At the Nursery, Naboishu made quite a name for himself as a milk menace during feeding times. After a brief period of peace at Ithumba, it looks like he is up to his old tricks! As he was running for his midday bottle one afternoon, he started complaining because some friends overtook him. Perhaps to compensate for this indignity, Naboishu roguishly snatched an extra bottle after he finished his share. He was bitterly disappointed to find that it was already empty and, despite the Keepers’ pleas, sauntered off with it. He finally deposited the bottle in a thicket, before continuing on to the mud bath.
The sky was clear in the morning, which is always an indication of a hot day ahead. The bulls woke up in a playful mood. Soon after arriving out in the bush, Jotto engaged Mapia in a pushing game, Mundusi played with Pare, while Sapalan played with Rapa. Mutara’s herd joined the dependent orphans and browsed with them throughout the entire morning. Malkia took Larro with her and had a good time chatting and browsing with her, and later escorted her to the mud bath. Mukkoka and Naboishu couldn't allow Larro to go unaccompanied and so followed their friend.
It was hot at the mud bath and all the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise. When they were done, Enkikwe, Sapalan, Rapa, Esampu and Mteto teamed up with the late-comers and headed to the Imenti area. The rest of the herd, led by Nabulu, headed to the western slopes of Ithumba Hill where they settled to browse for the rest of the day. Later in the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night. The ex-orphans and their wild born babies showed up at the stockades and left when they were done relaxing and drinking.
The sky was clear again this morning as the orphans left the stockade compound. Mutara, Sities, Suguta, Kainuk, Turkwel and Lemoyian, who had spent the night outside, teamed up with orphans for lucerne soon after they were let out. Shortly afterwards, the two groups headed out together to browse. Malkia had a brief conversation with Mukkoka as she tried to find out whether or not he had a good night. Mukkoka assured Malkia that his group, those he shares a stockade with, Larro, Musiara and Naboishu, had slept well and were in good spirits. Wanjala settled to browse with Naseku while Ambo settled to browse with Musiara.
It was a quiet morning as the two groups settled to browse in the Kanziku area. On their way, the two groups were joined by Lenana, Narok, Kitirua, Kasigau, Ishanga and Lapa. Suguta, Sities and Turkwel temporarily forgot about Dololo and moved to follow baby Lapa. The entire group went to the mud bath together as Esampu and Mteto competed with Suguta, Sities and Turkwel who among them could win Lapa’s heart. Lapa decided not to accept any of the strangers' requests, but followed Ishanga and Narok instead, who are part of his herd and who are his regular nannies. Esampu and Mteto surrendered and opted to follow their friends instead.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Mapia and Dololo had a disagreement; we are not sure what about but poor Dololo isn’t having a good time with Mutara’s herd potentially abandoning him at any moment should a wild born baby like Lapa come along.
In the evening the orphans passed by the mud bath again to cool off. Sapalan, Enkikwe, Rapa and Galla boycotted the wallowing exercise and took a different route to dodge the Keepers and not return to the compound tonight.
It was a slightly different start to the day, as it was cloudy and overcast. The orphans settled for lucerne as usual before going off to browse. Musiara and Ambo had a warm up exercise through a pushing game. Out in the bush, Naboishu settled to browse with Maramoja, which she didn’t mind. It’s the first day they have been spotted together so we aren’t sure yet if Naboishu is warming up to take Musiara’s position as Maramoja’s favourite. Only time will tell!
Mutara and her herd joined the orphans in the Kanziku area. The weather was still chilly and the orphans browsed calmly throughout the entire morning. Esampu teamed up with Sana Sana, Mteto and Ndiwa to browse. At mud bath time, the orphans had their milk and then only went for a dust bath on the pile of loose soil, before going back out to browse without wallowing. Kauro and Ndiwa had fun in a light pushing game, while their friends walked north of the mud bath. Sana Sana, Malkia and Ndiwa teamed up together to feed while Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu joined Musiara to browse with Maramoja. Sapalan had a disagreement with Wanjala that resulted in a fight. Olsekki, who was feeding close by, intervened and separated the two boys. In the evening all the orphans returned back safely to the stockades for the night.
Musiara and Ambo had a warm up pushing game soon after finishing their share of lucerne, but parted ways well they felt like they had had enough. Dololo had a brief meeting with Tusuja, perhaps as he wanted to find out why he had decided to come back after spending three weeks out in the wild. Tusuja didn’t entertain Dololo for very long however, and just walked away.
Mutara and her herd joined the orphans and they had a nice quiet morning together. Malkia settled to browse with Mukkoka and Larro as Esampu teamed up with Mteto, Maramoja, Musiara and Sana Sana.
