It is getting dryer and hotter with each passing day. During greener times, the orphans dash about quickly and choose only the best vegetation. Now, however, they are far more calculated in their movements, careful to stock up on ample vegetation before the day ends. Instead of playing, they conserve their energy to concentrate on browsing.
Ex-orphan Rapsu and a wild friend were the only guests of honour this morning. Soon after drinking water, the two gentlemen joined the dependent Ithumba orphans to feed on lucerne. Later, Mundusi walked with the two grown boys to drink water with them from one of the water troughs, before Rapsu the bulls left and walked off into the bush. Mundusi, feeling elated and properly grown up after the honour of sharing water with Rapsu and a wild friend, decided to show off by attacking Mapia. Mapia decided to let Mundusi win however, to avoid any further trouble.
Maramoja and Musiara led the way out to browse, where Dololo settled down to enjoy feeding alongside Mteto. The boys Kauro, Wanjala, Galla and Rapa teamed up and lagged behind the rest of the herd, only to arrive later at the mud bath area about thirty minutes after their friends. Today there were only three wild bulls at the mud bath with the orphans. Ndiwa was the only one who stepped into the mud bath water to test the temperature. She found that it was too cold however and quickly stepped out. From this all her friends understood that the water was too cold, so they all decided to go and dust themselves instead. Mapia had a strength testing exercise with Ambo, but Ambo soon decided to surrender for the sake of peace.
The orphans settled to browse north of the mud bath for the rest of the afternoon. Later, when they returned to the stockades for the night, Makena was at stockade compound in the company of some wild bulls to welcome them home. Malima is the only one who acknowledged Makena's greetings however as the rest were in a hurry for their milk bottles and barely noticed her!
The day started with excitement as Galana presented a newborn baby early in the morning! Lualeni, Lulu, Lenana, Loijuk, Lili, Makena, Kilabasi, Ishanga, Tumaren, Melia, Naisula, Kitirua and several wild elephants were all there to celebrate the baby too. Excitement soon changed to concern however, as the new baby seemed to have a problem. It was evident that Galana and her friends, the nannies, also knew this was the case. Soon it was clear to us that the new baby was premature as it was tiny and very feeble, and we feared the worst.
The dependent orphans didn’t have a chance to interact with the baby and so they left for browsing. It seemed that Dololo felt he had gone too long without seeing his adopted older sisters in Mutara’s herd, and he tried to slip past the Keepers to go off in search of them on his own. The Keepers spotted him however and warned him not to walk off on his own.
When the orphans went to the mud bath just before noon it was very hot and the sun was shining bright. Forty five wild elephant bulls were present at the mud bath today, and joined the dependent orphans to wallow in the cool water. Kauro, Dololo, Nabulu, Sattao, Siangiki, Esampu and Sana Sana had a prolonged wallowing session which they clearly enjoyed.
In the evening, it was evident the situation had still not improved for Galana’s new baby, and it was still struggling to suckle. She stayed not far from the area of the stockade compound. Kamok, Barsilinga, Tusuja, Siangiki and Olsekki visited Galana on their way back to their stockades as if expressing their concern and sympathy at the deteriorating condition of her baby.
The orphans left the stockade early as usual and were joined by the ex-orphans to feed on lucerne. Mutara and her team were present too.
Sadly, Galana’s baby never really had the strength to feed and became weaker throughout the night. Galana remained calm and seemed to know from the outset that there was a problem with her calf, and so too did the nannies; they simply shadowed the sleeping baby throughout the night, waiting for the inevitable. For us Keepers watching this was very hard, so much so, that the next morning we tried to help by putting the calf on a drip, to which Galana had no objection. The baby was taken into a stockade and placed on a drip but three hours later our excitement and joy that had lasted for a day ended abruptly, as the baby breathed its last breath, leaving us devastated. Galana moved on and appeared to have known already what we could not - that the baby would not make it. When the baby was collected Galana didn’t bother to follow and find out where the baby had been taken. She and the nannies simply walked away, already aware and understanding of the newborns fate, and accepted it with the stoic grace that elephants have.
As the Keepers did their best for Galana’s calf, Suguta, Sities and Turkwel took advantage of the situation to run away with Dololo. The day started on a sad note for everyone, but the Keepers have many other babies to look after, and they soon had to turn to the fact that Dololo had once again been kidnapped by the older girls and they set off to track him down. They followed their tracks and soon managed to locate them, and escorted them all to join the dependent orphans again.
The day turned out to be a hot one and all the orphans wallowed in the water when they went to the mud bath around noon. The ex-orphans and several wild bulls were there too. Kauro and Ambo were the first ones to leave the mud bath, as they aren’t the biggest fans of swimming. Later, Sana Sana, Esampu, Lualeni, Lulu, Kilabasi, Ndiwa, Sapalan, Kilaguni, Lemoyian and Sattao enjoyed a dust bath, before heading back out with the others to browse. Barsilinga, Tusuja, Oltaiyoni, Olsekki and Siangiki decided to leave with the ex-orphans but returned to the stockade compound later in the evening after the others.
