Keepers' Diaries, August 2022

Voi Reintegration Unit



The month began with another visit from Nguvu. Although most of Voi’s ex-orphans venture further afield during the dry season, Nguvu and his adopted wild family have remained in the area. He approached the mud bath at a good clip, as if he couldn’t wait to say hello to the dependent orphans. Embu was particularly excited to see her old friend and tried to block Nguvu from leaving, but he was adamant that he had to stay with his new family. We treasure these visits, however brief, and are happy to see how well Nguvu is navigating the drought. 

01 August 2022

It was games as usual after the milk and supplement feeding this morning. Mudanda went to invite her new best friend Ndotto for a fun sparring match.

As the orphans left the stockades this morning, the morning monitoring patrol left at the same time and came across a lone lioness lying close to the baobab tree water hole. Upon seeing the vehicle approach the lion ran off, ensuring a peaceful environment for the orphan elephant to visit the baobab tree water hole later in the day for their milk bottles and to enjoy a mud bath. 

Today, Nguvu the ex-orphan was seen walking at a good pace at the front of his adopted wild elephant herd. He was moving quickly at the front to greet his stockade dependent friends beside the baobab tree and didn’t want to miss an opportunity to say hello to his old family. His herd arrived and they all shared water from the large water trough together. The orphans chose not to mud bath today however as it was overcast and there was a slight wind blowing. Embu tried to catch up with Nguvu and was all over him, but Nguvu kept shying away and moving away with his adopting wild herd members.

02 August 2022

Once the milk and lucerne pellet feeding was done, Mudanda decided to take little Thamana off to the side for some light sparring lessons. Thamana was very excited and Mudanda deliberately put very little pressure on Thamana, pretending that he was indeed winning. Sagala, who was close by, evidently felt a little jealous, and thus launched her own side show and sparring match with Ngilai. It looked like this was all in the effort to impress Thamana and showcase that she has better lessons to give than what Mudanda was offering.

The orphan elephant had a peaceful morning browsing, visiting the water hole just before noon to have their milk bottles and some water before leaving for browsing. Later, Ndotto and Ngilai, the dominant bulls in the Voi orphan elephant herd at the moment, started a tough sparring and head-pushing encounter. We believe they might be trying to establish who among them is the most dominant bull in the herd and at the top of the hierarchy. Emoli walked off and went to climb on top of a rock nearby, bravely trying to reach some higher leaves of a tree. He then tried to climb on Lemeki but was stopped by some of the older orphans, and then Mudanda decided it was time to head home for the evening and walked off rumbling in the direction of the stockades, so that the rest of her friends would follow her home.

03 August 2022

After the morning milk feed, the Voi dependent orphans decided to hang around the stockade compound for some socializing games and bonding before moving out to begin their day of browsing out in the Park.

Ngilai started a wrestling match with his favorite friend Emoli, while Thamana warmed up in the cool morning weather by playing close to his adopted mother Mudanda. Once he arrived out in the bush however, Thamana changed tact and was seen to approach Mbegu instead for some comfort and to browse in her company for a while. He ended up staying close to her for the better half of the morning.

The orphan elephants later visited the water hole and had a lot of fun in some mud bathing games. They were soon joined by some wild elephant herds as it is so dry in the area now, and they come from all over to quench their thirst. Pika Pika and Rorogoi ran the mud bathing show, rolling, and lying on each other in the water. Arruba became jealous however as Pika Pika is her particular favourite, and as the two came out of the water she went over to interrupt and separate them as they all moved over to join their friends who were starting to walk off across the grasslands to continue browsing. Rorogoi just walked off with the others and let Arruba reunite with her favourite baby Pika Pika.

04 August 2022

It was a happy morning with the orphan elephants playing in the stockade compound after finishing all their food. Ndotto’s dream to test his strength against Lasayen came true today with Lasayen finally accepting his request to spar. Lasayen is usually a quiet orphan who doesn’t like to play as much so it was a real treat for Ndotto to play with him this morning. Ndotto’s excitement was almost visible for us to see! Tagwa, who seems to only trust sparring with Ngilai at the moment, went over to invite him for a sparring match too.