Naboishu was a little naughty at the noon milk feed today beside the mud bath. As he was running for his milk bottle, he started complaining bitterly as some of his friends overtook him. After finishing his milk, Naboishu turned and grabbed another bottle thinking that it had milk; he was disappointed when he realised that he had picked up the wrong bottle and that it was already empty! Naboishu decided not to let it go however and walked off with it. As the Keepers ran after him, he dropped it in a thicket and walked away to cool off in the mud bath.
Barsilinga and Kithaka, who have been away for some time now, showed up at the mud bath too. It was lovely to see them, although Kithaka can be a little naughty sometimes! Barsilinga and Kithaka grew up together in the Nursery as babies, and Barsilinga’s foot injury kept him anchored to the stockades for the last year or so, so it is wonderful that he is finally able to be back out in the wild with his old friend again. Later, ex-orphan Zurura showed up briefly too. In the evening, Mutara and her herd escorted the dependent orphans back to the stockade compound for the night, but slept outside.
The sky was partly cloudy in the morning as the orphans settled for lucerne. Mutara’s herd had slept outside and were hanging around. Ambo stood in front of Mutara, thinking that he might be adopted by her just as Kamok does for him. He got a rude shock however when Mutara merely pushed him out of the way! At least Ambo learned a lesson that he should respect his seniors at all times.
Out in the bush, Jotto decided to have fun by rolling on the ground. Rapa and Karisa came over and ganged up against him. Karisa tried to climb on Jotto while Rapa pushed him to get up. Their game came to an end when Kauro came over and rescued Jotto from the two boys. Rapa and Karisa were left dumbfounded and since there was nothing they could do to Kauro, the two boys ended up starting their own pushing game with each other that lasted for quite some time.
Near the Kone dam, Sana Sana took a break from feeding to have a game of rolling on the ground. Malkia, Kuishi and Malima joined her and had a good time.
At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by the ex-orphans with all their babies. At the end of the mud bath, the Keepers had a difficult time getting Esampu, Mteto, Malkia and Naseku who wanted to run away with the ex-orphans. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. In the evening, Larro led the first group back to the stockade while Nabulu led the second one.
Kibo and Melia joined the dependent orphans in the morning soon after they were let out. Mutara and her group, who have become frequent visitors, were also present. Shortly after everyone had enough lucerne, Larro led the way out.
Out in the bush, Malkia and Kuishi teamed up with Mukkoka, Larro, and Naboishu. The two big girls acted as teachers towards Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu for the entire morning. Kauro had a disagreement with Jotto when Kauro pulled a branch from his mouth. Jotto tried to fight back but he wasn't strong enough to fight Kauro. Kauro pushed him and humiliated him in front of the girls by climbing on his back. Wanjala, Rapa and Mundusi parted ways with the group and joined them later on the way to the mud bath.
The weather was very hot. Nabulu and Sana Sana led the herd to the mud bath to cool off. Enkikwe, Kamok and Kauro boycotted the wallowing exercise and instead opted for a soil dusting exercise. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Barsilinga and Lemoyian started a pushing game as Kuishi took Mukkoka and Larro off to browse with her. Kuishi made sure that Larro and Mukkoka weren’t bullied by any of the young boys.
In the evening, Mutara, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk, Kithaka, Lemoyian, Kibo and Barsilinga escorted the juniors back to the stockades for the night.
Mutara, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Kibo spent the night just outside the compound, waiting for the dependent orphans to be left out in the morning. Two bulls passed by heading west, and one of the bulls stopped by the water troughs to see if there was any water there. Kibo walked down to say hi to the bulls, but the bulls didn't acknowledge his greetings. It appears that the bulls were on a scouting mission, as they are aware that we are heading into the dry season and they need to know where they might find water.
Malkia settled to browse with Mukkoka and Musiara while Rapa teamed up with Mundusi, Wanjala and Sapalan. The sun was getting brighter and the day was getting hotter as we approached mud bath time. The orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree before proceeding to the mud bath.
They had their noon milk bottles then Nabulu, Larro, Mukkoka, Sana Sana, Kauro and Rapa jumped into the water for a wonderful wallowing session. The rest of the orphans decided to have a soil dust bath. Kithaka decided to climb on Ndiwa. Ndiwa was certainly unhappy about that and tried as much as possible to get away from Kithaka. Finally Ndiwa managed to free herself and run away.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Larro, Naboishu and Mukkoka grouped together and we wondered if they were trying to analyse their one month stay at Ithumba now. Ambo settled to browse with Kamok and later in the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades and Ndiwa led the third group.
