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Olsekki, Siangiki, Naseku, Oltaiyoni and Roi arrived at the stockade early before dawn and slept outside the stockade. In the morning, the orphans were let out and joined Oltaiyoni and her group. Out in the bush, Neshashi and Roho, who appears to be bonding with Larro the most, spend most of their morning browsing with her. Unfortunately, Oldepe still isn’t well so he is still staying behind at the stockade compound to receive treatment.

The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Sattao, Nabulu and Malima walked to the dam and drank some rainwater which had collected there. After drinking their fill, the three orphans walked back to join their friends. Mukkoka took a break from browsing to have fun rolling on the ground. Dololo came running over and started scratching his belly on Mukkoka. Obviously Mukkoka wasn't pleased about that and so got up, bringing his game to an abrupt end without choosing to fight with Dololo either.

Later, Jotto, Pare and Mapia came across a muddy water pool and decided to have fun rolling in the mud. Once they were satisfied that they had done enough mud bathing, the three boys followed their friends who were now heading for their noon milk feed. After finishing their milk the orphans just went back out to continue browsing, as they can have a mud bath anytime in the bush now. They settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Oltaiyoni and her team sneaked away and managed to take Enkikwe and Mundusi with them. In the evening, Larro led the first group back to the stockade compound. Mundusi and Enkikwe had still not returned by nine o'clock at night and apparently decided to spend the night out with Oltaiyoni’s herd.

Enkikwe and Mundusi in the company of Oltaiyoni’s group, known as the late-night gang, arrived shortly before dawn and decided to lie down to sleep outside the stockade compound. At six o'clock in the morning, the Ithumba dependent orphans were let out soon after finishing their morning bottle feed. The orphans joined the late-night gang and settled for lucerne briefly, before Neshashi led the way out to the bush followed by Ndiwa, who gently guided and directed her so she wouldn’t lead the herd in the wrong direction.

Neshashi settled to browse with Sana Sana while Mteto teamed up with Naseku. Perhaps Mteto was trying to find out from Naseku what life is like out in the wild, now that Naseku is living wild with Oltaiyoni and other friends. Perhaps Mteto might decide to join them one day soon! Sattao teamed up with Ndiwa to look for some nice vegetation, while Kamok had her favourite Ambo by her side. Maramoja settled to browse with Musiara and later took a break from feeding to have a soil dusting exercise.

At around nine thirty in the morning, devastatingly, Oldepe succumbed to his sudden illness. It was a terribly sad morning to lose such a vibrant young boy who fought to live until the last minute, but after several days without food, he was simply too weak to go on. We take comfort in the fact that Oldepe passed peacefully, supported and surrounded by his loving Keepers. The veterinarians will continue to try and establish what was wrong with Oldepe, but they seem as mystified as we are.

Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans were briefly joined by ex-orphans Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Wimbi, Galana, Gawa and Karisa. Neshashi wanted to leave with the ex-orphans but the Keepers were alert and stopped her from running off with them, as it is still too early for her to re-join the wild.

At mud bath time, the orphans had their milk then went straight back to browsing. Larro tried her usual trick of stealing an extra bottle of milk, but it didn’t work as she mistimed herself and was so quick, she accidentally stole an empty bottle!

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Sana Sana took a break from feeding to enjoy a soil dusting exercise. When she was done, Maramoja and her friend Musiara came and took over the same spot to indulge in the same game. Ambo teamed up with Nabulu for the rest of the afternoon, while Malima browsed with Naboishu until it was time to return home for the night.

The orphans left the stockade in a jovial mood, expressed by the swinging of their trunks from side to side. Jotto and Mapia took their jovial mood to the next level by engaging in a strength testing exercise. Their game continued for quite a while until Rapa showed up and interrupted their game. Sattao led the way out to the bush today.

Roho settled to browse close to Kamok which made all the Keepers watch on nervously, very much aware of Kamok’s bad temper with youngsters, but they were amazed as Kamok stretched out her trunk and touched Roho's mouth. We were all expecting Kamok to push Roho away, but it didn’t happen and after touching Roho's mouth, Kamok just continued to feed with Roho beside him. It seems Kamok is just picky about her company as until now she has only ever tolerated Ambo out of all the youngsters! Later, Roho moved to team up with Larro and Neshashi. Ndiwa passed by and took Roho and Neshashi with her. They moved further away from their friends and settled to browse, with Ndiwa teaching the babies about some feeding techniques and some nice vegetation options to be found at Ithumba.

