01 February 2018

Jovial elephants came out of their rooms this morning. Jasiri and Ziwa competed for who could reach the lucerne feeding area before the others. Lima Lima followed closely behind them, running as fast as she could to be with them before Zongoloni and Quanza. When Alamaya and Sonje arrived at the lucerne area they found Mwashoti with Ngasha in separate corners, feeding and holding a big bunch of hay in the mouths. Ziwa and Faraja then wanted to head to the bushes as Ziwa wanted to chase some baboons that were around waiting for left over lucerne. At the midday feed today Murera walked in very slowly and seemed to be tired from the mornings walk. They had walked all over the forest since their early start in the morning, and Lima Lima had not given Murera a break. She knows when the bottles are ready and in place so she would not give anyone the option of walking slowly! Murera had to arrive at her own pace and walk in slower than the others.

02 February 2018

When all the orphans had come out of their rooms in the morning, Quanza with Faraja decided to leave and lead the way out to the Umani Hills to look for more vegetation, before changing direction and taking another path to go in the direction Murera wanted to go. Ngasha broke a branch and Faraja approached to see what nice thing he was eating. Ngasha then had to defend his sweet branch from the naughty Faraja who wanted to take it from him. A tug of war game ensued between the two naughty boys as instead of looking for his own branch, Faraja wanted some of Ngasha’s! No one was ready to drop the branch until Sonje came over to see what the boys were fighting over. When Faraja saw Sonje and Zongoloni walking his way he ran away and dropped the branch to leave for Ngasha to go ahead with. Some wild elephants were heard blowing huge trumpets over the hills, and the orphans responded by blowing their own trumpets, signalling that they were not far away; only Ziwa walked off in their direction to try and find them.

03 February 2018

Alamaya attempted to climb on Ziwa and Ziwa felt offended that a young boy would try to climb on him as if to show he were more dominant. Ziwa pushed Alamaya to the ground and Alamaya screamed for help from anybody who was close by. Sonje was with Zongoloni and provided the support Alamaya needed, but Ziwa ran off to hide as he knew he would be in trouble if he was found next to Alamaya on the ground. Ziwa then lead a very hectic day running through the forest and being chased away by those that felt he was going to push the little ones again. Zongoloni stood by the roadside watching to see if she needed to teach Ziwa a lesson and to behave himself. Alamaya later went to Lima Lima who cares for him very much, so after a few hours he was calm and relaxed and was careful not to go close to the older boys today.

04 February 2018

Some vultures and hadada ibis flew around in the tops of the trees around the lucerne feeding area. The birds were being very vocal and made a lot of noise, making Quanza nervous and left wondering what was making the noise coming from the big trees. She thought it disrupted the peace they were enjoying as they fed on the lucerne grass. Murera decide to move the herd after the persisting noise from the trees did not stop. The keepers called Sonje and Murera to follow them to the hills for peace and quiet and to allow all the babies to relax. The orphans continued to walk to Kenze base area where some wild elephants were detected by Zongoloni and Ziwa. Lima Lima came to tell the keepers that there were wild elephants around. Ziwa went to interact with them little bit, and later they all left to walk to the mud bath area to have their milk bottles. Alamaya arrived and grabbed his bottle from the ground, leaving Mwashoti to take his bottle very slowly because his trunk is still not as strong as that of Alamaya’s and Zongoloni’s. After their bottles the orphans were split in their opinion of where they should go next; some decide to go for a dust bath and some splashed their body with muddy water and walked away.

05 February 2018

Lima Lima looked unhappy today and she was not even comfortable to be close to her friends when out in the forest. She kept walking to the keepers and was not as playful as she is known to be. Ziwa went to find out what was wrong with Lima Lima but she moved away from him and Ziwa was left wondering what was wrong with her. When they arrived for their midday bottle she was a little more perky and jovial but not like she normally is. Later Sonje went to talk with her for awhile and later we saw Lima Lima’s mood lift and she looked strong and ready to play with her best boy Alamaya. Zongoloni later joined her to walk in the bushes looking for more food. Some antelopes met the orphans in the Chyulu Hills and there were some crane birds shouting in the tops of the trees, making it hard for Mwashoti and Murera to settle in the thick bushes to browse. Instead the orphans came out into the open areas where they could see better and be sure that there was no danger.

