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Ambo decided to spend time with the older boys Kauro, Ndotto, Sapalan and Lasayen today. When Mbegu saw that Ambo was okay in the company of the older boys, she went over to the keepers where the young babies were and took Sattao with her. Tagwa saw them walking away and ran over to accompany them, and the three of them walked out into the forest. They stayed out there together until it was milk feeding time. When the three walked back to the rest of the group for milk, Sattao was running ahead very excited and playful with Mbegu and Tagwa just walking behind. He was so excited he tripped over a tree root! Jotto and Malima heard Sattao and came running towards him trumpeting, and all three ran towards the milk feeding area. All three were very happy with their game and were trumpeting with excitement. Namalok has never missed a public visit since he was introduced to them, but today he was attached to Kauro and Ndotto and the three of them disappeared into the forest after the 9am milk feed. The keepers thought the orphans would show up to the public visit because of Ndotto, but they did not arrive. After the public visit the others found them just browsing in the bushes nearby and just waiting for them to return!

The orphans came out of their rooms this morning and looked so happy with nice big smiles on their faces. Some of them came out and met near Maxwell’s gate. Maxwell was dosing and they enjoyed eating his leftover lucerne pellets that had spilled through to the other side of the gate. Kauro, Sapalan, Rapa, Murit, Maramoja, Namalok, Sana Sana and Malkia were shoving each other out of the way, each one wanting to be closest to the gate to stretch their trunk through the bars and grab even more of the pellets. Mbegu and Tagwa were not interested but instead went to look for the tiny girl; even when they pushed on her door though she did not wake up as she was still fast asleep. Jotto, Ambo and Malima were playing with Tamiyoi and running after each other all over the place, and playing gentle pushing games. Mbegu and Tagwa decided to start moving out to the forest and the others followed them, except for Kauro who wanted to finish as many lucerne pellets as he could! At 9am Kauro, Namalok, Sapalan, Rapa, Pare and Maramoja started training and the familiarization process with the translocation lorry for their graduation from the Nursery and move to Ithumba. The first day went so well as they all got on the lorry for their milk bottle and were not afraid. Mapia came to the mud bath and public visit today for the first time; he loved the mud pool very much as he had a lot of fun with Jotto.

Maktao has been giving some of the other little elephants a hard time since he arrived at the Nursery. Musiara, Sattao, Maisha and Emoli dare not stand in his way. This morning however, Musiara decided to teach Maktao a lesson. When he charged at him whilst he was eating some nice vegetation out in the forest, Musiara turned and wrestled Maktao off. Musiara was not willing to surrender, and it took Malima’s intervention to save Maktao from the angry Musiara. Malima did not only stop the fight but she invited the boys to join her in a game. There was a heap of loose soil nearby and she went to the top of it and rolled down. The two little boys enjoyed rolling and sliding on her back, and forgot about their earlier fight. We do not often find Tagwa engaged in pushing games with her friends. She is most often looking after the little ones and once in a blue moon, we find her engaged in a small wrestling game. Today was one of those days, as we found her playing with Ambo in a lengthy pushing game. Both of them seemed to be having a great time. Ndotto is such a lovely boy and he is starting to become more independent. Often, when the orphans reach the forest, he can be found walking off in his own direction and only coming back to the group when it is time for the 9am milk feed. Ngilai is so funny when he has his milk bottle – he has his own unique style! He sticks his trunk straight up in the air like an aerial, unlike the others who normally wrap their trunks around their bottles.

All the orphans went out to the forest as usual this morning, but Elkalal, the little girl that arrived recently, wasn’t doing that well. She has been on a drip since yesterday afternoon but she is still not responding very well. The lorry training for the six graduates is still going on and at 9am, Namalok, Sapalan, Kauro, Maramoja, Rapa and Pare seem very comfortable feeding there and are ready for their journey. In fact after finishing their milk they didn’t want to leave and were playing and hanging out in the lorry. Out in the forest, Mapia seems to be enjoying the company of Kauro and Ndiwa – the two are being very kind to Mapia and enjoy his company; they do not push him around at all. They lead him out to his favourite vegetation, the tall green grass which he loves to browse on. Sadly, just before visiting today, Elkalal passed away in her stable with her Keeper, unable to shake the infection that she came with despite all our best efforts and treatment. Mbegu was in a selfish mood today. Before the visiting time she took the babies Sattao, Malima and Mapia away from the others and hid in the thicket with them. She didn’t come when the keepers called her and the three babies ended up missing their feeding time. She knew what she was doing though as when it came to her milk feeding time she came out of hiding with the three little ones. We were surprised as she does not normally behave like this and always leads the younger ones down when it is their feeding time, if she happens to be with them. She was in a funny mood today!

Jotto was trying to climb on Malima early this morning. She turned to him and pushed him away, which started a pushing game between the two. Jotto was playing as usual but Malima was being a little more aggressive; she was obviously showing her disapproval of being jumped on every now and then. During the 9am feeding, naughty Maktao knocked down poor Kiasa before she had even finished her bottle. She yelled and he walked out into the group for safety but Tagwa was there and she pushed him with her little tusks, walking him towards the keepers. He was worried the keepers would discipline him too and so he ran off yelling. Ndotto, Lasayen, Ndiwa and Mundusi were very restless today, as if they were wondering where their older friends were as it was Kauro that usually led them out further than the others. Today Ndotto took charge and rumbled to his friends to follow him.

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!

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.

As the sun rose over the horizon warming the earth, the orphans enjoyed the rising temperature and engaged in some play fights, others were lying on the ground and some were browsing in the bushes. Musiara and Maktao pushed each other gently before Emoli joined their game. Emoli was rougher than Musiara and Maktao stepped up his game as well. Sattao watched from a distance as the three boys played. Kiasa came running over to join in but got over excited and bit Musiara’s tail, which quite rightly annoyed him, and he pushed Kiasa hard. Jotto, who is a bigger boy, stepped in to separate the sparring babies as Malima mock-charged them to get them to end their game, throwing a back kick in Maktao’s direction.