Kibo, Kithaka and Barsilinga joined the orphans early in the morning. The orphans settled for lucerne as usual. Mundusi, who is trying hard to dominate Enkikwe, decided to challenge Enkikwe to a pushing game. Enkikwe couldn't allow a junior to defeat him simply because he has a bad leg. Enkikwe fought tooth and nail to make sure that he had taught Mundusi a lesson that disability is not inability. In the end, Mundusi surrendered and ran away, perhaps hoping to train more and try again another time.
Out in the bush, the dependent orphans were joined by Mutara, Kainuk, Turkwel and Suguta. Turkwel and Suguta walked straight to team up with Dololo. Mukkoka, Naboishu and Larro teamed up with Musiara and Maramoja, as Malkia settled to browse with Kithaka.
It was another hot day and the orphans had their milk bottles then some water from the trough, before opting for a soil dusting exercise. Although it was hot, the orphans boycotted wallowing in the mud bath for some reason! In the afternoon, they settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Enkikwe, Mundusi, Galla and Rapa left their friends and returned back early before five o'clock in the evening to the stockade compound. Mteto teamed up with the late-night gang and left to join Mutara and her herd; the group returned later shortly after six o'clock in the evening.
Kilaguni, who has been missing in action for sometime, showed up this morning and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne! It was wonderful to see him. Ambo received a light training session from Malkia. Larro, Naboishu and Mukkoka seemed to be in a hurry and led the way out to browse, since they wanted to enjoy the taste of green leaves and grass instead of dry lucerne that they haven't been used to feeding on at the Nursery. They haven’t yet been able to appreciate how important this supplement might be when it gets a bit drier! Sana Sana and Kuishi took Naboishu with them and they browsed together up to mud bath time.
At around ten o'clock in the morning, some ex-orphans showed up at the compound, including some ex-orphans who have been missing in action for a while! Chyulu, Cheka, Sidai, Sita, Silas, Chemi Chemi, Orwa, Garzi and Chaimu were all among the ex-orphans in Yatta’s herd today.
At mud bath time, only Dololo and Siangiki decided to get into the mud bath to wallow. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to feed in a different area, near Imenti.
In the evening, the ex-orphans came to the stockade compound again, just before the dependent orphans returned home. Mteto, who loves babies, completely refused to get into her stockade and instead decided to follow the ex-orphans and their wild born babies. This is not the first time she has done this!
Chemi Chemi, Barsilinga, Kithaka, Orwa and Kibo were present in the morning and joined the orphans for lucerne. Rapsu showed up briefly but then disappeared in the same direction he appeared from. Nabulu tried to share lucerne with Kamok but got a rude shock when Kamok drove her away. Nabulu was left wondering why Kamok can be such a stern female sometimes. She is supposed to be loving and caring towards her juniors but often she fights them or pushes them away. Nabulu shook her head in disappointment and left to find peace somewhere else
Later in the morning Mutara and her team joined the dependent orphans. Turkwel headed straight over to Dololo and they spent the entire morning together. Mapia teamed up with Larro and they embraced the spirit of sharing by feeding from the same shrub. Malkia, Malima and Sattao took a break from feeding and had fun by rolling on the ground. Musiara and Ambo had a strength testing exercise that ended when Siangiki intervened by peacefully separating the two boys.
Mteto, who had left the previous day with Yatta’s herd, reunited with her friends on the way to the mud bath. One wild bull was present at the mud bath but didn’t seem bothered by the orphans arriving at all. It was slightly cooler today and none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and were joined by Kilaguni, Loijuk and Lili. Enkikwe and Sapalan dodged the Keepers and returned back to the stockades early before the usual time. The late-night gang reported back later, shortly before seven o'clock in the evening.
It was a quiet morning today. A lion walked by the stockade compound just before dawn, and started roaring. Perhaps it was following the herds of buffalo that have come through the area recently. Nevertheless, its roars would have sent any animals nearby scattering.
The dependent orphans came out of their rooms from Class One onwards, after having their first milk bottle of the day. They settled for lucerne, as Kauro and Jotto decided to greet each other through a pushing game. Enkikwe challenged Olsekki to a similar match, and their game went on for quite some time.
Later, Musiara and Larro moved a short distance away from their friends to enjoy a nice shrub together that they had come across. Maramoja spotted two lesser kudus and decided to charge at them. The male kudu stood its ground and made Maramoja wonder what sort of animal wasn’t scared of her! She trumpeted, attracting the attention of some of her friends. Mundusi, Rapa, Wanjala and Pare all responded to Maramoja’s trumpeting and ran over to her. The kudu didn’t wait around to be charged by the battalion of elephants that Maramoja had called to help her, and disappeared into the bushes. Kauro teamed up with Malima to browse while Mukkoka teamed up with Larro as Naboishu enjoyed Malkia and Nabulu’s company.
