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As the orphans were feeding on lucerne this morning, suddenly they spooked and stampeded, all running together towards the east. We weren’t sure what caused the panic, but elephants always spook easily! The Keepers whistled and called their names while following them, and eventually the orphans calmed down and started browsing.

As time progressed, Sattao and Musiara took a break from feeding to have a strength testing exercise. Sattao emerged as the winner. Enkikwe, Mundusi, Sana Sana, Ndiwa, Maramoja, Kuishi, Malima and Rapa had fun by digging at the ground using their small tusks then dusting themselves with the cool soil. Ambo took advantage of Malima lying on the ground to play and climb on her which she didn’t mind.

On the way to the mud bath, the orphans came across a small water hole and had a wallow there before heading for their noon bottle feed. Soon after having their milk, Ambo engaged Mapia in a pushing game. When the going got tough for Ambo, he had no option but to surrender and run away, perhaps hoping to try again another day! Later in the afternoon, Ambo had a private conversation with Malima that lasted for quite some time. Just before 5pm, the orphans made their way back to the stockades for the night, except for Barsilinga, Tusuja and Galla, who are still enjoying their time out in the wild.

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. 

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. 

It was another wet morning following the light rain received overnight. The orphans didn't stay long to feed on lucerne as they were in a hurry to get out into the bush and feed on all the fresh vegetation around following the rains. Rapa and Malima helped themselves to some clean rainwater that had collected on the rocks around them – the orphans love drinking rainwater, as it tastes quite sweet. Jotto settled to scratch against a rock he came across. Shortly later, Rapa decided to have fun rolling on the ground. Mteto saw some dry soil underneath a rock and stretched her trunk to get it and throw it on her back to keep cool. She enjoyed dusting herself with the dry red soil before returning to browse.

The rest of the herd behaved and browsed calmly throughout the morning. The orphans continue to enjoy their own company, as the rains and lots of green vegetation around mean that the ex-orphans and wild elephants wander off. Visitors haven’t been seen for a few days now, and perhaps we won’t see them for some time, depending on the rains! The orphans were reluctant to go for their noon milk feed, since they were enjoying the tasty vegetation so much. In the afternoon, they settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Given that there is so much water around, the orphans had a series of mud baths in the bush throughout the day, in all the small puddles they came across. In the evening, they returned safely to the stockades for the night.

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. 

As soon as the stockade gates were opened this morning, Karisa led the orphans past the lucerne area and straight out to browse. The orphans are really enjoying feeding on the fresh grass growing everywhere and were willing to sacrifice their lucerne feed to head straight out to do that. Jotto and Musiara had a brief dispute that ended when Musiara surrendered.

Out in the bush, the orphans were briefly visited by ex-orphans Nasalot, Nusu, baby Noah and Makireti. Malima, Nabulu, Wanjala, Mundusi, Malkia, Mundusi and Sana Sana surrounded Nasalot and her children, admiring how fast Noah has grown. After Nasalot had allowed the orphans to interact with her calves for a while, it was time for her to be on her way. She led her children with their nanny Makireti away, walking west. The orphans bid goodbye to Nasalot and her children and hoped that they would be able to meet up again soon, as they love playing with other wild calves.

When it was time for the noon milk feed, Sattao led Jotto and Kauro in the first group. After having their milk, the orphans, for the first time since it rained in the area, decided to test the mud bathing water. They jumped in but came rushing out after realizing that the water was much colder than the small puddles they have been playing in recently. The orphans headed to the slopes of Ithumba Hill where they settled to browse for the rest of the day. 

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 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 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.