Now that Tsavo is in the throes of a drought, wild elephants sleeping outside the Ithumba compound has become a familiar scene. The northern sector of the park is particularly dry, and elephants know that they can rely on us for water support during these trying times. They report late at night and then rest until morning, when water troughs are refilled.
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.
As she waited for the lucerne to be distributed, Larro decided to keep herself occupied by scratching her belly on a nearby rock. Ndiwa engaged Jotto in a pushing game which ended as soon as the Keepers approached with the bales of lucerne. Ex-orphans Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Kinna, Kaia and Kama and several wild bulls joined the orphans for the feeding. A buffalo showed up for water but one of the wild elephant bulls chased it away. Esampu, Mapia and Mteto decided to follow suit, emboldened by the presence of the wild bull, and charged behind, following the buffalo to make sure that it didn’t turn back.
Later in the morning Karisa and Enkikwe left in search of the ex-orphans. The two boys think that they are grown-ups these days and need not spend as much time with their juniors. A few years ago, Enkikwe had already decided to be more independent and was spending a lot of time out in the bush with the ex-orphans, but he returned to the stockades when he was attacked by lions. Karisa too disappeared for three months in 2017, five days after only just arriving at Ithumba! He followed Kelelari who stayed wild from that moment on. Karisa came back all by himself and joined the Ithumba dependent orphans again – and we will never be quite sure how such a young orphan managed such a feat of travelling so far and knowing where to go. So both boys have had a taste of the wild and they seem to be ready to become independent once more.
At mud bath time none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. One wild bull showed up and got into the water, however, and enjoyed swimming on his own. The orphans didn’t want to change their minds even after watching this wild bull enjoying himself. In the afternoon, the orphans headed to the Imenti area where they browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day. Karisa and Enkikwe reported back to the stockades later in the company of the ex-orphans.
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.
Ex-orphans Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Makena, Loijuk, Lili and Buchuma arrived early at dawn and relaxed at the stockade compound waiting for the lucerne supplement food. The orphans had their milk at six o'clock in the morning then Naboishu led the way out. He headed straight to the water trough and had some water before walking back up to join his friends for lucerne. The late-night gang arrived half an hour later and joined in too. Larro and Nabulu shared a pile of lucerne as Nabulu appeared to be advising Larro on good behaviour. Jotto started his days activities by engaging Sattao in a pushing game, then later moved on to play with Kauro. Sattao switched to play with Mukkoka but the pushing game didn't last long as Ndiwa passed by and separated the two boys. Mapia played with Ambo while Esampu decided to have a game of rolling on the ground.
Malima took sometime off from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground. Malkia joined her a few minutes later and tried to push her up because the current drought doesn’t permit them to have prolonged games, and Malkia wanted Malima to continue browsing. Malima obliged and stood up to continue feeding.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath area for their noon milk feed it was quite hot. All the ex-orphans were there enjoying wallowing in the water. After their mud bath, Malkia, Maramoja, Musiara, Sattao, Nabulu, Kauro and Sapalan all headed to the roadside where they found some loose soil to dust themselves with. The afternoon was well spent as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing for the remaining part of the day.
The orphans were joined by a family herd this morning, who were very interested in them. Malkia, Esampu and Mteto tried to make friends with the youngest baby in the group but the mother blocked them. The wild herd parted ways with the orphans as soon as they had their fill. Jotto had brief strength testing exercise with Mapia in the stockade compound before Sana Sana led the way out to browse.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Due to the worsening drought, the orphans concentrated mainly on browsing before it would be too hot. Mundusi and Sapalan came across a broken branch that was probably dropped by a wild elephant and proceeded to have a disagreement over who saw it first and who was going to have the biggest share. As the two boys continued to argue, Kamok passed by and picked up the branch before leaving with in a slow leisurely walk which demonstrated she wasn’t afraid of the two boys contesting her. Sapalan and Mundusi were left regretting why they had spent so much time arguing instead of enjoying the tasty branch that they had both now lost!
