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A wild herd joined the orphans for lucerne this morning. A one-tusked wild bull joined the feast shortly later. The weather was chilly and as soon as the orphans were done with feeding Larro led the way out to browse. Kamok passed by the water trough and drank enough water to see her through the entire morning.

Jotto was feeding close to Sana Sana and at one point requested Sana Sana for some training in pushing techniques. Sana Sana accepted and the two enjoyed a pushing game for a few minutes before parting ways to resume browsing. Musiara enjoyed his own game of rolling on ground but was disrupted by Kauro and Mundusi. The two boys came and started pushing Musiara, attempting to climb on him. Musiara quickly got up and left as there was no way he could handle the two older boys. Sapalan concentrated on peeling some bark from a tree while Dololo and Malima were digging up the roots of certain shrubs.

Enkikwe and Karisa left to join the late-night gang and ended up skipping their milk bottles and the entire mud bath event. Only Kauro, Pare, Rapa and Esampu decided to wallow today. Twenty-five wild bulls were present at the mud bath.

In the afternoon, some of the boys were in a playful mood. Jotto played with Mapia while Kauro played with Mundusi. Mukkoka challenged Rapa while Naboishu played with Malima. Later, Musiara teamed up with Malkia to browse, leaving Maramoja wondering whether Musiara has decided to shift from her to becoming Malkia’s favourite. Kamok ended the days activities by engaging Enkikwe, who had re-joined the group, in a friendly pushing game that didn't last for long. 

The orphans had a quiet morning. After feeding on lucerne, Kauro headed east, thinking that the rest of the group would follow him. He soon realised that no one liked the direction he had taken however and none of his friends were following him! As the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them, and Kauro had no option other than to turn back and join the others. 

Sapalan, who rarely plays with Ndiwa, decided to invite her for a light and friendly pushing game. The rest of the herd concentrated on browsing and they seemed to be competing who among them could eat the most. Karisa decided to sneak off as usual, probably to look for the ex-orphans, but surprisingly Enkikwe decided to stay with his young friends.

At mud bath time, Sattao led the way for the milk feed, followed by Nabulu. It was the right temperature for the orphans to enjoy cooling off in the mud bath today. Ex-orphan Meibai emerged from the north of the mud bath and walked straight into the water, and it was this action of Meibai's that prompted the orphans and gave them the courage to all get in the water too. As soon as they were done with wallowing, Maramoja, Malima, Kamok, Ambo, Dololo and Mukkoka settled for a soil dusting exercise to dry off. Musiara came across a fallen tree that he used to scratch his itchy belly on. 

In the afternoon Sapalan had a game of rolling on the ground. Malkia came and decided to play and scratch on Sapalan but this annoyed him. Sapalan got to his feet and questioned Malkia why she had been so disrespectful by disrupting his game. It seems he didn’t receive an answer, so Sapalan slapped her using his trunk and warned her not to repeat such a mistake! Mukkoka settled to browse with Larro while Musiara teamed up with Maramoja for the rest of the afternoon.

A few wild bulls showed up at the stockade compound this morning. After the morning milk feed, Larro led the way out and all the orphans settled for lucerne. The lucerne feeding time was brief. Two buffaloes showed up for water as well which drew the attention of the elephants. One wild bull started it all by charging at the buffalo, Esampu soon followed and then a bunch of other orphans followed suit charging and trumpeting. The buffaloes didn’t hang around and ran for their dear lives! The elephants always enjoy charging at other animals who come for water. After the buffaloes disappeared from sight, the dust settled and Ndiwa led the way out to browse. 

Mukkoka decided to have his own game of rolling on the ground. Jotto settled to play with Mapia while Dololo played with his rival Musiara. Mutara and her small herd joined the orphans and Mteto, Esampu, Malkia and Sana Sana were especially happy to see little Mambo. The four girls decided to offer free assistance helping Mutara look after Mambo until Mutara and her herd left about an hour later. Karisa decided to be part of the group and followed the girls. 

