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Murera had a broader plan for Mwana and Lenny to stop breastfeeding from her. These days, Murera felt her breasts hurt when Mwana and Lenny pulled too hard for the milk to come out. Today, Mwana became a victim when she pleaded with her mother to nurse—Murera kicked her head using her front leg. After some minutes, Lenny, who had been watching Murera miserably, went under her to breastfeed. Again, Lenny became a victim after Murera pushed him to the ground.

Lenny ran back and reported to his mother, Lima Lima. When he returned for comfort, Lima Lima welcomed him with a few minutes of breastfeeding, then left him with Enkesha. Sonje and her baby Sulwe moved sideways from the place where Lenny was making loud complaints. But many of the mothers or nannies ignored Lenny and let him do his own thing, realising that he was becoming too persistent in his demands for milk. Murera no longer wanted to breastfeed—she was tired and now produced very little milk, or sometimes none at all.

Amali went to play around with Zigi, who was with Kiasa, and tried to win Zigi over to leave and walk away from Kiasa. But Zigi was blocked by Sulwe, who wanted them to play wrestling games. Zigi ignored Sulwe and went straight to Amali and Kiasa, who were just a few metres away from him. Enkesha joined them, leaving Lenny with Kapei.

Murera and Sonje settled for the morning session with all the babies, waiting for the directions they chose for which side of the Kibwezi Forest they wanted the orphans to go. Murera had the idea of pulling down some tall acacia branches for the babies who were not able to reach the pods at the top. This made Sonje see it was wise to join Murera in pulling the branches so all the babies could enjoy together. Then the head girls pulled while Murera shook the branches, bringing more pods down for the little babies. Amali, Kiasa, and Enkesha brought the younger babies to the pods that had already fallen to the ground. Mwana gave some space to Zigi and Lenny, but noisy Lenny did not behave nicely towards Murera. This made Murera warn him, but Lenny insisted he needed more milk from her. Murera warned him it was not a good time and he could wait, but Lenny was very impatient, forcing Murera to apply some discipline. This made Lenny run back to his mother, Lima Lima.

Kiasa was given a big duty today by the mothers, with the responsibility of taking great care of all three little babies, assisted by Amali, Enkesha, and Mwana. Kapei followed the babies into the shrubs and found all the little ones playing happily with the girls. When Kapei joined them in the shrubs, Maktao followed too and pushed Kapei out, wanting the little girls to be with the babies alone since he was not their age mate. This annoyed Kapei, and both turned against each other in a fight. Kapei fought hard, but Maktao was too overweight for him. Kapei could not defeat Maktao, who landed a slap on his face and left him down. Mwashoti then came as his saviour and helped Kapei from Maktao.

It had been quite a long time since Alamaya visited home to be with the orphans. This time, Alamaya decided to revisit and mingled with the orphans for a few hours before walking away again. He came along with some wild bulls, who seemed to be his close friends and were not ready to leave without him. They came together and left together after a few hours.

Mwashoti and Kapei were happy to meet Alamaya. They greeted each other and played by interlocking trunks and hugging. As they played, Mwashoti felt that Alamaya’s long tusks could poke his eyes, so he left the game and joined Kapei and Maktao instead, leaving Alamaya and his wild friends to continue their journey back into the Kibwezi Forest. Sonje and the other new mothers also moved off with the little babies, keeping away from Alamaya and his wild friends, who the orphans felt were too big to play with.

The five milk-dependents — Murera and the few babies who slept at the stockades — came out this morning and had their pellets as usual. The Keepers were still waiting for Lima Lima and her team to return with the little babies. When the waiting grew too long, Murera and the Keepers walked away into the Chyulu Hills to browse for the day.

As the Keepers and orphans settled quietly in the Chyulu Hills, they suddenly heard elephants screaming and breaking trees. This made the Keepers very cautious. Enkesha, Mwana, and Amali grew nervous and returned to where the Keepers were sitting, wanting to be together as they all watched the commotion in disbelief. When Murera joined the Keepers with Mwana at her side, a group of huge wild elephants appeared. The Keepers ran, calling the elephants’ names — mostly Murera’s — to draw her to them. Murera and the Keepers managed to get out of the thick bush into the open area near the waterhole, then headed home to keep safe from the wild elephants that had made the forest unsafe for browsing with Murera and her human handlers.

