In November we learnt about our two wild-born babies, Eco and Mwitu, the son and daughter of Edie and Mweya respectively, and this month we were blessed to have them in our midst almost every day, as this ex-orphan herd chose to visit the stockade compound most mornings. They sometimes spending part of the day browsing with the Voi dependent orphans as well, which has been such a highlight for these youngsters. Towards the end of last month, six of our dependent orphans chose to join this ex-orphan herd, to act as extra nannies to babies Mwitu and Eco, and throughout December it has been wonderful to see that these six orphans, Lentili, Bada, Nguvu, Mashariki, Panda and Naipoki, and Mbirikani too, are still enjoying being with Mweya and Edie’s ex-orphan herd.
The morning began with the usual activities as the stockade dependent orphans first had their milk and supplement feeding, before engaging in socializing games around the stockade compound. Arruba went for a drink of water from the stockade water trough where she was soon joined by Ndoria.
The dependent orphans left the compound under Mbegu and Godoma’s leadership and settled to browse on the lower plains of Msinga Hill. They visited the baobab tree water hole after the noon milk feed but didn’t wallow as it was a chilly day. Lasayen took a considerable amount of time quenching his thirst with Pika Pika before the two rejoined their friends to resume the day’s browsing activities.
As the day progressed it got warmer and in the afternoon the orphans enjoyed wallowing in one of the many waterholes found out in the bush. Mudanda was having the most fun mud bathing and got left behind when the others finished and resumed browsing. They did not move too far way however so she was easily able to catch up with her friends.
It was a perfect beginning to the day as the orphan elephants emptied their morning milk bottle before settling to enjoy the supplement food put out for them by the Keepers. When they were done, they enjoyed a dust bathing game in the stockade compound.
This morning Edie, Mweya and the other six they have absorbed into their group yesterday came for a visit. Edie and Mweya were calm as Mwitu and Eco interacted with the stockade dependent orphans playing and socializing with them. Kenia and Ndii were worried that this interaction would lead to more of the stockade dependent orphans leaving them to join the ex-orphans and quickly signaled that it was time to head out for the day, making sure that Pika Pika did not remain with the ex-orphan herd.
At midday the orphans had their milk feed, as Emoli and Tahri seemed to be in competition to see who would be the first to reach the milk bottles. At the water hole, Embu, Arruba and Godoma wallowed while Pika Pika stood at the edge of the water watching them.
Early this morning ex-orphans Mweya and Edie joined the stockade dependent orphans for the Lucerne pellet feeding. Eco and Mwitu were happy to meet up with their extended family members from Kenia and Mbegu’s herd, and they all had fun playing together.
Nguvu, Bada and Naipoki main their strong bond with the ex-orphans, and the three have been absorbed into the ex-orphan herd. When it was time to head to the park Edie lead the way out of the stockade with Sagala and Lentili following closely. After walking for some distance, the ex-orphans separated from the orphan herd and headed to the Voi river circuit followed by Lentili, Bada, Nguvu, Mbirikani, Panda and Naipoki.
The stockade dependent orphans browsed peacefully on the northern side of the stockade grounds with Ngilai, Murit and Tahri introducing a game in an erosion trench before heading to the baobab tree water hole. After the noon milk feed the orphans had a drink at the water trough before returning to their browsing activities close to the waterhole. None of the orphans entered the water today as the weather was quite chilly.
It was a nice beginning to the day as the ex-orphans Mweya, Mwitu, Edie, Eco, Panda, Bada, Lentili, Naipoki, Mbirikani and Nguvu arrived to join the stockade dependent orphans for the morning Lucerne pellet feeding. Tahri has developed a soft spot for Mwitu and stayed with her the entire time the ex-orphan herd was at the stockade compound.
Kenia and Ndii left for the Park with their friends, leaving the ex-orphans and the 6 new additions to their herd at the stockade compound. The older friends left a short while after but did not catch up with the junior herd who were busy with the mornings browsing activities.
