Amali
Amali found a spot next to Kapei at the pellet corner, but he would not let her eat in peace. He started pulling her tail and shoving her. Amali moved to the water trough, and Mwashoti followed her, putting his trunk over her back to comfort her. Amali felt happy with Mwashoti’s protection, so she went back to get some pellets.
A troop of baboons came through; they wanted to get pellets before the orphans finished all the food. Mwana decided she was going to protect the pellets from the baboons. She stood firm, protecting her territory. She charged at the baboons, trumpeting, but she was heavily outnumbered. One of the big males decided to challenge Mwana, but Kiasa and Enkesha quickly stepped in and chased the baboons away. Everyone was impressed with Mwana’s bravery.
The orphan herd moved out to the Kenzili area to browse for the day. They came back to their usual milk feeding clearing ready for their bottles. After their bottles, Amali and Mwashoti went to test the water for a mud bath. Kiasa, Enkesha, and Mwana were not interested. The water turned out to be too cold, so Mwashoti and Amali walked over to the dust pile instead. The others joined in for a dust bath. Then the whole herd walked towards the Chyulu area for more browsing and an afternoon rest in the shade.
Today, Alamaya and his close friend Mwashoti surprised the Keepers by engaging in pushing games. The junior bulls are agemates and have been close friends for a long time, but they don't usually spar with each other. Today's games were a one-off; Kiombo and Maktao are the ones usually seen playing pushing games.
Kiombo observed Mwashoti and Alamaya and decided to follow suit. He initiated a pushing game with Maktao. Although Kiombo quickly became quite rough, he was determined to overpower Maktao. Recognising the situation, Kiasa and Enkesha intervened to rescue Maktao.
Mwana was full of energy this morning. She saw some baboons eating the lucerne pellets, and she charged at them. The baboons dodged her while trying to collect as many pellets as possible. Mwana kept running after them. Kiasa and Enkesha saw Mwana struggling to chase the baboons away, so they came to her aid, worried that she might get hurt or provoke a big baboon into retaliating. Lima Lima and Quanza arrived as backup and chased all the baboons into the treetops. The older girls trumpeted loudly, but when Mwana tried, she couldn't replicate the same noise with her tiny trunk. She will learn to trumpet when she gets bigger.
Murera watched carefully from the sidelines as Mwana's capable nannies took control of the situation. She trusts them to look after her baby, but she remains vigilant and ready to step in if needed.
Zongoloni returned to the orphan herd after spending a few days with some wild bulls who stayed away from the Umani area. Upon her return, Ngasha was the first to welcome her. He moved close, sniffed her, and embraced her with his trunk. Then, Jasiri came over to greet her, prompting Ngasha to step aside. Zongoloni then approached Mwana, who was standing with Kiasa and Enkesha. Zongoloni was happy to see little Mwana and her dear friend Kiasa.
Afterward, the orphan herd headed to the mud bath. They had a lot of fun games that day, with everyone displaying their best swimming tricks. Kiombo and Maktao were the only ones who didn't join in; they stayed behind, observing the others.
When it was time to return to the stockades, the orphans were all filled with joy, feeling cool and content. The entire herd walked slowly, ensuring that Murera could keep up with them.
Just before reaching the stockades, a large wild family appeared, accompanied by tiny babies. The wild herd was on its way to the lucerne corner to grab some pellets before the orphans could finish everything. Sonje and Alamaya attempted to eat the hay and pellets that were left out, but the wild herd chased them away.
The orphans were very playful this morning, engaging in lots of games and having fun until Kiombo and Maktao started a serious fight. They were separated before they could harm each other. The fight began over an acacia branch that Sonje had pulled down.
Jasiri and Ngasha then began a tug of war with the same branch, which had been left on the ground. Zongoloni and Quanza got involved and tried to separate Jasiri and Ngasha, but the two boys wouldn't listen. Ngasha stood his ground and warned Zongoloni not to interfere. Wisely, Zongoloni listened and left them to their fight.
