Choose your region

Jasiri and Faraja came back to the stockades early this morning. The orphans were already waiting at the gate for the Keepers to open it. Sonje was very happy to see them, she gave the two boys a very warm welcome. Later, once the excitement had died down, Murera came to say hello too. The boys gave Murera a friendly greeting, then moved on to Enkesha and Maktao who were browsing in the shrubs. Kiombo followed them, hoping to start his games with Maktao. Ngasha was the only one who was not pleased about Jasiri and Faraja being around. Jasiri and Faraja chased him, and they disappeared into forests. The Keepers could hear their tusks colliding as they fought.

The fight seemed to be over by the time they arrived at the midday bottle feeding point. Ngasha arrived first with a small wound on his back. Then Jasiri arrived, and Nagsha quickly moved away. Lima Lima felt sorry for Ngasha, so she walked to him, to give him company and comfort, but Faraja blocked her, explaining that Ngasha needs the discipline.

It ended up being a very long hard day for Ngasha. He had been chased and pushed around all day. He disappeared and did not come back in the evening. Murera and Sonje were happy enjoying the peaceful environment without Ngasha.

Kapei was rumbling away as he drank his milk bottle. Sonje quickly moved over to him, worried that something was wrong. Nothing was wrong but the Keepers have noticed that Kapei likes to check that Sonje and Quanza will respond to him, he likes to know that they are near him. Kapei takes advantage of how much the older girls love him; he likes to feel special. Amali does not get the same reaction from the older girls when she rumbles. Maktao and Mwashoti are the ones that rush to Amali’s side. 

It started raining and the orphan herd enjoyed rolling around in the mud on the hills. They all got very muddy and they turned red from the soil. 

The orphan herd later moved over the Umani Hills. They walked in a tight formation, keeping the babies at the front for security. Two male buffaloes appeared from the bushes curious about the orphan herd, but they were quickly warned off by Quanza and Enkesha’s trumpets. The buffalos got the message and moved away into the thicker bush. Unfortunately, Ngasha was coming from the opposite direction and walked straight into the buffaloes. Ngasha chased the buffaloes further away from the orphan herd, leaving them to browse in peace.

Sonje and Quanza took off towards the Umani Springs, with the orphan herd in tow. They happily browsed around the Umani Springs. Lima Lima appeared from the bush and joined the orphan herd. They were very happy about her surprise appearance, especially Kapei who rushed over to greet her. Kapei stayed with her, resting in the shade under her belly. This attention made Lima Lima feel incredibly happy. Sonje was worried that Lima Lima would want to take Kapei away with her, but after consulting with Lima Lima they agreed to stay with the herd and keep Amali and Kapei together. Amali was browsing with Mwashoti a few meters away.

Alamaya and Ngasha tried to join the herd a little later in the day, but the older girls did not want their company. Murera saw Ngasha was trying to get closer to Sonje and the babies, so she rumbled a warning that Sonje should change direction. Luckily Jasiri showed up to protect the babies. As soon as Ngasha saw him he rushed off to the bush.

Kiasa, Enkesha and Kiombo found a waterhole to play in, and cool off. The hot day made the waterhole too inviting, and the other orphans had to join in. Kapei and Amali had the best time wallowing. The big girls stood at the side of the waterhole letting the babies play and enjoy their mud bath without being pushed around.

As the orphans started heading towards the Umani Springs for their midday milk bottles, they were joined by a wild bull. The Keepers were worried at first, luckily the bull was very gentle and friendly. He didn’t charge the Keepers at all; he was only interested in greeting Sonje and Lima Lima. Kapei went to greet him, thinking he was an old friend, but the bull was confused by Kapei’s friendliness and gave him a warming kick. The wild bull then refocused his attention on Sonje. It appears that Lima Lima and the bull are old friends; she must have met him on her adventures away from the orphan herd.

Kiombo and Enkesha started to play, which made Maktao jealous, and he tried to separate them. Maktao wanted Kiombo to play their usual pushing match. Kiombo obliged, while Enkesha went back to browsing.

Kapei is the happiest little boy with the biggest appetite. He is very good at eating, and he always has a full belly at the end of the day.

Kapei always has Quanza, Sonje, Kiasa, and Enkesha as his escorts. None of the other orphans can boast to having so many bodyguards. The newest orphan to the Umani herd, Amali is still a little aggressive to the Keepers, and she only really loves Mwashoti. Mwashoti is very wise. He realised there were some strange smells in the bushes, he stuck his trunk up to smell better and discovered there were buffaloes hiding in the bushes. Luckily Mwashoti walked in front of Amali and blocked her from walking straight into a sticky situation.

Kiasa started trumpeting. Little Kapei, who was browsing with Quanza and Sonje, heard Kiasa shouting and he knew Kiasa was calling for him. So Enkesha escorted him to where Kiasa was rubbing her bottom and having a good scratch.