Kenia and Mbegu's herd settled to browse on western foot of Msinga Hill where they remained until it was time to make their way to the baobab tree water hole for the noon milk feed. Embu, Arruba and Rorogoi headed to the waterhole where Embu plunged into the middle of the water hole, showcasing her mud bathing talents while her friends stood around the edge watching her play.
Later in the day Araba, Murit and Emoli enjoyed a private browsing session on the western foot of Msinga Hill and remained there until it was time to return to the safety of the stockades for the night.
After the morning milk feed, the ex-orphans joined the stockade dependent orphan elephants for the supplement feeding again. Babies Eco and Mwitu, not wanting to be left out, struggled to pick up the pellets with their trunks, which they have yet to master using, as they tried to enjoy feeling on the pellets like all the others. New nannies Lentili and Naipoki were very protective of the babies, keeping Eco and Mwitu close to them and preventing the other stockade dependent orphans from playing with the two calves. They stayed close to the little ones even while they enjoyed a scratching session against the feeding trough.
Mbegu later took the lead out to the Park for their orphans daily bush walk, while the ex-orphans and their adopted six browsed their way towards the big water hole. Mashariki opted to browse further uphill than the rest of the group where she was later joined by Tundani. The two descended to join their friends when it was time for the noon milk feed and mud bath. The orphans had a brief wallow before resuming with their browsing activities close to the water hole.
This morning the ex-orphan herd did not come to the compound and Kenia seemed to be a little more relaxed and happy at not having the older friends around. The orphans had their morning milk bottle and fed on Lucerne grass pellets before heading to the Park to browse.
Rorogoi, Embu and Tundani were in the lead today, traversing several browsing routes during the morning hours. The sun was strong and bright today which resulted in the orphans following Mbegu and Godoma to their favourite waterhole to cool off. The orphans were very organized and respectful of one another making sure that everyone had the opportunity to wallow as their favourite waterhole is small and could not accommodate them all at the same time, and so they took it in turns.
As Naipoki has joined Edie and Mweya’s ex-orphan herd, Kenia has made sure to take Pika Pika under her wing and the two had a lovely time browsing and wallowing together. The orphans visited the baobab tree water hole for their noon milk feed and a drink of water before resuming with their browsing activities.
The orphans exited their night quarters early this morning to enjoy their milk and supplement food. The engaged in some brief games around the stockade compound. Araba lay on the ground rolling around in the loose earth. Ndotto came and spoiled her fun by climbing on her back. Araba soon got to her feet and engaged Ndotto in a pushing game. Kenia was busy doting on Pika Pika while Sagala dug up soil with her tusks before scooping up what she had produced with her trunk and spraying it over her body. Once the stockade activities were over the orphans headed out to the Park where they concentrated on their browsing activities for the day.
The morning began with the stockade dependent orphans downing their morning milk bottles before settling to enjoy the supplement foods that had been put out for them. They then enjoyed some socializing games around the stockade compound. Tundani and his longtime friend Nelion joined forces to try and sort out the baboons that were bothering all the orphans in the compound. The two charged at the baboons chasing them away and preventing them from getting access to their stockades. Ishaq-B, Mudanda and Mashariki then led the orphans out to the Park.
At 9.20am, Kenia took a break from browsing to give some love and attention to Pika Pika. This upset Araba who let out a huge yell, letting everyone know that she also wanted to get some attention from Kenia, who seems to only have eyes now for young Pika Pika. Kenia, wanting to maintain the peace, was happy to go and give Araba some attention too.
The stockade dependent orphans visited the baobab tree water hole at noon and they all had a lot of fun playing mud bathing games. When the fun was over they resumed with their browsing activities which took place close to the waterhole.
