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Mutara, baby Mambo, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel, Sities and Chaimu were present in the morning during the lucerne feeding time. Ten wild bulls were occupied drinking water as the orphans and Mutara’s herd settled for lucerne. Rapa and Kauro arrived to share lucerne with everyone as well. Musiara greeted Rapa which soon turned into a strength testing exercise. 

Bondeni played with Kinyei gently, as he tentatively inquired how she was feeling today. Yesterday, Kinyei spent the whole day in the stockade compound as she wasn’t feeling well, but she looks much better today. We can only assume she assured Bondeni that she was feeling okay and was fit to join them on a walk today! 

Dololo walked down to the water troughs where he met a wild bull, and for a moment they stood and stared at each other. Dololo decided to give way to the wild bull as he didn't want to get himself into any trouble with the older elephant.

On the way out to the bush, Jotto, Musiara, Ambo, Naboishu and Mukkoka came across some acacia pods on the ground. They scooped up the delicious delicacy with their trunks as fast as they could! Later, Esoit engaged Bondeni in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Dololo settled to browse with Ambo as Kindani and Kinyei chose to have a soil dusting exercise. Sagateisa and Olorien joined them in soil dusting as Roho took a break from feeding to tackle Naboishu.

Later, the orphans were joined by a young wild bull, who got such a shock to see the orphans with humans. The moment he spotted the Keepers he just vanished and ran off into the bush. Lodo, who had been peacefully browsing with Mukkoka, suddenly appeared to fall out with him. We weren’t sure why, but suddenly the two bulls were fighting, although it didn’t last long, as the ‘peace-keeper’ Jotto passed by and separated the two boys.

It was quite overcast and chilly while the orphans were at the mud bath so none of them chose to swim after having their milk bottles. They just had some water and slowly drifted off back into the bush. In the afternoon they were briefly joined by Nasalot and her son Noah. Sagateisa, Dololo, Suguroi and Mukkoka wanted to have some time to play with Noah, but Noah was trying to avoid them like the plague! In the evening the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night.

Soon after leaving the stockades this morning the orphans split into two groups; one group chose to feed on some lucerne while the others scooped up fallen acacia pods from the ground. Lodo walked down to the water trough and was brave enough to share water with a wild elephant bull. Another wild bull joined the group that was feeding on lucerne. Shortly later, the orphans left for browsing.

Esoit, as usual, played with Bondeni for a bit. Kindani took a break from feeding to have a lone game of rolling on the ground. Roho and Naboishu settled for a soil dusting game before sizing each other up and using the opportunity to test each other’s strength. Three male kudus stood up on higher ground and watched the orphans pass by. Perhaps they knew if they were any closer then some of the young elephants might want to charge at them. The antelopes decided to keep a low profile and avoid any confrontation with the likes of Roho, Mukkoka, Dololo, Esoit, Jotto and Sattao.

Only Kindani decided to wallow in the mud bath today, before joining the rest of her friends to play in the loose soil. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area again. The orphans browsed quietly for the rest of the day.

As they waited for their morning milk bottles, Kinyei tackled Kindani and Bondeni in a light pushing game to bide their time.

As they came out of their night stockades, the orphans scooped up some acacia pods from the ground, a delicious snack for elephants, before going for their lucerne breakfast. Twelve wild bulls were also present this morning. Naleku and Suguroi walked down to where the two bulls were drinking and who were happy to share water with them. Sagateisa led the way out today and the rest of the herd followed behind her — everyone, this is, except for Ambo. He lagged behind enjoying his share of lucerne, before running to catch up with his friends. Ever since Kamok left with some of the ex-orphans, Ambo hasn’t found anyone to replace her as his closest friend, and we often find him spending time on his own. We are sure he will make a new, close friend soon. We think perhaps he is waiting for her to come back, but it has been a while now since Kamok returned with the ex-orphans. She is clearly enjoying her independence and time in the wild! Just before it was time to head to the mud bath for the noon milk feed, Dololo engaged Mukkoka in a pushing game while Bondeni, Roho and Olorien settled to browse together.