The orphan elephants later spent their morning browsing halfway up Msinga Hill. Juni proved to be the most energetic, climbing all the way up the hill well in front of her friends, with them following suit.

The orphan elephants visited the water hole in the afternoon after milk feeding and took a brief mud bath. Later Ndotto was in a playful mood, and he went up to Arruba for a sparring game. He then walked over to Mudanda for the same but found that Thamana had sandwiched himself next to Mudanda’s side. Ndotto took the opportunity to climb on Thamana’s back, but Mudanda pushed him away and took Ndotto for a pushing game instead.  

05 August 2022

It was a peaceful morning as the milk dependent orphans came running out of their stockades amid some light misty rain, gulping down their delicious milk bottles.

They quickly joined their friends in Arruba’s herd at the lucerne feeding area before leaving to browse out in the Park for the day.

They walked north of the Msinga Hill through a strip of a few acacia tortillas trees, and on through an area of small bushes to settle halfway up the hill. The orphans only came downhill when it was time for their noon milk feed. As they walked down the hill Ndotto engaged Arruba in a pushing game, but Arruba moved backwards in reverse as they played, so as to coax Ndotto down the hill and not delay the milk feed and mud bath. 

After a wonderful mud bath, a wild elephant herd arrived to join the orphans. Mudanda quickly fetched her darling Thamana and went to hide out behind the baobab tree so that he wouldn’t be taken by anyone in the wild herd.

06 August 2022

It was cold today as the milk dependent babies eagerly came running out of their night stockades to line up at the milk feeding area for their bottles. Pika Pika, Tamiyoi, Lemeki and Thamana pushed each other and jostled over who should get the first one! 

When they were done with their bottles the orphans joined the older orphans for some lucerne as usual. Godoma was slightly distracted this morning, however, and decided to get down on the ground to show off to Tahri and Lemeki and to try and lure them into playing with her. Lasayen walked around the compound picking up every last piece of lucerne while the rest of his friends started to leave to begin their browsing day, and he had to run to catch up with them.

Settling on the northern side the hill, the orphans calmly browsed all through the mid-morning, concentrating mostly on browsing due to the dry conditions at the moment, and forewent playing many games. 

As it is so dry the mud bath is a common meeting ground with wild elephants at the moment and today was no exception. After the milk feeding all the orphans congregated around the water trough next to the baobab tree where they met and interacted with some wild elephants, visiting from many different areas of Tsavo. While there, Lemeki challenged Ndotto to a sparring game while Rorogoi, Pika Pika, Aruba and Embu enjoyed a mud wallow.

07 August 2022

It was another cold morning today as we watched Thamana and Lemeki stand at the front of their gate eagerly awaiting to be let out for their first milk feed of the day. All the milk-dependent babies orphans quickly gulped down their milk and proceeded to where the Keepers distribute the morning lucerne. Just after 7:30am, Tamiyoi and Emoli took the lead and walked everyone out of the compound towards the bush, where they maneuvered their way along the rocky slopes of Msinga Hill to the northern side and settled to browse.

Ndotto engaged Mudanda in an early morning sparring game. Mbegu, Sagala and Tagwa were all very overprotective of Juni today and crowded around her while she browsed. Tagwa seems a bit jealous; she doesn’t want anyone else around her besides Mbegu and Sagala.

Just before noon the orphans went down the hill to the milk feeding area, but as it was a cold day no one felt like a mud bath so after having some fresh water, they immediately set off to continue browsing.

08 August 2022

Emoli and Pika Pika could not stop squabbling over who would be the first to the milk feed area to have the first bottle this morning. Ironically, it was all for nothing, as there were several Keepers waiting with milk bottles at the ready. After their usual feeding routine, the orphans decided to go and warm themselves up by rolling on the pile of loose, red soil. Lemeki and Thamana enjoyed the security that Mudanda provided them by standing guard and watching over them, not letting anyone else near the soil until the two babies were done with their games.

