Little Ashanti is one of the drought victims who joined our Voi herd this year. December began on an exciting note — her first day out in the bush with the rest of the orphans. Mbegu, Tamiyoi, Sagala, and Rorogoi shuffled around the little girl and seemed very interested in her trunk, which was sliced short by a wire snare. They looked shocked when Ashanti got down on her knees in order to eat grass directly with her mouth, instead of using her trunk.
It was a calm morning as the Voi orphans followed their usual breakfast routine: the milk-dependent babies were given milk bottles by their loving Keepers before moving on to have lucerne pellet supplements with their older friends. As they had their fill, some of the orphans moved on to enjoy playing games like hide and seek and chasing each other about in the compound. This included the usual culprits, Ndotto and Mudanda and Emoli and Ngilai. Some of the orphans, like Tamiyoi, chose to chase away the baboons coming down the hill to try and get the leftover lucerne pellets.
The orphans later set off for the bush where they settled to browse in single file, except for the new orphans, Akina, Hildana, Kilulu and Kenderi, who bunched together to keep each other company.
It was a lovely morning, and the orphan elephants decided to leave the stockade compound soon after finishing their milk bottles and supplement food.
Ndotto and Mudanda, who had missed playing with each other in the compound earlier in the morning, decided to start their sparring match soon after arriving on the northern side of Msinga Hill. The orphans spread out across the bush, enjoying all the fresh green shoots they could find.
After the noon milk feed the orphans visited the main waterhole beside the baobab tree but didn’t take a proper mud bath as it was quite a chilly day; some just splashed water behind their ears before continuing with their afternoon of browsing.
It was a big day for Ashanti today! The Voi orphan herd went back to the compound in the afternoon to collect her so that she could join them out in the bush. Mbegu, Tamiyoi, Sagala and Rorogoi kept very close to Ashanti to offer her support and seemed most interested in her trunk, which has a cut halfway up due to a wire snare. They continued watching and seemed even more surprised when she got down on her knees to browse on some grass using her mouth directly, instead of her trunk. That is because her trunk is still healing and will be very sore to use to pull up grass. It will be interesting to see how the orphans will interact and assist little Ashanti!
After drinking their morning bottles of milk and munching their lucerne pellets, the orphan elephants spent time playing with and chasing their friends in the stockade compound before heading out into the bush.
It was little Ashanti’s second day with her new friends! Rather than remaining in her stockade, she was out wandering and browsing with the herd. Once again, Arruba was curious about her injured trunk, approaching the new girl quietly and touching her trunk to investigate. When Ndotto decided to play mount Arruba, Ashanti was a little worried, but not for long. Kind Lasayen strode over to the group to reassure her.
Later in the morning, Ndotto came up to Ashanti in a friendly manner, as if to tell her that he had only been playing, while she and Mbegu were hanging out and eating range cubes. Suswa was also keen to welcome Ashanti, doing her best to impress by lying down, rolling around and digging the soil with her long tusk. The newbie watched the energetic soil bathing quietly!
Arriving at the southern side of Msinga Hill, Ndotto made a stopover, scratching his big bottom on a large rock. He and the herd browsed peacefully thereafter for several hours before returning in small friendship groups to their stockades.
The orphans headed out at first light this morning as soon as they had finished their bottles of milk and lucerne pellets. Browsing rather than playing was the order of the day! As the herd happily wandered out into the bush, Mbegu and Embu loitered behind. The two hungry young elephants daringly stretched their trunks up and over the fence to feast on the green bushes on the other side. Finishing their delicious snack, the clever girls caught up with their friends and settled down to browse.
Soon after the orphan elephants left the stockades this morning, some surprise visitors arrived: ex-orphan Mweya, her calf Mwitu, and Edie’s baby, Eden, too! The Keepers had not seen the ex-orphan and her mini herd for over a week and were delighted to welcome them. Edie must be elsewhere with her other babies, Ella, Eco, and Enzo (the youngest). Mweya and the others were very thirsty and drank deeply from the stockade water trough, ate lots of lucerne pellets and headed out into the bush to find their still dependent friends.
Early in the morning, ex-orphan Mweya arrived at the stockades with Mwitu and Eden. The mini herd was there to hang out with their many friends but also to enjoy the lucerne pellets. Once everyone had finished eating, Lemeki sauntered over to greet Eden, a much older elephant at nearly eight years old, with impressively long tusks. She welcomed the attentions of the younger orphan and chilled with her happily outside the stockades. They even indulged in some playful pushing and trunk touching!