Just before it was time to head to the mud bath, Karisa and Kauro dodged the Keepers, with Kauro heading to the mud bath early to await the milk vehicle, while Karisa left to search for the ex-orphans as he evidently loves their company.
The sun was shining bright but only Mukkoka, Larro, Musiara, Pare, Sapalan, Enkikwe, Ndiwa and Mapia wanted to wallow. Several wild bulls showed up for a drink and one joined the orphans in wallowing.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. A lesser kudu emerged abruptly from the thickets and scared Larro and Naboishu. The two orphans ran to the Keepers but on their way changed their minds. Instead Naboishu turned and trumpeted as he ran back towards the lesser kudu, annoyed at the antelope for scaring him and his fruend. The lesser kudu disappeared as fast as it's legs could carry him, leaving Naboishu charging at the empty bushes.
The orphans settled for lucerne early in the morning as usual. Two buffaloes showed up for water and competed with the orphans to drink. Esampu doesn’t like sharing water with buffaloes in the morning and wondered why her seniors weren’t chasing the buffaloes away. Esampu felt like she had to take this upon herself and was fully determined to challenge the buffaloes. She walked down to the water trough in a charging mood. The buffaloes just raised their heads and looked at Esampu because she is such a young elephant and on her own, they didn’t feel threatened at all. Esampu trumpeted, warning the buffaloes to prepare for war if they didn’t leave, but the buffaloes stood their ground. Esampu boldly made her threats real when she walked up behind one of the buffaloes and hit him from the back! The buffalo panicked and turned to run away and Esampu couldn’t be more delighted with the reaction - she continued trumpeting and chasing the buffalo away as it ran off into the bush with Esampu in hot pursuit. Karisa and Mteto joined in to assist their ‘sister’ and they all disappeared off into the bush, heading towards the kalovoto area. All three didn’t return for the rest of the morning!
After feeding on lucerne, Maramoja led the way out to the bush. Musiara felt happy as he had two girls competing over him this morning. Malkia has been trying to warm up to Musiara recently but Maramoja has always been Musiara’s favourite. Only time will tell if Maramoja will leave Musiara to Malkia or if both will remain Musiara's friend and be able to dote on him!
At mud bath time the weather was cold and the orphans didn't even think of stepping into the mud bathing water. They only had some water from the trough and then headed back out to browse. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day. An hour after the orphans returned to the stockades, Karisa, Mteto and Esampu, who had disappeared in the morning, returned safely and joined their friends.
Mutara and her team, along with Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Makena and Naisula were at stockades early just to make sure that they were not left out of the lucerne feeding. Mteto, Esampu and Malkia went straight up to baby Mambo as soon as they were let out of their night stockade. Sities, who was with Mambo at that time, tried to block the three girls from getting close to him but the three young girls were so persistent to play nanny that eventually Sities gave up and left Mambo in their care. Mambo at one point tried to nurse from Malkia but obviously she doesn’t have the milk he was looking for, so he ran to his mother. Kama ran into trouble with Pare when she inadvertently bumped into him. Pare thought that Kama had done it intentionally and he pushed her in retaliation, and grabbed her tail ready to bite it! Kama decided the only thing to do was to run off before Pare took things too far! When all the orphans were finished feasting on the supplement food, Larro led the way out.
Kone area was where the dependent orphans decided to browse this morning. The orphans took a break under a baobab tree on their way to the mud bath. The baobab tree had been stripped of it's bark by hungry elephants. Ambo, Rapa, Mundusi and Jotto settled on pulling the hanging leftovers pieces of bark from the tree too. The drought seems to be getting worse with each passing day, resulting in elephants settling on baobab trees for food. No one knows how long the drought might continue which is threatening all wildlife.