The orphans left their stockades early as usual. Mutara, Kanjoro, Sities, Suguta, Turkwel, Kithaka, Kilaguni, Bomani, Orwa, and Kainuk joined the orphans outside the stockades, and they had lucerne together. Shortly later, Kuishi, Kanjoro and Mapia walked down to the water troughs and had water together. Kuishi and Mapia got the opportunity to talk with Kanjoro for a little while – perhaps they wanted to ask him why he is always showing up with different herds of ex-orphans, and Kanjoro would have replied saying that he enjoys interacting with everyone and making as many friends as possible!
It's really getting dry now with each passing day. The orphans headed north of the stockade to browse. Unlike during greener times, when the orphans can be seen moving quickly and choosing the best vegetation, now they are much slower and more calculated, making sure they get enough before the day ends. They are in much less of a hurry and not as playful, and they spend a great amount of time concentrating on browsing.
At mud bath time the heat was too much for orphans and this prompted them to head straight for wallowing. Only Sattao decided not to join his friends in the waterhole and instead he walked up to join the wild bulls drinking water. He might have approached them too rapidly however, as one of the bulls kicked him from the side and accused him of being disrespectful by trying to squeeze himself in between to drink water with his seniors. Sattao learnt a valuable lesson that day about waiting and respecting his elders. Mapia played with Jotto in the water while Naseku and Esampu enjoyed splashing and whipping the water using their trunks.
In the afternoon, Kauro picked a fight with Mundusi when Kauro realised that Mundusi was being disrespectful by constantly touching his tail. The fight went on for quite some time until Kauro decided to punish Mundusi and establish his dominance by climbing on him. This led to Mundusi deciding to quit the game and he walked off to join Roi who was feeding not far away.
Early at dawn a lion roared nearby. The roaring of the lion made all the ex-orphans who were waiting around in the compound decide to leave. The orphans came out in the morning to find the stockade compound empty with no single wild elephant or ex-orphan around! The dependent orphans therefore enjoyed their lucerne without any disturbance from other elephants. Malima decided to enjoy a stretching exercise by lying down and then sitting up with her trunk stretched right up in the air. After feeding on lucerne, Esampu, Mapia and Ndiwa came across some nice rocks that they scratched against. Pare, Karisa, Kauro, Ambo and Malima were in a playful mood and spent some time messing around. Karisa tackled Pare while Tusuja played with Kauro as Ambo tested his strength against Malima.
It was a fairly hot day again today. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Musiara led the way to the mud bath where they met twenty-five wild elephant bulls. Tomboi, Challa and Taita were among the wild bulls. The orphans occupied one side of the mud bath while the wild elephants occupied the other. Tomboi stayed in the middle to make sure that none of the younger and naughtier wild bulls would try to disrupt the happy time the dependent orphans were having. Malkia was the last one to leave the mud bath as she was really enjoying it to the fullest. Sapalan passed by the water trough and joined two non-aggressive bulls who were drinking water. In the afternoon, the orphans had a quiet time as they concentrated on browsing.
It was another quiet morning without the ex-orphans. Six wild bulls were present in the stockade compound and two of them joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. As the orphans were finishing up with their feeding, Kalama arrived leading Tumaren, Kilabasi, Kitirua, Naisula, Kibo and Kilaguni. Nabulu and Mundusi stopped by the water trough and shared water with the wild bulls. Ambo was a head of everyone and kept on rumbling requesting the others to catch up with him. He also wanted to know which direction was best to go, as he seemed undecided. Siangiki and Kamok rushed forward to guide Ambo, otherwise they were sure he might take any old direction which might not be suitable for the rest of the group. Malima and Sattao carried pieces of lucerne with them that they enjoyed munching on before settling down to feed in the bush.
Sapalan and Mundusi found some suitable rocks to scratch against. Karisa and Dololo picked a fight but before long it was disrupted by Olsekki who pushed them out of his way. Karisa then moved to play with Pare.
At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and the orphans dared not step into the mud bathing water. Kamok kept herself busy by enjoying a pushing game with Enkikwe.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Enkikwe and Kauro started a pushing game that lasted for quite a while. In the evening, Rapa and Sapalan dodged the Keepers and ended up coming back late in the evening.
Only Mutara, Suguta, Sities, Turkwel, Kithaka, Lemoyian, Orwa, Garzi and Bomani were present during the morning feeding time. Dololo was happy to have his older sisters back and it appears that Suguta is the one who is always more in charge of Dololo, as she keeps him very close to her, more than the others. Olsekki had a brief chat with Siangiki, perhaps inquiring if they were still going to spend time with Mutara’s herd; but only time will tell! A hammerkop bird created tension amongst the orphans when it landed on the edge of one of water troughs. Naseku, who was walking down to drink water, raised her ears as she retreated from the trough where the bird had just innocently landed. Mundusi, Rapa, Sapalan, Sattao and Musiara didn’t understand what was happening. They raised their trunks up to find out what was causing Naseku to be anxious. Upon realizing it was the bird, no one wanted to be the first to confront it. Barsilinga came to their aid however, as he just strode straight up to the water trough forcing the bird to fly away.
On the way out to browse, the orphans met with three wild bulls who were heading for water at the stockade. Barsilinga and Mundusi waved at them using their trunks, then proceeded with their journey to the browsing field. Mutara and her team parted ways with the orphans and left with the Class Five members.