We soon received a report from the SWT Kaluku Field HQ about the presence of a female orphaned elephant at the Mwatate sisal estate. The stockade rescue team was mobilised and sent out to rescue the orphan. While at the airstrip loading the orphan to go to the Nairobi Nursery, we received another report about an orphaned bull at Hildama. The rescue team quickly proceeded to rescue that young orphan boy too. As the orphan was about three and a half years old, he returned with the rescue team to the Voi stockades. We called him Hildama.

09 August 2022

Hildama, the new orphan we rescued yesterday, was feeding well inside his stockade this morning. At the same time, the Voi orphans were busy feeding on their lucerne supplement food after finishing the milk feed. They were in a particularly excitable mood this morning; Ngilai was running all over the stockade compound trumpeting, with Emoli, Godoma and Lasayen following and copying him! We could only wonder what all the excitement was about.

Mudanda was feeding on the lucerne pellets on top of the terrace wall along with Thamana. Arruba invited Ndotto to a sparring game and the two had an exciting wrestling match, but Mudanda’s jealously interrupted them. She has enjoyed the attention from Ndotto recently and didn’t want him to play with anyone else this morning, even though she was preoccupied with Thamana!

Eventually Tamiyoi, Emoli and Lemeki decided to lead the orphans out to the bush where they all settled to browse on the slope of Msinga Hill. Ngilai decided to leave the others and make his way up to the top of the hill in search of food, while Mbegu Sagala and Tagwa kept Little Juni company all morning.

10 August 2022

After the morning milk feed, Ndotto and Mudanda started a pushing game while the rest of the herd went for their lucerne breakfast. Little Lemeki decided to invite Suswa for a morning wrestling game before the orphans left to begin their day out in the bush. Suswa was very gentle with Lemeki as she is much younger, but Lemeki’s small size is not to be taken for granted and she evidently wanted to learn some serious pushing techniques from Suswa this morning.

When Mudanda decided to invite Ndotto for a head-on sparring match, Suswa took the advantage of Mudanda being distracted to spend some time with Thamana and she enjoyed a little pushing game with him too. It wasn’t long before Mudanda noticed them however, and came hurrying over to take Thamana away from Suswa.

Mbegu was leading the herd along with Suswa this morning, leaving Tagwa behind to take care of little Juni.

In the afternoon, the orphans walked downhill for the noon milk feed and proceeded down to the water trough for some fresh water, but they chose not to mud bath again today.

11 August 2022

It was a bright and calm Thursday morning, and the orphans were found eagerly waiting for their milk feed as usual. Lemeki, Thamana and Tamiyoi were all struggling at the front of their stockade gate over who should be able to come out first. Arruba and her group from the older herd were already out having their lucerne pellets as they don’t have milk anymore, and this only made the younger babies even more eager for their milk feed.

Emoli and Ngilai had a sparring game around the stockade water hole while Juni, Tagwa, Mbegu and Sagala lined up along the feeding trough to have their own pellets.

Ndotto went to the far end of the compound to feed on the lucerne that the Keepers had placed there, joining Rorogoi, Suswa and Embu.

The milk dependent orphans spent the mid-morning browsing deep in the woods before later showing up at the baobab tree mud wallow after their noon milk feed.

12 August 2022

After the morning feed, the Voi orphans left the stockades to browse, and they made their way to the foot of Msinga Hill in the direction of the baobab tree mud hole.

Murit decided to take on Lasayen in a morning wrestling match, but a jealous Godoma came over to disrupt their game.

Browsing continued throughout the mid-morning, punctuated by Sagala and Tagwa jostling over who should take care of Juni. Pika Pika and Arruba are always by each other’s side, but this morning Pika Pika wanted to primarily play pushing games with Ngilai. While Pika Pika was distracted with Ngilai, Arruba decided to go and browse alongside her friend Embu.  

In the afternoon the orphans walked down to the mud wallow after the milk feed, and they socialized around the baobab tree water trough drinking and playing. Sagala kept a close eye on Juni while Mbegu posed at the trough, drinking water. Tamiyoi scratched against the baobab tree while Ngilai and Emoli held each other’s trunks affectionately by the trough. Godoma decided to spend some time with little Thamana before going for a mud wallow with the rest of the orphans. Godoma, Suswa, Embu, Rorogoi and Mbegu seemed to be having the most fun in the water. Pika Pika took the opportunity of Arruba lying in the water to climb on her back in some joyful water games. As she got out of the water Mbegu had to scratch against the tree one last time before following her friends across the grasslands to continue browsing for the rest of the day. 