Baboons were making a lot of noise on top of the hills. Some were fighting, and the commotion made the bushes tense, causing the elephants, who are peace-loving, to panic. The Keepers decided to move the babies down the Umani Hills to relocate them away from the noisy baboons.

As the Keepers descended the hills, Sonje and her team were also coming down, and they met at the slopes. Sulwe, Lenny, and Zigi were with them. When Lenny saw Murera, he went straight to her to try and suckle, but he was not lucky this morning. Murera was in a bad mood and kicked him on the mouth to stop him disturbing her. Lenny did not listen and tried again, but Murera reacted the same way, making him scream and run back to his mother, Lima Lima. After this disappointment, Lenny finally gave up, behaved himself, and walked away with Amali and Mwana.

Amali and Kapei did not want to share a branch that had been pulled down by wild elephants on the way to the Chyulu. When Kapei found Amali stripping the bark of the tree and tried to pick part of the branch, Amali left him with it and went to Enkesha instead. The Keepers saw the two girls in close conversation, and it seemed Amali was reporting her problem with Kapei to her sister. Enkesha, being a very humble baby girl who never liked quarrels, advised Amali to leave Kapei alone, avoid him, and let him be with the boys. Amali, however, decided to forgive him.

Maktao then went over to Kapei and Mwashoti, and the three boys looked very happy once the girls had left them alone. At the water trough, all the elephants came running, with the little babies especially thirsty. Since their trunks could not reach the water from outside, only Sulwe, Lenny, and Zigi jumped inside the trough to drink. While they were inside, two water turtles emerged in a hurry to escape. One passed close to Zigi, which caused all the babies to trumpet loudly as they scrambled out of the trough and ran to their mothers, who were equally curious about what Zigi had seen inside the water.

Buffalos walked towards the orphans before the big girls noticed them approaching the herd. Mwana and Kiasa spotted them first and blew their trunks in alarm, which woke Sonje and Zongoloni from where they were browsing together. Before Lima Lima arrived, it was Zongoloni with Quanza who stepped forward to keep the buffalos away from the babies. Little Zigi and Sulwe were far too close to the buffalos, so Zongoloni, supported by Lima Lima, went to face them head on. Their trumpeting was enough of a security alert to stop the buffalos from entering the herd. Instead, the two buffalos ran off into hiding, leaving the orphans in peace to enjoy the day in the Kenzili area.

Murera was not in a hurry after seeing the buffalos but was confident and trusted Lima Lima and her friends to handle the situation, which they did. The new mothers, with the help of the little babies Amali and Lenny, successfully chased the buffalos away. A few minutes later, however, the two buffalos reappeared at the waterhole to cool off from the heat before heading back to the stockades.

Maktao walked with Kiasa and Enkesha to the scratching rock, but there wasn’t enough space for all three. Deciding someone had to leave, Maktao began pushing Kiasa and Enkesha away. Mwashoti came to the girls’ aid, saving them from Maktao’s mischief, but then turned against him by pushing Maktao aside. This left the rock free for Enkesha and Kiasa, along with Zigi, to enjoy scratching. Kapei then followed Maktao into the bushes.

In the evening, all the babies were ready to return home, but along the way Kapei and Maktao strayed and failed to arrive on time, which meant they missed their bottles. The Keepers said the two boys had been misled by a wild bull they met on the way, who led them off and caused them to become separated from the herd. True to their character, the boys proved more adventurous than the girls.

