Esampu feeding on fresh green shoots
It was a cold and quiet morning as the babies looked active and excited for their milk feed. They all started taking up position ready for their bottles before the Keepers were even ready yet. They lined up and each got his or her share, and then walked down to the lucerne feeding area.
The orphans enjoyed the lucerne supplement food provided by the Keepers in peace and quiet again, as there were no ex-orphans or wild elephants around today. Barsilinga, Tusuja and Gala did not appear last night and didn’t pitch up this morning either. We had Oltaiyoni, Roi, Naseku, Siangiki and Olsekki with us, and even though they are weaned off milk, they are still coming back in most nights.
Out in the bush, it was very cool. The orphans were enjoying the weather. They were busy browsing without it being too hot and having to seek shade. Some, like Esampu and Jotto, enjoyed feeding on the fresh green shoots sprouting on the trees after the rain. Siangiki was browsing with Ambo, while Naseku was busy playing in a muddy pool she came across. Dololo and Jotto started playing and rolling on the ground together. The rest of the group found a small mudhole and started playing in it, splashing about. Kamok was digging down on the ground with her tusks, digging up some nice cool soil to play with. Rapa enjoyed relieving an itch on a nearby tree and then the orphans started to make their way for their noon milk bottle.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath, it was drizzling, and no one wanted to swim. They all just had their milk bottles then walked back out to the bush to continue browsing. No other animals were at the mud bath either.
Out in the bush, all the orphans were all busy finding something to eat. The Kalovoto river was flowing with a bit of water, as it is a seasonal river and now that we have had some rain, it is flowing lightly. Some of the orphans crossed over and browsed on the other side before crossing back. Later, the orphans walked back home to the stockades for their evening bottles and to go to sleep for the night.
No other wild animals visited the stockades today either; it was very quiet. Barsilinga, Tusuja and Galla didn’t appear this evening either, but we are sure they are well and with the ex-orphans, enjoying their time in the wild now that it has rained and the conditions are less harsh.
The Ithumba babies had their milk bottles before walking down to feed on lucerne as usual. Dololo scratched his bottom on a rock while Ambo climbed on Sattao.
Out in the bush, the orphans were very playful. Malkia and Jotto were being very affectionate towards one another and then started to include Musiara too, sweetly patting him with their trunks. Musiara then went over to Maramoja and put his trunk in her mouth to find out more about what she was eating, as Maramoja stretched high to reach some nice green leaves. Some of the other orphans found a nice small pool of water and started playing in it, before heading for their noon milk bottles.
The orphans are still finding the main mud bath too cold to swim in, so after having their bottles they decided just to continue browsing. Malkia was being affectionate towards to Musiara again, trying to pat him with her trunk and hug him close to her. Wanjala, on the other side of the herd, was running about and enjoying browsing from bush to bush. Malkia, Musiara and Maramoja later walked to a muddy puddle and started playing in it. Kauro was playing and rolling on the ground by himself, while Nabulu also browsed separately on her own.
When the orphans made their way back to the stockades in the evening, Class Five joined them except for Barsilinga, Galla and Tusuja, who haven’t come back yet.
The orphans left the stockades early, as usual. Ambo, Dololo and Malima were the first ones to leave their night stockade. As soon as the orphans settled for lucerne, Sapalan ran into trouble with Kamok when he inadvertently stepped on some lucerne Kamok had her eye on. Kamok pushed Sapalan hard, making him yell out loud. Sapalan was annoyed by Kamok's unbecoming behaviour, since this was not the first time she has pushed him without proper cause. Perhaps Sapalan hoped that a time would come when Kamok's rough and bullying behaviour might come to an end.
Out in the bush, Jotto and Mapia entertained their friends by engaging in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time. Ndiwa, Sana Sana, Malkia, Kauro and Wanjala took a break from feeding to have fun by rolling on the ground. After mud bath time, the orphans headed west of Ithumba Hill where they met with Kithaka, Barsilinga, Tusuja, Kilabasi, Yatta, Yoyo and baby Yogi. Naseku, Roi and Esampu tried to nanny little Yogi. In the evening, Yatta escorted the dependent orphans back to the stockades. Barsilinga and Tusuja refused to be locked in the stockades and so left with Yatta and they all walked off into the night.