The orphans had their milk bottles then went to the tough for some water. Esoit played with Suguroi while Ambo settled to play with Naboishu. The orphans didn’t feel like wallowing today and one by one they drifted off into the bush nearby to browse, while the Keepers sat and had their lunch.

Later in the afternoon while browsing in the Kanziku area, Kinyei decided to take a break from eating and roll around on the ground. She thought some of her friends might join her, but they were all busy browsing! Sagateisa was happily browsing next to Sattao while Kuishi was with Esoit. Larro browsed next to Mukkoka and Roho. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed peacefully altogether.

Kilaguni joined the orphans in the morning to share their lucerne breakfast with them. Jotto politely shared his lucerne with Kuishi while their friends Esoit and Sattao had other ideas. The two bulls ran down to the bush in front of the compound to feast on the acacia pods that had fallen in the night from the trees there. Later, when Kinyei was leading the rest of the herd to begin their day in the bush, the two boys ran to catch up with them.

Musiara, Dololo and Mukkoka teamed up together to browse while playful Bondeni chose Olorien to spend the morning with. The boys Naboishu and Roho took a break from feeding to have a wrestling match while Ambo played with Mukkoka. It was nice to see Ambo enjoying a friendly game with one of the other orphans. Lodo developed an itch and found a nice tree to scratch against. The rest of the morning was quiet.

Just before eleven o'clock in the morning, Sagateisa led the way to the mud bath. The sun was shining and the orphans walked through the shallow end of the mud bath to briefly splash their bodies and cool down; only Roho, Lodo, Naleku, Suguroi and Esoit decided to wade right into the water to wallow properly. 

Ex-orphan Challa, in the company of some wild bulls, showed up while the orphans were there, but he left with them when they had all had enough water. Jotto walked close to a wild bull and looked as if he was measuring his height against him. The bull didn't even bother acknowledging Jotto and slowly walked away. In the afternoon, Kuishi browsed with Esoit while Roho teamed up with Naboishu. The little friendship trio Bondeni, Kinyei and Kindani came across some loose soil that they used for a lengthy soil dusting session.

As soon as they finished their morning milk bottles the Keepers opened the gates and the dependent orphans came out to begin their day. They started eating their lucerne breakfast where they were joined by several wild bulls. Jotto was enjoying rolling on the ground until Musiara came over and tried to engage him in a pushing game. At the moment we have a different leader amidst the dependent herd every day, instead of just one elephant who likes to be at the head of the group. Today it was Olorien who took the lead, and everyone followed behind her out to the bush. Roho teamed up with Naboishu to browse and it seems as though they came to a truce this morning. The two bulls wrestle on an almost daily basis, but today they simply chose to feed next to eat other quietly. Bondeni and Kindani found a fallen tree which they scratched their bodies against.

Naleku led the way for the noon milk feed. Only Roho, Mukkoka, Suguroi and Musiara wanted to wallow in the mud bath while the others had some water. They all chose to enjoy the loose soil however, and rolled around and threw soil everywhere using their trunks. Dololo played with Mukkoka while Roho used the opportunity to climb on Lodo while he was on the ground.

At some stage in the afternoon, while the orphans browsed in the northern Kalovoto area, Kauro, Rapa, Tumaren and Narok passed by, unbeknownst to the Keepers. The four ex-orphans managed to convince six dependent orphans to go with them — Esoit, Kuishi Jotto, Sagateisa, Dololo and Mukkoka. When it was time to head back to the stockades, the Keepers nearly fainted when they realised that the six were missing! It was a race against time before it became too dark to look for them, so the Keepers immediately mounted a search. 

