololo engaged Karisa in a brief conversation before parting ways. 

Later, Tusuja played with Malkia while Sapalan played with Namalok. Barsilinga, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Garzi, who have been missing for few days, showed up at the mud bath in the company of Orwa and Bomani. Later, Zurura showed up and escorted the juniors back out to browse. Malkia and Musiara were the last to quit their soil bathing exercise. The orphans had a quiet afternoon as the settled to browse without any major distractions. 

03 August 2020

Tomboi, Orwa, Bomani, Garzi, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Barsilinga joined the dependent orphans in the morning for some lucerne. Jotto combined feeding with scratching on a nearby rock. After feeding on lucerne, the orphans headed for some water and thereafter, Tomboi led the way out to the Park to browse. Tusuja had a brief chat with Tomboi and later had a pushing game with Lemoyian. Pare played with Jotto and later, Kamok played with Olsekki. 

At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate and Dololo led the team for some soil dusting. Later, Dololo played with Rapa while Sapalan played with Namalok. In the afternoon, Kuishi enjoyed a lone game of rolling on the ground as Tusuja played with Wanjala. In the evening, only one wild bull called ‘Kijana’ showed up at the stockade for water. Rapa joined him briefly before walking into his stockade for the night. 

04 August 2020

The orphans were joined by Mutara’s group early in the morning. As usual the big girls went for their favourite Dololo. After feeding on lucerne, the orphans headed north east of the stockade. Sapalan had a brief pushing game with Karisa before heading to tackle Namalok. Kamok played with Olsekki as Garzi and Jotto settled for scratching. Later in the morning the orphans came across a buffalo that ran away the moment Tusuja and Olsekki trumpeted trying to scare it away. 

At mud bath time, the sun was shining with a cold blowing wind. Only a few orphans participated in wallowing. Maramoja, who is slowly learning to be a good nanny, took Musiara into her care and later walked together with him back out to browse. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill until evening when it was time to return back to the stockades for the night. 

05 August 2020

The orphans woke up in a happy mood expressed by their running, trumpeting and swinging of their trunks as they disappeared out in the bush. Karisa played with Malima while Galla played with Kuishi. Tusuja kept trying to chase a bird but didn't manage to catch it. Later, Kuishi settled to scratch against an acacia tree while Karisa teamed up with Galla and Rapa to browse. The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any major distractions like earlier. 

At mud bath time, only Kanjoro, little Rapa, Namalok, Zurura, Kilaguni and four wild bulls decided to wallow in the mud bath. Turkwel escorted Dololo to take his milk and after walked with him over to the water trough to drink water. Barsilinga, Maramoja and Kuishi headed for soil dusting and were later joined by their friends. In the afternoon, Garzi played with Bomani while Kilaguni played with Mutara. In the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath and they all participated in wallowing before heading back to the stockades for the night. 

06 August 2020

Malima, Ndiwa, Jotto and Karisa headed straight to the water trough soon after their gates were opened as the rest of their friends settled for lucerne. As they walked out to the Park for the day, Sapalan engaged Galla in a pushing game that didn't last for long as Tusuja emerged from nowhere and pushed them both out of his way. Tusuja then decided to have his own game of rolling on the ground, a game that he really enjoys. Wanjala, who was passing by, took advantage of climbing on Tusuja while he was rolling on the ground. Kamok played with Olsekki while Rapa played with Jotto. 

Out in the bush, the orphans were joined by an older hostile junior wild bull who kept on charging at them. The Keepers intervened by shouting and the hostile wild bull left. Dololo, escorted by Suguta, found a nice rock that he used to scratch his belly on.  

At mud bath time, only Kanjoro and a wild elephant participated in wallowing, while the dependent orphans had a soil bath before heading back out to browse. Ambo tried to challenge Mapia in a pushing game but couldn't win since Mapia is much stronger than him. As they made their way in a different direction to continue browsing, the orphans decided to enjoy a brief road side mud bath in a big puddle they found there, before settling to browse for the rest of the afternoon. 