It was a quiet morning. The orphans settled for lucerne and then Karisa led the way out for the day. As the orphans were coming down the side of a big rock face, Kauro tried to block the way for Jotto. Jotto decided to wait for as long as it took for Kauro to get tired and move. At long last, Kauro got tired and left, making way for Jotto. The orphans settled to browse around the hill behind the stockades and enjoyed the flourishing vegetation. Kauro, Galla, Enkikwe, Rapa, Maramoja and Sapalan came across some water that had collected at the bottom of a rock and decided to have fun there, splashing water behind their ears.
Sattao, Nabulu, Dololo and Musiara were in the first group to head for their noon milk bottles. After having their milk, the orphans settled not far away from the main water pool, to wallow in a smaller pool and enjoy a soil bath. Kuishi, Malkia, Rapa and Esampu decided to cool off in a nearby water hole. Ambo, Kamok, Maramoja, Malima, Sapalan and Mundusi settled to have a dust bath. Malima decided to scratch against Maramoja who was rolling on the ground. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area and later in the evening, as the dependent orphans returned home for the night, all Class Five members chose not to report back to the stockades today.
As usual, the Ithumba dependent orphans settled for lucerne this clear morning before Karisa led everyone out for the day. Barsilinga, Oltaiyoni, Olsekki, Siangiki, Roi and Naseku arrived in the morning and joined their friends to feed on lucerne. Kithaka and Tusuja also met up with their younger friends later, out in the bush. Sapalan teamed up with Rapa to browse while Kamok settled to browse with Ambo. Enkikwe teamed up with Jotto, while Malkia paired up with her friend, Sana Sana. There was a moment of unrest when a lesser kudu ran past at high speed. The orphans didn’t know why the kudu was running, so they stood to attention with their trunks up, listening and smelling. They hurriedly walked to their Keepers for safety as they determined if there was any danger about. After a while, they sensed there wasn’t anything wrong, so they calmed down and resumed browsing.
When the orphans went for their noon milk bottles, they drank their milk then left immediately to resume browsing, without swimming. Pare, Mapia and Wanjala decided to have a bush mud bath instead in one of the puddles they came across. They were later joined by Rapa, Maramoja, Enkikwe, Malima, Dololo and Ambo. Ex-orphan Rapsu was spotted a distance away, but didn't come close to say hi to the orphans. In the evening, all the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night.
Sana Sana led the way to the browsing field. Musiara teamed up with Dololo, but minutes later they had a disagreement, we are not sure what about. The two had a pushing game that ended when Musiara decided to surrender. Kauro and Mundusi started their own pushing game in which Kauro emerged as the winner. Mundusi couldn't withstand the embarrassment brought about by Kauro when he chose to climb on him in the presence of the others, and he decided to leave and join the junior boys. Karisa and Pare came across a nice rock that they used to scratch their bellies on. Jotto, Galla and Enkikwe had fun rolling on the ground. Later, Jotto had a pushing game with Galla that lasted for quite a while. Mteto was busy trying to pull a root from the ground with her trunk and then directly with her teeth by kneeling, and the moment she succeeded, she shared it with Kuishi who stood close by watching her. Later, Jotto settled to feed with Rapa.
At mud bath time, Musiara led the first group for the noon milk feed. In the afternoon, Sapalan, Ndiwa and Musiara came across a small water hole that they wallowed in, in order to cool themselves down, as Esampu settled to scratch her neck against a tree.
Nabulu led the way out to browse this morning, soon after the orphans had finished feeding on lucerne. She took them east of the stockades. Mundusi, who had lost a wrestling game with Kauro, decided to see if he could prove himself by defeating Kauro. Kauro was fully prepared, however, and didn’t allow Mundusi to win! And so, the two boys were engaged in a pushing game that lasted for quite a long time. In the end, Mundusi opted to surrender and settled to browse to get more energy to try his luck another day. Nabulu teamed up with Wanjala to browse, while Rapa settled to feed with Dololo. Olsekki and his longtime friend Siangiki browsed as they discussed between them which way to go. Shortly later, they were joined by Enkikwe, but he appeared to disagree with their decision as he left immediately and followed the other orphans.