Just before dark, the six missing ones were located east of the Kalovoto seasonal river. The missing group weren’t in a hurry at all — in fact, they were nonchalantly moving further east while still browsing. We knew that Narok was the mastermind behind the kidnapping. It’s not the first time she has done this! There was the time she kidnapped Esoit, Neshashi, Naleku, Lodo and Sagateisa, but the Keepers managed to find them and bring them home. As if that wasn’t enough, shortly after that incident Narok trailed the Keepers and managed to kidnap Lodo for four days before we finally managed to get him back too! The Keepers walked the missing six back to the stockades, arriving shortly before 7pm. It was a big relief for all the Keepers when they finally settled into their stockades for the night.

Malkia, Neshashi, Sana Sana, Enkikwe, Mapia, Vuria and Nabulu joined the orphans this morning. Neshashi walked up to Kinyei and conversed with her for a while, while Mapia played with Kuishi. Lodo decided to have a game of rolling on the ground, and playful Roho took the opportunity to go over and climb on him. Lodo yelled out in objection, because he didn’t want to have heavy Roho climbing all over him! Malkia came by and rescued Lodo from Roho by pushing him off, and escorting him away to share lucerne with her instead. Naboishu was being badly behaved and following Kindani trying to climb on her. Kindani ran as Naboishu followed in hot pursuit, but Kindani was faster and disappeared into the thicket. Kindani running off mustered all the other orphans, and they all ran after her into the bushes, catching up with her in the Kone area. This is where the orphans decided to settle to browse for the morning.

Later in the morning a passing buffalo caused some commotion as the orphans briefly abandoned their feeding session to, in their eyes, ‘deal’ with the intruding buffalo. The buffalo didn’t hang around for the rascal orphans who were charging and trumpeting towards him, and he ran off quick sticks, leaving the orphans charging around in empty bushes. Dololo, Bondeni, Kindani, Jotto, Esoit, Lodo and Roho eventually calmed down and realised the buffalo had disappeared.

Olorien led the way to the mud bath today, followed by Suguroi. It was a hot day and Kindani, Bondeni, Roho, Naleku and Suguroi went to wallow as soon as they finished their milk bottles. Most of the orphans enjoyed a brief soil dusting exercise, before being led back out to the bush by Sagateisa. The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful as the orphans concentrated on browsing.

The orphans came out of their night stockades as usual after finishing their milk bottles, where they met with Melia, Milo, Kitirua, Kalama as well as a wild female and her baby. They joined the orphans for some lucerne grass that the Keepers were distributing out. The little rascal Milo tackled Naleku and later Sana Sana, but the two girls played lightly with Milo since they knew he was young and just a little rambunctious, eager to show off in front of everyone. Bondeni settled to scratch on a nearby rock and later moved on to play with Esoit.

As they walked out to the bush, Musiara played with Sana Sana while Mukkoka played with Roho. Finally the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. It’s quite dry in the Ithumba area now as we are fully in the midst of the dry season, so the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing to make sure that they had enough to eat before the end of the day.

It couldn’t all be about feeding though, especially for the young bulls, so just before their midday milk feed Lodo and Sattao took a break to engage in a strength testing match. At eleven o'clock Olorien led the first group to the mud bath. Musiara walked side by side with his Nursery friend Dololo as they went to drink from the water trough. Only Kindani, Kinyei, Lodo and Mukkoka went to wallow in the mud bath. The others decided just to have a dust bath. Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Wimbi, Kinna, Kaia, Gawa, Galana, Narok (now christened the kidnapper!) Nasalot and Noah visited the mud bath briefly and then walked off west of Ithumba Hill. Meanwhile the orphans decided to walk to the Kanziku area where they settled to browse for the rest of the day.

A wild elephant bull joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning and peacefully browsed alongside them. After having enough, Sagateisa led her friends out to the bush to begin their day. On the way, Naleku, Olorien, Kinyei, Suguroi and Roho came across some loose soil that they threw over themselves.

Out in the bush, the dependent orphans were joined by Yatta, Yoyo and Yogi. Yogi interacted with Suguroi, Mukkoka and Roho for a while, but left when Roho became too rough and pushed him too hard. It wasn’t long after that, that Yatta decided to leave with her children and head off towards the mud bath. The orphans followed slowly behind her, as it was close to their milk feeding time anyway.