06 February 2018

Some baboons invaded the lucerne feeding area making a lot of noise and fighting for left over food left by the orphans. They were making it very hard for the orphans to get to their lucerne as they are afraid of any noisy activity, and they stood on the edge with their ears raised up, ready to charge at the baboons. Ziwa and Faraja teamed up with Quanza to trumpet and scare the baboons away. Then Murera and Sonje and Zongoloni pushed their way in and the baboons all ran away fearing they would be stepped on by the elephants. In the evening when all orphans were heading back home, the limping ones looked very tired and walked slowly into their rooms to have their bottles. Murera, Sonje and Mwashoti showed that they had very long day out and they were very happy to return home.

07 February 2018

Sonje took over caring for Mwashoti as Murera just took off towards the lucerne area for breakfast. Sonje waited for Mwashoti to move but he developed an itch, and had to scratch on the big tree in the stockade compound. The other orphans did not wait either and only Sonje stayed with him to escort him later. Ziwa was being pushed around today by all the orphans. It was Jasiri who started it then Quanza also did not want him around. This put Ziwa in a very bad mood and he walked away leaving those who were being nasty to him behind. His friend Ngasha decided to walk with him though as he was heading to the hills. Later in the forest, Sonje, Murera and Zongoloni went round looking for the two boys because they were not seeing for some time and the keepers thought they might have met up wild friends and joined their herd. After walking for a long time, Sonje and Zongoloni came back to where Murera was taking a break, resting after walking over many rocks. She rumbled to the other two which made Sonje and Zongoloni come back to see where Murera was waiting under trees. Later the boys returned and joined up with the rest of the herd again.

08 February 2018

Some wild bull elephants appeared and approached the orphan herd in the bushes. Ziwa and Faraja detected the wild bulls and raised their trunks in the air. Sonje got the smell too and walked out to the bulls to welcome them inside to the herd, Sonje thought her boyfriend might be among them but he was not; there were only new faces. The bulls today met quite a lot of resistance from the big boy Jasiri, who was denying the access to the orphans. Ziwa and Quanza grouped together, going to join Murera who was inside the forest breaking branches. At the mud bath to orphans wallowed and tried to cool their very warm bodies, splashing cold mud and water onto their chests and behind their ears, which were the most affected by the hot sun. It was very funny watching how Alamaya rolled and swung his bottom in the muddy waterhole, putting a big smile on everyone’s faces and clapping at his funny antics. Zongoloni showing him how he could do it nicely and with more elegance in the water.

09 February 2018

Last night was hectic for babies while inside their rooms as some baboons started to shout in the trees and were very noisy. This is one of the biggest alarm calls in nature and it was making the orphans nervous, especially little Mwashoti and Alamaya. Ziwa was pushing hard his gate to run away from the loud baboons. The keepers had to come out and walk around to keep the elephants calm and let them know they were safe. As the keepers walked around with their spotlights, eventually the baboons stopped making a noise, especially when the light was shone on them in the trees. When finally dawn broke and it was time for the orphans to come out, none of them wanted to leave their lovely keepers. Murera with Lima Lima took all the babies to the keepers who were walking them along the paths to be sure of their safety and get their confidence back; that there was nothing to fear and they could fill their bellies with the greens from the Umani Hills.

10 February 2018

It was another hot day today which made the orphans feel very hot and on many occasions take had to take a time out under the trees for their shade. For the likes of Jasiri and Faraja this is very important as they have lighter skin and feel the sun much more than the others. At least at Umani they have a permanent water source and more tree cover which helps them greatly when it is hot like this. The other orphans do enjoy the warm weather a bit more, or it does not affect them as much, and they spend a long time rolling in the mud bath to keep cool. Umani is very favourable to all the babies including Murera and the other limping orphans, which is why we built this Reintegration Unit. Young boys Alamaya and Mwashoti showed off their swimming abilities to the big boys, about how they know how to swim and enjoy the waterhole. The water was very muddy, but left all the orphans feeling very happy and relaxed as well as cool, with lots of lovely thick mud on their skin to protect them from the sun.