At mud bath time, the orphans drank their noon milk bottles, then Rapa and Maramoja led the group for a roadside mud bath. Rapa and Maramoja rolled on the ground back-to-back. Kuishi, Ndiwa, Neshashi and Roho had a soil dusting game before getting up and moving deeper into the thicket to browse. Malima teamed up with Mapia to browse while Sattao and Musiara engaged each other in a pushing game, but it didn't last long as they wanted to get back to browsing before having to return home.

In the evening on the way back to the compound, the orphans enjoyed rolling on the ground to play and scratch any itchy spots, before Larro took the lead and guided everyone home for the night.

Soon after leaving the compound, the orphans, led by Mteto, headed straight out to browse without stopping for any supplement food today. They settled to browse in the area known as Kone; with so much vegetation to choose from at the moment after receiving some rain, the orphans settled for the grass in this area which is much easier to pull with their trunks and put in their mouth. The orphans seemed to really enjoy their morning, as they thanked the rains for bringing so much green vegetation that they have missed for so long.

Dololo and Naboishu took a break from feeding and engaged each other in a strength testing match. Kauro settled to feed with Mteto while Malkia joined Roho. The ex-orphans passed close by and managed to leave with both Enkikwe and Mundusi.

At mud bath time, the orphans had their milk and then Sana Sana led everyone back out to browse. Shortly later, Neshashi overtook Sana Sana to take the lead, followed by Roho. The orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba Hill. Mteto, Esampu, Pare and Malima took a break from feeding to have fun rolling on the ground.

In the evening, shortly before going back to the stockades, Naboishu engaged Rapa into a pushing game. Rapa didn't use his full might against Naboishu, as he understood the young bull only wanted to learn some new pushing techniques from him. 

It was a wet morning following some rain we received overnight. The orphans were let out soon after finishing their morning bottles. It was still drizzling as Mteto led the way out. Nabulu and Jotto found some nice trees that they used to scratch their bellies on. Roho seemed very happy to be in Malima’s company as he continues to learn more about life at Ithumba.

Kamok, Ambo, Esampu, Maramoja, Naboishu, Ndiwa, Kuishi, Mukkoka and Pare took a break from feeding to have fun rolling on ground and smearing themselves in red mud, the colour of the soil. Naboishu took advantage of his friends who were lying down and decided to climb on them, since he can’t do it when they’re standing up because he is too small! Dololo, who was watching from a distance, rumbled to call Naboishu, as if he wanted to tell him something. Naboishu walked towards Dololo who extended his trunk to him in greeting, then the two had a light pushing game, until Dololo decided to ramp things up a bit. Dololo jumped on Naboishu's back to climb on him in the same way he was doing to his friends just a moment ago. Naboishu protested and disengaged from Dololo then turned to fight to defend himself. Things would have turned ugly were not for Rapa who emerged and separated the two boys.

In the afternoon, Neshashi settled to browse with Roho while Malkia teamed up with Kuishi. Ambo had a strength testing game with Mapia while Mundusi played with Pare. In the evening, Neshashi led the way back to the stockades.

The orphans headed straight to the browsing field soon after leaving their night stockades where they settled to browse in the Kanziku area. They didn’t make any time for fun as each elephant searched for the best and softest vegetation they could find. Later, some of the orphans chose to relax a bit, with the likes of Mukkoka and Dololo taking a break from feeding to engage in a strength testing game. Naboishu walked over to Sana Sana and had a brief conversation with her before leaving to play with Ambo. Malima had a good time with Musiara as they browsed together for nearly two hours, while Neshashi, Roho and Pare enjoyed feeding together too.

Enkikwe, Sapalan and Mundusi parted ways with their friends only to re-join them at the mud bath, before leaving again.

After having their bottles, Nabulu, Musiara and Malkia stood close by as they tried to find out if there was any milk leftover. As soon as all the empty bottles were returned to the car, the three orphans knew the answer and left to join their friends.

In the afternoon, the orphans returned to the Kanziku area where they settled to browse for the rest of the day. Kamok browsed with Ambo while Larro teamed up with Malima.

It was Larro who led the first group back to the stockades tonight. Mundusi, Sapalan and Enkikwe didn't turn up with their friends and chose to spend the night out.