Shortly before mud bath time, Mteto, Kuishi and Malima took a break from feeding and enjoyed rolling on the ground. When the orphans made their way to the mud bath, it was quite chilly, and the orphans didn’t feel like wallowing after having their bottles. They had a soil dusting exercise instead and drank some water before heading back out to browse. In the afternoon, Musiara settled to browse with Malima but later moved to join Malkia. The orphans had a quiet rest of their afternoon.

The sky was clear in the morning when the orphans were let out of their night stockades and settled for lucerne. Two wild elephant families were present and joined the orphans. Mundusi, Maramoja and Enkikwe tried to bond with the babies in the wild herds but the babies ignored them. After they were all done with the lucerne, the groups went their separate ways; the orphans headed south of the stockades while the wild elephants headed east. Nabulu teamed up with Larro to browse. Nabulu concentrated on digging roots of a certain plant as Larro concentrated on uprooting a shrub. Mteto, Dololo, Musiara and Kuishi took a break from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground. Esampu joined them but decided to lie on top of Mteto. Mteto couldn't continue with the game with Esampu on top of her, and so tried to push Esampu away. Esampu was overpowered but Mteto got up and left without punishing Esampu for just wanting to play. 

Jotto ran into trouble with Pare when he pulled a branch from Pare's mouth. Pare saw this as disrespectful and so decided to punish Jotto, but Jotto defended himself and informed Pare that he was up to the challenge. After pushing each other for some time, Pare decided that this was actually a waste of time and energy and instead of wasting energy in pushing Jotto, he should use that energy wisely and continue browsing instead. 

At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by several wild bulls. Karisa didn't turn up but left to join the late-night gang. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Shortly before going back home, the orphans heard a loud noise as a wild elephant broke a tree branch nearby, which gave the orphans a fright and sent them into a panic. Some ran towards the keepers while Kamok, Ambo, Sapalan and Esampu ran in a different direction. The four orphans returned to the stockades later and joined their friends who had come back earlier on time. 

Several ex-orphans spent the night just outside the stockade compound. Due to the ongoing drought, when the ex-orphans arrive at the compound during the night, they always relax and wait for lucerne to be served in the morning and this gives them the strength to walk many miles in search of good vegetation during the day time.

In the morning, the Ithumba dependent orphans joined the ex-orphans outside the stockade. Soon after finishing the lucerne, the ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans. The orphans headed west of the stockades and settled in the Kanziku area. Kuishi and Malkia took a break from feeding to play in a hole dug by wild elephants, while Ndiwa, Sana Sana, Larro and Mundusi settled to scratch their ears against different trees. Kauro, Jotto, Pare, Mapia, Dololo and Musiara settled for a game of rolling on the ground. Dololo stood up and stepped on Pare as he tried to make himself taller. Mapia quit the game and turned to play a pushing game with Jotto as Jotto was still on the ground. Later, Ambo engaged Musiara in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw.

It was cool when the orphans made their way to the mud bath today and only Dololo, Larro and Sattao decided to get in the water. The three orphans ended their game when they saw six wild bulls approaching. The wild bulls wanted to use the same waterhole to cool down and out of respect Sattao, Larro and Dololo made way for their seniors.

In the afternoon the orphans headed south of the mud bath in search of nice pastures. Kamok, Ambo, Sapalan, Rapa, Nabulu and Enkikwe separated from the main group and walked further away, but when it was time to head back to the stockades, the six orphans couldn't be found. The Keepers started looking for them and their search continued into the night, with the Keepers finally locating them close to the mud bath as they were slowly making their way back to the stockades, totally relaxed about the time!