07 August 2020

The sky was clear in the morning and this was an indication of a hot day a head. Tomboi visited in the morning and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. Later, Tomboi escorted the juniors as they made their way out to browse. Mapia, who is becoming a tough boy these days, briefly engaged Galla in a pushing game and later they settled to feed together. The orphans settled to browse north east of the stockade and had a quiet morning. Suguta stayed with Dololo the entire morning. 

At mud bath time Roi, whose intention was to steal a bottle of milk, missed her target and ended up grabbing an empty bottle instead. All the same she managed to get a few drops left in the bottle and held onto it, perhaps frustrated that she missed her target of a full bottle. She later dropped the bottle and vowed to be smarter the next time! Maramoja, who is showing lots of lovely nurturing qualities at the moment and who we are sure will be a good mother herself one day, took care of Musiara by directing him towards a good area of shade and stood by him until the Keepers took the orphans for wallowing. The orphans participated in soil dusting soon after wallowing and thereafter went back to browsing. Tomboi parted ways with the juniors and joined a wild bull that had come for a mud bath. Later after the orphans had left, twelve wild bulls showed up and had a spectacular wallowing session. The orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill where they browsed until evening when it was time to return back to the stockades.

08 August 2020

After feeding on lucerne in the morning, Olsekki and Ambo lagged behind, sharing a shrub that appeared to be a tasty one to them. The morning was a quiet one as the orphans went on with their browsing business without any major distractions from games or other elephants visiting. 

At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Zurura who, despite the chilly weather today, teamed up with Kanjoro to wallow in the main water hole. The orphans enjoyed a soil dusting exercise after having their milk bottles, before walking off to continue browsing. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. 

Later in the afternoon the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine, and this prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree for some time before resuming browsing. Sapalan teamed up with Tusuja while Sana Sana teamed up with Mundusi. In the evening, the orphans returned safely back to the stockades for the night. 

09 August 2020

The orphans left the stockades this morning and settled for Lucerne soon after finishing their morning milk bottles. Mutara and her group, who have become part and parcel of the dependent orphan herd these days, joined the babies and later they all left for browsing together. Karisa had a brief strength testing exercise with Sapalan that ended in a draw, while Tusuja played with Jotto. Dololo settled to browse with Kuishi and Malkia before moving to team up with Sities and Suguta. Orwa played with Kanjoro and later Sities played with Olsekki. 

When the orphans were at the mud bath for their milk feed, Kanjoro led the herd for a mud bath, though some of the orphans chose just to wash their feet and then came out. As the orphans were leaving, the wild elephant bull known as Dad with two friends showed up at mud bath, and left later after having enough water. 

On the way back to the stockades this evening, Tusuja and Enkikwe lagged behind and dodged the Keepers. Upon arriving at the stockade, the Keepers realized that the two were missing and went back to look for the two boys. They met with them at the mud bath as they were making their way slowly back to the stockades, ambling along at their own pace and apparently in no hurry at all!

10 August 2020

It was a cloudy morning when the orphans left and settled for Lucerne. After feeding on Lucerne, Naseku led the way out. On the way, Sapalan engaged Karisa in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time. Ukame briefly engaged Naseku in a private conversation before parting ways. 

Lemoyian played with Tusuja but their game didn't last for long as Kainuk intervened by trying to separate the two boys. Tusuja wasn't happy about this and so turned to face Kainuk, asking her for a reason as to why she had interrupted their game. Kainuk didn’t seem to give a response and stood firm as an adopted older sister role model. Tusuja protested by trying to push Kainuk but Kainuk stood firm, leaving Tusuja no other choice than to surrender and walk away. Suguta took Dololo under her care for the better part of the morning. 

Later Olsekki, who thinks that by having bigger tusks than Kainuk he might win a pushing game, got a surprise when he attempted to challenge her. Olsekki was pushed aside by Kainuk like he was a bothersome fly, and it seemed he might have learnt a lesson about respecting his elders!