It was a hot afternoon. The orphans had their milk bottles then Kindani, Lodo, Kinyei, Roho, Mukkoka, Musiara and Sagateisa got into the water to cool off. Olorien engaged Yogi in a playful pushing game that lasted for quite some time, and she wasn’t as rough as Roho had been earlier in the day. The orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise with Naboishu engaging Roho in the middle of the soil for a strength testing match. Later, Suguroi led the orphans back out to the bush to continue browsing while they waited for the Keepers to have their lunch.

Jotto, Kuishi, Dololo, Ambo and Musiara went to relax under a tree as they felt it was too hot, and only rejoined their friends later in the afternoon once it was cooler. Olorien led the way back to the stockades in the evening.

A wild bull shared lucerne again with the dependent orphans today, and later the ex-orphans showed up. The rascal Lapa, walking alongside his mother Lenana, met with Musiara. The two boys locked their trunks in a pushing game that ended when Lapa surrendered. When the orphans were ready, Kindani led the way out to browse.

Ambo, Kuishi, Dololo and Jotto, who are in the final class of dependent orphans at Ithumba, lagged behind with the ex-orphans. The three boys and one girl caught up with their friends later when they felt that they had interacted enough with the ex-orphans. Conversing more with ex-orphans and lagging behind the dependent herd are usually the first signs of a group of orphans testing their independence.

Out in the bush, the orphans were joined briefly by wayward ex-orphan Wendi and her children. Roho tried to wrestle with Wimbi, but her older sister Wema came to her rescue. Roho ran away when he saw Wendi approaching to gather her children; for her reputation is well known! Jotto took a break from feeding to have a soil dusting session, all by himself. 

Later, just before eleven o'clock in the morning, Suguroi led the way to the mud bath. Thirty-five wild bulls were there when they arrived, which is a sure sign that conditions are getting dry out there. After having their milk, the orphans went for some water from the trough, but were unable to get close because of all the wild bulls. The Keepers intervened by moving the bulls a short distance away, just for a while so the orphans could have a drink. Once the orphans were done and started filtering back out to the bush to browse, the bulls moved in again.

After drinking, Jotto met with Mundusi and the two bulls wrestled for a while, before deciding that they had better get on with browsing and getting enough to eat before returning home for the night.

Queen's family arrived early in the morning and placed themselves strategically, waiting for the Keepers to distribute the lucerne. The orphans were let out soon after having their milk and joined Queen's family in the lucerne feeding area. Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Mutara and her group, as well as Meibai were also present. Once again, Roho had a misunderstanding with Yogi. Yogi pushed Roho simply because Yatta, his mother, was present; we couldn’t help but feel this was in revenge for Roho pushing him too hard yesterday! Roho didn't even try to defend himself, because he knew there would be consequences with Yatta standing so close by. The orphans didn't stay for long and left to begin their day of browsing, leaving the ex-orphans and Queen's family still feeding on lucerne.

On the way out, Ambo decided to engage Mukkoka in a pushing game. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Kuishi chose to feed next to her favourite Esoit as Olorien teamed up with Suguroi and Naleku.

Kindani led the way to the midday milk feed beside the mud bath. The sun was hot and after finishing their milk, Sagateisa, Lodo, Roho, Kinyei, Musiara and Naleku, our resident water-lovers, jumped into the water to cool off. After having enough wallowing, the six orphans came out to dry off on the loose soil before going for a drink of water from the trough. Ex-orphan Taita showed up and briefly interacted with the orphans. Dololo was the last to leave the water trough; he wanted to spend some quality time with Taita before bidding him goodbye and following his friends.

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. It was once again a very warm afternoon, and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree for a while until it was cooler. 