A scene of sleeping elephants outside the Ithumba compound has become the norm these days. The elephants report late at night or in the early hours of the morning and then rest as they await morning and the Keepers to distribute the lucerne grass supplement, and for the water troughs to be refilled. The dependent orphans were let out in the morning soon after finishing their milk. Mutara and her group were present too and lined up for lucerne. Much to their delight, Maramoja and Malkia took over the taking care of Mambo from Suguta and Sities. It's amazing how these two primary nannies of Mambo have become more accepting of these young heartfelt orphans, who wish for nothing more than to assist in taking care of Mambo whenever they can! In the beginning, none of the young girls would be allowed close to Mambo, but now they have proven themselves, and Suguta and Sities don’t seem to mind. Malkia and Maramoja enjoyed each moment spent with Mambo until it was time to head out for the day. Maramoja was hesitant to leave Mambo behind and the Keepers had a hard time convincing her that it was time to leave with her friends. At last, the Keepers succeeded. Karisa, on the other hand, totally refused to follow the dependent orphans. 

On their way out to browse, Mukkoka challenged Sattao to a pushing game that lasted for quite some time before Mukkoka surrendered. Mteto's rolling game was disrupted by Kauro who came and climbed on her, which seems to be a common habit of his these days. Mteto was unhappy about the intrusion and managed to disengage herself from Kauro before walking off to join some of her other friends to browse.

Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Lemoyian, Barsilinga, Siangiki, Olsekki, Roi and Naseku from the late-night gang. Mundusi engaged Lemoyian in a pushing game but ended up loosing it to Lemoyian. Naboishu lay down to play and was heavily guarded by Ndiwa and Kuishi. The two girls knew that if they failed to do so then undoubtedly Sattao, Musiara or Dololo might come to disrupt his game. 

The weather was cold again at the mud bath and this time none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. When they were done the orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto River and in the evening they returned safely to the stockades for the night. 

Mutara and her team joined the orphans as usual in the morning. Three wild bulls joined in the lucerne feast, too. When they were done, Naboishu led the way out to the bush. Mutara and her herd followed ,which made Malkia and Maramoja very happy, as they got to spend more time with Mambo. The whole group settled in the Kone area to browse. Malkia and Maramoja stayed close to Mambo the entire time. Later, Mukkoka, who is proving to be tough with the older boys, engaged Sattao in a pushing game that surprisingly ended in a draw. 

It was a slightly warmer afternoon than recent days but after having their milk bottles only Larro, Pare, Nabulu and Dololo wanted to wallow in the waterhole. Mutara and her team stayed at the mud bath only briefly before wandering off into the bush. 

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. It was a quiet afternoon and the orphans browsed peacefully throughout the remaining part of the day. 

A few ex-orphans and three wild elephants joined the orphans for lucerne this morning. Kama, who was present with her mother Kinna, ran into trouble with Pare and Mundusi when she tried to block them from accessing the lucerne. The two boys ganged up against her and of course Kama couldn't withstand the strength of both boys combined and so ran to her mother. As soon as he was done with his pile of lucerne, Kauro led the herd out to browse. 

Out in the bush, the orphans were joined by a wild elephant with a young baby. Only Esampu was courageous enough to go and greet the baby. Oltaiyoni, Roi, Naseku, Siangiki, Olsekki, Tusuja and Barsilinga in the late-night gang joined the orphans later. When it was time to head to the mud bath, the late-night gang left with Enkikwe and Karisa, and only Oltaiyoni opted to escort the dependent orphans to the mud bath. The temperature was moderate and after the milk feed, only Oltaiyoni, Dololo, Sattao, Rapa, Mapia and Musiara decided to wallow in the mud bath. Soon after, Musiara engaged Mapia in a pushing game that didn't last for long, as Musiara opted to surrender when the going got too tough for him. 

As they were walking back out to the bush, Jotto ran into trouble with Malkia when he tried to block her way. Malkia pushed Jotto and Jotto turned to defend himself. Luckily, Kauro passed by and helped the two to sort out their differences. Pare teamed up with Maramoja to browse but a short while later Maramoja left and went to browse elsewhere, because Pare was trying to take food from her mouth. 