At mud bath time the weather was chilly and none of the orphans dared to go into the water for a swim, except Kanjoro who enjoys taking a bath every day. Suguta and Sities escorted Dololo for his milk while Siangiki engaged Bomani in a pushing game. Later, Mapia and Ambo settled for soil dusting before returning to their browsing activities. Only three wild bulls showed up at the mud bath today. In the afternoon Namalok played with Mundusi and thereafter resumed browsing. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major distractions. 

11 August 2020

Suguta picked her share of lucerne and walked a short distance away with Dololo who had also taken some Lucerne with him, as Sapalan settled for a pushing game with Galla. Later, Dololo led the way out, followed by Suguta. Sapalan surrendered in his game with Galla, and this made Galla shift and settle on Mapia for another game. Their game didn't last for long though as Mapia decided that he had enough and wanted to put fill his stomach instead to give him strength. Mundusi engaged Namalok in a pushing game while Pare played with Karisa. The game the four boys were playing also attracted Tusuja and Wanjala who decided to have a warm up exercise by testing their strength in a pushing game too. 

Later, Jotto settled to feed with Pare while Kanjoro settled to browse with Roi. Ex-orphan Meibai joined the orphans and later they all headed to the mud bath together. The sun was hot and all the orphans participated in wallowing soon after having their milk. Kamok, Ambo, Oltaiyoni and Galla showed up late for their noon milk bottles as they had lagged behind browsing. Later the orphans and ex-orphans participated in a soil dusting exercise before heading back out to browse. 

12 August 2020

A wild family consisting of mother, her three calves and a friend joined the orphans for Lucerne in the morning. Meibai, who was also present, took his share of Lucerne and walked off to the side a bit, to avoid running into trouble with the tough wild mother. As soon as the Lucerne was finished, the wild family accompanied the orphans and ex-orphans out to browse. Mundusi challenged Tusuja to a wrestling match while Olsekki tried Bomani. Mteto, Barsilinga and Mapia settled for a scratching exercise while Pare tackled Jotto. Kainuk intervened by separating the two boys but Pare ran to tackle Karisa who was close by. Karisa stood firm as he saw it coming. Pare was unlucky again because as soon as he locked trunks with Karisa, Kanjoro emerged from nowhere and this prompted Karisa to run away to avoid trouble with Kanjoro. Pare then remained with no playmates and Kanjoro pointed his trunk towards Pare warning him to stop intimidating his fellow age-mates. 

Later, Naseku used her one protruding tusk to peel bark from a tree. The wild herd accompanied the orphans to the mud bath as well. The weather was chilly and only Kanjoro, who has become a water boy, decided to get into the water to have a bath. Later, he was joined by Kilaguni. The rest of the herd participated in a soil dusting exercise before wandering off to continue browsing. In the afternoon, Sities took over the duty of staying close to Dololo from Suguta. In the evening, the orphans returned back safely to the stockades for the night. 

13 August 2020

Jotto and Ndiwa joined Mutara in a scratching exercise soon after leaving the stockade. The rest of the orphans settled for Lucerne. Later, the orphans headed out to browse where Galla spent some time playing with Ambo while Mapia played with Jotto. Ambo quit the game when Galla attempted to climb on him and went to feed with Malima instead.

Bomani had a brief chat with Kanjoro before settling to browse while Mteto settled to browse with Ukame. Fifteen wild bulls were present at mud bath and enjoyed cooling-off in the water; some of our ex-orphans joined them in wallowing. The dependent orphans only had their milk bottles, some water from the water trough and a soil dusting exercise before walking off into the bush again to continue browsing, without wallowing. Mapia and Ambo were the last ones to quit the soil dusting exercise. The afternoon was quiet as the dependent orphans concentrated on browsing without any major distractions. 