Kapei and Amali remain close neighbours, but like all neighbours, they sometimes have disagreements. Kapei is not always the best neighbour to Amali, as he often shows bad manners by reaching through her stockade to grab extra sticks to browse on. Amali, on the other hand, never goes to Kapei’s room to take anything; she respects her neighbour’s space and food. When Kapei once again helped himself to Amali’s browse, Amali became upset. She rumbled loudly and screamed to express her grievance, forcing the Keepers to intervene. They found that Kapei had indeed taken branches from Amali, so they retrieved the food from his room and returned it to her, restoring Amali’s happiness for the night.

Kiombo came back to Umani with some wild friends, after a very long absence. This return was likely driven by the dry conditions, as many animals are now coming to Umani to find water from the springs and browse from the forest. Kiombo brought his companions right to the stockades, where the Keepers provided lucerne for everyone to share with the orphan herd.

Maktao tried to approach Kiombo but was prevented by Kiombo’s new wild family, who stood protectively around him. Quanza then stepped forward, and after some brief interactions with Kiombo and his companions, she returned to the orphan herd. She then gathered Sulwe and Sonje, and together they walked off after Kiombo and his wild friends as they disappeared into the Kibwezi Forest. Little Mwana, Sulwe, Zigi, and Lenny followed alongside their mothers. Murera, however, did not hurry after them. She was confident that they would eventually stop and wait for her, as they always do when she signalled.

Alamaya and Jasiri arrived together with Faraja, in style, at a time when the Keepers were not expecting them. They had been away on long adventures with wild friends before deciding to return home to the orphans. The Keepers welcomed them warmly, and while Faraja and Alamaya were very friendly and responsive, Jasiri did not approach when the Keepers called. Only Alamaya and Faraja came over, while Jasiri ignored the call and walked back into the Kibwezi Forest, leaving the others to continue interacting with the orphans. Murera and her baby Mwana chose not to join the old boys. Instead, they moved off to another part of the forest, leaving it up to Alamaya and his friends whether they wanted to follow.

Later, some warthogs emerged from their hiding place. Enkesha and Kiasa were busy playing with Zigi and Sulwe, who were getting ready for their daytime nap. The warthogs came out of a nearby hole, startling the group. The nannies quickly gathered the babies, and Sulwe bravely blew her little trumpet to help chase the intruders away. Because her trunk is still short and small, the sound was comical, but together they managed to drive the warthogs far off into the Chyulu.

The elephants went into the bushes to browse and met up with night-clubbers and wild friends — a group of very old males who were accompanying Sonje and her team. Most of the wild bulls were following Quanza, but she was not interested and kept dodging them. She avoided the males because she is in no hurry to have a calf and prefers her role as a nanny.

This is why Quanza tried hard to keep away from any bulls who visited the herd. She behaves very differently from the likes of Lima Lima and others, who associated with bulls and became mothers early in life.

Mwashoti walked into the herd with Jasiri and Faraja, both the albinos, who decided to report home accompanied by him. On arrival, Mwashoti went straight to Murera, his former adopted mother when he was still young. They fell out when Murera became pregnant for the first time, but Mwashoti still loves her and shows her full respect as a mother and leader of the Umani elephants.

At the top of the Chyulu Hills, an eland crossed into the orphans’ browsing area, surprising those who had never seen one before. Kapei and Maktao bolted in fright, causing confusion in the whole herd. The orphans took off and ran for safety after seeing Kapei and Maktao running and trumpeting loudly, charging into the bushes. This even made the Keepers fearful, and everyone ran. It all began simply because an eland had unexpectedly walked into the herd.

From the stockades, the elephants came out looking for pellets and found the Keepers had not yet brought them with the wheelbarrow. Amali and Enkesha became very demanding about why the pellets were not already out, but there was only a small delay because the store padlock took too long to open. Enkesha walked back to where the Keeper was and waited, joined by Amali and Mwana. They escorted the Keeper as he pushed the wheelbarrow of pellets. Little Lenny and Zigi, along with Kiasa and Zongoloni, joined them. After having the morning pellets, the elephants left with Sonje and Murera leading them into the Kibwezi Forest.