At mud bath time the temperature was moderate and fifteen wild bulls were present. The wild bulls really enjoyed wallowing in the water, but the orphans only washed their feet, had a dust bath, then went back to browsing. Kilaguni joined them briefly and accompanied them out to the bush, but then returned to join the wild bulls to continue wallowing.
In the afternoon, Ambo, Sapalan and Enkikwe slipped past the Keepers and were only found when the rest of their friends had already gone back to the stockades for the night.
Zurura was the guest of honour in the morning. Our handsome ex-orphan Zurura joined the orphans to feed on lucerne and share some water before disappearing off into the bush. The boys, Mundusi, Rapa, Pare, Dololo and Kauro followed him for a short distance as if seeing him off and wishing him well, wherever he was going.
Esampu was in a playful mood tried to block Kauro from overtaking her while they were browsing. Kauro didn't react angrily but only warned Esampu not to ever repeat such a thing or else she would be in trouble and regret crossing him. Esampu heeded Kauro's warning and moved out of the way to let Kauro continue on his way. Malima took a break from feeding to have a soil dusting exercise while Ambo had a strength testing exercise with Rapa. Enkikwe settled to browse with Mteto while Nabulu, Malkia and Musiara found some trees that they used to scratch against. Later, Nabulu teamed up with Musiara and Mundusi to browse.
At mud bath time, twenty-one wild bulls were present. Malima was the only one who opted to step into the water to test the temperature. Upon delivering her report to her friends, only Ambo, Ndiwa, Musiara, Maramoja and Wanjala decided to get into the water, while the rest opted for a soil dusting exercise instead. As soon as Ambo came out of the water, he decided to head off to play with Jotto.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. In the evening on the way back to the stockades, Nabulu and Esampu had the lovely opportunity to play with a four-month-old baby that was at the stockade compound with its herd who were drinking water.
A wild bull in the company of Mutara’s herd joined the orphans to feed on lucerne in the morning. The non-aggressive wild bull was surrounded by the younger bulls Mundusi, Musiara, Sattao and Rapa who seemed in awe of him. The four boys happily shared lucerne with the wild bull as they wondered how long it might take them to grow to a such a height. Shortly later, the wild bull walked down to the water trough where he was joined by Karisa and Ndiwa. On the way out to browse, Mundusi decided to challenge Kithaka but ended up losing the challenge.
All was quiet out in the bush as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning without any major distractions. Eighteen wild bulls were present at the mud bath when the orphans arrived there for their noon milk bottles. It was a hot day and the orphans headed straight to wallow soon after finishing their milk.
In the afternoon, Enkikwe, Kauro, Sapalan and Rapa went separate ways from their friends without the Keepers noticing until later. In the evening the other orphans returned home around 5pm but the four boys didn’t arrive back until later this evening as they are really exploring their independence.
Ex-orphans Lualeni, Lulu, Makena, Lenana, Lapa, Narok and Kilabasi joined the orphans in the morning, and they all had lucerne together. Lapa and Lulu enjoyed some pushing games with orphans but Lapa had to be disciplined a few times but the Ithumba babies as he was being very rude and pushy with them. Musiara even went to the extent of climbing on Lapa to exert his dominance. Narok intervened and saved the rascal Lapa from the other orphans. Mundusi and Olsekki joined two wild bulls who were drinking water at the stockade water troughs.
It was a quiet morning of browsing as the orphans concentrated on finding enough food to eat. They browsed right up to mud bath time without pausing, and then Nabulu led the first group to the mud bath for their noon milk feed.
Twenty-four wild bulls were present at the mud bath today, and one of them walked to join the orphans wallowing in the waterhole. Galla enjoyed climbing on Mapia as Kauro and Enkikwe enjoyed their pushing game in water. Later, the orphans participated in a soil dusting exercise before going back to browsing for the rest of the afternoon.
In the evening, the stockade compound was flooded with ex-orphans and wild elephants totaling about one hundred and twenty. Barsilinga, Oltaiyoni, Olsekki, Siangiki, Tusuja, Naseku and Roi were among the ex-orphans and wild elephants that arrived at the stockade compound, and they decided to spend the night out with them.
Ex-orphans Galana, Gawa, Loijuk, Lili, Sunyei, Siku, Lenana, Lapa, Kilabasi, Makena, Narok, Orwa, Bomani, Mutara, Kithaka, Sities, Kainuk, Turkwel, Garzi, Suguta and Lemoyian joined the orphans in the morning to feed on lucerne. A few wild bulls showed up to have some clean fresh water as well. Later, Mundusi, Musiara, Ambo, Jotto and Tusuja joined one of the wild bulls to have water too. They did so respectfully, so the wild bull didn’t mind.
When it was time to leave for browsing, Mapia lagged behind as he engaged the playful Lili in a pushing game. Mapia noticed that his friends were moving further into the bush however so when he had enough of playing with Lili, he ran to catch up with them. It was quite interesting that Mteto refused to go with the orphans and decided to hang out with the ex-orphans instead, so that she could have some quality time with Lapa and Lili.