Mutara, Mambo, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel, Sities, Kithaka, Barsilinga, Kauro and Rapa arrived at the compound during the lucerne feeding session. Shortly later, a female wild elephant came with her two babies to drink water. Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi wanted to play with the two wild babies and walked down to meet them. The youngest baby of the wild elephant didn’t seem very comfortable with the friendly orphans, and confronted them. Naleku and Sagateisa battled the young brave wild elephant playfully. Eventually his brother came over and helped his younger brother in driving the orphans away. Kindani, Bondeni and Kinyei had a brief meeting amongst themselves, then started walking out towards the bush. The rest of the dependent herd decided to follow behind them.

As usual, Esoit had a morning strength testing match with Bondeni while Roho played with Naboishu. Dololo teamed up with Ambo to browse while Musiara chose Mukkoka. It was a clear day and already quite hot despite it still being morning, which prompted Mukkoka to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree.

All the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath today after their noon milk feed. Several wild bulls and ex-orphans were at the mud bath as well. Wild born baby Lapa joined the orphans and tackled Roho and Olorien. Eventually, Lapa lost to the two orphans and went back to his mother. Esoit and Naboishu were the last ones to leave the mud bath as they were having so much fun. Esoit met with Lapa and the two boys wrestled for a bit. The orphans and ex-orphans then decided to go for a group soil dusting session, where they all had a lot of fun rolling around and throwing soil with their trunks. There was a bit of drama when mischievous Roho took advantage of Mutara lying down and he decided to climb on her. Mutara couldn’t believe the audacity of the young bull and when she got up, she went wild and chased Roho away for disrespecting her. Roho ran as fast as his legs could carry him and disappeared out of sight. It seems Roho learnt a valuable lesson today about respecting his elders!

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto seasonal river, where they were joined briefly by Nasalot, Nusu and Noah. Kuishi teamed up with her friend Esoit. In the evening the orphans returned safely to the stockade compound for the night.

When they came out of their stockade, Ambo, Dololo, Kuishi and Sattao decided to join a wild elephant drinking water, before going to join their friends feeding on lucerne. Queen’s family joined the orphans, and shortly later two more wild herds in the company of the ex-orphans turned up for some water. When they were done drinking the ex-orphans joined in for some lucerne as well. Kuishi decided that there were now too many elephants around, and led her friends out to the bush so they could begin browsing.

Later in the morning the orphans were joined by Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Malkia, Mapia and Mundusi. Naleku and Suguroi engaged Saba in a pushing game, but big-sister Siku brought an end to their game by collecting Saba and walking off with her. Musiara played with Mundusi while Jotto engaged Mapia in a strength testing match. These two have been friends since Nursery days and are well matched! Jotto is tall, but Mapia makes up for that with his heavyset figure.

When the orphans arrived at the mud bath they found Kibo, Challa and several wild bulls wallowing. They partook in all the usual activities on a hot day like this after having their milk — a refreshing wallowing session followed by drying off on the loose soil, before being led away by Kindani. It was a hot afternoon so Roho, Naboishu and Mukkoka decided to relax in some shade and take cover from the scorching sun. In the evening, on the way back to the stockades, the orphans were joined by Rapa, Ndiwa and Malkia.

A few ex-orphans came this morning to share lucerne with the orphans, until they decided it was time to start their day out in the bush. Jotto took a break to enjoy scratching his tummy on a bend in a tree, while Esoit did the same and scratched his neck against a tree. Kindani busied herself browsing next to Dololo and Lodo but soon Lodo got bored, and decided to start a pushing game with Esoit. When he was done messing about, Esoit walked over to Kuishi and started browsing with her.

When the orphans arrived at the mud bath to have their noon milk feed, they found a wild bull having an amazing time in the water, splashing about like a young elephant. Lodo and Kinyei went to join him and later Suguroi and Larro joined in too. When they came out, Larro walked straight over to the dust bath and started playing there. Ambo and Naboishu drank from the water trough together, alongside a wild bull elephant. Other bulls were resting in the shade nearby.

The hot weather continued into the afternoon and the orphans had to take a break from browsing to rest in some shade. On the way back to the stockades in the evening, they met with ex-orphan Melia and her baby Milo. They were on the way to the compound too, to drink water.