At around ten o'clock in the morning, the weather changed and by eleven o'clock, it started raining lightly. The orphans drank their noon milk feed and returned to browsing. In the afternoon, they settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Shortly before five o'clock in the evening, heavy clouds built in the air, and we heard cracks of thunder. As the orphans were reporting back to the stockades for the night, it started raining again.
It was wet in the morning following the rain we received yesterday. The orphans settled for lucerne as usual before being led out by Dololo. The orphans headed southeast and settled to browse in the Kone area before changing direction and heading to mud bath area. The orphans enjoyed the cool weather and Mteto, Karisa, Jotto, Malkia, Esampu, Kuishi, Galla and Rapa decided to have fun by rolling on the wet ground to smear themselves with red mud. After having their fun, Malkia and Jotto decided to team up to browse together. Enkikwe, Kuishi, Wanjala, Maramoja and Sapalan snuck off with the Class Five members and failed to turn up at the noon mud bath. The rest of the dependent orphans had their noon milk feed and turned back to go and look for their friends who had decided not to turn up for their bottles. They reunited two hours later. In the afternoon, Jotto and Pare came across a small puddle that they used to cool themselves down in, then later had a pushing game.
It was drizzling in the morning. The ground was slippery and the orphans walked carefully out of their stockades to avoid slipping and falling. Esampu was unlucky however as despite walking as carefully as she could, she slipped and fell. She felt embarrassed as Sattao and Dololo, who were following closely behind her, saw what happened and she felt like they were laughing at her. Esampu, the iron lady, turned and confronted the two boys. Dololo and Sattao ran away and hid behind some of the other orphans so as to avoid Esampu’s temper.
The rain increased and fell harder, so the orphans enjoyed playing in the running water. At around 7.30am, the rain stopped, and a few minutes later, the orphans also stopped playing and resumed browsing. At mud bath time, it was still wet, and they walked through the marshy grass as they headed for their noon milk bottles.
In the afternoon the orphans had fun rolling on the damp edge of road. Later, Nabulu decided to go it alone by playing in a mud puddle alone, as the rest were busy feeding. In the evening Barsilinga and Tusuja teamed up with Kithaka and didn't return to the stockade with their friends.
The Ithumba dependent orphans left the stockades early as usual. Led by Maramoja, the orphans headed west, where Maramoja and Kauro decided to begin their day by scratching against some trees. Pare settled to browse with Enkikwe. It was a quiet day, as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. Later, they came across a large puddle where Rapa, Karisa, Dololo, Mundusi and Mteto helped themselves to some drinking water.
The orphans seemed reluctant again to go for their noon milk bottles, as they were having so much fun out in the bush. The Keepers persuaded them to go for their milk, however, and finally they accepted.
In the afternoon, Jotto, Sapalan, Dololo, Pare, Malima, Galla, Enkikwe, Ambo and Sattao had a lot of fun rolling on the ground and smearing themselves with damp soil. In the evening, Mundusi engaged Kauro in a pushing game that lasted for quite a while. At five o'clock, Nabulu led the first group back to the stockades for the night.
We didn’t have any rain yesterday and we were left wondering if they have just taken a break or if that is our lot now. Often the rain will just disappear, and we are left none the wiser than the last rainfall was the last for a while. Only time will tell! Karisa led the orphans out to browse this morning as Nabulu, Musiara and Maramoja followed.
There is so much fresh vegetation everywhere at the moment, so the orphans enjoyed sharing all the different shrubs. Kuishi teamed up with Naseku while Ambo browsed with Kamok. As the orphans were browsing comfortably, another lesser kudu ran past them, disrupting the peace the orphans were enjoying! It was a tense moment as the orphans couldn't figure out why the lesser kudu was running. Led by Mteto and Sana Sana, the orphans ran towards their Keepers. The Keepers managed to calm them down and with their reassurance the orphans soon resumed browsing. Wanjala decided to have fun rolling around on the ground and dusting himself, while Mundusi settled to feed with Mapia. Musiara teamed up with Malkia while Jotto teamed up with Dololo.
Later in the afternoon, Musiara and Dololo had a misunderstanding, and we weren’t sure why. The boys engaged in a pushing game for a very long time until the Keepers intervened by separating them. On the way back to the stockades, their fight continued, and Dololo tried to block Musiara. Again, the Keepers cautioned Dololo to stop being mean to Musiara and Dololo listened to them, allowing Musiara to pass.