It was a bright and beautiful morning as the stockade dependent orphans prepared to leave the compound, having finished their milk and supplement food. As they were heading out, Edie, Eco, Mweya, Mwitu, Panda, Naipoki, Bada, Mbirikani, Lentili and Nguvu arrived and had a drink from the stockade water trough as they waited to be given some Lucerne grass pellets. Ndii saw them and stayed back so that she could interact with Eco and Mwitu. Ndii stayed with the ex-orphan herd, spending the morning browsing with them before leaving to catch with Kenia and Mbegu’s herds who were making their way to the baobab tree waterhole.
At about 10am it started to rain and Murit tried to introduce a soil bathing game in an erosion trench but none of the other orphans joined in.
At the baobab tree waterhole the orphans had their noon milk bottle and enjoyed a drink of water, but did not wallow as they were already wet following the mornings rain. Sagala enjoyed a scratching session against a tree while Mashariki rolled around on the red earth piles. The games were soon over and the orphans all resumed with the afternoons browsing activities.
This morning the orphans happily played around the stocked compound following the milk and supplement feeding. When the stockade games were over they walked out to the Park, settling to browse on the eastern side of Msinga Hill. Mbegu decided to head further uphill and was followed by Godoma, while the rest remained where they were. The two descended in order to catch up with their friends who were making their way to the waterhole for a wallow just before 11am.
Emoli, Pika Pika, Murit, Ngilai and Lasayen were the first to arrive for the noon milk feed followed closely by the rest of their friends. They enjoyed splashing water over their bodies at the water hole before heading back to browsing for the afternoon. Tundani remained around the baobab tree waterhole feeding on his own, rejoining his friends later in the day.
It was a wonderful beginning to the day as the orphan elephants happily gulped down their morning milk bottles before proceeding to the supplement feeding area. There were some brief games around the stockade compound before the orphans headed to the Park amid some light rainfall. The orphans enjoyed browsing on the moist lush green grass and creepers that are growing all over the place at the moment, and then made their way to the baobab water hole at noon.
Earlier in the day, the sand that had run down into the waterhole with the rains was removed and piled on its banks. After the noon milk feed Ndoria was the only one to enter the water to wallow while the rest watched. Kenia soon came to join her while the rest headed off to browse. Tundani stayed close to the waterhole to browse, before rejoining the rest of the herd later in the afternoon.
Another day began as usual with the Voi dependent orphan elephants emptying their morning milk bottles before have some Lucerne pellets. They had a lovely time playing around the stockade compound before making their way to the Park for the day.
Just as everyone started to browse, Ishaq-B began her efforts to woo Ndoria away from Kenia and the Voi herd, and the two remained browsing together and spent the night away from the stockades. There are many lions around at the moment and the Keepers made sure to always be close to the two who, on their own, would be very vulnerable to predators.
At noon the orphans made their way to the baobab tree waterhole arriving in groups of 5 for their milk bottle before convening at the water trough for a drink and after they approached the water hole. The orphans just hung around the water’s edge, unsure as to whether to go in or not as it was a chilly day. In the end Embu broke the stalemate and plunged into the water showcasing her mud bathing talents while her friends watched. Sagala and Arruba enjoyed a scratching session against the baobab tree before the group resumed with their browsing activities close to the waterhole.
The orphans exited their stockades full of energy this morning and downed their milk bottles before settling to enjoy the supplement foods that had been put out for them. They then left for the Park under Mbegu and Godoma’s leadership, where they browsed in single file before joining up with Ndoria and Ishaq-B who had spent the night out of the stockades. Though the two wanted to stay separate from the rest of the orphan herd the Keepers managed to keep them altogether so as to ensure their safety, so they would not risk an attack from the lions in the area without the security of a herd.
The orphans browsed their way to the baobab tree waterhole arriving in time for the noon milk feed. They then had a drink of water before spraying water over themselves. Arruba was the only one to enter the water today as the rest of the group found the weather to be too cold for a wallow. Suswa enjoyed rolling around on the pile of red earth. Her game attracted Kihari, Ndii and Rorogoi who all came to join her. The afternoon browsing session took place close to the waterhole.