After having their noon milk bottles, out of all the orphans only Rapa and Larro wanted to wallow in the waterhole. The rest had a soil dust bath then headed for some water. Amazingly enough no wild elephants showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there today. The orphans had the mud bath space all for themselves! Kamok and Jotto were the last ones to leave the mud bath area today. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Enkikwe and Karisa disappeared only to reappear back at the stockades later in the evening.
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.
Meibai, Makena, Kinna, Kaia, Kama, Kitirua and Wendi’s baby Wiva were present in the morning and joined the dependent orphans. Twenty-two wild bulls showed up for water and two of them decided to team up with the ex-orphans and orphans for some lucerne too. Karisa, who appears to have totally severed his links with the younger orphans and relying on the Keepers, left immediately after feeding on lucerne, leaving everyone behind. He headed south and didn't bother to call any one to follow him. Later on the orphans followed in his direction but didn't catch up with him.
The weather was chilly and at one point Mteto, Mukkoka, Malima, Pare, Sattao and Ambo took time off from feeding to warm up and roll on the ground. Kauro took advantage of those who were lying down and walked around climbing on them. When he got to Mteto, there was a lot of protest from Maramoja who didn't approve of Kauro's actions. Maramoja tried to push Kauro off and away from Mteto. Pare stood up and also questioned Kauro as to why he was enjoying climbing on others back when he wouldn’t be particularly happy if same thing was done to him. Kauro responded by slapping Pare with his trunk just to silence him. Pare didn't take the slapping lightly and responded by pushing Kauro. The pushing went on for quite sometime before Mundusi emerged from the bushes and offered to help Pare in defeating Kauro. Kauro decided to end the fight by walking away as he was unable to match the strength of boys boys combined! Mukkoka had a light pushing game with Ambo but was interrupted by Kamok who came and picked Ambo up, leaving Mukkoka wondering why Kamok had taken Ambo away when they were having such fun. Perhaps Kamok wanted Ambo to concentrate on browsing and not messing around!
At mud bath time the orphans only had their noon milk feed before walking off back into the bush as there was a very light drizzle. Twenty five wild bulls came for water at the mud bath as it is still so dry. In the afternoon, the orphans enjoyed the cool weather and browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day. Karisa showed up late in the evening accompanied by Wendi and Wema.
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.
Ex-orphans Chyulu, Cheka, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi and a few wild bulls joined the orphans in the morning soon after they were let out. Mteto, Esampu, Malkia and Maramoja joined little Lexi and were proud of being able to walk around with her, even managing to escort her a short distance away from her mother while Lualeni was busy feeding on lucerne. When she realised that her baby wasn’t nearby, Lualeni decided to look for her, and she found Lexi rolling on the ground under the watchful eyes of the four girls. Lualeni didn't interrupt them and allowed her baby to finish having her fun, before escorting her away. Esampu, Mteto, Maramoja and Malkia must have been very grateful to Lualeni for allowing them to spend a little time with her baby.
Later in the morning, Malima came across a shallow hole where she collected some loose soil to dust herself. At one point she decided to lie down to have even more fun, but Mapia emerged from nowhere and attempted to climb on her. This annoyed Malima so she decided to get up and walk away.
When the orphans went to the mud bath for their milk feed, they were joined by ex-orphan bull Taita, and later twenty other wild bulls arrived too. In the end the orphans decided to leave the area to give their seniors some space. They headed for a dust bath and then walked back out to the bush to continue browsing. It turned out to be quite a hot afternoon and at one stage the orphans decided to take a break and relax under a tree before returning to browsing once it got cooler. Mapia teamed up with Sana Sana while Kamok went in search of her favourite Ambo as usual, who she enjoys spending the afternoon with. In the evening, Nabulu led the way back to the stockades.
Ex-orphans Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Mutara, Mambo, Suguta, Sities, Kainuk, Turkwel and Makena were present in the morning during the lucerne feeding time. Enkikwe and Wiva had a disagreement that soon turned into a fight. Enkikwe seemed to be giving Wiva a warning, perhaps telling her not to turn into a naughty elephant like her mother Wendi! It appears that Wiva is taking on some of her mother’s character and is sometimes a bit of a bully. Enkikwe seemed to take it upon himself to teach her a lesson, but gathered the support from some of the other bulls to trim her down to size too, and eventually Wiva retreated to her mother when the going got too tough.