The orphans soon set out to browse in the bush with Mweya and her mini herd following along behind. They remained in a long meandering line for a few hours before Mweya’s herd turned around, unable to resist the lure of lucerne cubes outside the stockades.
There was lots of activity outside the stockades this morning! Before the fun started, the orphans ate their fill of lucerne pellets and quenched their thirst at the stockade water trough.
Thereafter, Rorogoi and Embu enjoyed a fabulous early morning dust bath, rolling around and hosing themselves and each other with quantities of dust. Emoli joined in the fun on the dust pile, lying down and covering herself in earth. Ngilai soon clambered on top of her to play and cuddle as Lasayen scratched himself in a single-minded fashion on the large rocks next to the mud wallow. Tamiyoi also lay down, bathing every bit of her body in soil as she wriggled around. Pika Pika was in a more sensible mood and declined the invitation to get stuck into the sand pit play.
Finally, it was time to set off for a wander and a browse in the bush. Adventurous Ngilai and Murit clambered down into a deep trench to explore. Despite their best efforts, the two young bulls could not persuade Akina, Ashanti and Dabida to join them. Instead, the three younger orphans watched quietly from above as they browsed on lush green shoots.
At the mud bath today, all the milk-dependent orphans were thirsty for their bottles of milk and trunkfuls of water but were less keen on wallowing. They stood peacefully in small groups around the mud bath, trunk and body touching, rumbling contentedly, but not swimming.
It was a cold morning with clear blue skies. After drinking down their bottles and munching on lots of pellets, the orphans enjoyed some vigorous soil dusting with Ngilai and Murit spraying earth all over Kilulu and Lasayen.
Energy spent, most of the herd headed out into the bush led by Mbegu, Sagala and Godoma for a long day of peaceful browsing. Ashanti stayed behind, carefully and slowly eating the pellets with her little trunk on her knees. Ex-orphan Mweya and Mwitu, who were visiting this morning, watched her from a distance, appearing concerned at her unusual behaviour.
Out in the bush, the orphan elephants were browsing on the eastern and northern sides of the stockade. Soon it was time for more dust bathing as Sagala and Emoli wandered into a deep trench and squirted earth all over their ears and heads and backs.
Later in the afternoon, the herd meandered back to the water hole outside the stockades where they stood quietly in small friendship groups. Little Thamana stayed close to Mudanda, trunk touching her at regular intervals.
Today was a hot dry day. The area around the stockades is still green after the recent rains but the earth is drying out and blowing in any gusts of wind. After the morning milk feed, the orphans gathered outside the stockades to enjoy lucerne pellets and each other’s company. It was play time! Mudanda gave Rorogoi and Godoma several shoves as they ate their pellets. She was not letting anyone get close to her adopted baby Thamana. Close by, Ngilai and Emoli played the pushing game, trumpeting in excitement. Mature Suswa soon intervened to calm everyone down, restore the peace and lead the orphans out into the bush.
Later in the afternoon, the orphans had a fabulous time charging in and out of the mud bath, kicking water and splashing each other. Embu lay down on the edge, rubbing herself vigorously against the wall. Suswa squeezed herself into a small hole in the ground to scratch her body and enjoy a good old soil bath. Imitating his older friend, sweet Thamana lay down in another hole to relax, watched over protectively by Godoma, Mudanda and Rorogoi.
The motley bunch of orphans were in an excited mood in the early morning, running out of their stockades and guzzling their bottles of milk in seconds. They were keen to get going, heading out to browse after a few pushing and chasing games.
Out in the bush on another hot dry day, they browsed contentedly in single file, flapping their ears to keep cool and trunk touching each other now and then. There are lots of delicious greens at the moment following the recent rains.
Later in the afternoon at the mud bath, many elephants had a wonderful time wallowing and playing. Rumbling and rolling around, Sagala lay down on the edge of the mud, inviting Dabida to join her. When Dabida plodded over happily, Lemeki reacted in a jealous way. The younger female pushed her way in, squeezing up against the young bull and spoiling their fun. As this tussle over Dabida was going on, Ndotto paddled and splashed and wallowed in the mud bath, having a fabulous time, before lying down on the edge with his eyes closed. But not for long! Godoma interrupted his siesta by clambering on top of him and refusing to budge. Ndotto struggled out from under his friend and wandered off to the other side of the mud bath.