In the evening the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night. Enkikwe and Karisa reported later with the ex-orphans. Only Enkikwe accepted to go into the stockades while Karisa flatly refused, and decided to leave with the ex-orphans again. This isn’t the first time Karisa has opted to stay out; he has been doing it more and more recently, as he shows us he is ready to become more independent and join his friends in the wild. 

It was a cloudy morning when the orphans left the stockades. Ex-orphans Ithumbah, her new baby Iman, Kandecha, Buchuma, Barsilinga, Tusuja, Siangiki, Olsekki, Oltaiyoni, Naseku, Lili, Loijuk and a wild bull were waiting outside. Lucerne was distributed by the Keepers and everyone shared together. Malkia made sure that she was close to Iman all the time. She is such a willing nanny figure to any young baby! After they had finished all the lucerne, the dependent orphans parted ways with the ex-orphans. Malkia didn’t want to leave with her friends as she wanted to stay and look after Iman, and it took a lot of persuasion from the Keepers before Malkia would leave and walk to catch up with the others.

Out in the bush, Malima began her day by scratching on some nearby rocks. Later, Jotto and Pare had a strength testing exercise that didn't last for long as Rapa passed by and pushed the two boys out of his way. Ndiwa teamed up with Naboishu and Mukkoka, while Kamok settled with her favourite Ambo. Kauro, who loves to carry a stick with him for some reason whenever he goes for his milk feed, decided to sneak away from the group and arrived at the mud bath early before the others. He loves to be first in line for his milk bottle when he’s feeling particularly hungry! The weather was cold and none of the orphans wanted to wallow after their noon feed.

Later, the orphans opted to browse south of the mud bath. The clouds cleared giving way to a bit of sunshine! Larro, Enkikwe, Musiara and Esampu decided to cool off but the only water nearby was the small roadside mud bath. The four orphans started to make their way there, and when the other orphans saw their friends leaving they understood exactly where they were heading. Dololo and Nabulu led the rest of the herd to follow their four friends. The mud bath was enjoyable, and the orphans actually spent quite a lot of time playing there. In the evening, Naboishu led the way back to the stockades for the night.

The sky was clear this morning, indicating a hot day ahead and suggesting that the cold season might be coming to an end soon. Ex-orphans Nasalot, Noah, Kilabasi, Kofi, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Ishanga and Makireti who have been away for some time now, reported to the stockades early before dawn. We were very happy to see them! The others, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Makena, Loijuk, Lili, Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Melia, Kandecha, Kasigau and Vuria reported later, only to find they were almost late for the morning lucerne! The dependent orphans shared the lucerne with the ex-orphans for a while but left when they found the area to be too crowded. Nabulu, followed by Larro, led the way out to browse.

The orphans got down to business straight away browsing, knowing full well that these are tough times and they need to allow as much time as possible to feeding to make sure the day doesn't end without filling up their tummies. As the morning progressed it kept getting hotter and this prompted Sapalan and Sattao to take a break from browsing to relax under a tree to cool down. At the mud bath all the orphans opted to wallow. Jotto, Mapia, Sapalan and Rapa enjoyed wallowing the most and were the last ones to leave the mud bath. The orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise along the edge of the road and thereafter went back to browsing.

Malkia teamed up with Musiara to browse, as Ambo engaged Dololo in a pushing game, perhaps feeling like he had missed out on his share of games today. Later, the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree and only resumed browsing when it cooled down. On the way back to the stockades, the orphans passed by the roadside mud bath and cooled-off there before continuing with their walk back to the stockades.

Several wild elephants were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. Ithumbah, Chyulu, Wendi, Kinna and Nasalot with their families were present to feast on some lucerne as well. Four wild bulls felt courageous enough to approach and join in too. A buffalo came and joined the other wild bulls for some water but once again, Esampu couldn’t accept this. She trumpeted and charged at the buffalo and pestered him so much that at last the buffalo gave up and left, only to return once the belligerent elephant orphans had left for the day.