It was a perfect morning as the orphans enjoyed playing games around the stockade compound following the milk and supplement feeding. Tundani invited Bada, who had come in with the ex-orphan herd this morning, for a drink at the stockade water trough and they had a lovely time together. Tundani then enjoyed a scratching game against a rock boulder while Bada and Nelion interacted with one another.
Lentili hurried over to take up position as a nanny to Eco and Mwitu as did Mbirikani and Mashariki and the three worked hard to try and prevent Mbegu and Godoma from accessing the two babies. Tundani managed to get close to Eco and offer her some playful head butting and wrestling tips as the two played together.
Kenia managed to gather her group and lead them towards the northern side of the stockade, leaving behind the ex-orphans and the seven juniors, Lentili, Mashariki, Bada, Mbirikani, Pand, Nguvu and Naipoki, who had recently been absorbed into the ex-orphan herd. The ex-orphans browed their way to the Voi Rriver area while Kenia’s group headed to the baobab tree water hole and spent the afternoon browsing there after the noon milk feed.
The orphans were in a jovial mood as they exited the stockades and downed their morning milk bottles. They then enjoyed feeding on Lucerne pellets, after which they followed Mbegu and Emoli away from the stockade compound. Tundani and Embu soon took over leading the group to the northern side of Msinga Hill to browse.
After two hours of concentrated browsing, Ngilai and Murit engaged in a pushing game that did not last for long as they noticed that they were stepping on some slippery rocks and did not want to get hurt. The orphans came downhill when it was time for the noon milk bottle at the baobab tree water hole. Arruba entered the wallow and started kicking the water with her leg splashing water all over the place while her friends stood at the edge spraying muddy water over their bodies.
The afternoon browsing session took place on the northern side of Msinga Hill where Mbegu tried to introduce a game of lying on the damp grass and rolling around, but none of her friends were interested in joining her.
The ex-orphan herd arrived at the stockade compound bright and early this morning and had a drink at the stockade water trough before feeding on the Lucerne grass pellets. Mweya, Mwitu, Bada and Lentili enjoyed a 10 minute cat nap before joining their friends who were ready to return to the Park.
The stockade dependent orphan elephants assembled for their delicious milk bottle and supplement feeding before heading to the Park hoping to catch up with the ex-orphan herd, but were unsuccessful in doing so as they had already walked quite far away.
The morning browsing session went well, with the orphan elephants interacting happily with one another. Godoma was busy browsing with Emoli while Pika Pika stayed with Kenia. Ngilai browsed for a while before laying on the ground to play. His game attracted Emoli’s attention and the two became engaged in a wrestling match.
The sun was shining brightly as the orphans arrived at the baobab tree waterhole for their noon milk feed and a drink of water. They had a lovely time mud bathing and after they enjoyed a dust bath where Lasayen was the star as he played on the red earth piles with Godoma. Pika Pika was the last to have a dust bath while Kenia watched.
The earliest callers to the stockade today were Edie and Mweya's herd who enjoyed drinking clean water from the stockade water trough before heading to the supplement feeding area. The morning milk bottles were ready for the dependent orphans at 6am as usual, and the ex-orphan herd left for the Park soon after the orphans came out of their stockades for their milk.
There were no stockade games this morning as the orphans were in a rush to leave the compound in the hopes of catching up with the ex-orphans, but didn’t manage, probably much to Kenia’s delight. The orphans browsed their way to the baobab tree water hole where Ndotto tested the water with his trunk but found it to be too cold for a bath. Some of his friends sprayed water over their bodies while Pika Pika enjoyed a scratching session against a tree close to the waterhole. Mudanda spent some time browsing on her own close to the wallow but joined her friends later in the day for the rest of the afternoons browsing session.
