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Boys will be boys and today some of the younger bulls were being especially playful. After their milk bottles Maktao, Mukkoka, Dololo and Sattao were walking along the rope cordon, greeting some of the public standing there. They then went to feed on some greens while some of them went to slide down the piles of soil. Playful boys Maktao, Musiara, Sattao and Emoli were chasing each other and charging around the mud wallow, trying to climb on each other’s backs. When Maktao and Musiara did not succeed in climbing on who they intended, they ran over to climb on Tamiyoi and Enkesha instead, who were busy rolling on the damp soil.

Emoli feels like the boss of this the younger group now, and he started a funny game of trying to climb on Sattao’s head when Sattao challenged him. This habit of climbing on the head of his challengers head was copied by Maktao today, who saw him and decided to try this on Enkesha. To watch them all playing and messing around that this was very funny.

These days we have witnessed little Enkesha browsing away from the others. We suspect this is because she is a little polite girl and she doesn’t like to bully others, nor does she like to be bullied, so she browses away from the others to avoid all of these incidences. Even when the orphans come out of their rooms in the early morning, she sneaks away from them and keeps herself hidden in the bushes in between the stockades and the forest. She stays there and listens to the other orphans leaving, but she is very funny because when she can no longer here them, she starts yelling for a Keeper to come and find her and escort her out! When the Keepers come for her, she looks very happy and makes happy rumbling sounds as she playfully swings her trunk and follows the Keeper to the other orphans. She is such a gentle girl who does not like to cause any trouble.

What a night. It rained all night last night and the babies did not sleep very well because of it. Kiasa, Maktao and Sattao did not like the rain at all. Maxwell however had a very happy night, as we all know how much he enjoys the rain. The whole night he ran up and down his stockades in the rain and he rolled around everywhere in his pen, turning it all into a muddy pool. To begin with none of the orphans wanted to come out of their rooms and into the rain, but eventually they came out and made their way into the forest to browse. Sagala, Enkesha, Maisha and Kiasa all got together around one thicket and started to browse together. Emoli, Sattao and Maktao had a different plan from the rest, and they decided to play in the mud. Emoli and Maktao started a pushing game before they got down on the ground and started rolling. When Sattao saw them he decided to come over and join them. Tagwa then saw her adopted boy Sattao having fun so she walked over and joined in too – and so it was that eventually everyone abandoned their browsing mission and they all started enjoying and having lots of fun in the rain. Dololo, Mukkoka and Luggard stayed in their stables until the rain came to a stop.

It was a warm morning for the babies this morning compared to recent days. All the orphans were up and out early to embark on their usual morning routine. Tagwa is stepping up to her matriarchal duties. Before Sana Sana left, she was a very good play mate of Jotto’s. Usually when they were out browsing, at some stage Jotto and Sana Sana would be engaged in a pushing game. Tagwa seems to have stepped up as Jotto’s play mate and they were embroiled in a pushing game since they reached the forest in the early morning. Sagala attempted to interrupt the game at one point, but Jotto pushed her away so he could play with Tagwa on his own.

Sometimes Enkesha likes to keep away from the herd. This morning she had been keeping Luggard company, when Luggard walked to catch up with the rest of the group. As time went on she didn’t re-join the others, and because she was alone her milk clock was slightly wrong, and she started looking for milk. She decided to run back to the stockades, but of course she did not find anyone there and no milk. She started yelling and ran to the milk feeding point in the forest, but again there was no one there. She yelled some more and Tagwa heard her this time, trumpeting back to her so she could locate where the herd was. She went running up to them, and Jotto was the one who ran up to her to welcome her to the herd. 

After their 9am milk bottle as the babies walked off back into the forest to browse, some of them decided not to browse but to try and dust themselves instead. It all started with Enkesha and Musiara. They were the ones that decided to start digging at the soil to try and play, but when Tagwa saw them struggling she knew she had to come over to help them. As overall ‘mama’ to everyone, she walked over and shoved Enkesha to the side, so she could use her big tusks to help dig up the soil. As she began digging the soil, Ambo and Tamiyoi joined her. Musiara was already on the ground, taking advantage of all the loose soil that was being thrown up.

Ahead of where Musiara was lying were the warthogs who were still sleeping in their dens with their babies. The warthog thought that a predator was after them and they came running out of their holes one after the other, very quickly. Musiara got such a fright he jumped up yelling. Malima rushed down from the bush she was browsing on to help save the little boy. Jotto, Mapia and Kuishi teamed up with Malima and they all chased after the warthogs, driving them away into the thicket. Tagwa and the others used their holes as they new play site and everybody joined in dusting themselves in the loose soil. 