Zongoloni moved over to Murera and Mwana to take up nanny duties, allowing Murera to have a break to rest and relax. She found that Kiasa and Enkesha were already looking after Mwana and teaching her what to browse on, so she joined them.
The orphan herd woke up very happy this morning, excited to leave the stockades and meet up with their nightclubber friends. The nightclubbers had arrived earlier and were eating pellets in the lucerne corner. Amali and Kapei rushed over to the pellet corner, concerned that the others might finish all the pellets.
Kapei started giving Amali a hard time, pulling her tail and pushing her away from the pellets. Amali's mood changed, and she became very upset and annoyed with Kapei. She moved to where Murera, Mwana, and the nannies were browsing. The older females surrounded Amali, making it safe for her and keeping all the boisterous boys away.
The herd then moved to the Kenzili area, where they found fresh acacia branches to feed on. A wild herd had passed through during the night and pulled down many branches. The bushbuck and baboons were happily feeding on the acacia branches until Sonje and Kiombo chased them off so the orphans could browse on the branches.
Murera grew tired of Mwana suckling on her, so she denied her. Then Mwana spotted Sonje and abandoned Enkesha and Kiasa, making her way to Sonje for comfort. She even tried to suckle from Sonje, but of course with no success.
This morning, a junior wild bull joined Sonje at the pellet-eating corner. When the orphans and the Keepers came out of the stockades, the young bull disappeared into the bushes. Then, a much larger bull with long tusks emerged from the bushes and joined the orphan herd. The wild bull was friendly and accommodating to the babies. Sonje began to move around, getting the orphan herd ready to start their day, and the wild bull moved alongside her, acting as an escort.
Kiasa and Enkesha started to follow Sonje, and they collected Mwana along the way. Mwana had already fed from Murera, but she was feeling greedy this morning and tried to feed from Sonje too, even though Sonje had no milk.
Later, in the Kenzili area, Kiombo and Maktao started their pushing games. Kiombo initiated the game by pushing Maktao, and Maktao pushed back. They were play-fighting, but Enkesha rushed in to stop them, thinking it was a serious fight. The game was stopped when Kiasa came to back up Enkesha.
Amali and Mwana were walking down the path together when a dik-dik crossed their path. Then another dik-dik, who was looking for its friend, ran into the two little girls. Amali made a loud noise, calling for help. The whole herd rushed over to save the babies. By the time the herd arrived, the dik-dik had disappeared, so the older females were left wondering what had happened and why Amali was screaming.
The babies settled down after this morning's encounter. Sonje and Zongoloni continued leading the herd to the Kenzili area for fresh vegetation to browse on.
Later in the day, the herd stopped at the waterhole. It had been a very hot day, so all the babies went swimming to cool off. The Keepers kept Ngasha and Faraja away from the mud bath while the babies swam. The two boys waited on the side, scratching their bellies on a soil mound. Lima Lima, Kiasa, and Enkesha took Mwana to teach her all the swimming tricks.
The baboons had a challenging morning. They came to eat the leftover pellets, but the orphan herd was still milling around, picking through the pellets. Mwana noticed the baboons waiting for their turn and called Zongoloni and Enkesha for backup to chase the baboons away. Kiasa and Lima Lima joined in too. The elephants successfully chased the baboons out of sight, and Mwana felt very happy and accomplished.
Murera trumpeted, calling her baby back, and Kiasa and Lima Lima quickly escorted Mwana back to her mother. Mwana was very hungry from all her chasing and began to feed.
The midday sun was scorching, and the orphan herd rushed to cool off in the mud bath. Mwana remained the little princess of the Umani herd; she led the orphans to the mud bath and was the first one in. All attention was on her, and she received special treatment from the older girls, giving her priority over the best spots in the mud bath.
After cooling off, the orphan herd moved to the dust bath. Mwana, Amali, and Kapei climbed to the top of the dust pile and had their own game, while the other orphans threw dust over their backs.