14 August 2020

Ambo was in a playful mood this morning and he engaged Naseku in a pushing game. Naseku handled him in a tender manner because she knew that Ambo was not really strong enough to fight her properly. She even encouraged him to continue playing with her. Ambo quit playing with Naseku when he felt that he had enough warm-up exercise for the morning. Naseku decided to have her own game of rolling on the ground, a game that also attracted Mapia. Later Naseku had a light pushing game with Kuishi. 

Out in the bush, Sapalan teamed up with Mapia to browse and from time to time they would threaten each other. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Namalok took a break from feeding to have a pushing game with Enkikwe. 

At mud bath time, a wild bull walked past where the milk bottles for the dependent babies had been arranged for them to come down for their 11am feed, and stopped to look at the bottles, before walking away. He was probably wondering what they were for! After their milk, Mteto and Ndiwa had a brief strength testing exercise as Kanjoro and Kilaguni headed straight for a wallowing session. The rest of the group participated in soil dusting before going back out to browse. Later in the afternoon, the orphans paused their browsing session to enjoy a road side mud bath. In the evening, Esampu led the way back to the stockades. 

15 August 2020

It was a quiet morning. The orphans left the stockades and settled for Lucerne before walking out to browse. The orphans were in the company of Mutara’s herd and were also joined by Ishanga, Meibai and a wild female elephant. The orphans settled to browse north of the stockade. Tusuja had a private conversation with Mundusi but of course we didn’t know what they might be talking about. Sities stayed close to her favourite baby Dololo and later escorted him for his midday milk. The ex-orphans participated in wallowing while the dependent babies chose to soil bath. Tusuja engaged Rapa in a strength testing exercise while Olsekki tackled Meibai in anticipation of acquiring new fighting skills from him. 

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and in the evening, Ndiwa and Rapa dodged the Keepers and couldn’t be traced. Ndiwa and Rapa finally brought themselves back to the stockades at around seven thirty and were happy to be ushered in to rejoin their bed mates.

16 August 2020

Soon after leaving the stockades, Mapia started his day’s activities by scratching against the acacia tree in the stockade compound. Kauro and Turkwel walked down to the water trough and had some water before following the others out to browse. Out in the bush, Tusuja and Wanjala engaged each other in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time, and this saw Tusuja bow out when he got tired. Mundusi played with Namalok as Malima performed a stretching exercise by stepping on a rock using her front legs. Karisa and Mapia also enjoyed a pushing game that ended in a draw. Later, Pare played with Jotto as Karisa led the way to the mud bath. The wild bull known as Dad and two of his friends were present at mud bath. When it came time for the dependent orphans to leave, they left the wild bulls still standing there beside the water troughs as they relaxed in the shade. In the afternoon, Kamok played with Olsekki while Dololo engaged Kauro in a pushing game.

17 August 2020

Ambo and Jotto settled to drink water at one of the water troughs soon after leaving the stockades. Rapa and Sapalan settled to drink at the other one. Mundusi blocked Ndiwa from passing by close to where he was standing. To avoid trouble Ndiwa changed her direction and followed her friends. Rapa played with Wanjala as Jotto had a brief chat with Galla. Sities browsed close to her favourite Dololo. Later, Galla engaged Malkia in a pushing game while Tusuja played with Wanjala. 

At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans dared to step into the water to wallow, with the exception of course of Kanjoro, who surprised everyone when he got into water despite the unfavourable weather. He enjoyed wallowing as the rest of orphans opted for soil dusting. One wild bull joined the orphans and after a brief interaction he walked off again.

18 August 2020

Sapalan and Karisa started their day activities by engaging each other in a pushing game. Olsekki challenged Kanjoro but unsurprisingly ended up losing the game to Kanjoro. Suguta took Dololo in her care in the morning and later on Roi took over briefly before she was moved away by Suguta. 

The orphans settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area up to mud bath time when Rapa led the first group to have their bottles. Dad was present at the mud bath again, along with twenty other wild friends who had come for water and to wallow in the water hole. The orphans had their milk and some water from the water troughs, then returned back to browsing, leaving the bulls still enjoying a cooling-off exercise. 