The orphans were full of playful energy again this morning, fuelled by their early morning bottles of milk and lucerne pellets. They lingered in the stockade compound – many were trundling around the piles of earth, kicking up the red soil and dusting themselves and each other. A couple of elephants sat on the piles as others charged around.
Ngilai had a great time play fighting with Emoli. Sagala wandered off to explore and came across Mweya’s herd, where she ended up having a wonderful sparring match with wild-born baby Eden. Murit and Tamiyoi followed in her footsteps and greeted their wild friends. Soon Tamiyoi was sparring happily with Mwitu as well!
Later in the afternoon at the mud bath, several orphans enjoyed a paddle and a wallow. Mudanda and Godoma scrambled around a depression in the ground, walking in and out and squatting in the hole on their large haunches. In the evening, Mudanda and Tagwa headed towards the western side of Msinga Hill where they enjoyed the final browse of the day interspersed with a vigorous body rub on some large rocks.
After the morning milk feed, the orphan elephants hung out in the compound for a time, with some standing quietly in small groups and others playing sparring and chasing games. Young Thamana was standing as close as he could get to Mudanda, his maternal role model. Hildana, Dabida, Kilulu, Kenderi and Ashanti were trunk touching and hugging each other in a lovely friendship group. Ngilai did his best to disrupt the peaceful situation, possibly hoping for some play mounting games, but was seen off by protective Mbegu and Tagwa. The two mini matriarchs blocked the way with their large bottoms, putting the young bull firmly in his place. Close by, Lasayen was happily wrestling and pushing his best friend, Murit.
Before long, rumbling tummies brought the fun and games to an end! The herd headed out on a clear sunny day to browse on the lush green grass, bushes and creepers.
After emerging from the stockades early in the morning, the herd settled down to eat their lucerne at the far end of the stockade compound. Most of the orphans were peaceful although there was some friction between Mudanda and newcomer Akina (who was only rescued in September). The older female would not allow the new girl to stand next to Thamana, giving her a stern shove to move her away. Mudanda does take time to form attachments to new additions to the herd and, as we know, was notoriously grumpy in times gone by. Only since Ndotto took an interest in her as a friend and Thamana arrived has her character really changed to being slightly more friendly! Luckily, kind Mbegu came to the rescue, shepherding Akina away and trunk touching her in a maternal manner.
Order restored, the orphans headed off for their daily bush walk led by mini matriarchs Tamiyoi and Tagwa. The herd browsed happily either on their own or in small groups for several hours before meandering their way to the feeding area near the baobab tree for their noon milk feed.
After the milk feed, Godoma led the orphans down to the baobab tree water hole for a session of messy mud wallowing as it was a hot sunny day. Embu and Pika Pika were digging on the edges of the bath, spraying their backs and legs with clods of wet soil to cool off. Meanwhile, Kilulu, Ashanti, Akina, Kenderi and Hildana walked into the water for a paddle and a roll around. They stayed close together in a group as they are a little wary of their older, stronger friends. Juni was the only younger orphan bucking the trend – she is so close to Tagwa and stood in a huddle with her adopted older sister on the edges of the mud bath.
Today was a cooler day, a day for scratching and browsing rather than swimming! Sagala and Tamiyoi led the herd out from the compound for their daily browse in the bush. Murit and Lasayen were in no hurry this morning, lingering outside the stockades and scratching their backsides on various rocks before finally deciding to join their friends.
The dependent orphans met Mweya, Mwitu and Eden close to the compound as they set out. The mini wild herd and larger dependent herd greeted each other with some rumbling and trunk touching, but then went their separate ways. The orphans settled down for some concentrated feeding on the rocky side of Msinga Hill, walking halfway up the hill in search of lush, fresh greens. When it was time to return, the Keepers whistled and called to the herd on the hill. Quickly but also carefully, the elephants strode down the hill to the tree where they usually have their noon milk bottles.
They gulped down their milk and then lots of water from the water trough beside the baobab tree. No one was in the mood for wallowing or even paddling today though. Instead, they headed back out to the woods to fit in some more eating before dusk fell.