Meanwhile, Maramoja was delighted not to have any competition in taking care of Mambo this morning. The other girls were concentrating on feeding on lucerne! Several wild bulls arrived just to drink water and only one of them joined the orphans briefly for some lucerne too.
Out in the bush, Mapia requested Ambo to join him in a pushing game, but Ambo was reluctant and didn’t want to play. Mapia decided to anger Ambo by attempting to climb on him. This had the desired effect as Ambo turned to defend himself and tried to push Mapia away, and the ensuing pushing game went on for quite sometime. It only came to an end when Mapia saw Kauro approaching. Sattao engaged Musiara in a strength testing exercise too, while Pare and Malima took a break from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground.
At the mud bath later in the morning, out of all the orphans, only Larro had a mud bath! Sapalan, Mteto and Mukkoka opted for a soil dusting exercise instead, while the rest headed to drink water from the trough. In the afternoon, Enkikwe, Kamok, Ambo and Rapa decided to sneak away from their friends and the Keepers. When it was time to head back to the stockades, the three boys and girl were still missing. The Keepers started looking for them and shortly after dark, the four orphans were located close to the Ithumba lodges as they appeared to be making their way around the hill. The Keepers called them and took them back to join their friends in the stockades for the night.
Kinna and Wendi’s families were present in the morning, accompanied by Makena, Buchuma, Loijuk and Lili. Twenty-five wild bulls were enjoying drinking water at the stockade water troughs. Later, Sana Sana joined Buchuma in drinking water. The unfriendly Kamok pushed young Kaia and Wema for no reason, just as they walked close by her. The babies will have to start avoiding her completely as they never know what kind of mood she will be in, but she is often unfriendly to them. She is only kind to Ambo for some reason!
Out in the bush, Sana Sana enjoyed a game of rolling on the ground as Musiara settled for a scratching exercise. Enkikwe left with the ex-orphans as he didn’t feel like going with the dependent orphans today. It was a quiet morning as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing without any major distractions.
When the orphans went for their noon milk feed it was quite hot, so everyone opted to wallow in the main waterhole after having their bottles. The orphans were joined by ten wild bulls. After the orphans had enough of wallowing, Mteto led the way back out to continue browsing. They didn’t pass by the water trough today, but more than fifty wild bulls showed up for water, indicating how dry it is. The situation will only worsen as the months go by and we hopefully receive some rain in November. The wild bull known as ‘Dad’ and ex-orphan Challa were among the bulls at the mud bath drinking.
The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. It was still a hot afternoon which prompted the orphans to seek shelter under some trees with nice shade to avoid the scorching sun. They only resumed browsing when it became a bit cooler later in the afternoon. In the evening, Karisa, who disappeared a few days ago with the ex-orphans, returned with Enkikwe.
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.
Ex-orphans Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Kilabasi, Kofi, Makireti, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Makena, Narok, Wendi, Wema, Wiva, Lualen, Lulu, Lexi, Chyulu, Cheka, Loijuk, Lili, Ithumbah, Iman, Kandecha, Galana, Meibai, Lenana, Lapa plus those in the late-night gang Roi, Oltaiyoni, Wanjala, Galla, Naseku, Olsekki, Siangiki, Olare, Tumaren, two wild families and several wild bulls were at the stockade compound shortly before the dependent orphans were let out. Once the orphans came out of their night stockades the ex-orphans and wild elephants joined them to feed on lucerne. The large number of elephants visiting the stockade for water and lucerne is a clear indication of the current drought conditions. Only the rains will bring an end to the suffering of all animals, and we look forward to the rains hopefully coming in November, but we know how different weather patterns are these days.
