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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 orphans stayed to enjoy their lucerne this morning even though there is nice fresh new vegetation out in the bush since it has rained a bit. When they were done with their lucerne everyone started to walk out to browse, enjoying the new fresh green shoots. Enkikwe and Maramoja were browsing together from the same tree. Ambo and Musiara were together - Musiara spent time scratching his belly while Ambo scratched his bottom. The rest were busy browsing until it was time for the orphans’ noon milk bottle.

None of the orphans bothered to wallow in the main mud bath again today, but a few like Enkikwe, Jotto and Naseku decided to play in the smaller waterhole full of rainwater, and later joined their friends in the bush to continue browsing.

All the orphans were enjoying the fresh shoots. Nabulu was particularly excited to feed on the greenery. It hasn’t rained since she arrived at Ithumba, so she has never tasted the delicious new shoots here before. Nabulu arrived at Ithumba from the Nursery in June, and it was already quite dry by then, so she’s happily enjoying the new vegetation. Esampu led the herd back home in the evening for their milk and to go to bed. We didn’t see anyone in the stockade today. Class Five, comprised of Oltaiyoni, Roi, Olsekki, Naseku and Siangiki, arrived an hour after the other orphans. Barsilinga, Tusuja and Galla still haven’t appeared. Today is the fourth night for them to sleep out in the bush and they must be really enjoying themselves. We recorded 34mm of rainfall today.

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. 

Barsilinga, Kithaka and Tusuja joined the orphans in the morning to feed on lucerne. We saw Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo and Kilabasi in the distance, passing by and heading west. The orphans detected Yatta and her small group and this made them change their direction as they walked out to browse. Usually, the orphans love heading east every morning, but today they headed west to catch up with Yatta.

Later in the morning, Karisa came across a mound of soil that he climbed on with his front legs. Shortly later, he was joined in his game by Malima and Pare. Esampu, Malkia, Roi and Naseku decided to feed close to Yoyo. Kauro engaged Tusuja in a strength testing exercise that ended when Barsilinga intervened.

Yatta decided to escort the dependent orphans for their noon milk feed and thereafter left with the Class Five members. The rest of the dependent orphans settled east of Ithumba Hill to enjoy the flourishing variety of vegetation since we have had a bit of rain. Out of the Class Five members, only Naseku returned to the stockades very late in the evening, and the others evidently chose to stay with Yatta’s group.

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. 

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. 

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 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.

It was wet when the orphans came out of their stockades this morning, as it had rained just before dawn. It was a good start to our Christmas Day! For many years, Christmas Days have been dry but green. It was a blessing indeed to receive rain today. Karisa navigated the orphans towards the north-east, where they settled to browse. Wanjala, Pare, Mundusi and Sapalan teamed up to browse, while Enkikwe engaged Roi in a pushing game. Nabulu disagreed with Sattao when Sattao tried to push her out of the way. Nabulu turned to defend herself and informed Sattao that he should not look down on her simply because she is girl! After Nabulu stood up for herself, Sattao didn't react at all but walked away and might think better of messing with Nabulu again. Mteto and Esampu decided to take a break from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground. Their game also attracted Nabulu, Naseku, Rapa, Kuishi, Kamok, Malkia and Ndiwa.

Shortly before mud bath time, Enkikwe engaged Wanjala in a pushing game that ended in a draw. After drinking their eleven o'clock milk bottles, the orphans headed west of Ithumba Hill where they settled to browse for the rest of the day. 

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.