The orphans were in an exuberant mood today. After drinking their milk and eating their lucerne, they enjoyed lots of playing outside the stockades, rumbling their happiness and trumpeting their excitement.
Ndotto followed Mudanda to the lower side of the stockade terrace, doing his best to persuade her to play with him. She indulged in a brief wrestling match but soon tired of the tussle, wandering off in a dignified manner as befits one of the oldest in the herd. He sauntered off in search of Arruba, who was happy to engage in an extended sparring game. In the meantime, Rorogoi sat down heavily on the rocks and enjoyed a good scratch.
On another hot day, the orphans had a wonderful time in the afternoon mud bath. Ndotto charged in first, plunging into the mud and rolling around with gusto. Pika Pika had been ousted from her normal place in the mud bath. Until Arruba came to the rescue again! She chased Ndotto out and proudly escorted Pika Pika into the water.
After their early bottles of milk and lucerne, Tamiyoi and Lemeki led the orphan herd out into the bush for a morning of browsing. The elephants meandered peacefully to the northern side of the rocky Msinga Hill on a dry sunny day. On the way there, Pika Pika and Kenderi had a small squabble, with Pika Pika giving Kenderi a shove and the younger female retaliating. The Keepers intervened to diffuse the situation.
Around lunch time, Lasayen enjoyed some time hanging out with Suswa before strolling down to the mud wallow to join his best friend Ndotto. The two young bulls had a great time splashing each other and paddling on the edge of the wallow.
Later in the afternoon, the orphans returned to the compound where they welcomed newcomer Baraka. The young bull was allowed out of his stable to mingle with the herd and get to know his new friends. Maternal Sagala embraced Baraka, trunk hugging him and showing him around the browsing areas.
The orphans were in a carefree playful mood today, full of energy in the wake of the recent rains. On a bright sunny morning, they headed out to browse on the green vegetation at the foot of Msinga Hill. They hung out in small groups, standing close to each other as they browsed, and then rolling around like enormous puppies in the dust. Godoma was squatting and rolling in the dust as Tamiyoi tried unsuccessfully to mount her. Suswa scratched her body vigorously on some rocks as Ndotto and Mudanda chased each other around and then played a sparring game. Tamiyoi then started rolling around happily on the ground. Too sensible to join in the fun, Hildana, Dabida, Akina and Kenderi continued eating quietly.
In the afternoon, a herd of tired but contented orphans wandered back to the stockades for their noon milk feed and some lucerne pellets before going back out for a final browse.
Several very welcome visitors arrived at the stockades in the early morning. As the orphans were enjoying their breakfast, ex-orphan Mweya strolled in with her baby Mwitu and Eden too. After being welcomed with rumbles and trunk greetings, the three visitors tucked into the lucerne pellets with their friends. New boy Baraka was out of his stable again, choosing to eat his pellets quietly on his own before he was joined by gentle Hildana.
Later in the morning, almost all of the herd set off for the browsing fields; Emoli and Pika Pika were so busy wrestling and sparring that they were left behind in the stockade compound! Once out in the bush, Suswa and Godoma were content to stay at the bottom of Msinga Hill as their friends clambered up the slopes looking for soft greens. Ndotto climbed the highest in his search for fresh foliage.
It was quite an eventful morning today as a pride of seven lions attacked and killed a baby zebra close to the stockade compound. Diria panicked and broke out of her stockade and ran away. The Keepers scared the lions, chasing them away to Msinga Hill. Watched by the lions from the hill, the Keepers got rid of the remains of their small victim and the lions moved on later in the evening.
The incident upset the orphans – they stayed close to the stockades for the rest of the day, feeding on lucerne pellets and grass but reluctant to wander out as on normal days. As Ivia and Cheza the buffaloes were also at risk, they remained inside the stockades for the whole day. Diria did not return that day.
On a hot afternoon, many enjoyed a paddle in the water hole under the baobab tree. Tagwa, Tamiyoi and Kenderi also had a lovely wallow, rolling around and hosing themselves with the sticky mud.
The orphans emerged happily from their stockades in the early morning, downed their milk and settled down for a breakfast of lucerne pellets and range cubes.