Alamaya and friends arrived just a few meters from the springs and decided to come home with his wild friends, who were very big giants compared to his age and size. Alamaya proves to his Keepers that he is thriving well since becoming wild, and he has made a lot of friends that adventure with him along Chyulu and Kibwezi forests. This has made Alamaya skip coming back home for long periods, and when he decides to visit he either comes alone or in the company of wild friends, mainly male friends. Alamaya is never found with wild female friends, unless they are the Umani orphans.

This afternoon Ziwa showed up at the water trough when he felt the day was too hot for him. His wild adopted family of all girls, where he is the only boy, also came with him to the water trough, then both left together for Kanzili Hills. Maktao and Kapei tried to get away with him and his family, but the matriarch of the group stopped them and chased both Kapei and Maktao back, as they do not belong in the herd. Their presence was not accepted by Ziwa and his new-found family, who later took off with Ziwa and left Kapei and his friend to return to Murera and friends.

Today some of the baboons made serious noise while screaming loudly in the bushes, which made the little babies more scared of what was happening next. Both Zongoloni, Quanza and Sonje were browsing around, but Sulwe and Lenny were not very comfortable with the screaming baboons. This made the little babies run under their mothers for protection. When Zongoloni and Zigi saw Lenny and Sulwe running strongly to go and hide, Zongoloni stood firm and charged into the bushes to chase out the baboons. Other orphans followed Zongoloni in support, and loud trumpets silenced the baboons and made them run away, making the forest calm again.

The day was very good from the beginning until the afternoon hours, when Kapei and his friend Maktao began fighting over a stick. Kapei had picked it up, but Maktao adored it, and neither was ready to give it away for peace to prevail. It was unfortunate to see friends disagree over something that could have been solved amicably. Kapei did not show respect to Maktao, which forced Maktao to react, and their disagreement turned into a fight.

This forced Enkesha to step between them to stop the fighting. Both boys had to accept the reality of the strength of a female, as Enkesha used her influence to make them drop the fight and walk away to the browsing field, leaving the stick behind in the bushes. Quanza then followed the two boys to give them a further warning.

Later, Murera rumbled a warning call to the orphans who were not nearby. After a few minutes, all the babies, including Lima Lima and the other night-clubbers, came running back to Murera.

Amali, with Kiasa and the little babies, enjoyed a wonderful morning play at the stockade dust bath before Lima Lima and Sonje took the babies and left for the bushes to begin their day in the Kibwezi Forest.

As they progressed into the forest, a bushbuck crossed near where Zongoloni was with Kiasa, Enkesha, and Zigi. They were surprised to see the bushbuck running into the herd, which made them also run away as everyone scattered for safety. Lenny and Sulwe let out loud trumpets, which brought Sonje back to help her baby Sulwe. When little Sulwe and Mwana walked to Sonje, they found Lima Lima also there with Kapei and Lenny playing. Lenny was rolling over Kapei again and again, as boys always do in their playful ways.

The orphans began the day nicely, with everyone eager to get into the Umani Hills. As the babies crossed the road headed towards the hills, some warthogs ran alongside them. When the elephants saw the warthogs running in front to escape, Kapei and Maktao fired loud trumpets and began to charge. This forced the warthogs to disappear into the Kibwezi Forest. The bushes became very tense as Kapei and Maktao continued, joined by Mwashoti, and soon both warthogs and elephants were running so much that it was impossible to know when they stopped.

At the waterhole, none of the elephants stepped in, as it was too cold. After drinking their bottles, Murera led them to the dust pile, and later they all walked back for the afternoon browsing.

Jasiri and Kiombo had taken a very long time before coming back to visit home and today it was a good way of starting a new day. The two boys reported very early in the morning accompanied by Lima Lima and friends. Both reported to the morning snacks of pellets to say thank you for the lucerne and pellets, because the Kibwezi Forest and Chyulu are now very dry due to the long dry spells. That forced many animals to look for alternatives, but Kiombo and Faraja knew that the best alternative was to go home, where they would get enough extra food and say thank you again to their Keepers who cared for them when they were youngsters until now, when they have become giants walking around freely with wildlife.