The rain started just after orphans got to the Chyulu area. Little Amali was trying to hide from the rain, she was putting her head under the tummies of the older females, but they were not that welcoming. Mwashoti came to her rescue. He rumbled to Amali, who ran over to him and found some shelter from the rain. Kapei already had his head under Quanza’s tummy.

Later in the day the orphans moved towards the Kibwezi Forest to browse. Then two resident crane birds landed on the tree that Kapei was resting under. The sound above scared Kapei, who then screamed. Sonje, Quanza and Enkesha came rushing over, looking around for what had scared him, but they could not see the crane birds at the top of the trees. Sonje then decided it was not safe and moved the whole herd to another shaded area to rest.

The wild elephants are now beginning to come back through the Umani area. After the rains started the wild elephants disappeared for a little while, but now they are slowly trickling back through. Today, a big wild bull appeared after the orphans had finished their midday milk feed. The orphans were still hanging around in the open with the Keepers, when they saw the bushes moving, then an old giant bull came walking towards the babies. Quanza whispered something to Murera, who then fled with Mwashoti. They obviously recognised this bull and didn’t like him very much. The Keepers noticed this and tried to get out of the way. Surprisingly, he passed through without any incidence.

In the afternoon the babies were thirsty and hot, Amali decided she was going to the water hole to cool off. Enkesha followed as her babysitter. The others soon followed Amali to the waterhole, agreeing that it was very hot. Enkesha could not believe how Amali was lying flat in the waterhole, only her little head was out of the water. Enkesha joined Amali, which scared a big buffalo that was lying in the mud on the other side of the waterhole. The buffalo left and Amali continued swimming joyfully.

Some crocodiles invaded the orphans’ favourite waterhole. This afternoon the babies were very hot and they persuaded Sonje and Quanza to take them to the waterhole. Before Kapei rushed into the water, he felt the temperature with his trunk. While he was testing the water, a crocodile that was on the opposite bank slipped into the water. Kapei and Amali saw this and quickly ran away. Kapei rumbled to Quanza, who rushed over to calm him down. Quanza and Enkesha made sure the crocodile was not going to come out of the water, while Lima Lima relocated the orphan herd to a safer waterhole where they could peacefully enjoy their mud bath.

After the orphans had enjoyed their swimming and mud bath time, Mwashoti came to get his favourite little Amali from the herd. Mwashoti had been keeping Murera company, but Murera did not come to the mud bath today, preferring her space. She only really wanted to be with Mwashoti, which made it difficult for Sonje to know what Murera was thinking or ask her opinion on where to browse.

When it was time to head back to the stockades, Sonje let Kapei lead the way, with the help of Enkesha. It is good that Kapei learns his way home, then he cannot get lost.

On Boxing Day, Kiombo decided it would be the perfect day to start a boxing match with his friend Maktao. Maktao was not interested at first, but Kiombo kept insisting, which angered Maktao, resulting in a big fight. Enkesha and Kiasa tried to separate them, but the boys would not listen. Maktao was overwhelmed by Kiombo; he was pushed onto his bottom and struggled to get up. Kiombo took advantage of Maktao being down, as he knew that Maktao could win the fight if he was able to get up. Murera and other girls watched on from the sidelines, enjoying the entertainment. Sonje found it difficult to watch Kiombo pinning Maktao to the ground, so she eventually separated them. Kiombo fled to the bushes, giving Maktao some space to get up.

Alamaya and Ngasha had gone to the Chyulu area looking for Zongoloni and Ziwa, so that they could be together. They had not come back to the stockades for some time. Sonje, Murera and the Keepers were happy that Ngasha had taken a safari, as it was very peaceful in his absence. However, this morning they found Ngasha waiting for them at the lucerne pellet corner. As soon as Murera saw Ngasha, she changed direction and walked away, not welcoming him home. Mwashoti followed Murera, understanding her better than any of the other orphans. They browsed together peacefully and away from Ngasha. Amali joined Mwashoti and Murera, while Kapei went off with Enkesha and Quanza.

Since Ngasha re-joined the herd, he stays away from the girls and only socializes with Mwashoti. Lima Lima even tried to talk to Ngasha, but he ignored her and made sure she did not get too close.

Later in the day, Alamaya re-joined the herd as well. Alamaya first greeted Mwashoti, asking him to welcome him and inform the others. Gently, kind Mwashoti welcomed Alamaya then took him over to Sonje and Quanza, so that they could fill him in on what he missed, and also to hear his stories.

Little Kapei got scared of a monkey that dropped down from a tree near him. Kapei rushed over to Quanza and Kiasa. They put their trunks over him, trying to find out what scared Kapei, but he found it hard to tell them, as he didn’t know what it was himself. Enkesha tried to persuade Kapei to follow her but in the end, Sonje had to come and get Kapei so that the orphan herd could move towards the Chyulu hills, without leaving Kapei behind.