Many enjoyed a morning paddle and a plunge in the mud bath on a hot, sunny morning led by Emoli, Mbegu and Godoma. The orphans drank from the water trough first before wallowing around in the mud and then playing on the piles of red soil in the stockade compound. Godoma was having a fabulous time, rolling around on the ground and hosing the earth with gusto until Emoli spoilt her fun. The bull suddenly rammed her with the flat of his head – she trumpeted in alarm and moved swiftly away to the safety of her friends. Knowing he had behaved badly, Emoli then charged off on his own to avert any retaliation from the herd.
After the midday milk feeding, it was time for more swimming. Arruba, Pika Pika and Juni wasted no time clambering into the mud bath to cool themselves down, rolling around in and spraying themselves liberally with the brown water. Big boy Ndotto chose to lie in an almost dignified manner on the edge of the water hole, enjoying the occasional overflow of water as the others splashed nearby.
Later in the evening, Diria returned to the stockades. The Keepers were happy to see the zebra, feeding him and securing him within his stable close to his buffalo friends Ivia and Cheza.
After the morning milk feed, several orphans indulged in an early morning dust bath, creating clouds of red dust as they energetically hosed themselves. The bath was followed by some sparring bouts.
Baraka stood close to Godoma for some early morning warmth near the lucerne pellets area. As Godoma extended her trunk underneath Baraka’s belly, much to the younger elephant’s embarrassment, jealous Kenderi butted in and pushed Baraka away.
Meanwhile, spirited Ngilai played the pushing game with Kilulu. The older elephant had fun but was also restrained, being careful not to hurt his new young friend. Soon after, however, Ngilai started play mounting him, much to his annoyance. Kilulu stood up for himself and walked away to hang out with other friends. Murit had a great time sparring with Lasayen before massaging both sides of his large belly on two close-together trees outside the stockades.
Later in the morning, most of the orphan elephants were content to browse quite close to the stockades with the exception of Arruba, Mudanda, Embu and Rorogoi. The four older elephants headed off to browse in the bush and chose to stay out for the night.
Early this morning, Mweya and her mini herd arrived at the stockades accompanied by Arruba, Mudanda and Tahri. As Tahri has been living wild for the past three months, the Keepers were especially happy to see her. Embu and Rorogoi, who also had spent the night away, were not with the little group so had probably stayed with Tahri’s wild herd.
The orphan herd explored deep into the woods today while out browsing. The Keepers were still mindful of the large pride of lions in the area. Their particular concern was for new, young orphans like Baraka, so they chose safe browsing locations. Baraka had been confined to his stable as he settled into his new life until just a few days ago. Today, the newcomer stayed close to Mbegu all day, standing quietly almost under her, leaning against her and touching her regularly for reassurance. Embracing her role of matriarch, Mbegu was clearly enjoying looking after the young bull.
At the mud bath in the afternoon, Baraka and Hildana both wanted to be with Mbegu. The older female cleverly resolved the situation by positioning one orphan on each side of her. Both little ones accepted this solution happily and browsed in harmony.
As the Keepers were cleaning the stockades today, Diria sneaked out of his stockade, ran off into the bush and did not return.
It was a noisy dawn! Ngilai started banging on his door to be let out and many of his friends soon joined in. The compound was full of clanking doors and rumbles and trumpets of thirsty elephants as their bottles were being prepared. The doors were opened and out they ran, rumbling for their bottles. Tamiyoi, Lemeki and Thamana were the first to reach the feeding area with Akina, Kilulu, Hildana, Kenderi, Juni and Baraka in hot pursuit.
Bottles emptied, the orphans settled down to eat their lucerne pellets at the feeding area. Mudanda was standing as close to Eden as she possibly could, trunk touching and hugging the wild-born baby elephant. Arruba, in turn, was bonding with Mweya and little Mwitu.
Feeding was followed by a chasing and sparring session around the stockades. Tiring of all the playing, mini matriarch Sagala took charge and led the herd out into the bush.
Ten-year-old Arruba lingered behind, choosing to stay with Mweya’s mini wild herd. Noticing her reluctance to join her friends, Mweya led Arruba, Mwitu and Eden out to browse in the bush with the other elephants. Eight-year-old Ndotto was left at the stockades, finishing off the remains of the range cubes. Once satisfied that not a morsel was left to eat, he strolled out to join the herd. A peaceful day in the bush ensued.
The sunrise this morning was stunning with the rays spreading their light across the landscape. The orphans were in an exuberant mood, cheerfully drinking their bottles and eating their pellets before getting down to some serious playing.