Mapia settled to share lucerne with Galana and perhaps wondered where her daughter Gawa was. Gawa is six years old and is most like with the rest of Yatta’s ex-orphan herd including the older females Yatta, Sidai and Mulika who haven’t been to visit us for a while now. Hopefully they have found an area of nice vegetation and water. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area for the morning. As usual, Karisa teamed up with the ex-orphans for the day.
After their noon milk feed, the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session. Mundusi and Mapia were the last ones to leave the mud bath and as soon as they were out of the water, the two boys had a strength testing exercise that ended when Mundusi surrendered. Kauro and Kamok, who didn't participate in wallowing, had a brief talk before heading back out to browse. The ex-orphans reported for a mud bath shortly after the orphans had left for browsing. The ex-orphans followed in the direction of the orphans when they were done wallowing too, and they found them where they had settled to the west of Ithumba Hill. In the evening, the ex-orphans escorted the orphans back to the stockades for the night, before disappearing off into the night.
A total of one hundred elephants settled for lucerne in the morning, including a mixture of dependent orphans, ex-orphans along with their babies and wild elephants too. All the elephants devoured the lucerne the Keepers distributed very quickly.
On the way out to begin their day in the bush, Mukkoka played with Sattao and later challenged Musiara. Mukkoka, who is slowly gaining courage, will soon dominate over Sattao and Musiara if not kept on check by these boys! Jotto settled for a strength testing exercise with Kuishi as Maramoja and Mapia settled for soil dusting. The orphans settled in the Kone area once more and were shortly joined by the ex-orphans. Maramoja, Malkia, Mteto and Esampu were delighted to team up with the wild born babies Mambo, Kaia, Lapa, Lexi and Kofi.
Shortly before mud bath time, the ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans – they headed for a mud bath as the orphans continued to browse and wait for the right time to head for their milk feed and wallowing session. It was a hot day and the orphans enjoyed cooling off in the water before continuing with their afternoon of browsing.
Later in the day the orphans made their way to the western side of Ithumba Hill again. Naboishu teamed up with Ndiwa, who appears to have taken a liking to the boy. Later in the day, the orphans opted for a roadside mud bath to cool off again before having a dust bath to dry off and head back to the stockades for the night.
Mutara and her herd spent the night outside the stockades. In the morning, Mutara decided to climb over the terrace wall to the inner compound area. Her baby Mambo walked around and under the electric wire across the entranceway to follow her mother inside. However, once inside, they found the gates for the lucerne store were closed and therefore they couldn’t just help themselves before the Keepers distributed the morning share. On their way back out, Mambo couldn’t climb over the wall again to follow his mother, and he was guided by the Keepers to use the proper exit point.
Soon the dependent orphans joined Mutara and her team outside. Lucerne was served by the Keepers and everyone shared it equally. Three wild bulls joined in but left when the lucerne was finished. A pack of wild dogs passed close by as they headed towards the mud bath area, but none of the elephants were bothered by them. Sana Sana led the way out to browse today.
Later in the morning, Jotto engaged Ndiwa in a pushing game but surrendered moments later when the going got too tough for him. As the orphans were browsing, a buffalo emerged from the thicket which caused a bit of tension amongst the orphans. The brave Naboishu trumpeted with his ears spread out, trying to scare the buffalo away, but the buffalo stood its ground and refused to leave. Esampu masterminded a clever way to make the buffalo leave them alone however, and she went round and ambushed the buffalo from behind. The buffalo got a fright and ran away as fast as it could, as Mundusi, Sattao, Rapa, Ndiwa and Sapalan all joined Esampu in driving the buffalo away. Peace was soon restored and the orphans soon continued browsing once more.
While at the mud bath later in the morning, the orphans were joined by ten wild bulls who decided to get into the mud bath at the same time as them. Musiara and Enkikwe were the last ones leave the mud bath today. In the afternoon, Musiara teamed up with Malkia while Naboishu settled to browse with Kauro and Enkikwe. In the evening, all the orphans returned safely to the stockades.