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Sities and Suguta took Dololo with them. Later Roi joined Suguta, Sities and Dololo to learn one or two things about how to take care of young ones. In the evening on the way back to the stockades, the orphans passed by the mud bath where they cooled off before returning home.

19 August 2020

It was a quiet morning today. The dependent orphans settled for Lucerne without the ex-orphans since they had not showed up this morning and no one knew their whereabouts. Roi assigned herself the role of attending to Dololo as she waited for Suguta and Sities to come and take over their favourite baby. She had done her best to learn from them the day before. Sapalan settled to play with Karisa while Kamok had a strength testing exercise with Kauro that ended in a draw. 

Out in the bush, the orphans were eventually joined by the ex-orphans in Mutara’s herd. Enkikwe had a pushing game with Lemoyian. Kauro tackled Namalok and ended up emerging as the winner.  At mud bath time, ten wild bulls were present. The orphans only had their milk bottles and some water again, before soil dusting and returning back to browsing. The afternoon was quiet and the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day.

20 August 2020

Four wild bulls showed up for water in the morning. The orphans briefly settled for lucerne before heading to the browsing field where Olsekki and Kamok had a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Naseku, who was in charging mood, kept on running up and down knocking down thickets until she got tired, then she settled down to browse. Olsekki quit playing with Kamok then moved to play with Lemoyian. Mundusi tackled Tusuja but ended up losing the game to Tusuja. 

On the way to the mud bath for their 11am milk feed, Kamok, Galla and Ambo dodged the Keepers and disappeared. A search was mounted and an hour later they were found and taken for their midday milk and then they walked to re-join their friends. 

There was a drama at mud bath when a troop of chattering baboons passed by and scared Challa, a wild elephant and the dependent orphans, making all of them run back to where the Keepers were standing, even the wild bull! The Keepers managed to calm the orphans down but shouted at the wild bull to remind him that they were standing there and not to get too close. The wild bull moved a short distance away and waited for things to settle down. The Keepers whistled and walked the orphans back to drink some water after the noisy baboons had moved away. In the afternoon, Jotto tackled Pare. Their game went on for quite some time but at last they stopped and settled to browse for the rest of the afternoon. 

21 August 2020

Namalok and Sapalan, soon after leaving the stockades this morning, were locked in a pushing game that went on for quite some time. It wasn't clear if the two had dreamt about how they would each tackle the other in the morning, but they went straight at it as soon as they met up this morning. Perhaps they had an unfinished game from the day before. Mutara’s herd was with the orphans again this morning. Naseku enjoyed a warm up exercise with Esampu through pushing each other, while Wanjala attempted to interrupt their game by climbing on Naseku. Lemoyian tried to climb on Roi but was pushed down by Bomani. Mapia spent some time playing with Jotto and later, Lemoyian tackled Wanjala. Orwa played with Kilaguni as the rest of the herd concentrated on browsing. 

At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate but none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. Pare engaged Jotto in a pushing game while Namalok kept himself busy by playing with Wanjala. In the afternoon, Olsekki played with Bomani and later moved to play with Kanjoro. Suguta spend most of her time feeding with Dololo. In the evening, Kuishi led the way back to the stockades. 

22 August 2020

Karisa and Malima had a light pushing game in the morning soon after coming out of their night stockades. Esampu took her time having her own game of sitting and lying on a rock. The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. Mutara and her group as usual joined the dependent orphans and later escorted them to the mud bath. It was quite chilly but this didn't deter Kanjoro from getting into the water to wallow. The rest of the group headed to drink water and then to enjoy some soil dusting. A few wild bulls joined the orphans to drink water.

Later, Mapia settled to play with Jotto while Namalok played with Enkikwe. Later, Siangiki played with Kauro. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill, and concentrated on browsing without any distractions.