Emoli challenged Ngilai to a sparring game, and he accepted the challenge enthusiastically. The two bulls clashed repeatedly, trumpeting in excitement, until Lasayen interrupted their match. Ngilai strode off, knowing that only two can play the sparring game, leaving Lasayen and Emoli to enjoy their contest. Lasayen became so excited that he charged off, threw himself on the ground and rolled around with joy. Turning his attention to one of the older females, he sauntered over to charm sweet Suswa. She happily chased and trunk touched him as the other orphans hung out in small groups around them.
When the orphans set out to browse, Tahri initially decided to remain outside the stockades with Mweya, Mwitu and Eden. But not for long. Soon she changed her mind and trundled off into the bush to join her still dependent friends.
It was a cool clear morning at the Voi stockades and the elephant orphans were hungry! The milk-dependent babies gulped down their bottles before joining their friends to fill their tummies with lucerne pellets.
Skillfully, they coiled their trunks to scoop up as many pellets as possible. Soon, there was some squabbling over food. Greedy Mudanda pushed Kilulu and Baraka away when they tried to feed near her. It was such a strong shove that Baraka lost his balance for a moment before regaining his footing but not his poise. The Keepers reassured him and he calmed down. Mudanda was in quite a mood today, allowing only her beloved Thamana to stand close by.
Sagala, Tamiyoi and Tagwa stood well in front to lead the herd out into the bush. Already, the vegetation is showing signs of drying out in the absence of recent rain.
Later after their afternoon milk feed, Sagala, Pika Pika and Ndotto had a quick wallow before lying on the edges of the mud bath to enjoy a wriggle and a tussle with each on the ground.
Lots of cheerful orphans trundled out from their stockades on another sunny morning. After guzzling their milk and pellets, it was play time!
Today, Ndotto seemed determined to prove to Mweya that he is the strongest bull in the dependent orphan herd. Showing off his prowess, he first took on Murit in a tough wrestling match accompanied by lots of trumpeting and clashing of heads. Next in his sights was Mudanda who was busily rubbing her rump on her favourite rock. She too was challenged to a pushing game. Mudanda’s attitude to Mweya was different today. Rather than trying to get close to the now wild female, she remained at a respectful distance, making the occasional quiet rumble.
Mudanda is a changeable young lady, at times protective towards the younger members of the herd, at times pushing them around. When the little ones feel uneasy, they seek refuge with matriarchal Mbegu who can be depended upon to care for them.
The orphans set off early for an early morning browsing session on the rocky Msinga Hill. Mudanda and some friends clambered carefully up the hill in search of fresh green vegetation. Soon they were joined by Arruba, Pika Pika and Suswa.
Wandering back down later in the morning, the orphans enjoyed some pushing and chasing games in the bush. Lasayen chased after and challenged his best friend Murit to a sparring session with Suswa joining in a few minutes later.
Recently, babies Mwitu and Eden have spent a great deal of time with the orphans, interacting with them in such a relaxed and peaceful way, and appearing increasingly independent of Mweya. Today, the matriarch took control of her mini herd, leading them away from the orphan herd for some time on their own.
In the evening, Ivia and Cheza, the two buffaloes, refused to come in with the elephant orphans to spend the night in the stockades. They insisted on remaining out on Msinga Hill. Well after dark at around 9pm, the Keepers heard a commotion on the hill. Immediately, they realized that the pride of lions must be in the area. The men ran to the hill, screaming to scare away the lions. The two buffaloes charged back through the open gate, retreating to the safety of their stockade with no encouragement.
The elephant orphans ran out of their stockades this morning, looking forward to seeing each other and to eating lots of breakfast. Ivia and Cheza, the two buffaloes, refused to come out however, no doubt in a reaction to the presence of the lions yesterday. The Keepers brought them lucerne grass and pellets and they spent the day and night inside the safety of their stockade.
Meanwhile, the orphans stood around in groups enjoying their lucerne pellets and drinking from the water trough. Ex-orphan Mweya was there with Mwitu and Eden. Mbegu was feeding next to Baraka, Ashanti, Dabida and Kilulu. Before long, Tamiyoi, Lemeki and Emoli led the herd out for another day of browsing at the foot of Msinga Hill.
Lasayen and Ngilai browsed close to each other, trunk touching frequently. Murit and Arruba also chose to be together, entwining their trunks and leaning up against each other.