Tomboi, Mutara, baby Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Kainuk, Kanjoro, Ithumbah, baby Iman, Chyulu, Cheka, Loijuk, Lili, Kilabasi, Kofi, Makireti, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Wendi,Wiva, Wema and Makena were present in the morning. The orphans were let out soon after finishing their morning milk bottles. Outside the stockades, Kama had a disagreement with Enkikwe but we weren’t sure what started it. Either way, the disagreement soon resulted in a fight that ended when Kauro and Mundusi joined in to support Enkikwe and they all drove Kama away together. After finishing the lucerne, the orphans settled to browse south of the stockade compound and had a quiet morning.
The sky was clear, so we knew it was going to be a hot day a head. Kuishi settled to browse with Mukkoka while Ambo teamed up with Kamok. The orphans were briefly joined by the ex-orphans. Malkia decided to attach herself to Mambo for the few moments Mutara and her group were with them. At mud bath time, the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise. Larro, Naboishu, Rapa and Jotto emerged as the stars of the day. Moments later, the ex-orphans arrived. The orphans decided to give them space and left for soil dusting exercises. Mutara and her team joined the orphans in the afternoon and browsed together for the remaining part of the day. The girls Mteto, Ndiwa, Malkia, Esampu and Sana Sana felt happy as they had so much time to interact with mambo. In the evening Mutara and her team escorted the orphans back to the stockades.
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.
Four buffaloes arrived in the morning looking for water. The wild bulls allowed the buffaloes to share the water trough with them. The dependent orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their night stockades, where they were joined by the ex-orphans and some wild elephants. One of the wild bulls was very greedy and carried off a complete bale of lucerne for himself. Perhaps he would not normally be so greedy, but the area is so dry at the moment. Kuishi ran into trouble with Makena when she tried to pick up some lucerne that Makena had her eyes on. Makena pushed poor Kuishi quite hard, prompting her to cry for help, but she just ended up walking away from Makena and going to feed somewhere else.
Later, the orphans left the compound area to begin their day out in the bush. The day turned out to be quite a hot one and the orphans tried to walk and feed under the few remaining trees with leaves. At mud bath time, the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session. Only Kamok, Ambo and Jotto boycotted the wallowing exercise. Mapia and Karisa were the last ones to leave the mud bath area, while Larro was the last to finish drinking water at the water trough. The temperature didn’t ease up for the rest of the afternoon and the orphans resorted to taking a break from feeding to relax under trees with nice shade. When the temperature dropped to a more favourable level, the orphans resumed browsing until it was time to return home.
As the lucerne was being distributed this morning, Naboishu decided this was his moment to try and challenge Lemoyian. Lemoyian understood that Naboishu is still young and only wanted to test his strength against an older bull, although Lemoyian is quite small for his age! Their game ended when they realised that their friends were all busy munching on the lucerne while they continued to waste time, and the two bulls quickly got stuck in beside them. Several wild bulls were busy drinking water and only three joined the orphans for some lucerne.
Out in the bush the dependent orphans parted ways with the ex-orphans who had chosen to visit today; the latter headed towards the lower side of the Kalovoto seasonal river, which is currently dry, while the orphans turned and browsed heading in the direction of the mud bath.
It was much cooler today which meant it was nicer weather for the orphans to browse in. At mud bath time, only Rapa decided to get into the mud bath again, as he has always been an avid water-baby. The rest acted as mere spectators. Mukkoka looked tempted to join Rapa at one point, but after testing the water using his feet, he retreated and postponed his wallowing for another day. Mukkoka turned and walked to the pile of loose soil where he enjoyed dusting himself for a while before going to catch up with his friends who had gone to drink water.
Once again, the orphans spent the rest of the afternoon on the western side of Ithumba Hill. Ambo teamed up with Musiara to browse while Ndiwa took care of Naboishu. Karisa and Enkikwe reported back later in the evening after their friends had already arrived home for the night.