The orphans left their night quarters this morning welcomed by bird song which continued as they downed their morning milk bottles. As they were busy feeding on the Lucerne pellets, Edie’s herd arrived and joined them. Once the feeding was over it was time for socializing. Mbegu and Emoli got the golden opportunity to socialize with the babies and even got to enjoy a pushing game with Eco who got very excited and started climbing on Ndotto who was busy feeding on the last of the Lucerne pellets.
The orphans lined up behind Kenia and Ndii in a nearly perfect straight line as they headed to the Park for the day. The ex-orphans and their adopted six separated from the orphan herd and settled to browse on the northern foot of Msinga Hill before browsing their way to the middle water hole while their younger friends made their way almost directly to the baobab tree water hole while browsing on the way.
The stockade dependent orphan elephants enjoyed their mud bath following the noon milk feed. The rest of the days browsing activities took place close to the waterhole.
The morning was good as the orphan elephants lined up to enjoy the supplement food in the feeding trough following their morning milk bottles. Mbegu wanted to lead them out of the stockade but the others were not ready to go as they were enjoying dust bathing and scratching games and wanted to finish with the fun and games before heading to the Park.
The orphans spent the morning browsing on the lower flat lands on the northern side of the stockade. Edie, Eco, Mweya, Mwitu and their adopted six were seen traversing the northern foot of Msinga Hill but they did not meet up with the dependent orphans. Following Napioki’s departure from the stockade herd, Kenia has taken Pika Pika under her wing with her other adopted orphan Araba sharing her affections with the new youngster.
This morning the orphan elephants made their way to the Park under Embu and Mshariki’s leadership. There was a light rain shower as the orphans started browsing and they enjoyed feeding on the moist grass as they browsed in single file. Rorogoi enjoyed a private browsing session near a luscious looking bush but she was later joined by Kihari and Tahri who slowly came over to join her, wanting to enjoy some of the lovely looking green vegetation that she was feeding on, while also giving her some company.
After the noon milk feed the orphans made their way up Msinga Hill where Kenia temporarily left Pika Pika so that she could make her way to the peak of the hill to browse. Kenia was in no hurry to come down as she was enjoying feeding on some lush green grass up there, as well as enjoying a cool breeze and some rainwater that was dripping from the rocks in the area. Kenia came down when it was time to return home for the night, rejoining Pika Pika and escorting the youngster back to the safety of the stockades.
It was a nice beginning to the day with the orphan elephants concentrating on their milk and supplement feeding before engaging in some brief strength testing games with Ngilai and Murit both engaging little Emoli at the same time. Ndotto accidentally touched ta live electric wire of the compound fence while feeding on some green grass. The wire shocked him and he ran away yelling but was soon calmed down by the Keepers.
The orphans headed out for the day and spent the morning browsing peacefully. At about 10am it started raining again and the orphans got very wet as they browsed out on the open grasslands. Later Ngilai and Murit enjoyed rolling around on the wet earth as they enjoyed an erosion trench game while Rorogoi, Araba and Embu enjoyed a scratching session against some trees, and Sagala and Emoli scratched their bodies against some large rocks. The noon milk feed took place on the northern foot of Msinga Hill after which the orphan herd resumed their browsing activities.
It was a cold morning as the orphans enjoyed playing around the stockade compound before heading to the Park. The day was overcast and cool which are the perfect weather conditions for the orphans browsing activities. Ndii spent her time with her adopted baby Tahri while Kenia was with her two adopted babies Pika Pika and Araba.
An hour after the orphans had left the stockade the ex-orphan herd came for a drink from the stockade water trough. They hung around the stockade during which time Bada enjoyed a scratching session against the big rock close to the water trough. Naipoki took Eco and Mwitu under her wing showing them the orphan’s favourite scratching rock, which was perfect for their smaller size. The ex-orphans left the stockade but didn’t catch up with the dependent orphans who were busy browsing halfway up Msinga Hill.