13 August 2022

It was another cold morning as Pika Pika and her milk-dependent friends enjoyed their bottles. Thamana was being a bit of a bully towards Tamiyoi after he finished his own milk bottles, because Tamiyoi was still on her first and he wanted some of her share. 

Lemeki went to scratch on a big rock after finishing up her own bottles, while Tagwa took Juni with her over to the piles of loose soil for a wonderful morning dust bath.

As most of the orphans left the stockades to browse, Suswa and Ndotto remained behind finishing up the leftover pellets. As the orphans walked down the dusty red road towards the paths leading along the hillside, Pika Pika started pushing and bullying Juni because she happened to be walking next to Arruba and she felt jealous.

Later in the morning as the browsing continued, Suswa managed to sneak Thamana away from Mudanda who was wrestling with Ndotto. Mudanda didn’t even notice until it was time for the noon milk feed! Godoma and Murit were also having a sparring moment as the orphans waited for the milk vehicle bearing their bottles to arrive.

Later after mud wallowing, the orphans resumed browsing and settled on the open savanna grassland.

14 August 2022

Mbegu chose to select some tasty branches and leaves to eat from the tree next to the milk feeding area this morning. Mudanda scratched against the big rock next to the water trough. The rest of the orphans were busy feeding on the lucerne pellets, led by Godoma.

Rorogoi stood posing on the orphans’ favourite scratching rock as if contemplating what to do this morning, while Tahri and Lasayen drank some cool fresh water from the trough. Ngilai accepted a sparring challenge from Lemeki. Emoli took on Murit for a pushing game while they were still in the compound, while Lasayen, Juni and Tagwa lined up along the terrace wall feeding on the pellets placed above. Suswa was also busy feeding on some pellets when she saw Thamana walking by. She approached him in the effort to try and entice him to spend the morning with her, but Mudanda realized and pulled Thamana closer to her side, marching him over to a different feeding area.

Rorogoi had been so distracted with her morning supplement feed that she had to climb over the terrace wall to catch up with the herd as they had already started making their way out to the bush, with Lemeki, Emoli and Tamiyoi in the lead.

The orphans maneuvered their way along the rocky side of the hill, slowly making their way to the top in search of better browse. Mbegu and Juni meanwhile chose to browse at the foot of the hill as the rest of the herd went up. Later, the Keepers called all of the orphans to come down for their noon milk feed and they all duly obliged, with the younger ones going for their milk bottles and the older orphans like Arruba and Embu waiting patiently for them, until they were done and they all walked straight down to the baobab tree water trough together.

15 August 2022

Before leaving for the bush today, Lasayen took up position at the stockade water trough for a drink while the rest of the orphans grabbed as many lucerne pellets as they could; they seemed to be in a hurry today. A few minutes later, Emoli and Tamiyoi were already making their way out to browse. Suswa and Embu remained behind to make sure everyone had left, whilst at the same time finishing up the pellets.

Today the orphans decided to browse on the open fields on the northern side of Msinga Hill. Both Sagala and Tagwa looked after Juni and opted to spend the whole day with her. Lasayen browsed form a tasty shrub he found while Godoma chose to hang out with a very feisty and sassy Emoli today.

As soon as the milk vehicle arrived, Thamana led the first group in a sprint to the milk feeding place. After Lasayen finished his bottles, he majestically sauntered down to the baobab tree and put on quite the show. He sat on the ground and rolled around, attracting onlookers such as Murit who stood close by, and his best friend Ndotto who spotted him and came over to challenge him for a wrestling match while he was still on the ground.

As the orphans were having a mud bath, we received a call from our Kaluku Field HQ about an orphan baby that had been spotted all alone in the sisal estate without any sign of a mother or herd nearby. The baby was apparently very thin and dehydrated. The Keepers quickly prepared everything and rushed to the scene. With the help of the community rangers from sisal estate, the orphan was successfully rescued and brought back to the Voi stockades. The baby was named Dabida.