11 February 2018

Murera arrived back home after long day walking in the forest. She looked very tired and had been left behind by the rest of the orphans who returned ahead of her. She also seemed to be a little undecided as to whether to enter the stockades or return to join her wild friends in the forest. She however decided that she wanted to stay with Mwashoti and came in for her milk feed. When she was done she found that Sonje had eaten all the pellets that had been put out for them. She was so upset about what Sonje did that she pushed Sonje hard. In reality it was not Sonje ‘s fault that there were no pellets left for Murera as she took too long getting into the stockade. When Jasiri and Zongoloni saw Sonje being punished they were perturbed as to what had transpired between the two older girls as it is very rate for the two to have a disagreement which would result in one pushing the other. Mwashoti was also upset to see his two adopted mothers on the outs with one another.

12 February 2018

The elephants began their morning walk to the browsing field as they made their way to the Chyulu Hills. Ziwa was in the lead today when the group came across a buffalo wallowing in some mud. He was so caked in mud that he scared the keepers and the orphans who all wanted to run away. Somehow Lima Lima was able to keep the group calm and in one place ignoring the keepers who were calling her name and wanting her to be careful. Lima Lima however did not feel in any danger nor at all threatened by the buffalo and her calmness was the best thing for everyone concerned. In the afternoon Faraja and Zongoloni decided that it was time to return back to the stockades. Sonje however did not agree with the tow and led the orphan herd towards Kenze where they would be able to find some green vegetation to feed on before returning home for the night.

13 February 2018

Today many wild elephants came to meet and greet the babies in the water springs area. The crocodiles around the water springs quickly entered the water to hide from the all the elephants. Sonje got a bit of a fright from the splashing water as the crocodiles took cover with Alamaya and Zongoloni running towards the keepers scared of being attached by the crocodiles. Some sykes monkeys were swinging around in the trees over head causing even more noise which all contributed to the orphans feeling a little unsafe in their current environment. Most of the orphan herd moved away from the area while Mwashoti, Murera and Sonje stayed where they were browsing peacefully while the keepers watched over them. The orphans fed on some sweet soft branches that they found in the hills. A scream was heard from one of the orphans which brought the Matriarchs of the group running to see what was happening. They found that Alamaya had pushed Mwashoti down making scream for help from Sonje and Murera.

14 February 2018

Mwashoti, Murera and Sonje all greeted each other nicely this morning as soon as they came out of their night stockades. Murera headed to Mwashoti's room to ask him how his night was. Sonje arrived and ask the same thing but Mwashoti responded and told them the night was peaceful and he was ready to walk out for the new day. Lima Lima and Quanza took the lead of all the orphans out to the forest and they climbed the hills as they browsed. At mud bath time, Quanza and Faraja went straight into the waterhole because they thought it was very hot. Faraja and Jasiri’s skin was burning and they needed to put a muddy later on top to cover their light skin. Soon there was a fight for space as Alamaya and Zongoloni tried to squeeze their way in. The big girls wanted to roll around but this activity took up a lot of space! Because of this the little boy Alamaya found it hard to fit in and there was not much space left for him. Sonje had to come in and separate them all so that a fight did not break out inside the waterhole.

15 February 2018

Yesterday the orphans looked desperate at the mud bath point, waiting for the bottle feeding time. When they saw a different vehicle from the car they are familiar with, they were not aware that it was the bottles being carried by the tractor. Lima Lima arrived to see what was in the tractor and when she found the bottles she got very excited, and called some other orphans to come for their bottles. Zongoloni grabbed her bottle just before keeper put it down on the ground, followed by Jasiri. Alamaya is only little with a short trunk and he tried but he could not reach the trailer. A keeper had to give him his bottle with Mwashoti as they could not reach. Some wild buffaloes appeared at the waterhole demanding to be given chance access to the water, and later they rolled in the waterhole to get mud on the heads as they felt very hot as well and wanted to cool down.