Soon after the gates were opened for the orphans to come out, Kamok walked over and collected her favourite Ambo before happily walking out with him to the bush. On the way out, Ambo felt the urge to have a quick game of rolling around on the ground. Kamok stopped and waited for Ambo to finish his fun, then they both moved off deeper into the bushes.

Mapia teamed up with Rapa to browse and shortly later the two boys locked trunks in a strength testing exercise; the experienced Rapa carried the game! Their fun attracted Ambo and Naboishu too, who engaged each other in a pushing game that lasted for quite sometime. Eventually, Naboishu surrendered and moved on to continue feeding.

Neshashi led the first group to the mud bath; she is really enjoying her leading role at Ithumba it seems! As soon as the orphans were done with their milk, Nabulu led them all over to the mud bath to wallow. Musiara, Malkia, Malima, Maramoja and Mteto were the last ones out of the water, as the older girls patiently waited until Musiara was through with his game of sitting in the water.

In the afternoon, Sana Sana, Kamok and Esampu teamed up together and had some girl-talk before parting ways. Jotto settled to browse with Neshashi and Roho.

In the evening, Mundusi showed up at the stockade compound with Yatta’s ex-orphan herd. Mundusi, Sapalan and Enkikwe have been away for several days now, after testing some nights out away from the stockades and what life in the wild is like.

At five o'clock in the evening, Jotto led the way back to the compound.

When the gates opened in the morning for the orphans to get out, Maramoja walked over to pick up her favourite Musiara. As usual, Neshashi, who always wants to be a head of everybody, led the way out. The orphans headed over to the Kanziku area where they met with the ex-orphans Yatta, Loijuk, Naisula, Olare, Kandecha, Kasigau, Galana (and all their babies), plus their friends who left a few days ago Mundusi, Sapalan and Enkikwe. The girls Esampu, Mteto, Ndiwa, Malkia and Maramoja were very interested in getting to know baby Nyx a little more, but Nyx was quite scared of these new elephants and so opted to hide under her mother. Roho met with Yogi and engaged him in a pushing game that lasted for quite sometime. Later, playful Roho moved on to play with Lili. This is the first time Neshashi and Roho have got to play with some wild elephants, being the babies born to our orphans living wild now, and they had a lot of fun in these interactions. So much so, that when it was time to leave, Neshashi and Roho wanted to leave with the ex-orphans but the Keepers blocked them from doing so. Roho looked as though he hoped to meet up with those babies again soon, so he could spend some more quality time playing with them.

Malima settled to feed with Sattao while Sana Sana teamed up with Neshashi and Roho to keep an eye on them. At mud bath time, the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session soon after finishing their milk bottles. Malkia, Musiara, Maramoja and Ndiwa were the last ones to leave the water. They first one to leave was Larro, followed by Neshashi and Roho, as they wanted to play on the mound of loose soil instead.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans enjoyed feeding on green grass for the rest of the day. 

For a change it was quite cloudy today when the orphans left the stockades this morning. Naboishu met with Sana Sana outside and requested her to help him learn some new pushing techniques by playing with him. Sana Sana accepted and took Naboishu through series of pushing exercises. At last, Naboishu got tired and thanked Sana Sana for her time before walking off. Ndiwa, Jotto, Ambo, Dololo and Malima decided to start their day by having fun rolling on the ground. Sapalan, who still seems to be deciding what is right for him and whether to stay dependent or leave with the ex-orphans again, teamed up with Pare and Mteto. Perhaps he was sharing what his few nights out had been like! Later, Sapalan left with Rapa only to show up again at the mud bath.

Nabulu led her colleagues into the water and they all had a spectacular time wallowing. Dololo attempted to bully Mukkoka in the water by jumping into his back. Neshashi, Roho and Esampu were the first ones to leave after having enough of swimming in the water. Pare, Musiara and Kauro were the last ones to leave the mud bath. Once Pare and Musiara were out of the water the two boys engaged each other in a strength testing exercise. Their game was brought to an end by Kauro who intervened by pushing the two boys away. It seems Kauro is interfering in quite a few pushing games at the moment for some reason!

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Ambo teamed up with Kamok while Sana Sana took care of Neshashi and Roho. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. On the way back to the stockades the orphans passed by the mud bath for an evening cooling-off session. On the way back to the stockades the orphans encountered a buffalo. At first the orphans seemed tense but Kauro, Pare and Esampu charged and trumpeted, making the buffalo run away and allowing the orphans to continue on their way home.