During the public visiting time today, Maisha and Emoli were the most active by far. After finishing her milk, Maisha was in a playful mood, and approached Enkesha for a game. Enkesha was not interested however and paid little attention to her. She went to try her luck with Musiara, but he just ran away, afraid that Maisha was going to bully him as she sometimes does. Emoli was standing to the side, watching his old friend make attempts to play with the others. She eventually walked over to engage him in a game, and he did not hesitate to oblige as he loves playing games when he is in a good mood too. The two had lots of fun, chasing each other around, wrestling and climbing on each other too. Meanwhile, Kiasa and Maktao had a lot of fun rolling around in the mud pool. They shared the same spot too, without fighting each other as they normally do.

Dololo is adapting to the Nursery routine very well and is happily coming back home with the rest of the herd in the evening. Today he came back with Musiara behind him, and they walked in splendidly with no worries, and into their respective rooms for the night.

Maarifa has been attending the public visit for the first few minutes every day recently. She is such a sweet and tiny girl. She certainly enjoys playing with her Keepers and running after them. She is the size of a little warthog and we think the warthogs enjoy hanging around her too. Today she was lying in the long grass in the forest and two young warthogs approached her and decided to take a nap next to her too! When she woke up and started walking around, they too woke up and started following her, walking back to the stockade compound area with her. The warthogs then slipped through into Maxwell’s pen to eat some of his lucerne pellets, while she stood on the outside waiting. Then Maarifa was called back by her Keepers into the forest, and she left her friends behind. When she attended the public visit today, it was fun to see her trying to climb on the piles of loose soil.

The elephants also had fun in the mud bath area today, with the piles of soil. Maktao, Maisha, Kiasa, Enkesha and Dololo especially were thrilled, as they did not want to mud bath. For them is was also about the dust bath, and Maktao was the lead as far as this game was concerned. Tamiyoi, Mukkoka and Musiara were more interested in feeding on the greens. 

We have noticed that recently Malima is becoming quite close with Musiara. She spends a lot of time beside this little boy, which is surprising as she can have quite a rough character. Today Malima and Musiara spent most of the day browsing together.

Sometimes some of the orphans can have ‘off’ days, even if they are usually the quiet ones. This was one of those days for Musiara, and he behaved so differently from his usual polite character. Sometimes instead of letting an incident go, the orphans decide to seek revenge. Musiara was in a group including Emoli, Sattao and Maktao while running for their milk bottles and he decided to totally block Maktao from running ahead of the group. Maktao is one of those that always wants to be first at the feeding point while Musiara is never that bothered about running down for him milk. He paved way for Sattao, his friend, and Emoli to go ahead, but then he kept blocking Maktao! We wondered if this was him seeking revenge for something Maktao had done earlier. It was not until Enkesha and Tamiyoi came behind them that Tamiyoi managed to block Musiara and Enkesha escorted Maktao down.

The day began as usual and was just like any other day. The orphans moved through the forest in the company of their Keepers and because it was a sunny day all the orphans were happy and seemed to enjoy the morning. The weather was so nice and the temperature so favourable, that the newest arrivals Dololo and Mukkoka did not even need to wear blankets. Musiara was enjoying the sunshine the most, and stood basking in an open area. He then decided to roll on the ground and lie with his feet in the air, making the most of the warmth. Maktao, who is always close to his beloved Keepers, was busy dusting his body with loose soil. Tagwa, Kuishi, Tamiyoi, Sagala and Jotto were not as interested in warming themselves, and chose instead to browse from the nearby leafy trees. Enkesha joined Maktao to dust as well. Soon, Kiko decided to join the follow the elephants and he was browsing from every tree he came across. Malima, who is always so playful, was mock-charging a group of impalas who were close by, and Emoli and Sattao were busy chasing some warthogs who were passing by – it was a very jovial and happy festive day.

Since we have had a break from the rains over the past few days, the temperature has soared and it has become really hot. All their babies have enjoyed playing in the mud bath recently as a result. At public visiting time today the orphans drank their bottles in a hurry and rushed into the water hole, everyone that is except for Dololo who did not look interested in having a bath, and that is perhaps because he needs to get his strength up. Instead he lightly sprinkled water on his body using his trunk, directly onto his body. Enkesha, Musiara, Emoli and Maisha were the first to get into the muddy pool, submerging their bodies as they enjoyed the bath. Kiasa, as usual, always wants everyone to notice her and she began splashing the muddy water with her trunk and then sucking and spraying over her back, some of which reached the visitors behind, dotting them with muddy splashes!