Kiombo looked like a huge boy. He almost confused his Keepers that he was not Kiombo, but when his name was called, Kiombo responded so well, proving that he was in a good place and not a stranger.

Sonje found Murera and Kiasa, then Zigi moved towards Kiasa because they are buddies, leaving Sonje alone with Murera to keep pulling down some heavy branches for the babies and herself. Mwana was waiting under the tree for her mother to finish pulling down for her. Immediately, the branch came down. Amali and Kapei were the first ones to the branch, leaving Mwana watching how fast they invaded it before she could reach. She was very close with her mother, but Kapei and Amali rushed too fast before she could get there.

Quanza arrived with Maktao and Enkesha, together with Zongoloni, to join them in celebrating the acacia branch, before deciding to go back to the water holes for drinking water and then moving to the Chyulu for the remaining time before the day ended. Some two klipspringers crossed over the rocks of Chyulu and immediately Amali spotted them, while Sulwe was also moving towards the klipspringers. Amali blocked her way and let the klipspringers go on their way, leaving the elephants alone browsing.

Murera and Lenny could not agree on suckling. Immediately Lenny arrived with the night clubbers, and he just spotted where Murera and Mwana were enjoying some pods. Then Lenny moved under Murera looking for breast. Immediately Murera also spotted him and knew he was stubborn. Murera ignored him, and Lenny kept on following Murera and Mwana to the place where Murera now stood firm and kicked Lenny to stop going for her breast, but to go for his mother, Lima Lima.

Lenny was left screaming for help but none listened to him. Everyone was just busy browsing and left him to make noise until he would choose to stop. Amali tried to calm him but later moved to where Mwana and Sulwe were. When Lenny saw everyone left him alone he decided to go to Lima Lima for the help he needed.

Quanza with Kiasa made Zigi walk away from Zongoloni as the nannies were taking him for some walk into the Kibwezi forests. But Zongoloni got dissatisfied and went for her baby. She did not trust where the nannies were taking her baby Zigi to, and when she found the baby with the nannies playing and having fun, she just left them to keep on.

After some time, the orphans stood firm with all ears up and trunks raised after they suspected some movements inside the bushes which they did not trust. This made Lima Lima, who is always very careful and brave, go around the bushes to check on what was around them. She found buffaloes too close to the babies, which was not good for Lima Lima due to the safety of the babies. She came and moved everybody, including the Keepers, who trusted Lima Lima and had to move away.

Alamaya with wild friends came along and joined the orphans when browsing along the Chyulu Hills. Sonje skipped to be part of the wild friends. She moved away with her baby Sulwe to keep away. At the same time Sonje was moving away, Murera with Mwana left the place very quickly and did not want to be with the wild friends who came along with Alamaya.

Maktao with Kapei joined them and started to push around. When the wild bulls saw Maktao and Kapei lacked discipline — because Kapei and Maktao went and pulled his tail — this was the time the wild bull realised the young boys had no discipline. He turned around and charged at them, making them run away back to the orphans’ herd in the bushes.

The day was becoming too hot to keep in the open area. Following the dry season now, trees had shed all leaves, making it hard for the babies to get enough shade. This made Enkesha, Kiasa, and then Mwashoti also join them. Sonje and Zongoloni whispered to one another, and some minutes later all the babies walked out. Everyone felt the heat, which now made them look for a waterhole to swim and cool off in.

At the waterhole, both little babies with nannies jumped into the water and had very good fun as the elephants showed swimming tactics. Only Murera was left standing by the pool area, waiting for others to finish swimming. Then she joined them at her own pace.

It is now evident in the year cycle that when it is very dry within Chyulu Hills and Kibwezi Forests, most wildlife get into danger, looking for more browsing space and water that could only be found within Umani Springs. Like today, many wild animals, buffaloes, and wild herds of elephants reported to the springs for water and a place they could swim or wallow in.