16 August 2022

It was a bright morning for a change, as the Voi orphans had their milk, pellets and lucerne grass. Pika Pika challenged Ngilai to a wrestling match and Godoma took on Murit for the same. Mbegu walked with Juni to the other end of the compound for some tasty lucerne grass, but Tagwa suddenly noticed that Juni was missing and became quite uncomfortable, causing chaos all over the compound as she threw a tantrum and ran in all directions looking for her. Mbegu didn’t seem bothered however and continued feeding side by side with Juni. Thamana, Lasayen, Godoma and Mudanda all lined up along the terrace wall and are calmly fed on the pellets there.

Lemeki, Emoli and Tamiyoi then took the lead of the herd, taking everyone out to settle along the slopes of Msinga Hill as they slowly made their way to the northern side near the baobab tree. As the orphans browsed along the hillside they came across a family of wild elephants; they interacted together until it was time for the orphans to go for their noon milk bottles. The Keepers called and the orphans rushed down for the afternoon milk feed, before proceeding to the baobab tree mud wallow.

17 August 2022

It was another sunny morning. The orphans were already out of their night stockades and were hanging out, playing and interacting while having their breakfast. The two new orphan babies Hildana and Dabida are also doing well from inside their stockades where they are still recovering.

After breakfast the orphans left the compound for the browsing fields and ended up south of the hill, browsing across the open grasslands towards the baobab tree water trough.

After their noon milk feed, the orphans walked down to the water trough to quench their thirst before proceeding to the mud wallow. Lasayen posed on the water trough with his right hind foot facing away from the mud wallow. His best friend Ndotto enjoyed splashing about at the edge of the mud wallow and when he was done, he got out to go and dry himself off on the loose soil in a dust bath. Pika Pika was also wallowing at the edge of the mud wallow in an attempt to invite Murit to a sparring match, but Murit turned her down. Arruba went back to relax next to the water trough and have a drink, where she was joined by Suswa, Pika Pika, Embu and Rorogoi.

When they were done the orphans walked off back up the hill to resume their normal afternoon of browsing.

18 August 2022

It was a calm Thursday morning and orphans were peacefully enjoying their breakfast. Mudanda broke the peace eventually by bullying Suswa for spending time with Thamana. Meanwhile, both Mbegu and Tagwa managed to peacefully look after little Juni. Sagala and Lemeki were enjoying an early morning wrestling game with Sagala gently teaching Lemeki some new pushing techniques, while Emoli took on his favorite playmate Ngilai.

When they were done with their breakfast the orphans left the compound under the leadership of Arruba and Pika Pika who guided the herd to the more forested side of the hill where they spent most of the morning.

After the afternoon mud bath, the orphans went to the lucerne feeding area the Keepers have made close to the stockade compound for an afternoon treat, and to make sure they are getting enough food during these dry conditions. 

19 August 2022

Arruba and her adopted baby Pika Pika were feeding on pellets together this morning and hugging one another. Ndotto was there too, as Mbegu spent some quality time with Tahri. Just as all the orphans gathered together to make their way out to the bush for the day, Ndotto started a wrestling match with Mudanda. They had to run to catch up with their friends!

Ndotto gulped down his milk bottles at the noon milk feed then joined his friend Ngilai at the water trough. Near the edge of the mud hole, Thamana was rolling around while his adopted big sister Mudanda kept a close eye on him. Godoma dug at the sides of the mud bath with her small tusks. Her friends Ngilai and Murit playfully enjoyed a pushing game inside the water, alongside Pika Pika, Arruba, Embu, Suswa and Rorogoi who were all swimming. Arruba and Pika Pika fully submerged themselves to swim in the water, before moving to relax at the edge of the mud bath for a little while, as the others left to continue browsing. 