Dololo teamed up with Orwa to browse as he tried to learn a thing or two from the teenager. Malima briefly had a chat with Bomani before walking to team up with Nabulu. Kamok, the only Class Five member who still chooses to spend time with the juniors, found a suitable tree that she used to scratch her ears on.
At mud bath time the weather was cold and none of the orphans dared to step into the waterhole. Instead, they opted for a soil dusting exercise. Kauro climbed on Malima who was enjoying rolling on the soil as Jotto played with Pare. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba Hill and had a quiet time as they concentrated on browsing throughout the rest of the day.
Challa and a wild friend joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne. Two other wild friends of theirs settled for some water too. Shortly later, Sattao walked down and joined the two wild elephants drinking water. Malima opted for a stretching exercise by rolling on the ground while Nabulu, her friend who she shares a stockade with, kept watch.
The orphans settled to browse north of the stockades and had a quiet morning. At mud bath time they were joined by Challa again, who was in the company of several wild bulls. All the orphans chose to swim in the mud bath today apart from Kauro, who boycotted the exercise. As soon as they came out of the water, Sana Sana spotted a troop of baboons in the distance and she decided to chase after them for a bit of fun. She was supported by Mteto, Esampu, Dololo, Enkikwe, Galla and Rapa. The baboons didn’t stick around and fled chattering and shouting in protest at being chased.
The afternoon started to heat up and more and more wild elephants kept on showing up for water at the stockade compound. By the end of the day, one hundred and fifty wild elephants had passed through the stockades in search of water which they happily drank from the troughs that we refill.
Ex-orphan Kenze joined the orphans in the morning for some lucerne, in the company of three wild friends. One of his friends decided to join him but the other two left as soon as they had enough water. Shortly later, four other wild bulls showed up. Nabulu abandoned what she was doing and walked to join the bulls drinking water. The wild bulls didn't try to bully her but allowed her to share water with them. Pare and Dololo started their day by engaging in a pushing game while Enkikwe, Mapia, Mundusi and Galla settled for a scratching exercise.
Soon after the dependent orphans left, Loijuk, Lili, Sunyei, Siku, Lualeni, Lulu, Galana, Gawa, Ishanga, Tumaren, Naisula and Kitirua showed up at the stockades. Barsilinga, Olsekki, Siangiki, Oltaiyoni, Wanjala, Galla, Tusuja, Roi and Naseku got wind of the ex-orphans and returned to the stockades to join them. The sky was clear and this meant it was going to be a hot day a head.
After having their noon milk bottles the orphans had a spectacular time wallowing. Esampu, Sana Sana, Malkia, Jotto, Mteto and Karisa left the mud bath excited, charging and trumpeting as they disappeared into the bushes. Nabulu, Rapa, Musiara, Maramoja, Ambo, Malima, Enkikwe, Kauro and Kamok opted for a soil dusting exercise before following their friends to continue browsing. Musiara teamed up with Malkia to browse for the afternoon.
Bomani, Orwa and Zurura joined the orphans in the morning to feed on lucerne. Later, the three ex-orphans escorted the juniors to the browsing field where they were also joined by Kibo. Maramoja and Sana Sana settled to feed on a green shrub that they came across and shared without a fight. Enkikwe initiated a game with Kauro and their game ended in a draw. Enkikwe then moved to play with Barsilinga but ended up losing that one. Musiara had a brief chat with Kibo before moving to team up with his good friend Maramoja.
At mud bath time the orphans arrived to find twenty-five wild bulls already there, drinking water and wallowing. Soon after they had finished with their own mud bath, Sapalan, Musiara, Pare, Sana Sana, Esampu, Nabulu and Mapia went for a dust bath, as Sattao walked over to join wild bulls drinking water at the water trough.
Sana Sana and Ndiwa couldn’t agree who was entitled to a nice branch that had fallen across their path. As the two girls were engaged in a heated argument, Rapa arrived and picked the branch up for himself, leaving the girls feeling embarrassed and wondering what the point of their argument was if neither of them managed to get the branch. Sana Sana and Ndiwa regretted ever starting the argument! The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
Ndiwa and Kuishi decided to share a pile of lucerne as Rapa, Kauro, Sapalan, Karisa, Naseku and Enkikwe settled under the only remaining acacia tree in the stockade compound, enjoying picking up the fallen acacia pods. The brave Mundusi walked down to the water trough to join ex-orphans Rapsu, Taita and a wild elephant who were drinking water. As the orphans were preparing to leave, the ex-orphans Lualeni, Lulu, Loijuk, Lili, Sunyei, Siku, lenana, Lapa, Galana, Gawa, Kilabasi, Ishanga, Kibo, Narok, Ukame, Kilaguni, Orwa and Bomani arrived at the stockade compound. Nabulu, Mteto and Esampu engaged Lapa and Lili in some fun pushing games before leaving to follow their friends.
Dololo engaged Jotto in a pushing game that ended when Dololo surrendered. Pare played with Karisa while Malima played with Ambo. Both pushing games ended in a draw as the orphans grew tired and just wondered away from each other. Later in the day, Lualeni, baby Lulu and Taita joined the dependent orphans while they browsed, and afterwards escorted them to the mud bath. Twenty-five wild elephants were present at mud bath and shortly later we were joined by the rest of the ex-orphans in Lualeni and Galana’s herd who had been at the stockade in the morning. The ex-orphans and the wild elephants really enjoyed wallowing in the waterhole as the dependent orphans went about having their milk bottles followed by a dust bath. They decided not to go into the waterhole today and after their dust bath, the orphans just walked back out to the bush to browse. The afternoon was quiet, and the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major distractions.