Later in the afternoon under the baobab tree, trumpeting with excitement, Ngilai and Ndotto went head-to-head in a sparring game as Emoli wrestled with Lasayen on the other side of the mud bath. Suswa plunged into the mud for a prolonged wallow and roll around followed by a satisfying scratch on the baobab tree. Meanwhile, Arruba squatted on her bottom and then rolled around, enjoying a lovely dust bath.
No one was in the mood for playing or hanging out at the stockades this morning. As soon as they had finished the early milk feed, the orphan herd set out, heading east towards Msinga Hill on a cold, clear day.
Feeling adventurous, Pika Pika and Arruba climbed slowly up the hill, browsing as they went and pausing occasionally in the shade of trees. In contrast, Mbegu chose to remain nearer the bottom, keeping an eye on smaller orphans Baraka, Kenderi, Juni and Hildana. A short distance away, Godoma stood close to her favourite Dabida, checking on her young friend at regular intervals.
In the afternoon, the orphans wandered down to the mud wallow after their noon milk feed but no one was tempted to dip even a toe in the water. Instead, they stood around peacefully in friendship groups. Suswa had a lovely time rolling around in the earth on the edge of the wallow as Lasayen leant his head in a very grown-up manner against the baobab tree. As they set out for an evening wander, Ndotto could not resist challenging Murit to a wrestling match, interrupting the peace for a brief period.
Today, there was a multitude of visitors! The Keepers woke up at dawn to find not only ex-orphan Edie and her babies Eco and Enzo but also nannies and friends Kenia, Mbirikani, Lentili, Panda, Kihari and Naipoki. The little herd had arrived deep in the night and wandered up to the entrance of the stockades first thing in the morning. They were soon joined by ex-orphan Mweya, her baby Mwitu, and Edie’s first-born Eden. It was so wonderful to see this group of ex-orphans again after so long and especially after such a gruelling drought.
News of the visitors spread quickly, with many of the resident orphans coming over to greet them, rumbling with pleasure and trumpeting with excitement. The guests were served special dairy cubes and lucerne grass. Kenia was particularly happy to be reunited with one of her former adopted babies – Tahri – whom she had left behind when she went wild and joined Mweya’s and Edie’s herd.
Later in the morning, the ex-orphans headed off back into the bush, with Mudanda choosing to follow them as they meandered off to the east of Msinga Hill. Meanwhile the dependent orphans settled down to browse, picking their way through the rocks in search of the best green shrubs and bushes.
It was another wonderful morning! The orphan herd gathered with many of their old friends who have made the transition to wild lives (and their babies) outside the stockades to eat lucerne pellets together. It was an uplifting and rewarding sight for the Keepers.
Mbegu chose to feed next to Kilulu and soon Eden trundled up to join them. Before long, they were playing hide and seek, running all over the place like three-year-olds, waving their ears and trunks as they chased each other around. Baboons who were visiting from Msinga Hill in the hope of filching some food ran off in disgust.
Edie was there with calves Enzo and Eco, joining her older calf Eden who had arrived earlier with Mweya and Mwitu. She was also accompanied by some of Kenia’s herd, including Kenia herself, Panda, Naipoki, Kihari, Mbirikani, and Lentili. (Mbirikani and Lentili did not visit the stockades at all last year.) Embu, who only became fully wild recently, was there too. Ex-orphan Laikipia, suffering from two small arrow wounds, arrived with two wild bulls. The SWT/KWS vet was called to treat him which he did the following day swiftly and easily, as they were superficial wounds.
After some time, the orphan herd headed out to browse in the bush for several hours, leaving their wild friends behind to continue feasting on the lucerne pellets.
Edie, Mweya and their small herd arrived at the stockades in the early morning, to feast on lucerne pellets and greet their friends.
Laikipia was among the visitors. He approached Arruba, realizing that his advances were welcome as she was in oestrus. The two elephants touched each other with their trunks before he mounted her from behind. He stopped briefly to chase away two wild bull elephants before returning to Arruba.
Afterwards, Arruba continued to hang out with Laikipia, encouraging further advances. She headed out with the ex-orphan herd, which included Mashariki and Tahri, to browse in the bush with them.
After their noon milk feed, many of the orphans drank deeply from the water trough under the baobab tree on a hot and dusty afternoon and several took the plunge into the mud bath.