Kapei and his friend Maktao got very confused by the big number of wild elephants at the springs. They thought they would find ex-orphans among them, like Faraja, Jasiri, or Ziwa. All of the other boys were not there, but Ziwa was among the wild elephants at the springs. He did not want to be noticed, so he kept hiding his face with his wild friends, who did not want to release Ziwa to go and have some little time with Kapei and Maktao.

Ziwa was blocked by his adopted family, who were not happy to give him room to get away with Maktao or Kapei. When Ziwa stopped and did not show interest in joining friends, Kapei decided to return, but urged Maktao to get back to where Zongoloni and Sonje were pulling some branches to eat. Enkesha went to receive them into the herd. Later, Quanza walked to Lenny and Mwana, and both joined Murera in the swimming pool for the elephants to cool off together as everyone was winding up to go back home after a long day.

Murera was too far behind at the time all elephants were now ready for home, and Mwashoti did not see his adopted mother Murera close with them. He then skipped and moved back to wait for Murera.

Amali and Enkesha experienced a very tough early morning when Keepers fed them the morning bottles and opened the gate for the orphans to get out, while Murera was still not ready to come out. Enkesha and Mwana moved and held up their trunks as if they were greeting each other in the morning.

Murera raised her head up, looking for the acacia trees within the stockades. Then she moved and pulled down the heavy branches, shaking them to drop the pods for the babies in the morning. Amali and Enkesha had to come back after they failed to see the little babies, who were away with their mothers. Zigi, Lenny, and Sulwe were not at the stockade this morning, something that Amali did not like, but the night clubbers did not come. This was not good news to Amali and Enkesha, but there was nothing they could do but accept. Both girls came back to the place where Murera was, and everyone enjoyed the acacia branch that Murera pulled down to feed all who were not able to reach the top. Everyone enjoyed the pods.

The Keepers then called the elephants to come out and move to the Kanzili area. Some elephants were heard making loud screaming, and this made Amali and Enkesha go and find who was making the noise, because they thought the screaming was coming from Lima Lima and friends, so that they could go and get little Zigi and friends. From far, the Keepers were laughing at how brave and bright Amali and Enkesha were, after they saw them coming back with Lenny and Sulwe behind them.

One wild female elephant with a baby girl the size of Mwana arrived this morning before the night-clubbers reported back. When Amali saw this wild female with her baby, she and Enkesha at first got confused and thought the female was Lima Lima. Amali went to receive her, but immediately upon getting there realised the wild female and her baby were not accepting them. Both Amali and Enkesha were turned back by the protective mother, who did not want them close to her calf. Amali and Enkesha had to accept this and returned to Murera, since Lima Lima and her team had not yet arrived — they skipped reporting back early today.

Mwashoti and Quanza then came running to join Murera and friends. From the hills of Umani, some elephants were heard trumpeting. This made Enkesha go and check, hoping it might be Lima Lima and Zongoloni with the little babies Amali and she had been eager to meet. This time, Amali did indeed meet the babies, and they were received with trumpeting all around from little Lenny, as well as Enkesha and the other nannies.

Maktao and Mwashoti moved off towards the Kanzili area for fresh browsing. Meanwhile, Quanza developed an issue with Zongoloni, who became very upset and chased Quanza away from the herd. No one knew why Zongoloni turned on her, until Sonje got involved and saved Quanza, who was now desperate.

The elephants spent most of their time today up on the Umani Hills, where they walked in the morning and stayed until midday bottle feeding. The Keepers had a hard time calling the orphans down for their milk, as they took a long time to descend. Murera and Sonje were still not ready to release them, delaying the whole group.

When Murera and Sonje finally agreed it was time, the orphans started down, but very slowly. Murera came at her own pace, pulling down branches for the little babies who couldn’t reach. The Keepers then drove the milk vehicle closer to encourage the orphans, and the trick worked — when Maktao and Kapei spotted the milk vehicle, they rushed down quickly. Even Murera, slow as she was, decided to follow the vehicle as it moved to the feeding point by the mud bath.