In the evening after all the dependent orphans were shut in their night stockades, ex-orphans, Kinna, her baby Kama, Sunyei, baby Siku, Loijuk, her baby Lili, Ishanga, Tumaren, Kalama, Chemi Chemi, Makena and several wild elephants accompanied Lenana and her new born baby boy to the stockades for celebration! The tiny baby, that appears to be about a week old, was very active and knew very well who his mother was. There was much ululating and trumpeting from Mutara and her group when they arrived and found out Lenana had a baby. The celebration went on for quite some time which was remarkable and joyful to behold; just before dark fell, the herd left and walked off back into the Park. We were very happy to see Lenana and meet her newborn baby.

23 August 2020

Mutara and her group reported early and joined the dependent orphans soon after they were let out of their night stockades. The bulls were in a playful mood as they engaged one another pushing games on the way out to browse. Wanjala played with Pare and later Kauro, while Karisa tried to outdo Sapalan. Namalok disrupted their game and immediately tackled Karisa. Galla decided to climb on Mapia but Roi intervened and pushed Galla to get down from Mapia.

Out in the bush, Kuishi played with Olsekki while Pare played with Oltaiyoni and later tackled Jotto. Tusuja had a game of rolling on the ground while being watched by Enkikwe. Later, Turkwel came in and tried to persuade Tusuja to get up and concentrate on browsing. Siangiki had a private conversation with Lemoyian. 

At mud bath time, Challa reported with a wild friend and shared some water with the dependent orphans. Olsekki was the last one to leave for browsing after making sure that he had done enough soil dusting. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill for the rest of the day. In the evening, eight wild bulls showed up for water at the stockade water troughs. 

24 August 2020

The sky was partly cloudy when the orphans left the stockades today. Mutara and her group weren’t present and appear to have gone to look for the other ex-orphans and pay Lenana’s newborn a visit. Elephants do love babies! Lenana’s little boy has been names Lapa, meaning ‘moon’ in Samburu as he was seen just as the new moon was rising in the sky. Several orphans had a warm up exercises through pushing games. Wanjala tackled Tusuja while Rapa played with Mapia. Enkikwe played with Roi while Kamok wrestled with Olsekki. Later, Mapia and Kauro tried to test their strength by pushing a big tree. 

The orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto area up to mud bath time when Dololo led the first group to the mud bath for their milk bottles. In the afternoon, the orphans settled in between Ithumba Hill and Imenti and had a quiet afternoon, concentrating mostly on browsing without any major distractions. In the evening the orphans enjoyed a roadside mud bath and were later led back to the stockades by Karisa.

25 August 2020

Barsilinga, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Garzi arrived late at night last night. Barsilinga was allowed in and his friends remained outside. They joined the dependent orphans this morning and headed out for browsing together. Out in the bush, the orphans were joined by Lenana, newborn baby Lapa, Kinna, baby Kama, Sunyei, baby Siku and Ishanga. Kithaka climbed on Roi while Tusuja engaged Kama in a pushing game. Mteto settled to browse with Esampu. Later, Kinna and her group left the others. 

At the mud bath today, twelve wild bulls were present and all of them were wallowing. The dependent orphans had their milk bottles, some water from the water troughs and then a soil bath, before going back to browsing without swimming. Olsekki and Tusuja lagged behind with the wild bulls as they enjoyed drinking some water with them. After they had enough with the wild bulls, Tusuja and Olsekki left to join their friends. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. Later in the evening, the orphans had a roadside mud bath and dust bath before returning back to the stockades for the night. 

26 August 2020

Mutara and her group, who had been missing for few days, were back again this morning. Suguta and Sities welcomed Dololo outside and apologized to the boy for being away for a few days. The herd settled briefly for Lucerne before proceeding out to browse. Mteto settled to browse with Musiara while Roi teamed up with Ambo. Suguta and Sities spent most of their time with Dololo as if to compensate for the days they had been away. 

