The month began with a campaign to coax Chapeyu out of his stockade, but he was not budging! He has been convalescing from his serious spear wound from February, and clearly sees his stockade as a place of safety.
In the afternoon, the orphans returned to the stockades for their milk feed. Afterwards, ex-orphans Ndotto and Godoma, with Lemeki in their wake, led the herd over to see Chapeyu. He greeted them but they could not persuade him to walk out of his stable. We decided to leave him in comfort and try again another day.
Our junior ex-orphans continue to visit the dependent herd most days. We can usually rely on Mbegu, Tagwa, Godoma, Ngilai, Ndotto, and Murit reporting at first light to share morning browse with the orphans. Some days, a heavily pregnant Naipoki was with them. One morning, as the sun rose, the Keepers found Ndotto taking a nap on the mound of red soil just outside the stockades — feeling nostalgic for home!
Mbegu has always been a mini matriarch who has time for everyone. She has her favourites, but she is kind and loving to all the Voi Kids. When she visits, everyone is vying for Mbegu time. One afternoon, Busara was enraged to find Mbegu bonding with Epiya, trunk hugging and kissing the younger elephant. Busara likes to be Mbegu's favourite and did not appreciate this personal affront. Trumpeting, she did her (unsuccessful) best to push Epiya away — feisty Epiya is not easily intimidated, especially by little Busara, who is usually calm.
She may not be ready to stand up to Epiya, but little Busara is finding her confidence. This is especially true when it comes to milk feeds — we often find her sneaking back to try and pinch a bonus bottle of milk from the truck after drinking her usual two bottles.
Losoito, our big personality with the very short legs, is turning into a bossy girl. She trumpets when she thinks anyone is overtaking her for milk bottles and conveniently forgets that we always have enough for everyone. She knows that she can be pushy, because big sister Lemeki will protect her if anyone tries to push back.
Rokka, Lemeki's other favourite baby, is always looking for alone time with her big sister. This is no small feat, as Losoito is hawkishly possessive of Lemeki and rarely leaves her side. One afternoon, she saw her window of opportunity: stout Losoito went to hang out with Mushuru and in a flash, Rokka drew close to Lemeki.
One orphan who struggles with Losoito's theatrics is Sholumai. When we opened the gates one morning, cheeky Losoito blocked Mushuru from walking out first for her milk feed. Sholumai was not putting up with that behaviour — so she stepped in front of the girls and squeezed herself out first, leaving both behind. Another day, as is her habit, Losoito trumpeted whilst she ran for her milk. Sholumai was not happy with the noise, stopped for a moment to confront her, but then decided that milk was more important.
Itinyi and Thamana — our current Voi water babies — are often first to get into the wallow and the last to get out. In contrast, Rokka and Sileita do not like being pushed around in the water and so choose to wait until the others have finished before climbing into the mud for a wallow.
Akina is another water baby of note. She always tries to shoo the rest of the herd out of the water before swimming, so she can have the whole space to herself and show off to everyone on shore. If it's chilly and the other orphans show no interest in swimming, Akina proves everyone wrong by diving in and having a marvellous time.
On 20th August, we decided to try to encourage Chapeyu outside again. We opened the gate of his stable, several of the orphans walked inside, and to our surprise, he walked out with them. Many gathered around the bull, touching him with their trunks and chasing him as they wanted to get to know him. In the evening, the others walked calmly into their enclosures and we coaxed Chapeyu into his stockade.
Chapeyu had a good first day out, but given how he is still healing, we decided that it would be best to wait before introducing him to the herd again. He seemed to agree with this decision and showed no inclination to leave his stockade in the following days.
Serenget, whom we rescued last month with a serious spear wound, is also doing well. The injury on her leg is healing and she has had two follow-up operations with the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit. Although she will need to convalesce in her stockade for a while longer, she is looking strong and healthy.
Our new girls, Sileita, Sholumai, and Mushuru — who only graduated to Voi at the end of May — continue to look after each other. One afternoon, Mushuru was having such a lovely time relaxing on the dry soil that she lost track of time. When it was time to leave, Sileita woke up her best friend with a nudge from her back leg. Mushuru clambered to her feet and the two girls walked along at the end of the line.
Playful Tamiyoi is our new mini matriarch now that Mbegu has left the dependents. She is a measured and responsible leader, but she also has a fun side. One afternoon, after clambering out of the mud bath, Tamiyoi squatted on her bottom, twirling her trunk in an invitation to the others to play. No one was in the mood — but she kept on twirling anyway.
Among the Voi Kids, Kilulu has the biggest flair for showboating. On a cool afternoon, the herd spent time as usual at the mud wallow but did not go swimming. However, Kilulu was not about to let an opportunity go amiss — he splashed himself with mud and then approached the Keeper who had the camera, flaring his ears and showing off.
The month ended with a new rescue. On 29th August, a female calf was found alone in the Aruba area of Tsavo East with a severe injury suspected to be a bullet wound. The SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit treated her and, given that she was alone and gravely injured, determined that she needed to be rescued. The injured little girl was settled into a stable next to Serenget, who rumbled in a reassuring way. We named her Samaa.