It was a cold morning today, and it was quiet as the orphans settled for their morning lucerne without any outsiders disturbing them. Kauro was in a playful mood. As soon as he walked out into the bush, he decided to engage Mundusi in a pushing game. The two bulls had a lot of fun, but the game ended abruptly when Kauro attempted to climb on Mundusi. Later, Kauro tackled Enkikwe, who used all the tactics he could think of to make sure that he didn’t lose to Kauro. The game finally ended in a draw and the two boys resumed browsing.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath for their noon milk bottles, they decided it was too cold for wallowing today. Mteto, Dololo, Malima and Rapa instead set about picking up some fallen acacia pods around the mud bath area, which were very tasty. Just before the orphans were about to leave, four wild elephant bulls arrived. Enkikwe, Galla, Sapalan, Malkia, Sattao, Ambo, Sana Sana, Ndiwa, Musiara and Maramoja, who were drinking water from the water trough, decided to step aside, out of respect, to let the wild bulls have water. Sattao however, decided not to step aside, and this made one of the wild bulls very unhappy. He didn’t like the disrespect the young bull was showing towards his seniors, and he threatened Sattao to leave by throwing his head towards him. Sattao quickly understood the wild bulls’ displeasure and so left very quickly before potentially facing the consequences.
In the evening, the stockade was flooded with wild bulls and ex-orphans coming for water. The elephants’ water consumption is slowly climbing up to about eighty thousand litres every twenty-four hours, indicating that we are seeing even more elephants in the area this dry season than usual.
Four wild elephant bulls and a buffalo were outside the stockade compound when the orphans came out of their night stockades this morning. The buffalo left soon after drinking enough water, while one of the wild elephant bulls joined Nabulu and Sapalan to share some of the lucerne they were feeding on. Later the bull turned a bit pushy and started threatening to push Nabulu and Sapalan away from the lucerne they were all sharing. Due to his size and seniority, Nabulu and Sapalan had no choice other than to move out of his way.
Four African Wild Dogs arrived in search of water and Mutara, Suguta, Sities, Turkwel, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Garzi arrived at the same time. Kithaka volunteered himself to give the Wild Dogs a hard time by charging and chasing them away. A wild bull joined Kithaka and together they drove the Wild Dogs away. Dololo was very happy to have his elder adopted sisters back, and the girls in Mutara’s herd were also happy to see their favourite little boy doing so well.
At mud bath time the temperature was moderate, and the orphans opted for a soil bath instead of wallowing. The senior ex-orphans led by Galana and Sunyei arrived, and they all decided to swim in the waterhole in a spectacular wallowing session. Later, the ex-orphans headed south while the orphans headed north to continue browsing. Jotto teamed up with Ndiwa to browse while Ambo teamed up with Kamok. Later in the evening, Nabulu led the way back to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning today, as not a single wild elephant or ex-orphan was in sight when the orphans were let out. Unlike previous days, the orphans had no competition over lucerne and enjoyed the feeding session right to the end before leaving for their day of browsing. Mapia, Karisa, Sattao, Nabulu and Musiara settled for some water before following their friends. Jotto ran into some trouble with Kamok when, on their way out, Jotto refused to part with any of the lucerne he was carrying. Kamok pushed Jotto from behind, but Jotto still wouldn’t let it go. Perhaps Jotto was thinking Kamok should have carried her own!
Later in the day Jotto and Sapalan took a break from feeding to engage in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. At mud bath time, only Malima and Ndiwa enjoyed a cooling-off exercise in the waterhole. The rest opted for just a soil dusting exercise. Later, Jotto played with Sana Sana and after losing to Sana Sana, he walked to play with Dololo. Their game was short-lived however, as Rapa emerged from nowhere and separated the two boys.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area where they browsed until it was time to return home. In the evening, the orphans almost had difficulty maneuvering their way into their stockades for the night, due to the large number of elephants in the compound who had all arrived for water! At last, the orphans managed to get into their stockades and have their milk bottles before settling down for the night.
Enkikwe, Galla, Wanjala, Kauro, Rapa, Sapalan, Maramoja and Pare settled under the acacia tree to pick up acacia pods that had fallen on the ground as they waited for the Keepers to provide them with lucerne this morning. The acacia pods are a favourite dry season snack! Ambo and Dololo kept themselves busy by engaging in a pushing game that ended when Ambo surrendered. Shortly later, ex-orphans Loijuk, Kalama, Lili, Kitirua, Lualeni, Lulu, Orwa, Sunyei, Siku, Melia, Ukame, Lenana, Lapa, Narok and Ishanga arrived and joined the dependent orphans to feed on lucerne. They left immediately as soon as they were done.