It was drizzling in the morning as the orphans left the stockades. They were welcomed outside by Challa, who had arrived at the compound about an hour earlier. Challa interacted briefly with the dependent orphans under the acacia tree before leaving. Wanjala, Mundusi, Rapa, Dololo and Kauro wanted to leave with Challa, but then they had second thoughts, after they realised they didn’t know how far Challa would walk and how long it would take for him to come back again. They weren’t quite ready to leave the fold, so they returned to their friends who were walking off to browse for the morning.
Moments later, it stopped drizzling and Mteto, Sapalan, Musiara, Pare, Ambo, Ndiwa, Malima and Nabulu decided to play in the wet soil and rolled around on the ground. They resumed browsing after having enough of their rolling game.
At mud bath time the orphans had their midday milk bottles and immediately went back to browsing without giving the mud bath a second thought! The afternoon was a quiet one as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day.
The orphans headed straight out to browse after finishing their morning milk bottles. Challa passed by a short distance away, but didn't show any interest in joining the orphans. The orphans only raised their trunks up like they were waving and greeting Challa, then wished him a good day. Nabulu settled to browse with Kamok, as Wanjala played with Rapa. Enkikwe decided to stretch and exercise by lying down. As it is still a bit wet and slippery in the area, Kauro stood close to Enkikwe in case he had any trouble getting up. Kuishi moved away to be on her own and she enjoyed feeding by herself without any of her friends around. Roi teamed up with Dololo and had a brief discussion with him before parting ways. Mundusi and Galla had a misunderstanding that ended in a fight. Mundusi surrendered since his strength and tactics couldn't match those of Galla!
The orphans were reluctant to go for their noon milk bottles as they were enjoying all the green vegetation around. They ended up arriving for their milk half an hour late! Galla, Ndiwa and Rapa didn't even bother coming for their milk as they teamed up with Siangiki, Roi, Oltaiyoni, Olsekki and Naseku, who are all weaned off milk now. In the afternoon, Mapia settled to browse with Rapa while Mundusi played with Enkikwe. Mundusi finished playing with Enkikwe and moved to play with Kauro. Mundusi lost the game to Kauro then moved to try his hand on Pare, but ended up losing again. Maramoja briefly played with Malkia and then went back to browsing.
In the evening, the orphans returned safely to the stockades with the exception of Siangiki, Oltaiyoni, Olsekki, Naseku and Roi.
The orphans left stockades early as usual. The rains have brought much joy to all the orphans! The ex-orphans and wild elephants have disappeared off into the Park, safe in the knowledge that there is more food and water around now, allowing the areas they have been browsing in during the dry season to recover. Swinging their trunks from side to side, expressing their joy, the orphans headed straight out to browse today.
Karisa led the way followed by Dololo, and all the orphans enjoyed feeding on the fresh grass they found. Grass is the only vegetation they seem to like and enjoy at the moment, having gone without it for some time. Sattao teamed up with Sana Sana to browse. The orphans browsed around the Kone Dam, which actually doesn't have much water, despite the rain we have had.
Mundusi and Kauro, who like sparring, engaged one another in a pushing competition that lasted for quite some time. In the end, Mundusi surrendered. The sun was shining brightly as Jotto decided to take a break from feeding to have fun rolling on the ground. Ambo watched over Jotto playing, but didn't fall for his tricks, as he very well knew that if he joined him, Jotto would try and climb on him. Pare came over instead and joined Jotto. Pare, who is senior to Jotto, knew that Jotto would never try and climb on him! Ambo walked away when Pare arrived. Sapalan had a brief conversation with Mapia but we weren’t sure what they were talking about.
The orphans went for their noon milk feed at the mud bath area and then went back to browsing. They came across a small puddle later in the afternoon and decided to have a mud bath there instead. After the bush mud bath, Pare engaged Dololo in a pushing game that ended when Rapa arrived and pushed both of them away. The remainder of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing!
The sky was clear in the morning as melodies of songbirds filled the air. The dependent orphans, led by Karisa, appeared to be walking along to the same tunes the birds were singing. Kauro decided to try and prove his might to Mundusi by attempting to climb on him. Mundusi resisted strongly by turning and facing Kauro head on.