At mud bath time around 11am, fifteen wild bulls were present. The sun was so hot and the dependent orphans decided to join the bulls to wallow in the water hole. Later, they enjoyed soil dusting to dry off, before heading back to browsing. Later in the day the orphans were joined by Lenana, Lapa, Kinna, Kama, Sunyei, Siku and Makena. In the evening, they all walked together back to the stockade compound together. 

27 August 2020

Mutara and her group showed up in the morning and joined the dependent orphans. Suguta and Sities escorted their Dololo out to browse. The orphans settled to browse in Kone area where they were joined by ex-orphans Kinna, baby Kama, Sunyei, baby Siku, Lenana, baby Lapa and Makena. The ex-orphans later escorted the dependent orphans to the mud bath where Lapa happened to fall into the water trough. Lenana was quick enough to help her baby out from the water trough. In the afternoon, the older ex-orphans parted ways with the dependent orphans. Later, Rapa settled to browse with Jotto. In the evening, Maramoja led the way back to the stockades. 

28 August 2020

It was a day without much fun, as the elephant orphans concentrated only on browsing after leaving their stockades and making their way out into the Park for the day. Enkikwe briefly had a light pushing game with Oltaiyoni but it didn’t last long and they quickly resumed browsing. 

At mud bath time, wild bull Dad and his friend were present. Namalok walked to where Dad was standing and tried to engage him in some sort of communication, but Dad was totally unconcerned with this small boy. Namalok gave up and walked away. Kainuk and Tusuja also walked and stood close to where Dad was standing and again Dad didn't bother to greet or notice them – sometimes bulls don’t have time for small babies! The two later left to follow their friends. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and had a quiet afternoon. 

29 August 2020

After leaving her stockade, Esampu engaged Mundusi in a light pushing game while Mapia tackled Galla. Ambo headed straight out to browse. 

Out in the bush, Tusuja engaged Wanjala in a pushing game while Karisa enjoyed a game of rolling on the ground. Rapa came forward and disrupted Karisa's game as he tried to make him have pushing game. Karisa accepted and stood up to engage Rapa. 

At mud bath time, Kauro and Tusuja sneaked off and headed for their milk bottles before the others. Soon after getting milk, Kauro and Tusuja walked to the water trough where they joined some wild elephant bulls drinking water. Shortly later, ex-orphans Lenana, Lapa, Kinna, Kama, Sunyei, Siku and Makena showed up at mud bath too. Twenty wild bulls were also present enjoying cooling-off in the water hole. 

In the afternoon, Pare played with Jotto while Galla played with Kauro. Lenana and her group decided to browse with the dependent orphans for the rest of the day. Later, they escorted the junior orphans back to the stockades in the evening as well, before walking off into the Park. 

30 August 2020

The orphans left the stockades early as usual. They settled for Lucerne and later left for browsing. It was a quiet morning as the orphans went on with their browsing business without any major distractions. Shortly before mud bath time, Kamok had a strength testing exercise with Olsekki. Ex-orphan Tomboi showed up at the mud bath and later Lenana with her little rascal baby in the company of her friends came too. At one point Kinna punished the rascal Lapa for continuously trying to kick Kama, and pushed him away lightly with her trunk. Later, the entire herd headed back out to browse together. In the evening, the temperature was still high and this prompted the orphans to pass by the mud bath again to enjoy cooling-off before returning home for the night.

31 August 2020

Mutara and her group joined the dependent orphans for Lucerne in the morning. Soon after feeding on Lucerne, Sities and Suguta took their favourite Dololo and walked with him out to the Park to browse. Kamok and Olsekki had a morning warm-up exercise by pushing each other. The orphans settled to browse north of the stockade as they slowly walked towards mud bath. It was a really hot day and the orphans mixed with wild elephants as they all swam in the water hole. Meibai and Challa were present and as soon as Meibai had enough wallowing, he walked with little Kauro over to the water trough and they had water together before parting ways. In the afternoon, the orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill where they browsed until evening time for getting back to the stockade.