20 August 2022

The Voi orphans devoured their breakfast this morning and didn’t spend too long in the compound as they wanted to begin browsing out in the Park as soon as possible. Sagala had time for a quick scratch on the big rock. Tahri climbed up over the terrace wall while Godoma couldn’t resist a quick sparring match with Lasayen. After Godoma, Lasayen moved on to his friend Murit, while Mudanda also game little Thamana some sparring lessons on the loose red soil, before running to catch up with their friends who had already moved out to the bush to begin browsing. 

The new orphan babies Dabida and Hildama are doing well in their stockades still and are putting on weight and condition. They are getting used to the Keepers as well and we hope it won’t be long before they can join the other orphans. At the moment, we can’t risk them running off before they fully have their strength back.

The orphans spent the morning browsing at the foot of Msinga Hill before going to the milk feeding area. 

Everyone had fun wallowing in the mud hole with Pika Pika, Arruba and Godoma dominating the mud wallow. All at once the group unanimously took off from the water hole to continue with the rest of their day browsing. 

21 August 2022

Ngilai was on the lookout for his favorite playmate Emoli this morning for an early morning wrestling game. It wasn’t long before the orphans chose to begin their day out in the Park, without many games in the stockade compound.

The orphans concentrated on browsing all morning in fact, with Murit later seeking refuge from the scorching sun under a small tree.

Only shortly before it was time to head to the water hole, Emoli engaged Thamana in a brief sparring game.

The orphans certainly made up for their rather lackluster morning by having a lot of fun in the mud bath after their noon milk feed. Rorogoi lay on Pika Pika’s stomach in the water but Pika Pika couldn’t bear her size and weight and shouted out for help.  This of course attracted Arruba and Embu who came running to her rescue. Lasayen and Suswa teamed up to swim deep in the middle of the water, rolling around like mud fish. Ngilai held his best friend Emoli hostage in some sparring games in the water for quite some time. Ngilai later lay down on the ground just outside the mud bath, trying to woo Godoma to join him to play, but Godoma by-passed him and joined up with the rest of her friends leaving for browsing.

Later in the evening, we received a report of an orphan elephant sighted all alone at the Ndololo Camp water hole by the camp attendants. The Voi stockade rescue team was quickly mobilized and the rescue done at around 7.30pm. It took a long time to extract the calf from the thick mud, and it was very dehydrated and thirsty. The tiny orphan elephant, who we came to name Shujaa, was airlifted to the Nairobi nursery the following morning by the SWT helicopter.

22 August 2022

The orphans spent a short time playing in the compound after the milk and supplement feeding. Lasayen had a playfight with Murit. Mudanda lay down on the edge of the terrace to allow her adopted baby Thamana to enjoy climbing on her stomach. Ndotto seems to have missed playing with Mudanda and their former daily morning wrestling matches. He came over first to interrupt Thamana, which forced Mudanda to stand up very quickly, and this allowed Ndotto to initiate the pushing game he had been hoping for.

It is so dry at the moment with the ongoing drought, and we received yet another report of an orphan baby elephant later in the afternoon. A three-and-a-half-year-old male had been spotted all alone by a Sheldrick Trust pilot on flying patrol in the Kanderi area. Once again the Voi stockade rescue team was quickly mobilized and a rescue carried out and the orphan brought back to the Voi stockade. We named the orphan elephant Kenderi, with a slight spelling amendment so as not to get confused with the place name.

23 August 2022

After the morning feed Emoli engaged Ngilai in a play fighting game. Pika Pika walked over and pulled Lemeki over to her with her trunk, trying to initiate a sparring match with her. Lemeki didn’t find this a very friendly approach, however, and walked away from Pika Pika. Perhaps Pika Pika wasn’t very friendly intentionally, as she is well known to hold a grudge against Lemeki and Thamana who usurped her position as the youngest orphan in the herd. At the same time this brought about the beginning of the journey from the stockade out to the browsing grounds for the day, as none of the orphans really felt like playing this morning and wanted to get on with browsing.

The orphan browsed in single file at a deliberate slow browsing pace, visiting the baobab tree water hole in the afternoon after milk feeding.

Soon after the mud bath session, another orphan elephant was sighted by a SWT Trust pilot on patrol in the same Kanderi area. This calf was browsing alone in thick thorny bush, but she ran towards the sandy Voi River where she was rescued. Because she was a bit older, we brought her back to the Voi stockades. She is called Siri.

