Choose your region

Maktao, the playful little chap, is always keeping the other orphans entertained with wrestling games. It’s as if each day he wants to play with someone different, and will approach them to play. Today seems to be Dololo and Enkesha’s day, and Maktao will barely leave them alone. Enkesha was not as interested in Maktao’s invitations to play than Dololo. She only spent a few minutes with him because she loves browsing and eating so much so after a short while she left him rolling on the ground and went to find some nice bushes to browse on. Dololo loves playing and especially if it is with someone that will really take a game seriously, as he can play quite rough.

After a long day of warm weather, just before 3pm as the orphans were preparing for their milk feed the weather changed and it started to rain. Roho and Ziwadi were taken back to the compound and the others went on to have their milk at the mud bath where surprisingly enough Tagwa and Sattao decided to go into the mud and have a lovely time splashing about there.

We know all our orphans for each of the unique things that make them different. Enkesha loves eating and likes to wander off on her own sometimes. She is a gentle and quiet girl who doesn’t mind being on her own and doesn’t need any company when she wants to go off and do her own thing. While out browsing during the day, Kiasa is known to go to the head of the group and likes to lead the others about the forest; everyone will always walk behind her as she moves about in different directions in the woods. 

As Dololo was escorting Roho, Luggard and Ziwadi home to bed earlier than the rest of the herd, he encountered a huge male baboon sitting in the middle of his path. He tried to chase the baboon off but he paid no attention to him, which made Dololo apprehensive. He ran back to the Keeper walking behind them for help but in the meantime little Roho managed to scare the baboon away, so taking the lead of the babies back home to their milk bottles.

Maktao is always known to be the playful one, but it seems today he was not in the right mood, because when Mukkoka approached him for a game he sent him away right away. He first put him off by head-butting him, showing Mukkoka that he was not in the mood. 

The orphans chose not to have a mud bath during the 11am public visiting time this morning as it was not quite the right weather for them to enjoy one, but later as the day started to warm up, Musiara led the group to play in one of the many puddles that can be found out in the forest at the moment from all the rain we have had recently. They all enjoyed swimming in the big puddle. Maisha, Dololo and Maktao particularly enjoyed playing in the water, and Roho as well who was being guarded by Tagwa as he played.

In the early morning today it started to rain just as the orphans were preparing to come out of their rooms. This meant Ziwadi and Roho stayed indoors as the others came out into the rain to carry on with their morning. Tagwa and Tamiyoi like the other youngsters tried to avoid walking through the bushes and wanted to stick mainly to feeding on the open grassy areas as it is cold, and none of them want to get wetter by walking through the bushes and brushing up against the cold, wet vegetation. By the time the first group of orphans walked down to the public visit, it was still raining. Musiara detected the dull mood in the others and decided to initiate a wrestling game to keep them warm. Kiasa, Larro and Dololo (who was in the first group because Roho was not with them and he is normally separated at the morning visit so he does not bully him) accepted Musiara’s invitation to play and keep their spirits up in the rain whilst also keeping warm!

Little Ziwadi seems fully attached to Luggard while browsing out in the forest, who in turn is very welcoming and loving towards her, and does not bully her like the other bulls including Dololo, Maktao, Mukkoka and Sattao who take advantage of chasing Ziwadi whenever she tries to browse close to them. Luggard never tries to chase her and climb on her and that’s why Ziwadi likes to hang around with Luggard. 

Mukkoka’s character of trying to run fast to get his bottle feeds, especially in the evening when he is returning to his stockade for the night, is something very endearing and funny to watch as he runs at full speed and tries to overtake his friends to get into his stable first for his milk. He yells out loudly as soon as he sees the Keeper taking his milk bottle out of the bucket next to his door, preparing to feed him, and it is this adorable greedy-character trait that endears him to all his foster parents!

Kiombo has not yet attached himself to the other bulls like Dololo, Maktao, Musiara or Sattao, or even Luggard, but is quite happy in the company of Nabulu still and is very happy to wander around with her. Today when the orphans settled out in the forest in the early morning, these two sneaked away from the others and walked far off deep into the forest where they were later found settled busily browsing from the same bush, showing no sign of wanting to turn back to join the others. Kiombo mostly only chooses to join the other bulls when they are enjoying some wrestling or pushing games, and when they are done, he parts ways and goes to find Nabulu who is always welcoming of him these days. Nabulu also does not discipline the boys when they are naughty like some of the other girls, such as Tagwa, Maisha, Enkesha, and Tamiyoi, and this is also why Kiombo enjoys spending time with her. 

After the orphans finished their midday bottles of milk and mud bath, they made their way back out to the forest. As they settled in the forest, most of them seemed to be seeking shelter from the hot sun and were seen resting in the shade of the trees. Most of the boys, namely Maktao, Kiombo, Mukkoka, Musiara, Dololo and Sattao, were far too busy playing wrestling games to rest in the shade and kept swapping between each other and changing partners. Maktao was first wrestling Mukkoka, then changed to wrestle Dololo, and across from them, Musiara was seen wrestling Kiombo before challenging Sattao. Kiombo, who seemed to still have energy after his game with Musiara, could be seen charging around pushing at trees and pulling branches, which are all ways of testing his strength. If he succeeded at pulling a branch down, he would then throw it over his back, as if in victory. 

Once the orphans were back in their stables in the evening, Dololo appeared to still be full of energy. He was continuously grabbing at the milk bucket outside his stable, searching for more milk or any spilled milk at the bottom. When he didn’t find any milk, he just knocked his bucket away. 

This afternoon, after the orphans enjoyed their midday mud bath, there seemed to be a bit of a disagreement going on as to who would be keeping Roho company. Dololo managed to get Roho away from Tagwa and he then started leading the little away to a different browsing spot, and they were closely followed by Kiasa. This appeared to really upset Tagwa as she came charging over trying to get Roho back, but it was Tamiyoi who managed to call the little bull away. Whilst the other were busy disagreeing as to who could look after him, Tamiyoi snuck in and walked off with Roho behind her. 

Kiombo and Maktao had a long strength testing match this afternoon. They were thoroughly enjoying pushing each other around before Enkesha came running over and decided to separate the two bulls. The three then went their separate ways and carried on browsing.