Out in the bush, the young bulls were in a playful mood. Musiara played with Sattao while Sapalan played with Galla. Kauro tried to establish dominance over Tusuja by riding on him. The sun was hot and at mud bath time the orphans all decided to get into the waterhole to cool down. Esampu, Sana Sana, Kauro, Nabulu, Mundusi and Ambo settled for soil dusting soon after wallowing, not only to dry off but to just have fun on the loose soil as well. Loijuk, Lualeni and the other ex-orphans showed up later, after the orphans had already left for browsing again.
A wild elephant family visited the stockade compound during the day and managed to clear up all the leftover lucerne left behind by the orphans in the morning. The orphans returned back safely in the evening and went quietly into their stockades for the night.
One wild bull joined the orphans early in the morning and had lucerne together with the youngsters. Later, the wild bull walked down to have some water from the trough, where he was joined by Tusuja, Rapa and Sapalan. Olsekki and his longtime friend Siangiki had some water from the smaller water trough further away.
On their way out for the day, the orphans encountered the same flock of guinea fowl they always do, as they come for water in the early morning. Esampu was in the lead and decided to go for them, charging and trumpeting. Wanjala, Galla, Karisa, Maramoja and Ambo joined in the chase to help their sister Esampu drive the guinea fowls away. This is all such great fun for the elephant babies - as the bird’s scatter and fly up into the trees, shrieking. Later in the day, Mundusi engaged Kauro in a pushing game, but it didn't last for long.
At mud bath time the sun was beating down and it was very hot. Soon after finishing his milk, Musiara walked and stood close to Ndiwa. It is not yet clear if Ndiwa is gearing up to steal Musiara’s affection away from Maramoja who has doted on this little boy the most, or if he just happened to spend more time with Ndiwa today. Only time will tell!
While the orphans were at the mud bath, fifty wild elephant bulls also came and went. They filtered in for some water and some chose to swim in the waterhole as well before leaving again. All the orphans enjoyed wallowing and later went for a soil bath before going back to browsing for the rest of the day. In the evening the wild bull known as Dad in the company of thirty other wild bulls showed up at the stockade compound for water, only leaving after dark after having enough water.
It was a quiet morning with no wild elephants or ex-orphans in sight. The dependent orphans divided into two groups; one group was led by Kauro who went off in search for acacia pods to feast on, while the other was led by Kuishi and they went straight to the lucerne feeding area to feed on pellets there.
Later the orphans walked out to browse. While walking, Rapa attempted to climb on Mapia, something that really annoyed him, but as Rapa is older and bigger than him there wasn’t much that Mapia could do about it, for he feared the consequences should he try and retaliate!
The morning carried on quite peacefully as the orphans didn’t encounter any wild friends and concentrated on browsing. Twenty-eight wild bulls were at the mud bath today, and joined the orphans to wallow in the water. The orphans thereafter went for a soil bathing exercise before heading back out to browse. In the afternoon, Ambo settled to browse with Sana Sana as Nabulu teamed up with Malima. In the evening Sattao led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Three wild bulls were present at dawn in the stockade compound in the morning, but they wandered off once they had enough water. The orphans settled for lucerne as usual, soon after leaving their stockades. The sky was clear which signaled a hot day a head.
Out in the bush Musiara took a break from feeding to play with Pare but quit once he realized he was losing. Musiara then walked to team up with the older girls Malkia, Sana Sana, Mteto and Ndiwa to browse. The others were quiet as they concentrated on browsing and looked forward to mud bath time when they could jump into the water to cool off, as the temperature seemed to skyrocket with each passing moment.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Malima led the first group consisting of her, Nabulu, Sattao, Dololo and Ambo to the feeding area for their milk bottles. Only six wild bulls visited the mud bath today while the orphans were there. Karisa, Wanjala, Galla, Esampu, Rapa, Kauro and Enkikwe had a prolonged wallowing session as they thoroughly enjoyed playing in the water. They splashed and rolled around, as the rest of their friends left the water to go for a dust bath to dry off.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Mundusi, Jotto, Sapalan and Kuishi split from the main herd and moved a distance away to an area that had some nice trees that provided good shade.
In the evening, Barsilinga, Tusuja, Olsekki, Oltaiyoni, Roi, Siangiki and Naseku reported back to the stockades in the company of ex-orphans Loijuk, Lili, Sunyei, Siku, Galana, Gawa, Narok, Kitirua, Naisula, Ukame, Ishanga, Lualeni and Lulu. This group of Ithumba orphans led by Barsilinga are still exploring their independence and are enjoying spending some time with the ex-orphans.
Several wild elephants were at the stockade compound in the morning. A buffalo was also present, competing with the elephants for water. A family herd stood in the lucerne feeding area, all facing the store patiently waiting for the Keepers to distribute the lucerne. Once the orphans were let out, Sattao ran out charging and trumpeting causing the buffalo to run off. This made Sattao very happy, and he felt bold enough to follow it for a short distance before coming back to brag to his friends about how he had managed to single handedly drive a buffalo away. When the lucerne was finished the orphans headed east while the wild herd headed south.
Mapia was in a playful mood and engaged several other bulls in a pushing game. Mapia started with Pare then moved on to play with Mundusi, and later ended his game with Jotto. It really is becoming extremely dry and the orphans concentrate mostly on browsing during the day.