When they were done, Enkikwe and Karisa left with the ex-orphans, while the rest of the dependent orphans led by Mteto headed towards the Kone area. On the way, Jotto engaged Esampu in a pushing game while Mukkoka played with Dololo. Pare lagged behind all the others and stayed with thumbah to have some water at the water trough, but when he was done he ran to catch up with his friends.

Ambo settled to browse with Nabulu and had lengthy chat with her but about what we can’t be sure. Malkia teamed up with Musiara while Ndiwa settled to browse with Larro and the vocal Naboishu. Sapalan had a brief pushing game with Mteto but their game ended when Mteto surrendered.

It was another hot day and at mud bath time all the orphans chose to wallow in the mud bath again. Jotto and Mapia were the last ones to leave and they enjoyed a strength testing exercise as well before heading back out to browse. Musiara, Esampu, Malima, Rapa, Kamok and Sapalan settled for soil dusting soon after leaving the mud bath. In the afternoon, the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under some trees, but when the heat became unbearable they headed to the small mud bath beside the road to cool off. Later, Nabulu led the way home. 

It was a quiet morning for once, with just a few ex-orphans reporting. Loijuk, Lili, Kilabasi, Kofi and Mutara’s herd joined the orphans in the morning. Maramoja didn't have any competition playing nanny to little Mambo; Malkia, Esampu, Mteto and Ndiwa decided to concentrate on lucerne and let Maramoja carry on with Mambo. When they were done, Larro led the way out to the bush where the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Dololo tried to challenge Sapalan but this was not a good match: Sapalan easily won, leaving Dololo disappointed. Sapalan informed Dololo that he still has a long way to go and that he merely has to be patient to get to the size and strength of an older bull like him.

The orphans concentrated mostly on browsing throughout the morning and avoided wasting time. The day was cloudy and at mud bath time the orphans had their milk then walked to the water trough to drink water. The orphans were joined by Taita who shared water with them before leaving to catch up with his wild friends. Enkikwe and Karisa left too and went in search of their ex-orphan friends.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. It was all quiet throughout the remaining part of the day as the orphans concentrated only on browsing. In the evening, Nabulu led the first group back to the stockades while Malima led the second group. 

Some ex-orphans joined the orphans in the morning again, much to delight of the older dependent girls. Maramoja assigned herself the role of taking care of Kaia, while Malkia attached herself to Mambo. Ndiwa moved to be with Kofi and was later joined by Esampu. Kamok, the unfriendly girl to all babies (with the exception of Ambo) had a run-in with Wendi’s baby Wema. Kamok whipped Wema with her trunk for no apparent reason, causing Wema to cry out and run to her mother. Kamok didn’t seem fazed and even walked majestically away, feeling happy for disciplining the baby of a troublemaker who happens to be Wendi. When they were done, the dependent orphans headed south while the ex-orphans remained behind, deciding on the best direction to take.

Out in the bush Ambo started playing with Kuishi while Jotto played with Mapia. Mteto had her own game of rolling on the ground but was disrupted by Kauro who came to climb on her. Later, the orphans were briefly joined by Nasalot, Noah, Nusu, Lualeni, Lulu and Lexi. Maramoja and Nusu had a disagreement when Maramoja tried to walk away with Kaia. Nusu didn't approve of Maramoja trying to walk off with one of their family members, and this resulted in a fight. For the sake of peace, Maramoja decided to surrender; after all, Kaia is Nusu’s ‘sort of’ sister, so there was no need to fight about it.

Later the orphans were joined by Makireti, Kilabasi, Kofi, Mutara, Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta and Kainuk. So far Mutara, Suguta, Sities, Turkwel and Kainuk’s group is the only herd with the streak record of remaining intact ever since joining the wild.