Ambo couldn't get anyone to play with him, so decided to dig down at the soil using his tusks, but just when he had made enough soil to play with, he abandoned his game, as he felt that he just really needed someone to have a strength testing match with. Ambo met with Malkia who seemed to advise him that it was too early for such games, and he should first concentrate on feeding then later he could play with whoever he wanted to. Ambo heeded Malkia's advice and went back to browsing. Malkia then developed an itchy belly and decided to scratch against a tree.
Later, Sapalan, Malkia, Kuishi, Ambo, Malima, Rapa, Dololo and Esampu came across a large puddle and decided to play in it. As soon as they had enough, the orphans left the water and resumed browsing.
After having their midday bottles, the orphans carried on feeding rather than going to enjoy the mud bath. It was a hot afternoon, but the orphans have so many choices of places to cool off out in the bush, so they didn’t want to go in the main mud bath. The elephants had a peaceful afternoon and returned to the compound later in the evening for the night.
It was another clear morning! Roi, Naseku, Olsekki, Siangiki and Oltaiyoni, who arrived just past midnight last night, joined the other orphans in the morning after spending the night just outside the stockade compound. Led by Kuishi, the orphans headed east of the stockades. Ambo and Ndiwa came across an anthill and decided to play on it. Esampu, Dololo, Musiara, Malima, Pare and Sana Sana saw Ambo and Ndiwa and ran over to join them as they saw how much they were enjoying playing. Maramoja came over too, but couldn't fit in due to the limited space on the anthill, so she found her own nice area where she started rolling. Kauro, who was passing by, couldn't resist the temptation to climb on Maramoja. Maramoja saw Kauro approaching and must have read his mind, for she was up like a shot so as to prevent him from ruining her fun! When Kauro realised that his mission had failed, he moved off to play with Enkikwe instead. Enkikwe seemed to have anticipated this as he was fully prepared to tackle him, and they enjoyed a pushing game that lasted for quite a while. Roi, Malkia and Pare teamed up to feed together while Sana Sana and Ndiwa found a suitable tree that they used to scratch the side of their bellies.
At mud bath time, the orphans had their milk bottles then walked away without swimming in the main waterhole. Sapalan decided to come back and check whether all the milk bottles were finished or if there was any left. He ‘tiptoed’ over to the milk vehicle, walking very carefully as the Keepers were having their lunch, to check if there was any opening for him to put his trunk through and rummage through the bottles. His quest was completely ruined however by Maramoja, who came running over to check if the Keepers had actually called Sapalan for an extra bottle. The Keepers stood up to check why Maramoja was running over and found Sapalan at the back of the milk vehicle, trying to access the milk crates! Seeing his plan had been thwarted and the Keepers walking over, Sapalan left quietly as he knew he wouldn’t get any further now. In the afternoon, the orphans had a nice bush mud bath before returning home for the night.
Mist covered the top of Ithumba Hill as the orphans left the stockades, swinging their trunks from side to side, expressing their joyful mood. Led by Roi, the orphans headed straight out to browse. The orphans scattered across the field as each tried to get the best of the best greenery. There were no funny games or antics as each elephant concentrated on browsing. Musiara nearly got left behind, as he had gone off on his own browsing tangent, but once he realised he was on his own, he let out a loud trumpet and Malkia went to collect him.
The orphans went to the mud bath for their milk at eleven o'clock then went back to browsing. In the afternoon, Karisa and Dololo joined the late-night gang that report back at whatever time they feel is best for them. This group included Olsekki, Siangiki, Oltaiyoni, Roi and Naseku. Tusuja, Barsilinga and Galla left with Kithaka over a week ago on an adventure and exploration of the wild. When it was time to gather all the orphans to take them back to the stockades, the Keepers discovered that Karisa and Dololo were missing. They started to look for them but at around 8pm, Karisa and Dololo reported back safely for the night with the late-night gang.
The orphans stood by the gates, eager and ready to begin their morning as soon as they finished their milk. Ambo and Dololo kept themselves busy with a pushing game. After the gates opened, the orphans walked down to the water trough, where they had a drink before Malkia led the way towards the Kone area, where the orphans settled to browse. Malkia teamed up with Sana Sana, while Mundusi settled with Kauro. Later, Mundusi engaged Rapa in a pushing game while Ambo played a game with Mapia, which Ambo lost. After losing, Ambo walked over to Malkia and seemed to seek advise. Malkia took Ambo through a session of training on how to handle his fellow boys. Ambo was happy to have received such a training and walked off swinging his trunk and running about in excitement. Mundusi lost his game to Rapa then moved on to play with Jotto; their game ended in a draw.