16 February 2018

It was the hottest day ever today, and Sonje and Ziwa could not wait for the other orphans to make their way to the water hole with the keepers. Instead Sonje sneaked away with Ziwa and they walked all way to the waterhole near the lodge, leaving Murera and the keepers far behind to take care of the other young ones. When Sonje arrived she started splashing muddy water behind her ears and Ziwa had his head just poking out of the water pool, making it hard to establish if there was an elephant there or not. Only Sonje made it obvious to the keepers to see some movement there and to finally realise Ziwa was inside the water enjoying a mud bath. After a short while the whole herd arrived with the young boys rushing to get to the mud and play. It was not only the elephants who were feeling hot; two buffaloes appeared to join the orphans and share the waterhole. All the orphans came out of the waterhole with their whole body covered in dark mud all over, but feeling so cool and relaxed to go back to the forest and browse for a bit longer and fill their stomachs with greens.

17 February 2018

The orphans all left their rooms very slowly today and they were slow walking out to the bushes, leaving the keepers to wonder why Lima Lima and other babies were so slow today. Other days they come running out to the lucerne feeding corner. Sonje patted Mwashoti around his belly while Murera watched and waited for Mwashoti to come over as well. When Zongoloni later moved towards the gate all the boys moved to follow her, leaving Murera and Sonje with their baby boy Mwashoti. A sykes monkey jumped in the trees in celebration that the elephants were around to keep the baboons at bay and allow him to enjoy some of the lucerne pellets too. Later, after the orphans had moved out to the forest, the baboons invaded the lucerne area. The waterhole was full of very many buffalos, walking and sleeping in the field. They had stayed there for some time and made it very dirty and full of flies. Murera and Zongoloni led the babies to wallow in the mud bath. Alamaya was pushed by Faraja to give way for space to wallow but Alamaya did not move, forcing Faraja to kick him with his back foot. Alamaya shouted for help from Lima Lima or Zongoloni who were close by; they came over and brought Alamaya out of the waterhole to leave Faraja alone. The walking patrol continued in the bushes all the way to the Chyulu Hills so they could keep feeding on the nice fresh branches they came across there.

18 February 2018

Wild elephants appeared around the fields near the stockades and again they decided to follow and interact with the orphans. We gave enough space to the orphans so they could learn more about their new friends. Some of the boys did not want join them and only Ziwa went but he was pushed very hard by the bigger elephants and he came running back to where Sonje and Mwashoti were eating their branches. Zongoloni walked over to see who was shouting and found Ziwa running away from the big bull who pushed him back from the wild herd. When Lima Lima and Zongoloni approached them however they were accepted by the wild friends who were mainly bulls with two young females. Perhaps Ziwa did not approach them with the best etiquette!

19 February 2018

Elephants were heard trumpeting along the Chyulu Hills National Park and Sonje wondered what the noise could be about. For a moment she thought the trumpet sounded a bit like Alamaya’s voice but Lima Lima was with Alamaya and Mwashoti. Zongoloni walked looking for where the sound was coming from as well, but it was just some wild baby elephants who were walking in the hills with their families who were making that screaming noise that Sonje thought was from one of her babies. She and Zongoloni found that all the orphans were within the bushes so it must be some wild babies making that noise. When Murera and Sonje found that all the orphans were well spread in the bushes, they both turned to walk back to prepare for a mud bath and cool down their hot bodies with cold mud. This they did after their milk bottle as no orphan would wallow before having their bottle!

20 February 2018

Alamaya thought himself very strong in the morning as he tried to push on some bigger, older elephants. He stayed behind Quanza however, knowing that if things changed and he was pushed hard Quanza would help rescue him. In the back Sonje was watching how eagerly Alamaya was pushing the big boys and girls, thinking how strong he was, but she knew these elephants were just being lenient and letting the little boy push against them to test his strength and tactics. Today was a very busy pushing day for all the orphans. Some were charging the trees and kicking whatever they came across. Some trumpeting of wild elephants was heard in the forest alerted the keepers to be ready and watch out for them. As usual we had the help of lovely Lima Lima, who came to her favourite keeper Amos to tell her human family to be vigilant and care for themselves. The little Mwashoti made sure not to go in front of Murera whilst there were wild elephants about. A bull elephant approached Murera and Sonje but Murera stopped and looked for where Mwashoti was. Upon seeing Mwashoti she went to pick him up then all the keepers walked with Murera sideways to give the wild friends their own freedom and access to the orphans. Only Ziwa took his time with the wild bulls and later left when it was time for his milk bottle.