24 August 2022

Ngilai and Emoli were busy engaged in their usual wrestling match this morning. Emoli seemed more determined than ever and would not back down from his opponent Ngilai, despite his young age. Lasayen and Murit on the other side were also having fun playing. Ndotto was very busy pursuing Mudanda for their own wrestling match, but Mudanda was trying as much as possible to avoid him so that she could spend time with her darling Thamana.

The orphans then left the stockades for their usual bush walks with Emoli and Ngilai taking their game out to the bush. Emoli was spotted striking Ngilai very hard at one stage to try and secure his victory.

Rorogoi was busy displaying her rolling techniques om the ground but to her disappointment she lacked many spectators, so she soon gave up on her game.

After the midday milk feed the orphans proceeded for a mud wallowing session. Embu, Tahri, Pika Pika and Arruba go in the water first and really shined in their mud bathing games. The rest of the day’s browsing took place to the east of the water hole until the orphans returned home for the night.

The new orphan elephants Hildama, Dabida, Kenderi and Siri are all browsing in their stockades and are doing well, for which we are very grateful.

25 August 2022

The milk-dependent orphans came out of their stockades running and assembling for their delicious milk bottles. After she was done Juni decided to hang around the milk feeding area in the hope of receiving another bonus milk bottle. She lifted her trunk and sniffed in the direction of the Keepers washing the bottles, but there were no extra for her! Tagwa and Tahri came to collect Juni and walk her over to join the others in the lucerne feeding area, almost as if they were teaching her some manners and the correct morning protocol. We have noticed recently that Tahri seems to have a soft spot for Juni, adding her to Juni’s already many interested adopted mothers.

There wasn’t much playing after the feeding today and Tamiyoi quickly led the herd out towards the field for the beginning of a busy browsing day.

Later in the afternoon the orphans had a lot of fun in some mud bathing games before proceeding with their normal browsing bush walks. It was quite hot as the sun shone brightly and eventually the orphans had to seek shelter under an acacia tree. A single wild elephant cow with her calf came over to greet them and ended up staying with them for a few minutes before leaving. Mbegu and Tamiyoi followed them for a while before turning back to join their friends again.

26 August 2022

After browsing in the morning, Ngilai and Emoli couldn’t resist starting a pushing game however, as they had missed playing in the morning. They took a break and enjoyed a sparring match for a little while. Murit and Lasayen joined them too and had their own pushing game.

Following the milk-dependent babies’ noon milk feed, the orphans went down for a clean drink of water from the baobab tree water trough and then went for a mud bath. Some more wrestling matches took place right inside the middle of the water, including Murit against Emoli, and Godoma against Pika Pika. Suswa was right in the middle of the water, shining in her own swimming style, with happy trumpets engulfing the entire mud wallow area. Mbegu and Rorogoi invited Thamana to lie with them at the top of the red earth pile, enjoying their own dusting game. It wasn’t long before Mudanda came over to jealously interfere however, but Mbegu and Rorogoi just ran away, leaving Thamana and Mudanda to play alone.

27 August 2022

This morning, Ndotto finally managed to initiate a game with Mudanda as she wasn’t preoccupied with Thamana, but their game didn’t last long as the rest of the herd were eager to begin browsing and had already started to walk out to the bush.

The orphans quietly settled to browse in single file for the better part of the morning. Tagwa and Tahri browsed very closely with Pika Pika.

After browsing for about three hours, Tamiyoi decided to dig a hole in a sandy area with the help of the toenails on her front feet and lay down to take a nap like a tourist on a sandy beach. Soon she fell into a deep siesta, enjoying the warm sand, but some commotion from Emoli wrestling with Murit ruined her nap and prematurely forced her to get up to rejoin her friends, who were making their way towards the baobab tree area for the noon milk feed and mud bath. 