Mbegu and Mudanda took the early lead of the orphan elephant herd out into the Park to browse after they were done having their milk bottles and the supplement feeding was over. The two leaders were quick to notice Bada arriving alone into the stockade compound and they decided to hold the herd back to greet him, which they did by rumbling and touching him with their trunks. After they were done greeting Bada and upon realising that he was not interested in joining them to browse for the day, they carried on walking out to the Park. Bada later left in the opposite direction from the one taken by his friends, perhaps to meet up with the ex-orphan herd who have absorbed him into their family.
Kenia walked to the front of the herd to meet and consult with Mbegu and Mudanda on their days browsing plans but after a while she turned back to join the rest of her herd members who were already moving up the southern side of Msinga Hill.
The orphans visited the stockade water hole at midday to have their milk and have a swim there instead of the baobab tree water hole as the pipe to that mud bath is being repaired. The rest of the browsing day continued on the western side of the stockades before all the dependent orphans returned for the night around 5pm.
Rorogoi and Mbegu were happily play fighting in the morning after having their milk bottles. Soon ex-orphan Edie and the others in her herd arrived including her baby Eco, Mweya and her baby Mwitu, Bada, Nguvu, Naipoki, Mbirikani, Panda and Nelion. They had a wonderful time with the stockade dependent orphans interacting mostly with the babies Eco and Mwitu. Mbegu and Murit managed to break through the barrage of nannies to access the babies and play with them. Sagala was also able to pat Eco all over with her trunk and greet him nicely which was very exciting for her. Mwitu surprised everyone when she went to suckle from Edie and not her mother Mweya. It was then we noticed that the two babies seem to be able to suckle from either mother between Edie and Mweya as long as they are close to them in time of need, which is not normally the case with wild elephants who will usually only allow their own calf to suckle. Perhaps because Mwitu and Eco are so close in age and Edie and Mweya are always together, they don’t really mind.
Pika Pika stayed back with the ex-orphans when Kenia, Kihari and Ndii hurriedly led the dependent orphans away without noticing they had left Pika Pika behind, but the Keepers called Pika Pika to come and join the dependent orphans as she is still young and milk-dependent. The rest of the browsing day was peaceful with the two herds taking separate browsing routes.
After their morning milk bottles the orphans lined up in a near-perfect straight line heading towards the browsing grounds under the leadership of Mbegu and Godoma, where they settled to browse in single file.
Tawi, the ex-orphan male eland, decided to return back home to the stockades for Christmas after nearly two months of being out in the Park!
The weather was fairly cold today and it started drizzling around 9:30am. Arruba and Ndotto decided to warm themselves up with a fun soil bathing game before joining their friends to browse. The orphans then visited the baobab tree water hole to enjoy a swim after their midday milk feed, as it had started to warm up by 11am. Embu and Araba lay down in the water enjoying being guarded by Kenia and Kihari from a possible attack by Ndoria who was hanging around close-by. Ndotto splashed the water about with his front feet, and later went to join Pika Pika for a soil bathing game. Ngilai and Emoli enjoyed sliding down a soil trench and were joined by Murit before linking up with their friends to walk back to the stockades for the night.
There were only some brief games in the stockade compound this morning before Kenia and Ndii led the way out to browse closely followed by their adopted babies Araba, Pika Pika and Tahri.
Murit went to the front and engaged Lasayen in a play fighting game whilst sitting down which looked very funny.
Once they arrived out in the Park, Mbegu went to browse in a different area with a separate group. She, Godoma, Ndotto, Murit, Mashariki and Pika Pika browsed for more than half an hour away from the rest of Kenia’s herd. When it came time to go to the mud bath for their midday milk bottle, Ndotto, Mashariki and Pika Pika found that they were being left behind after browsing so far away and came running out of the thick bush at a fast pace to catch up with their friends.
The orphans had a peaceful time browsing for the rest of the day with Ndoria and Arruba taking the lead of all the others back to the stockades in the evening.