21 February 2018

The hot day began in the early hours of the morning today. When the orphans finished their lucerne pellets it seemed as if there were two groups who wanted to go in different directions. Ziwa was one of the first to leave and he wanted to go one way with Ngasha and Faraja, and Sonje and Murera another. Some vultures were in the tree above and were fighting making very unique sounds which was unnerving for the elephants. The boys decided to walk back to where Murera and Sonje were standing with the young boys Mwashoti and Alamaya. Lima Lima was on the lookout and was wary of the sound coming from the trees. Lima Lima changed direction and showed Zongoloni where they should walk, so everyone started to follow behind to see where Lima Lima wanted to go. Murera however did not want to walk where Lima Lima and Zongoloni were going so they all had to change direction again as Murera and Sonje are the overall leaders to be respected by all. Many buffaloes came to the waterhole again at mud bath time, trying to share the space with the orphans but it was an acceptable to Quanza and Jasiri who made their way to the buffaloes and began charging and trumpeting at them to leave the area. All the buffaloes left to leave them to enjoy their mud bath in peace.

22 February 2018

The day turned into a long one when Alamaya took Zongoloni along a path which was very long and not the normal direction leading to the springs. Eventually Zongoloni turned back in the direction of the stockades which all the matriarchs followed too, leaving the boys to move in their own direction. Later they came and joined them in the Chyulu Hills as they make their way back to the Kibwezi Forest, browsing on their way. The hot sunshine was disturbing the albino boys and Jasiri and Faraja went to a waterhole but found it was dry and there was no mud there to cool themselves. A rather aggressive wild bull came out looking for the orphans from the bushes, but avoided the boys and just especially looked Sonje. The keepers stood some distance away from the bull elephant because their lovely Lima Lima had shown them to be vigilant and alert of any wild elephants.

23 February 2018

Today once the orphans were done eating pellets and hay at the stockade compound Ziwa led the boys out for a long walk to the browsing rounds leaving the female elephants to look after the young boys Mwashoti and Alamaya. Zongoloni pushed her way to the front of the group in order to get to Alamaya. At times Zongoloni can be as rough as the boys. Ngasha can be a bit of a bully towards the younger boys and tends to try and push them whenever they walk past him when they are in the browsing fields. Some birds in the trees were making quite a racket today when the orphans were in the forest. The noise scared Quanza and Jasiri who started running around and they lost track of the rest of the group. They could not seem to find the direction that the matriarchs Murera and Sonje had taken with the rest of the orphan herd. They started trumpeting and rumbling for assistance. It was not too long before Lima Lima together with the keepers came to look for them. Lima Lima made sure to stick close to her favourite keeper Amos who is very good at restoring calm and stopping the orphans from panicking. At the noon milk bottle feed Lima Lima pushed over some of the milk bottles and knelt down sucking up the spilt milk with her trunk. The keepers managed to stop her naughty antics after which Murera chased her away so that the rest of the orphan herd would be able to enjoy their milk bottles in peace. After the milk feed it was time for the mud bath. The orphans all had a wonderful time wallowing as it was very hot and they were eager to cool their bodies down in the mud and water.

24 February 2018

Ziwa has become quite naughty of late and does not want to listen to the females of the group. It seems as if he feels that he is now a big boy and is old enough to do whatever he wants and does not want to feel as if he is being “controlled” by Lima Lima or Zongoloni. He will on occasion listen to the Murera and Sonje but completely ignores the younger females. Today Ngasha was following Ziwa which seemed to displease him and he retaliated by turning and engaging Ngasha in a pushing and strength testing competition. Jasiri came to join them and it was not long before Zongoloni walked up to them, stood between them wanting to bring their fighting to an end. Jasiri however thought that she should just leave the boys to work out their problems while also working off some excess energy. While the orphans were in the forest areas today some rock hyraxes were seen running in and out of the caves when they saw the elephants. Some klipspringer in the area heard the elephants trumpeting loudly and did their best to get away from the elephants and the keepers all of whom were coming towards them and were not being that quiet in their approach.

