Since Kipekee was rescued in June, she has captured the hearts of everyone at the Nursery — but no one more so than Muridjo.
This month began with Muridjo stepping out of her stockade at first light and heading straight for Kipekee's stable. Checking on the little girl in the morning has become her daily habit! We opened the door, Kipekee toddled out, Muridjo rumbled and escorted the baby up the path. Although mini matriarch Kerrio is always there in the background, keeping an eye on everyone in the herd, Muridjo is doing more and more looking after little ones.
On her way out to the forest in the morning, Mzinga often stops off to say hello to Maxwell, our blind black rhino. She stands by his gate, rumbling while she pushes her head against it, making a clinking sound. The noise makes Max excited — he roams around his enclosure, trotting in circles with a spring in his step. The elephant and the rhino stand one on either side of the gate for a quiet moment before Mzinga pads up the path to join the herd.
Little Kipekee is only three months old — over a year younger than Wamata, the second youngest in the Nursery herd. Until she was rescued, Wamata faced no competition as the universal favourite. Now that she is the 'second born,' she understandably bears some resentment towards Kipekee.
One morning, in a truly rare event, Kipekee was left on her own for a minute. Spotting an opportunity, Wamata walked over and gave her a jealous shove. Kipekee trumpeted and the nannies reacted in seconds, charging over to defend their little girl. We smiled to see our independent girl Kamili at the forefront of the rescue party — she used to have little interest in the babies, but that seems to be changing.
Overall, however, Wamata is learning to embrace Kipekee. As August progressed, she seemed to understand that Kipekee is not a threat but just a very young baby. Slowly, her behaviour has changed. By the end of the month, we even witnessed Wamata calmly checking on Kipekee with tender trunk touches and even playing with her. She lay on the ground next to her, rolled around, and allowed Kipekee to headbutt her belly!
On the evening of 4th August, a new rescue arrived at the stockades. The one-year-old bull was traumatised but in reasonable physical shape. He accepted a bottle of milk pushed through the gaps in his stockade wall, but remained very wary of the Keepers.
The comings and goings continued on 6th August — graduation day for our Nursery rascals, Shujaa and Weka! Orphans leaving the Nursery always set off very early in the morning so that they travel when the roads are quiet and arrive in time for a morning milk feed. Two Keepers accompany them, and one stays until they have settled into their new home.
The graduation went well. Before long, both Weka and Shujaa were securely in the moving truck and on the way to their new life in Tsavo. The following morning, the herd headed out to the forest as usual. They knew that Weka and Shujaa had left, but behaved normally and seemed to accept the change. They browsed in the forest, visited the mud bath for milk feeds and dust baths, and returned to the stockades in the late afternoon.
The obsession over Kipekee has even created some steep competition between our best friends, Mzinga and Nyambeni. When she toddled out of her stable one morning, Mzinga and Nyambeni both made a beeline for her. Standing next to her, first Mzinga pushed Nyambeni and then Nyambeni pushed back. On and on went the pushing as they competed for the prize of escorting Kipekee out to the forest. Eventually, the little girl cried out in protest — she was squashed between the two older females and unable to move!
Talek and Pardamat remain our favourite sibling rivalry. They are best friends at night, as they sleep in neighbouring stockades, but love to bicker by day. After one milk feed, they drank their bottles and then hovered next to the wheelbarrow, hoping they would not be noticed. Talek was angling for the leftover drops in the bottom of the wheelbarrow while Pardamat wanted to snatch a bonus bottle. Neither would tolerate the other's presence as they wanted pole position for themselves. A squabble began and we had to separate the siblings.
Latika is a girl's girl — especially when it comes to her favourite baby, Wamata. On the other hand, she seems to find bull elephants rather annoying. She used to tolerate them but, since the graduation of Sileita, Sholumai, Mushuru and Muwingu, she has become less patient. One morning, when Olomunyak, Pardamat, and Taroha tried to run down the path to the mud bath for their milk feed, Latika blocked their way. We intervened and she allowed them to pass, but then gave each boy an unwarranted shove several minutes later.
Kerrio is the current mini matriarch of the Nursery herd and a most responsible leader. In the mornings, she briefly checks on every member of her herd when they walk out of their stockades and then slowly ambles up the path, choosing where to stop and browse. Once out in the field, she hands care of and responsibility for little ones like Kipekee, Olomunyak and Pardamat to deputy nannies Muridjo, Kamili, Nyambeni and Mzinga. Predictably, Wamata is looked after by Latika. Kerrio then browses a small distance away but stays close enough to intervene if there is a problem.
After giving him a week to decompress, 12th August was our new rescue's first day out with the herd. He had calmed down so much since he was rescued and we knew that he was ready for this step. We escorted Kerrio, Nyambeni, Mzinga, Talek and Olomunyak back to the stockades and opened his door. The others stood outside while Kerrio walked in, trunk touched him and shepherded him out. Olomunyak and the girls gathered around with trunk touches and rumbles. The new boy was calm and quiet.
Pardamat is more than just a naughty character; he is also playful and adventurous. He loves to go exploring — but he hates to be left behind! One cold and rainy morning, Pardamat opted to go his own way and disappeared into the trees. Come milk time, we heard loud trumpeting from the forest. It was Pardamat! Our bullish bull could not find the herd and was making an enormous fuss. Immediately, Kerrio and Muridjo went back to fetch him and restore calm.
With the departure of Shujaa, our herd of 13 elephants has only four bulls: Taroha, Pardamat, Olomunyak and the new boy. Taroha, at the age of three-and-a-half, has become the oldest bull — but he is also the gentlest and most protective. He is an unusual boy because he keeps an eye on the younger orphans and will step in to protect them if they are under threat. He plays daily rounds with Olomunyak and Pardamat, but never throws his weight around despite having the upper hand.
The end of the month left us wondering — could Kipekee already be turning into a spoilt baby? The youngest, sweetest baby in the Nursery herd is never without at least one fussing nanny. Very quickly, she has grown not only in strength but also in confidence!
We were reminded of this when she drank her midday milk bottle and then planted herself next to the wheelbarrow and demanded a second, refusing to move until her request was met. The Keepers, with help from Kamili, persuaded her to walk on to the greens on the other side of the wallow, but not before they were pushed by this cheeky girl. Kipekee may be only three months old, but she is behaving like a confident older elephant.