There were about ninety-eight wild elephants at the mud bath today who got in and out of the water in turns to cool off. Out of the orphans, only Kauro and Sattao didn't get into the mud bath today. They went for a dust bath instead. The orphans left the area immediately after having enough of wallowing, and in the afternoon settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and had a quiet time.
This evening we decided to move Esampu into the next stockade, into a group higher; not because she qualified yet, but because she keeps bullying Jotto, Dololo, Ambo and Sattao who she currently shares a stockade with.
The sky was clear this morning which meant it was going to be another hot day. The orphans were joined for lucerne by ex-orphan Kenze who was in the company of six wild bulls. When they had finished eating, Nabulu led the way out to browse, where Karisa and Dololo soon settled for a strength testing exercise. Oltaiyoni and Ambo set about digging up roots of a certain shrub using their feet which they really enjoyed. This is typical of what elephants might do and things they might eat during the dry season.
As the day progressed, it kept getting hotter. Mteto and Enkikwe decided to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree that had good shade as they waited for mud bath time and the chance to cool off. Musiara decided to spend the better part of the day feeding with Malkia.
At mud bath time just before noon, the orphans had their milk bottles first before going straight to swim in the mud bath. Thirty-eight wild bulls were present and joined the orphans to wallow in the mud bath. As the orphans finished swimming, more and more wild bulls were arriving to have some water and cool off in the mud bath too. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto seasonal river which is dry at the moment. Kilaguni joined the orphans briefly and an hour later, he walked off into the bush again.
Orwa, Kilaguni and Makena decided to spend the night outside the stockades. The three ex-orphans joined the orphans in the morning soon after they were let out of their night stockades. Shortly later, Galana and her group of ex-orphans, who appeared to have spent the night not far away from the stockade compound, showed up and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne too. The little rascal Lapa ran into trouble with Mundusi when he tried to take some lucerne he was eating from his mouth. Mundusi pushed Lapa away but Lapa turned to defend himself. Eventually Lapa gave up and ran back to his mother. Pare shared his lucerne with Lulu but as the pile was getting smaller, Pare decided to push Lulu away to have what was remaining for himself. The ex-orphans parted ways with the dependent orphans an hour later.
Mundusi engaged Roi in a pushing game before Roi left with Barsilinga Tusuja, Siangiki, Olsekki, Oltaiyoni, Naseku and Galla to spend the day out in the bush on their own, or perhaps with some ex-orphans.
It was very hot when the orphans made their way to the mud bath around noon and the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath again. When they were done, Kamok led the orphans back out to browse.
Two dik diks sprinted past the orphans which gave them a fright. They didn’t know why the small antelopes were running, and so the orphans stood very still with their trunks up and ears held high and wide, listening to see if there was anything to be afraid of. After ascertaining that there was nothing to fear, the orphans resumed browsing calmly up to five in the evening, when Nabulu, Malima and Musiara led the way back to the stockades.
Mutara, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel, Kithaka, Garzi and Lemoyian spent the night outside the stockades again and joined the orphans in the morning. Kanjoro, who has found himself a wild herd and never really spends much time with his former friendship group of orphans now, arrived with his wild herd and joined the dependent orphans to feed on lucerne. He and his herd left soon after drinking enough water. Kauro and Enkikwe are trying very hard to establish their dominance over each other, and they continued a pushing game this morning that ended in a draw. Mapia settled for a pushing game with Jotto that didn't last long as Olsekki passed by and pushed the two boys away. Kamok teamed up with Ambo, Ndiwa Roi, Naseku and Sana Sana to browse.
At mud bath time it was very hot, and all the orphans decided to swim in the mud bath after having their bottles. Thirty-five wild bulls joined in the wallowing too. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. The boys Rapa, Sapalan, Wanjala and Mundusi split from the main herd and moved a short distance away where they browsed quietly together.
In the evening, the stockade was flooded with ex-orphans and wild bulls totaling more than one hundred. The bulls left after having water, but the ex-orphans opted to spend the night outside the stockades.
Dad and his friends reported for water early in the morning. The orphans left the stockades and joined the ex-orphans who were already waiting at the lucerne feeding area. Sattao and Mundusi walked down to the water trough and joined Dad and his friends. Sattao couldn't stop admiring Dad's huge body and tusks, wondering when he might be as big as him. The ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans an hour later.
Nabulu has now mastered all the routes that the orphans take and today she led the way, but on the way to the mud bath Sattao took over the lead. After mud bath, Jotto engaged Mapia in a pushing game but shortly later Jotto surrendered. Sattao led the way back out to browse again and is clearly enjoying this role.
In the afternoon, ex-orphan Zurura joined the orphans. Musiara and Rapa teamed up with Zurura to browse and later they managed to disappear with him without the Keepers knowing! It was only when the Keepers were starting to gather the orphans together to walk home that they realized Musiara and Rapa were still missing with Zurura. The Keepers eventually located them a kilometre away with Zurura, still walking north east. On returning back Musiara was welcomed by Malima, who rumbled and trumpeted in excitement at seeing him.
Three buffaloes showed up early in the morning to drink water before the orphans were let out. As soon as they came out of their stockades this morning the orphans made their way over to the lucerne feeding area as usual. Only one wild elephant bull joined them this morning. Shortly later, Kauro headed to the water trough, rumbling to inform his friends that it was time to leave.
