Our little girl Kaikai is growing bigger, stronger, and — if possible — even more confident with each passing day. We record her weight bi-weekly, and by New Year's Eve, she weighed a substantial 159.5 kilograms — impressive for such a young elephant! For now, she remains in the neonate stable block, although she has started to join the main orphan herd for their daily excursions.
During Kaikai's forays to visit the bigger herd, Toto has been such a welcoming 'big brother' — hardly surprising, given how polite and gentle he is. Kaikai feels very comfortable in his presence. This has led to a bit of jealousy from Korbessa, who both wants Kaikai all to herself and is envious of any outside attention she attracts!
Natibu, on the other hand, is such a rascal. He likes chasing, charging, and otherwise teasing anyone and everyone, regardless of species or size. Little Kaikai is no exception. When she enters the fold, he tries to clamber on top of her, as if she was any other peer or playmate. A stern finger wag from the Keepers usually reminds him of his manners — unless Kaikai gets to him first! She is very self-sufficient and responds to any bully behaviour with a firm head butt.
Although she is the smallest elephant and the only girl in our main Kaluku herd, Korbessa continues to run the show. In fact, it is very amusing to watch how she maneuvres around all their comings and goings to ensure the day goes exactly how she pleases.
Never is this clearer than at the mud bath. She often waits until all the boys have finished wallowing to have her own spa day. She wriggles around in the mud, flops from side to side like a fish, then ambles over to the water trough for a leisurely drink. She still loves her signature frog pose, laying flat on her belly with her legs splayed out in every which direction. The boys, meanwhile, have been waiting for several minutes to move onto the next activity — but they know not to rush their frog princess! Only when she is well and ready does the group head off together as one.
We had a wonderful moment with Mwinzi this month. He is usually such a calm, composed boy — but one memorable morning, he was feeling footloose, fancy free, and in a mood to show off. As the herd headed out into the bush, a large, punchy inner tube caught his eye. He simply could not resist. He rolled on top of it, attempted an impromptu headstand, kicked it to and fro, and then tried to squash his large body inside the donut hole. The Keepers wheeled it to him, he kicked it back, and so it went. It was unusual but wonderful to see him feeling so playful!
Pips, our newest orphaned giraffe, is doing very well. She has become fast friends with Bombi the zebra — the girls are rarely apart! This budding friendship has been a welcome development for Keeper Peter. Bombi was so besotted with him that she would rarely let him out of her sight — a lovely devotion, but also rather difficult to manage! Now that she has Pips in her life, the zebra is a bit less strict with her Peter surveillance.
Truth be told, Pips is also completely hooked on Peter and the other Keepers. However, he has devised a very clever tactic to give him some rein: When a chore takes him further afield for a bit, he hangs his jacket on one of Pips' favourite trees. That way, she can browse 'accompanied' by a comforting scent.
Twiggy remains at large, enjoying her time in the wild with her new boyfriend. Our pilots believed they had several sightings of her over the course of the month, and she looked to be content and in very good health. We hope she will visit us soon.
December marked the culmination of Mr Bean's reintegration journey. Our wily warthog, who we rescued in 2024, has grown up so much over the last year. With this has come increasing independence as he honed his wild instincts. He seemed very fixed on finding a mate, as is typical for a warthog of his age. We have no doubt he will find one now that he is living wild.
Chamboi had a good and uneventful month. He is a funny fellow, as black rhinos are wont to be. Sometimes, he can be quite unpredictable and flighty. Other times, he is remarkably patient and gentle. He has become good friends with Gruff, our youngest orphaned buffalo. We often find the pair nuzzling, head to horn, or wallowing at the mud bath together.
Over at rhino base, Apollo had a rather sedate December punctuated by one very memorable incident. Early in the month, a young lioness managed to get inside his boma, no doubt in pursuit of one of the zebras who have taken up residence with Apollo. The fenceline is as lionproof as possible — and while she somehow got in, she would have an extremely difficult time getting herself out!
We called the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit to the scene. Given that his wandering grounds are 50 acres of wild bush, finding her was no small task. After the better part of an hour, Dr Limo was able to locate her and dart her. The team carefully transported her by vehicle to an area where her pride frequents.
Apollo, who never misses a beat when it comes to interesting drama, was fixated on the whole affair. With his Keepers by his side, he stood stock still while the whole ordeal unfolded, watching with no anxiety but great interest!