25 February 2018

Lima Lima was in a mischievous mood today and once the keepers opened her stockade doors following the morning milk bottle she managed to get to the lucerne corner where she grabbed a bale of lucerne and ran off with it. The keepers called her name in an effort to get her to drop the bale and share with the rest of the orphans but it was all in vain as she did not listen. She was joined by Faraja and the two of them spread the bale of lucerne around as they feasted on it before the rest of the group arrived. As the elephants were making their way to the water springs area today, Quanza nearly stepped on a crocodile that was basking in the sunshine. This surprised both the crocodile and Quanza! The crocodile quickly returned to the water so as to avoid being stepped on by any other orphans who were coming through the area. Naughty Faraja and Alamaya seemed to think that it was a good idea to try and mount their friends Zongoloni and Sonje. Their mounting game was all in fun and it is part of being a teenager as the orphans are often engaging one another in playful activity. It does however seem that Faraja, Jasiri and Ngasha are usually the instigators of these games.

26 February 2018

Today Lima Lima seemed to forget about the midday milk bottle and mud bath and got left behind by the rest of the group. The keepers were a little surprised to see Lima Lima running to catch up with the rest of the group as she is usually the first to come in for her milk. It seems that Lima Lima’s confusion was due to the fact that some buffalos had come to the browsing fields and interrupted the orphans browsing activities. The buffalos arrival sent the orphans running around in different directions. The keepers tried to call them back, whistling for them as they always do. Mwashoti and Sonje were the first to respond to their calls and Lima Lima was the last! She came running over, full of worry that her share may have been finished by the others and she was relieved when this wasn’t the case. Zongoloni and Quanza went up to Lima Lima and seemed to want to find out what had happened and why she was late arriving for the milk. When it seemed they were not getting any answers they started to discipline her. Sonje came in and broke them up as the fact that Lima Lima was late and had got lost was not her fault, but was a result of being surprised by the buffalos when out in the browsing fields.

27 February 2018

Today Zongoloni seemed intent on disturbing the keepers who were enjoying their lunch while sitting under a tree near the mud bath. Alamaya saw Zongoloni headed towards the keepers and reacted quickly pushing Zongoloni away to allow the keepers to finish their lunch in peace, especially as the orphans had been able to have their noon milk bottle without any dramas. Sonje saw that Alamaya was looking out for the keepers and rumbled at the rest of the orphan herd to leave the keepers alone, knowing that it would not be long before the keepers were back among the orphan herd. Ziwa made his way to Faraja today and grabbed his tail. Faraja turned to push him afraid that Ziwa might bite his tail as Jasiri had done in the past. Ngasha came to Faraja’s aid, helping him to push Ziwa away and reprimanding him while doing so as tail grabbing is not behaviour that the orphans tolerate very well; it seems that elephants do not really like having their tails grabbed and it is an insult!

28 February 2018

Ziwa moved quickly this morning and did his best to try and get Ngasha and Faraja to join him at the lucerne feeding area before the girls and the rest of the group arrived. Faraja responded however by pushing him away before rejoining the rest of the orphan herd who were enjoying feasting on the pellets that had been put out for them by the keepers. Lima Lima started walking to the water trough, leaving Alamaya eating pellets with the rest of the group. Some of the rougher boys came up to Alamaya and grabbed what was left of his tail which upset him tremendously; if there is one thing that Alamaya does not like anyone doing it is grabbing his stump of a tail and we thought his anger towards the naughty boys was justified! Murera walked very slowly today as the orphans climbed the Umani Hills and she had to stop several times before finally joining the rest of the group at the top. She rumbled to her friends to get them to slow down as she was having difficulty keeping up with them. Mwashoti very sweetly came back down and stayed with Murera escorting her. He rumbled at Zongoloni and Lima Lima to come and help him which they did and the three of them worked together to coax and push Murera to the top where they joined the rest of the orphan herd and enjoyed the vegetation that they found there.