As they walked, Pare tried to overtake Kauro, something that didn't go down well with Kauro. Kauro grabbed Pare’s tail and tried to pull him back. Pare turned to defend himself and so a fight ensued. Barsilinga, who was walking behind them, saved the day! Barsilinga offered to mediate between the two but Kauro didn't like the idea and so walked away to settle with Pare another time. Musiara teamed up with Kuishi and Maramoja to browse, while Ambo joined Rapa and Wanjala and walked a distance away from the rest of the group. Later, the three boys rejoined the group as they all headed towards the mud bath.
When the orphans arrived for their noon milk bottles, forty-five wild bulls were present. The orphans headed straight to wallow soon after finishing their milk and jumped into the water. It was fun for Musiara, Ambo, Dololo, Sattao, Esampu and Mteto who rolled around and sat in the water pulling funny poses and having fun. Nabulu was the first one to finish wallowing and she went straight for a soil dusting exercise. She was followed by Sapalan, Sana Sana, Malima and Malkia too. Mapia and Jotto seemed to quarrel over something but we weren’t sure what, and they ended up sorting out their differences through a pushing game. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing throughout the rest of the day.
It was a quiet morning. Only one buffalo showed up for water. The orphans settled for lucerne with the kind of freedom they only have when the ex-orphans aren’t around. Karisa was the first one to leave the lucerne feeding area and walk down to the water trough where he helped himself to enough water. He was joined by Kuishi, Tusuja, Mteto and Siangiki. Later, Karisa led the way out to browse as well. Enkikwe and Oltaiyoni had an argument that ended up in a fight. Jotto and Karisa took a break from feeding to share the same tree to scratch their necks.
Later on in the day, all the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath with the exception of Jotto, who opted to relax under a tree instead, and later walked to the piles of loose soil to dust himself. Twenty-two wild elephants were also at the mud bath.
Wanjala attempted to climb on musiara but Musiara decided to run away and Wanjala couldn’t keep up! Wanjala eventually gave up and hoped that there would be another time to prove his dominance towards Musiara. Kamok rumbled, attempting to assemble the herd and prepare them to continue browsing. The herd listened and everyone who was still in the water came out to follow her. The herd fell into line behind Kamok and headed to the Kanziku area where they settled to browse. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major distractions.
Orwa and Kibo spent the night outside the stockades last night. They were the only big elephants who joined the orphans for the lucerne feeding in the morning. Rapa picked up a pile of lucerne and moved off to a nearby rock for a scratch. Kauro, who was wandering around while carrying his own pile of lucerne, spotted Rapa. It wasn't immediately understood what came over him as all over sudden he rushed towards Rapa with the intention of pushing him. Rapa saw Kauro approaching and he didn’t stick around to be pushed by him, and so he took off with his pile of lucerne!
A short distance away, a wild bull trumpeted. Dololo, Sattao and Ambo responded by charging and running in the direction of the trumpeting before being called back by the Keepers. At that moment, Rapsu and Makena emerged from the east and walked straight over to join the orphans feeding on lucerne as well. Later, Sana Sana teamed up with Rapsu to drink water while Karisa and Kuishi teamed up to drink water from the other water trough.
Out in the bush, Ambo played with sweetly Nabulu while Jotto played with Pare. The orphans settled to browse north of the stockades. Malkia accidentally stepped on a thorn which made her stop and carefully lift her foot to examine what had hurt her, before using her trunk to pull it out. It is amazing how an elephant’s trunk can both expertly and delicately pull something as small as a thorn, and yet carry something as big as a fallen log as well.
At mud bath time, as has become the norm these hot days, the orphans all decided to wallow in the water. Nabulu, Dololo, Ndiwa, Kamok and Sattao settled for soil dusting soon after leaving the mud bath. In the afternoon, all was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
Ex-orphans Loijuk, Lili, Kitirua, Naisula, Ishanga, Kibo, Kilaguni, Kandecha, Orwa, Bomani, Tomboi and Kilabasi joined the orphans this morning. Lili had a good time playing with Mteto, Nabulu and Esampu and then they all teamed up to share lucerne together. An hour later, Loijuk and her herd parted ways with the orphans, but Orwa and Bomani decided to stay back with the dependent babies. Jotto took a break from feeding to have a pushing game with Karisa. Their game ended in a draw.
Loijuk and her herd met the orphans again at the mud bath and they had a spectacular wallowing session altogether. After wallowing, Kandecha and Kilaguni had a strength testing exercise that saw Kilaguni surrender and walk back to the water to join some of the wild bulls still wallowing.
On their way back out to browse, the orphans encountered a troop of chattering baboons. The orphans didn’t like the noise they were making and so Esampu, Mundusi, Rapa, Musiara, Dololo and Sattao teamed up to drive the baboons away. The baboons didn’t stick around and disappeared very fast, running off into the bush, leaving the orphans charging around and stamping their feet, but much happier since the noisemakers had taken off. Musiara teamed up with Jotto to browse for the rest of the day. Maramoja, Enkikwe and Wanjala dodged the Keepers and wandered off on their own to browse, only to make their own way back and show up at the stockade compound an hour after their friends had arrived back just before 5pm.