After bottle feeding, the orphans had a drink and then plunged into the swimming pool. It turned into a real swimming competition, with all the elephants inside the waterhole, splashing and enjoying themselves. Murera, however, kept to her own side, separate from the babies and their nannies who were making lots of fun. She was wise enough to keep her distance to avoid being pushed by mistake, and enjoyed the water safely on her own.

Lima Lima and her team failed to report this morning, since they had left the previous evening for the night-outs with their little babies. Murera led the remaining babies to the gate after their morning bottles. Amali and Enkesha were busy smelling around as they searched for the little ones.

At the pellet-feeding place, Murera became very moody. She kept chasing Kapei, Amali, and even Maktao away, not allowing them to enjoy the pellets. She only wanted herself and Mwana to have them all. This forced the Keepers to stop her from pushing the other orphans aside.

As the babies were leaving for the bushes to browse, Ziwa and his friends arrived and joined them. Murera did not feel happy about Ziwa and his team being there. Maktao and Kapei excused themselves from Murera, who was being very rough on them today, and went to be with Ziwa. Amali and Enkesha, however, stayed behind and did not follow Maktao and Kapei.

Later, before the midday bottles, while still on the hills of Umani, Zongoloni sent Quanza ahead of everyone before Sonje and the rest of the team arrived for the feeding. Ziwa then left with his group to give way for Murera, who was unhappy with the wild bulls that had accompanied Ziwa. Murera then joined the orphans at the bottle-feeding ground.

Sonje moved away with Sulwe, leaving Lenny with Murera, hoping he might be given a chance to nurse. But Lenny was still left begging and loudly complaining, trying to persuade Murera to let him breastfeed. Zigi and Kiasa were not bothered about Lenny, as everyone was sticking close to their favourites.

Kapei, with nothing else to do, started chasing crane birds at the waterhole. When they flew up into the trees, he turned his attention to the warthogs and chased them away instead. Later, he was joined by Mwana and Quanza.

Many wild elephants approached the Umani Springs water point, with lots of screaming and charging within the forest. The noises suggested some were in heat and it was mating time. The noisy bushes scared the little babies, and Murera quickly made her way to escape from the loud commotion. She took Lenny with her, and both orphans followed her deep into the bushes, where she sought refuge to avoid being confronted by the wild herd.

Those who did not follow Murera got trapped within the wild herd. Mwashoti and Kapei lost their direction away from the orphans and found themselves swept up by the wild elephants. The herd eventually turned against them and pushed them back to the orphans’ group.

When they rejoined the orphan herd, Quanza was busy playing with Zigi. Immediately she spotted Kapei and Maktao trying to approach the area where she was with Zigi. Quanza stood firm, blocking the boys from getting too close. She did not want Kapei near little Zigi, as she knew he could be rough with the babies. Quanza was determined to protect Zigi from Kapei’s heavy-handed play.

Ziwa joined the orphans this morning, walking with Jasiri and his wild friends within the Kibwezi Forests. This was something unique that the Keepers had not seen before: Jasiri walking with Ziwa and his wild team. It was the first time in history that this had happened, since Jasiri joined the nightclubbing groups about six years ago.

Ziwa, on the other hand, is known to associate with a wild herd made up only of females, in which he remains their only adopted boy. It was very interesting to see Jasiri with them today, and the Keepers wondered how Ziwa had convinced him to join the herd — or perhaps Jasiri was showing an interest in the females of that group.

Later, the wild herd decided to leave with Ziwa and Jasiri. Murera, Lima Lima, and Quanza did not want to be part of them, and instead rumbled to the orphans who were some distance away. Their calls brought all the babies back. Enkesha and Kiasa led the little ones — Lenny, Sulwe, and Zigi — into the herd.

Sulwe did not want Lenny to cross her path, so she moved to block him. Lenny, however, proved himself determined. As a boy and a girl, their strength could not be compared, and Lenny emerged the victor. Sonje spotted Lenny pushing Sulwe down, which made her rush to help Sulwe up. But Lenny sensed danger: before Sonje reached him, he had already crossed over to where Murera and Mwana were standing.