This morning it was drizzling and the earliest caller to the stockade compound was ex-orphan bull Laikipia. He arrived at 6am and rubbed up against one of the big rocks close to the stockade compound. The dependent orphans lifted their trunks up to sniff and greet Laikipia, rumbling deeply, as he proceeded to drink water from the stockade water trough. We noticed that Laikipia has lost his left tusk; he had both tusks when he left the Msinga Hill, Voi area in January this year. Sometimes elephants can lose their tusks naturally.
He is looking so big and healthy and the orphan babies did not approach him too closely as he is so massive! Laikipia then left the stockade compound towards the far northern side of the compound through the thick bushes, perhaps in search of Edie’s herd that he might know is in the area.
It was a cold morning with very light rain welcoming the day. The orphan elephants enjoyed their morning socializing games as usual with Mudanda, Suswa, and Arruba lying down for a quiet moment, drawing some warmth from the soil, before joining the others who were starting to walk out to begin their day of browsing.
The orphans browsed in a single file throughout the morning, visiting the baobab water hole at midday. There they had their milk bottles before proceeding on further down the northern side of the Msinga Hill to browse for the rest of the day.
Edie, Mweya and their adopted six Voi orphans were spotted browsing on the eastern side of Msinga Hill, but Laikipia had not yet caught up with them.
The rest of the day was peaceful with Tahri and Ngilai leading the sprint to the milk bottles that evening in the stockades.
It was the beginning of another day with the orphan elephants welcoming the morning by playing hide and seek games as well as soil dusting games on the red earth piles in the compound. Ngilai and Ndotto went in turns to scratch themselves on the rocks in the stockade compound before joining the rest of the orphans to go out to browse.
The orphan elephants had a peaceful morning browsing, with Kenia uniting Araba and Pika Pika to both browse alongside her. At midday the orphans visited the mud bath as usual for their milk bottles. Some of the orphans chose to have a mud bath after too. Murit and Emoli lay next to each other on the loose soil, relaxing after having their mud bath. Ndotto became jealous of them and came over to disturb their peaceful time. Murit got up and started a pushing game with him in revenge that lasted for quite some time. While at the baobab tree water hole, Laikipia was seen interacting with Edie and Mweya’s herd, providing some lovely top security for the babies.
The orphans gulped down their delicious milk bottles and settled down for their Lucerne grass pellet feeding. Arruba scratched on a rock close to the stockade water hole. Pika Pika admired her game and approached her to seek to use the same rock for scratching too. Sweet Arruba admirably moved aside, giving Pika Pika the chance to scratch as well.
The orphan herd left the stockade compound under the leadership of Mashariki and Mbegu. Later they thoroughly enjoyed some mud bathing games at the water hole in the afternoon. Mbegu, Murit, Lasayen and Ngilai surrounded Tahri who was lying down having a dust bath, blocking any possible interruption, particularly by Rorogoi and Embu who wanted to break through and disturb her.
The elephants came running out of their stockades this morning to assemble for their delicious milk bottles, before proceeding to top up their breakfast with some Lucerne pellets. Ngilai and Ndotto were busy hunting for Tawi the eland, to come out from behind the fence to play with them, but Tawi was too clever to fall for their tricks.
Soon after the dependent babies left the stockade compound, the ex-orphan herd arrived to drink from the stockade water trough and feed on any leftover pellets. Laikipia, who was seen with them the other day, was not with them today and was perhaps left out in the Park browsing. Mwitu and Eco were happily suckling from their mothers, playing and feeling very happy with life with all the nannies they have around to dote on them and look after them. Naipoki was the nanny on duty today, closely following Eco and Mwitu’s every move. We are so happy some of our Voi dependent orphans have managed to join up with these ex-orphans and take on the important role of nanny.
The two herds browsed in separate areas today, not catching up with each other for the whole day.