At mud bath time, the orphans had their bottles then headed towards the slopes of Ithumba Hill for the afternoon. In the evening, shortly before the orphans came back to the stockades, ex-orphans Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, baby Yogi, Kinna, Kaia, Kama, Nasalot, Nusu, baby Noah, Naserian, Njema, Galla, Teleki, Naisula and two junior bulls showed up briefly at the stockade compound. After their inspection, the herd headed east and back off into the Park.
The rains continue, but they are starting to get lighter. We received very light drizzle overnight. In the morning, there was only dew on the grass. Karisa led the way out once more, and the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Mundusi and Kauro, who never seem to have a clear winner between them, engaged in a pushing game that lasted for quite a while. Their game attracted Pare and Karisa, who locked their trunks in a tussle. It’s not clear how Pare learned that we were planning on moving Karisa to Class Four to join him; it’s as if Pare was warning Karisa that when he moves, he should have some respect for him. Olsekki concentrated on breaking branches from some tall trees to enjoy, as Rapa decided to have his own game of rolling on the ground. The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing.
The orphans had a roadside mud bath after their noon milk feed today. For the past few days, Jotto has been uncharacteristically causing an ugly scene in the evening by bullying Sattao and Dololo. This behaviour earned himself a ticket to move up to the next class. Mteto, Karisa and Mundusi moved up to Class Four, while Kamok, Kauro and Enkikwe were promoted to the final Class Five to replace Barsilinga, Tusuja and Galla, who are enjoying life out in the wild for now.
Mist covered the top of the Ithumba Hill this morning, an indication that the rains have taken a break, if they have not gone completely. Kauro and Mundusi greeted each other this morning by starting a pushing game. Ambo wrestled Sana Sana not only for fun, but to learn some pushing tactics from her. Due to his smaller size and age, Sana Sana only tackled him lightly. Later, Ambo had fun rolling around on the ground as Maramoja and Kamok watched over him, in case he needed any help getting up.
As the orphans were browsing peacefully, Esampu spotted a lesser kudu and trumpeted at him trying to scare him away from the herd. The male kudu stood its ground however, prompting Esampu to charge towards it. Mundusi, Rapa, Dololo, Sattao and Mteto joined Esampu charging and eventually the lesser kudu ran away once he realized he was outnumbered. Maramoja settled to browse with her favourite, Musiara, as Kauro decided to climb on Mundusi who was playing on the ground.
The orphans had their noon milk feed then went to cool off in the main mud bath, their first swim in the main waterhole for awhile. Jotto, who was hesitant about getting in the water, got a rude shock from Sana Sana. She had been watching his tricks of trying to avoid getting in the water, and just as Jotto was walking along the edge, Sana Sana tiptoed from the side and knocked into Jotto, who fell like a log into the water! Sana Sana felt happy after making sure that Jotto got wet just like her and the others. Esampu and Mteto were the first to finish wallowing and came out of the water in a charging mood, and disappeared into the thicket. The rest of the group followed later. In the afternoon, Nabulu teamed up with Sattao and Malima to browse. In the evening, the late-night gang lagged behind and reported back to the stockades later in the evening.
Malkia escorted Musiara out into the bush soon after leaving the stockades. Maramoja showed up later and took over looking after her favourite, Musiara. Malkia had no option other than to let Musiara go, for she didn't want any trouble with Maramoja. Ndiwa teamed up with Malima to browse from some nice green shrubs.
A bit later, Yatta’s ex-orphan herd joined the orphans briefly, before disappearing again. They appeared to be in a hurry and didn't stay for long. The orphans didn't bother greeting the ex-orphans too much and continued to browse uninterrupted.
Everyone was very well behaved today. At eleven o'clock in the morning all the orphans attended the mud bath as usual. Soon after their midday milk feed, Dololo led the way back out to browse. Enkikwe peeled off with his longtime friends, Olsekki and Siangiki. We call these three the ‘late-night gang,’ because of their habit of returning to stockades very late.