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Sana Sana is not as motherly towards the younger ones these days but she does discipline them from time to time. We are not always sure why though, like today she pushed Mapia when he was just walking by and having his milk, and she followed him pushing him until the keepers came over to intervene and walked Sana Sana away. During public visiting time today Malima and Murit were enjoying a pushing game and climbing on each other, as the others enjoyed wallowing in the mud. Kiasa especially enjoyed being in the pool and was very excited, splashing water everywhere and spraying the visitors with mud. Esampu also jumped in the mud pool after she had finished her bottle. After a short while in the mud she got out and ran along the rope cordon, bumping into visitors and getting them nice and muddy. The keepers had a hard time trying to control her naughty behaviour!

Esampu’s naughty character continued during the public visit today. The funny girl wanted to get an extra bottle and was willing to apply all tactics in order to accomplish this! She even went down on her front legs beside the milk wheelbarrow just to get an extra slurp of the delicious formula. She kicked out at Mundusi as he enjoyed his last bottle but this annoyed this ‘no nonsense’ elephant and he pushed Esampu to the ground, keeping her there despite her cries for help. Eventually Mbegu came over to rescue her. To show her anger, Esampu pushed Mteto into the mud hole as she walked past, before the keepers calmed her down. Ngilai emerged from the mud hole, fully covered in mud, and ran along the rope cordon line, spraying the visitors with mud. Sana Sana stayed in the mud until the last possible moment, and then, unbeknownst to the keepers, she decided to take a different route through the crowd, making sure that anyone who dared to touch her got very muddy as well. Luggard and Tamiyoi were quietly sharing a branch together than Lasayen had broken just before. Murit came over to join them and at that moment, a warthog came running past which scared poor Luggard. He went limping off yelling for help and Tagwa stepped in to chase the warthog away.

The day started as usual for the orphans as they came out of their stockades in the morning to go out to the field, all except for Shukuru who remained behind for some tests. She stayed in until around 930am when she went out to join the rest of the orphans in the forest. The tiny baby was out with the others in the forest and was enjoying the love and attention from main matriarch Mbegu. Tagwa and Godoma were also trying to win the affection of the little one by patting her little back with their trunks. Then Esampu came in and tried in vain to walk the little baby away from the other three girls. Just to make her point she pushed Tagwa from behind who accidentally knocked into the little one. Her little cry drew the attention of everyone including the keepers. Mbegu turned and without hesitating disciplined the naughty Esampu and took the tiny one away to a safer area. Esampu disappeared into the thicket and angrily broke some branches down to show her frustration at not being with the baby and having been told off. Close to 10am it started to drizzle but before long this turned to hard rain and the little one had to return to the stockades to protect her from the bad weather. The rain didn’t seem to bother Kiko however; he just moved from one tree to the next browsing as he went.

Sana Sana and Lasayen were busy enjoying a branch that Ndotto had pulled down and left when the playful Ngilai provoked him, causing a pushing game. Little did Sana Sana know but the naughty girl Esampu was approaching from behind. She pushed Sana Sana who then bumped into Murit who had recently walked over to also enjoy some of the branch. The ruckus drew the attention of Godoma who swiftly engaged the naughty girl in a serious fight, before the keepers came over to intervene and separate the two girls. Esampu’s bad moo carried on throughout the private visit when she tried to get extra milk from Ambo who rumbled his displeasure loudly, alerting the matriarch Mbegu who was just running in to have her own bottles. Mbegu pushed Esampu away from the group to go and browse with the others who had already finished their milk.