28 August 2022

Soon after finishing her supplement food this morning, Sagala lay down to enjoy some rolling games, but then pretended that she was having trouble standing up alone. Suswa quickly came over and stood next to her while assessing the situation. She seemed convinced that Sagala was indeed in trouble and invited Mudanda to try and help her, and together they anchored Sagala’s head with their tusks from both sides trying to assist her to come up. Sagala was happy to have received the attention she wanted from the two and felt like a pampered youngster again.

The afternoon mud bathing session was fully charged, with Suswa, Arruba and Rorogoi running here and there kicking up huge waves of muddy water with their feet.

In the afternoon, we received a report of a female orphan elephant spotted by some guides as well as a SWT employee on routine patrol in the Kanderi area once more. The fate of the mother and family was unknown, but we suspect the ongoing drought and intense hunger these young elephants are enduring means they struggle to keep pace with the rest of their herd and they fall behind, or perhaps even their mothers succumb to the drought. The orphan elephant was rescued and brought back to the Voi stockade. We named her Ushindi.

29 August 2022

This morning, the orphans enjoyed their fresh and nutritious lucerne grass after having their milk and lucerne pellets. Tagwa and Tahri kept Juni between them whilst feeding, keeping one eye on Sagala as the same time so that she couldn’t try and take Juni away from them.

The orphan elephants then left the compound for the bush, with their stomachs already quite full from the supplement food which is such a necessity in this very dry climate we are experiencing at the moment. They moved in a deliberate but slow motion in the direction of the mud bath, browsing calmly as they went.

After browsing for about three hours, Mudanda lay down to take a nap in a sandy area at the base of Msinga Hill. Mudanda was surrounded and given an honorary guard by the young ones Thamana, Juni and Lemeki. Rorogoi felt jealous of Mudanda and went to lie down close to her, but the young ones turned her a blind eye as they concentrated on guarding Mudanda!

The rest of the day was peaceful with the orphan elephants having a lot of fun in some mud bathing games after the noon milk feed. The five new orphans, Hildama, Dabida, Kenderi, Siri and Ushindi, are doing very well interacting and socializing with their new human family.

30 August 2022

The Voi orphan elephants left the compound at their own leisure this morning for the daily browsing routine. As soon as they finished the lucerne pellets they all started to file out, settling at the foot of Msinga Hill on the northern side overlooking the baobab tree mud hole.

Tahri, Suswa, Embu, and Ndotto all quietly browsed facing the same direction. Lasayen rested his trunk on Murit’s back, luring him in for a sparring game, although at first Murit didn’t seem interested as he walked away. Lasayen persevered and eventually he and Murit enjoyed a short pushing game.

Emoli and Pika Pika spent some of the morning hours playing on the grasslands but soon Emoli took it too far and tried to climb on Pika Pika in a show of dominance. Pika Pika just walked off, however, as she saw Arruba approaching, and she knew that Arruba would intervene and help her. Arruba did indeed chase Emoli away before walking over to join Pika Pika and accompany her to continue browsing. Elsewhere, Ivia the orphan buffalo and Diria the zebra were enjoying their own inter-species sparring match, feeling happy and chasing one another here and there.

31 August 2022

It was another wonderful morning which began with the milk-dependent orphans running out of their night stockades and assembling for their delicious milk bottles, before proceeding to once again line up along the trough for some lucerne pellets.

It wasn’t long before the herd left for the Park, but Pika Pika had missed playing her morning games, and she soon found a nice depression in the ground which she chose to lie in and enjoy some dust bathing games. Ngilai and Emoli came over to interrupt her game, but Arruba spotted them and intervened, driving them away. She came back to lie down next to Pika Pika and play with her there.

After browsing for over four hours, the Voi orphans approached the noon milk feeding area where they relaxed and played some games as they eagerly awaited the milk vehicle to arrive. Tahri lay on the ground to roll and play until Murit came over to interrupt her shining moment, lying on her stomach and impairing her games.

Later, the orphans joined a big wild elephant herd drinking at the baobab tree water hole. Tamiyoi, who adores babies, tried to make her way through to greet with a tiny one-week-old wild elephant calf, but her big sister objected and stopped Tamiyoi from getting too close. The wild elephants soon left, paving way for the Voi orphans to fully relax and enjoy the area, drinking and having a mud bath.