Ambo and Malima came out of their stockades and had their own private meeting and we couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about. They later walked out together to the bush together. Sapalan and Rapa engaged each other in a pushing game until Kauro once again passed by and decided to bring an end to the game his friends were playing, pushing both of them away. Sapalan was annoyed by this and walked off shaking his head, wondering why Kauro always thinks himself strong enough to bring an end to his friends wrestling matches, yet won’t join them out in the wild. Challa, Olsekki, Roi, Siangiki, Oltaiyoni and Naseku joined the orphans briefly before walking away. Sapalan decided to join the group and left Kauro and his inability to decide when it might be the right time to leave their human family. Larro settled to browse with Maramoja and later teamed up with Ndiwa.

Neshashi led the first group to the eleven o'clock milk feed and it was a moderate temperature today, so all the orphans decided to wallow after. Neshashi and Naboishu were the first ones to come out. Jotto was the only one who didn’t properly wallow today; he only washed his legs by wading through the water. After leaving the water, Maramoja, who has become a rival of Rapa, engaged him in a pushing game that ended in a draw; from the look of things however if Rapa isn’t careful, he will sooner or later be losing to Maramoja!

In the afternoon, Musiara, Mteto and Mapia moved a distance away from the rest and browsed as they headed north of Ithumba Hill. All the orphans returned safely to the stockades for the night.

This morning the dependent orphans decided to have a quick snack on some lucerne pellets put out for them by the Keepers before heading out to browse for the day. A wild elephant herd passed two hundred metres away with three young babies. Mteto and Esampu realized there were some youngsters in the herd and ran to meet the wild family, but they were disappointed as they got closer as it turned out the matriarch was very protective, and chased them away. Esampu and Mteto felt disheartened and sorry that they had run all the way to meet the family and didn’t get to meet the babies. The wild herd continued heading west while the orphans headed south of the compound.

Malima and Naboishu took a break from browsing to have fun rolling on the ground. Later, Ambo played with Jotto while Malima teamed up with Mapia and Esampu in browsing. Roho, Ndiwa, Neshashi and Rapa visited the Kone dam for a drink as Ambo engaged Naboishu in a strength testing exercise. Ambo emerged as the winner, prompting Naboishu to walk over to Sana Sana for some advanced training in pushing tactics. It seems Sana Sana is the go-to instructor these days! Ambo moved to play with Mapia after winning his game against Naboishu. Mukkoka rolled on the ground in his own little game.

After going through a series of vigorous training techniques from Sana Sana, Naboishu decided to test his acquired skills against Roho. Roho, who is also a tough boy, defended himself defiantly.

Neshashi and Dololo led the first group to the mud bath for the noon milk feed. Melia, her baby Milo and two wild bulls visited the mud bath briefly too. Milo got into the small mud bath but was unable to get out. As the Keepers prepared to help him out, Milo walked over to the other side as was able to get out by himself. Mteto and Esampu managed to sneak away from the Keepers and their friends to join Milo and his mother for the rest of the afternoon. It seems they were trying to make up for missing the interaction with the babies in the morning, so decided to help Melia look after Milo instead. A wild bull briefly joined the orphans to wallow in the mud bath but when he saw the Keepers walking over to the water he decided to get out and walk away. Kauro, Kamok and Musiara were the last ones to quit leave the water today.

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill as usual. Mteto and Esampu showed up back at the stockades later in the evening along with Wendi and her baby Wimbi. 

It was a good start to the day today and the orphans opted to walk straight out to the bush to begin browsing without messing about in the compound. They walked across to the Kone dam as usual to have some of the sweet, tasty rainwater. Musiara and Dololo started playfighting next to Sattao who ignored them and continued to drink. Pare decided to walk across the dam to browse on the other side. Malkia, Mukkoka and Sana Sana browsed quietly together.

The orphans played in the main waterhole for some time again after having their noon milk feed. Ndiwa was busy stretching high up into the surrounding trees to reach the greenest leaves possible. Meanwhile her friend Malima opted to browse alone. Mapia started playing with Ambo until it was time to walk back home to the stockades for the night. Enkikwe, Karisa, Sapalan and Mundusi are still out living an independent life with the ex-orphans and have showed no sign of returning anytime soon, and we feel very proud and happy for them doing so well.