After finishing his noon milk feed, Dololo walked up to Suguta, who, along with the others in Mutara’s herd, used to be besotted with Dololo and always try to kidnap him away from the dependent herd. When Mutara gave birth to Mambo, however, the whole herd directed all their attention and efforts into taking care of their new family member and completely dropped Dololo. We are sure that Mutara’s herd would have succeeded in taking Dololo with them had the Keepers not remained so vigilant, as he was still too young to leave the dependent herd.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill again. It was all quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing without any major distractions. 

The ex-orphans joined the orphans in the morning, as usual. The two groups shared lucerne before later parting ways. Olsekki attempted to climb on Karisa in a show of dominance, but he didn't succeed; Karisa walked off too quickly, making it impossible for Olsekki to climb on him. Dololo settled to scratch on a nearby rock as Mteto and Maramoja lagged behind, bidding goodbye to Mambo. The two girls later caught up with their friends.

It was a quiet morning as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. The weather was cloudy and cool and this provided the orphans with the perfect conditions for browsing. At mud bath time, none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. On this way back out to the bush, Sapalan invited Naboishu to a pushing game. Ndiwa, who was standing close by, and who has come to like Naboishu, intervened by moving in between the two boys. Ndiwa was trying to defend Naboishu since she was sure Sapalan would easily win over him, and in the process he might risk getting hurt as well. After separating the two boys, Ndiwa walked away with Naboishu, leaving Sapalan looking for another sparring partner. Jotto settled to play with Malima while Musiara played with Pare. Later, Kauro and Mundusi finished up the day's pushing games by engaging each other in strength testing exercise. 

Lots of wild elephants turned up for water this morning. The ex-orphans present concentrated on lucerne first, before moving on to water. Karisa led the way out to the bush soon after the lucerne feeding was over. Enkikwe decided to go with the ex-orphans today.

Sapalan engaged Karisa in a brief strength testing exercise and later moved to scratch his itchy ears against a tree. Mapia took some time off from browsing to have a game of rolling on the ground. His game was short-lived however, since Rapa emerged from nowhere and came to climb on his back. This annoyed Mapia but since Rapa is senior to him there wasn’t much he could do; he just struggled to free himself and stand up until he succeeded. After managing to disengage himself from Rapa, Mapia stood up and stomped off, seemingly very annoyed with Rapa for his uncouth behaviour. Pare settled to play with Jotto while Dololo played with his agemate Musiara. Esampu spotted three buffaloes and decided that they were not welcome in their territory. As usual she took it upon herself to charge and trumpet at the orphans and chase them away. Her trumpets drew the attention of her friends so Mundusi, Kauro, Mukkoka, Malkia and Malima offered to help Esampu in driving away the buffaloes. The buffaloes didn't hang around but scampered off, leaving the orphans only charging at the bushes.

At the mud bath it was quite cool so the orphans avoided the water; only Rapa was courageous enough to get in. Sattao, Sapalan, Musiara and Mteto settled for a soil dusting exercise instead. Ex-orphan bull Taita, who is 19 years old now, joined the orphans to drink some water before disappearing off into the bush again. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day. 

The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades this morning. The orphans as usual were joined by the ex-orphans and wild herds for some lucerne. When it was time, it was Sana Sana who led her friends out to the bush.

Karisa, Enkikwe, Ambo, Rapa and Kamok lagged behind but managed to catch up with their friends later. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and had a quiet morning. Later, Jotto decided to have his own game of rolling on the ground. Pare, who was passing by, stopped and wrestled Jotto while he was still on the ground. Jotto wasn't happy about Pare coming to disrupt his game, and he managed to get up and defend himself by engaging Pare in a pushing game. Larro got an itchy ear and so found a nice tree to scratch it on.

On the way to the mud bath, the orphans were joined by Challa. They had their milk bottles before going to cool off in the mud bath, while Challa headed to join some wild elephants drinking water. After the orphans had enough of wallowing, Sattao led the way to the soil dusting venue to dry off. Dololo, Jotto, Sapalan, Mteto and Malkia joined him. In the evening, Karisa sneaked off and returned back to the compound early before the others.