Ngasha was particularly annoying today. He kept chasing Sonje, Lima Lima, and Quanza, making the whole herd uncomfortable and on edge. Murera, Kiasa, Enkesha, and Mwana moved away from the others to keep little Mwana safe. Fortunately, Ngasha's rival, Jasiri, arrived with Faraja. Ngasha immediately panicked and left the herd, heading towards the Chyulu area and not being seen for the rest of the day. The Umani herd could now enjoy browsing in a peaceful environment.
Mwana and her nannies later went for a mud bath, getting straight in and swimming like hippos. Maktao and Kiombo joined in, with Maktao finding a muddy bank to put his head on while in the water. Kiombo came swimming next to Maktao, and Maktao moved closer to Kiombo, using him like a pillow. Kiasa accidentally bumped Amali, which startled her and made a funny trumpeting sound. The older females came to check on her but found that everything was okay.
While the orphan herd was busy browsing on the slopes of the Umani hills, a wild bull joined them. He first greeted Lima Lima and Zongoloni, then followed the girls to the rest of the herd. The wild bull was very gentle and friendly, not bothering the babies, so Sonje welcomed him into the herd. However, when he began showing interest in Sonje and Quanza, they started avoiding him. Realising this, the bull moved away, losing interest in them as well.
Amali, Kiasa, Enkesha, and Mwana stayed with Mwashoti and Murera, who were pulling down branches to feed on. They kept away from the wild bull to ensure the babies' safety.
The wild bull later joined Faraja and Alamaya, and they followed him into the forest. Further into the forest, Faraja, Alamaya, and their new friend found themselves in trouble with another aggressive wild bull. The Keepers could hear lots of loud trumpeting, so they kept the herd away from the thickest part of the forest for their safety.
Amali got scared when she spotted a herd of zebras in a grassy clearing. She warned Kapei, and they ran to Quanza and Lima Lima for protection.
Another wild herd visited today. This herd had some very tiny babies, including one that was still breastfeeding from its mother. The mother grew tired of the baby suckling and pushed it away, similar to how Murera sometimes does. The baby cried at being denied milk.
Murera, Kiasa, and Enkesha heard the noise and mistakenly thought it was Mwana. They panicked and started looking for her. To their relief, they found Mwana happily playing with Kiombo, Amali, and Kapei in a dust pile. Mwana's nannies all moved closer to her to ensure her safety.
Sonje remains a dedicated leader for the Umani herd, but since Murera has had a baby, Sonje seems very interested in having one of her own. She spends much more time with wild bulls and is more welcoming to them than she used to be. Today, Sonje arrived with two wild bulls, while Mwashoti, Faraja, and Alamaya watched from a distance. Mature wild bulls are generally not friendly toward junior bulls, especially when females are close by.
Kiasa and Enkesha are very serious little nannies; they hardly ever give the older females in the herd a chance to play with Mwana. They like to occupy all her attention. Today was no different.
Zongoloni and Lima Lima joined the herd late again today, finding them in the Kenzili area while browsing.
Mwana rushed to the mud bath in the afternoon, and though Murera tried to get her to wait, Mwana wouldn't listen. She jumped in and had a fun time playing with Kiasa and Enkesha. Fortunately, Sonje and her male friends did not come to the mud bath while the orphans were swimming.
Today was very hot, and the orphans didn't want to leave the shade of the trees. They spent the heat of the day resting in the shade. Once it had cooled down, they walked towards the Chyulu area to browse.
They came across Ziwa and his herd. Ziwa came up to greet Lima Lima and Quanza, but then he started to push Quanza around. She was not happy with this and left him to rejoin his wild family.
In the evening, as the orphans were walking back to the stockades, Kapei pushed Amali from behind. Amali was upset by this and ran to Maktao for protection. Maktao chased Kapei, trying to discipline him. Kapei then moved away from Amali and filed back into the line further back. Mwana was at the front with Kiasa and Enkesha, while Murera walked slowly at the back.