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Kiasa seems to have finally settled into the orphans’ routine here. She no longer sneaks away from the herd like she did before and although she is yet to find a special friend, she is doing well now. She is sort of a keeper’s baby, as she likes to spend quite a lot of time with them, but Maktao has a few things to say about that. He does not make it easy for her to get close to them but she does not give in easily, and challenges him when he tries to stop her. Maktao thinks as the youngest he should be the closest to the keepers and gets very jealous of anyone else trying to spend time with them. Luggard didn’t want to come out to the forest this morning for some reason. He woke up nicely and had a lovely time playing with Musiara, then Ambo and Jotto in the stockade compound as they waited for everyone else to come out of their rooms. But as everyone else moved out to the forest he seemed reluctant and didn’t want to follow them. He stayed browsing in the bushes surrounding the compound and later decided to follow his friends but still kept his distance. He eventually joined the group when it was the 9am milk feeding time. Mapia has really come to love the mud bath and gets into it all the time. After his milk bottle at visiting time today he ran into the mud bath where Murit, Enkesha and Jotto kept him company as well. The four later came out and enjoyed a dust bath to dry off before going back out to the forest.

Kiko was feeding on some acacia trees a short distance away from where the rest of the orphans were. As he was enjoying his browse, four wild giraffe’s approached. Kiko stood still staring at them, and one that looked younger than him moved closer trying to smell him. After a few minutes, the cowardly Kiko rushed back to where the other orphans were, leaving the wild visitors wondering what to do. The giraffes then drew the attention of the elephants, with playful girls like Malima mock-charging the motionless animals. Malkia, Mteto, Kuishi and Godoma then charged in as Murit, Ambo, Jotto, Sana Sana and Ndiwa backed them up. Upon seeing the little elephants charging towards them the wild giraffes turned and disappeared back into the Park. Enkesha’s love for mud baths continues and was very evident during the public visit today. She drank her milk bottles in a big hurry before going to fully immerse herself in the mud bath. It was funny to see the little girl fully submerged in the muddy water as she swam from one corner to the other.

It is Shukuru’s second day after returning to the Nursery and she seemed to wake up in a good mood in the company of her neighbours Malima, Musiara, Sagala and Mteto. It was baby Sattao who stole the show this morning however as he enjoyed the privilege of standing under Shukuru’s belly; he has not enjoyed this opportunity until now but Shukuru is big enough to allow this! Musiara and Maktao did not seem to mind the attention Sattao was getting either. As the orphans disappeared into the thicket in the forest, the keepers did not realize that they had left Enkesha behind! The little girl had sneaked into Sattao’s room, presumably to steal some of the left over browse and pellets in there. After finishing those she visited Maxwell’s gate as she looked for more lucerne pellets. Two warthogs also then came over to have their share of Maxwell’s food and a commotion ensued as all the animals tried to have their share. This attracted Maxwell’s attention who moved swiftly to try and scare the warthogs away. In the process he also caught Enkesha’s trunk between his horn and the gate and she shouted out with pain and fright as her trunk is already very sensitive. As soon as she was free she ran after her friends to join them out in the forest. She was met mid-way by Mbegu and Malkia who were alarmed by her screams for help. The matriarch Mbegu touched Enkesha with her trunk and raised her ears looking from side to side in search of what might have hurt the young girl. When she found nothing and Enkesha was settled, they all walked out to the forest together to join the others.

As the sun rose today the orphans made their way out to the forest to browse as usual. The babies are usually led by Mbegu but today Shukuru led them out. She could be seen high above the others like Murit, Maisha, Emoli and Sagala who followed behind her. Malkia, Tagwa and Mundusi were not far behind. The herd reached an open area in the forest just as the sun rose and started to warm their backs. Two orphans were delighted by the rising temperature as day broke; Kiasa and Maktao were engaged in a light pushing game and then Sattao joined them, followed shortly by Enkesha. Musiara then came over as well but not to join in the game. He lay down on the warm ground and spread his legs and stretched his trunk out, which inadvertently brought an end to the game as the others decided to come over and join him on the warm ground. Their ears flapped in excitement. Playful Ngilai came over and spread his big body out, landing on Kiasa who screamed out for help. The fun came to an end as Mbegu came running over to help Kiasa. It was quite hot during the public visit and the orphans enjoyed a mud bath during their time at the mud hole. The playful girl Malima sprayed the visitors with drops of mud as she enjoyed her bath. It was hard to get Luggard out of the bath as the first group made their way back to the forest! As the second group started coming in for their milk, the defiant Luggard was still rolling around in the mud. Mteto drank her milk in a hurry before launching herself into the mud; so did the rest of the group except for Ndotto who just dusted himself with loose soil throughout his time at the mud hole area.

When the orphans were browsing in the forest this morning, youngsters Kiasa, Maktao, Musiara, Sattao and Enkesha were busy charging and chasing after warthog babies who were also browsing close to the elephants and keepers. Maktao and his friends had tried and failed to chase the mother warthogs, so had turned their attention to the babies who were playful and skittish. Maktao, Kiasa and Enkesha managed to chase two orphans from the group back into the stockade area, but the warthogs ran through the bars into Maxwell’s stockade which presented a challenge! The warthogs made high pitched squeaking/grunting noises signaling to their mothers where they were, whilst the three elephants took to their heels, trumpeting as they ran back to the bushes where they had left the rest of their group.