When the orphans walked to the mud bath for their noon milk feed, Jotto totally refused to move on, waiting to see if there might be any milk left over that the Keepers might consider giving to him. Jotto was disappointed when at last all the orphans reported and all took their share. Jotto had been hoping that some of the orphans might not come to the mud bath and this would mean some extra milk bottles he could have enjoyed. Today the orphans decided to boycott wallowing in the main mud bath, but left to enjoy wallowing in the smaller mud bath beside the road.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where they were joined by Kithaka and Barsilinga. In the evening, Mukkoka led the way back to the stockades.
It was still dark in the morning when the orphans left their stockades and settled for lucerne. No ex-orphans were around. Jotto had a warm-up exercise, a favourite activity for the orphans to wake up and stretch, with Sapalan, while Mapia decided to have fun rolling on the ground. Sapalan saw this and decided to end his game with Jotto and ran over to climb on Mapia while he was on the ground. Kuishi lay on the ground to take a nap, but Kauro pushed her up and informed her that it was too early to start wasting time like that. As all the orphans left the stockades and walked out to the bush, Galla, Enkikwe and Tusuja lagged behind, choosing to clean up all the lucerne that was left behind by their friends.
Later in the morning Ambo engaged Musiara in a pushing game while Esampu teamed up with Mteto. At 11am the orphans had their milk bottled and then went to drink water from the troughs beside the mud bath. Shortly later, a wild bull joined the dependent orphans. Wanjala, Mundusi, Galla Olsekki and Rapa all admired the wild bull and wondered when they would ever get into his size. Olsekki requested the wild bull for some training in pushing skills, which the friendly wild bull accepted. When Olsekki had enough, he thanked the wild bull and left to catch up with his friends who were already walking back out to the bush. Two bulls showed up minutes later and they must have felt very hot as they went straight to wallow in the mud bath. In the afternoon, the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree. They only resumed browsing when the temperature dropped again.
It was another quiet morning today with no other elephants around. The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Ambo, Sana Sana and Naseku decided to lie down on a soft patch of ground where the lucerne is served. It seems they wanted to lie down for a stretching exercise. Shortly later, Tusuja, Musiara, Wanjala and Jotto decided that they had enough of lucerne and walked down to the water trough to have some water before heading out to browse. On their way out, Mundusi engaged Kauro in a pushing game that ended quite quickly as Mundusi surrendered. Later, the orphans were joined by Mutara, Suguta, Sities, Turkwel, Kainuk, Namalok, Garzi, Chemi Chemi, Kandecha, Kilaguni, Lemoyian and Kanjoro. Kilaguni engaged Kandecha in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Suguta teamed up with her favourite Dololo and headed towards the Kone dam. Sapalan, Naseku and Roi parted ways with their friends and headed north, only to re-join their friends later on the way to the mud bath.
Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Ithumbah, Nasalot, Nusu and Noah arrived at the mud bath and spent some time with the dependent orphans there, before parting ways. Only Kilaguni and Kanjoro decided to wallow. Sapalan pushed Nusu and Nusu didn't take this lying down; he turned and tackled Sapalan like a gentleman. Nasalot, Nusu’s mother, intervened and separated the two boys. In the afternoon, Lemoyian and Mapia had a disagreement that ended in a pushing game. Lemoyian won the game, which we knew because he climbed on Mapia and this is always the final act of defiance.
Mutara and her team spent the night just outside the stockades and joined the orphans in the morning when they were let out. After feeding on lucerne, Naboishu led the way out. Out in the bush, Sana Sana and Kuishi teamed up to guide Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu, who are such fast learners. As the orphans were busy browsing, two dik diks walked by in their daily wanderings. Their presence appeared to annoy Mundusi and Pare. The two boys trumpeted in an effort to scare the dik diks away. The dik diks weren’t bothered by their trumpeting, which Mundusi and Pare regarded as very disrespectful. The two boys decided to change action and they started charging, running towards the dik diks. The dik diks, being very small animals, disappeared quickly into the thickets. Their sudden disappearance left Mundusi and Rapa wondering what to do, and their first thought was to search for them in the nearby bushes. Their search yielded nothing and after wasting a lot of time and energy following these two harmless creatures, they decided to give up and go back to browsing.
At mud bath time, Roi, who has been weaned off milk, decided to use all her wits to make sure she got some milk today. She placed herself in a strategic position to monitor the Keepers’ movements and pretended to be sleeping by having her eyes closed, waiting for the right moment to strike. The moment came when the Keepers were returning the bottles to the crates after feeding the second group. Roi quickly moved forward to grab one of the bottles already arranged on the ground for the next group. The Keepers sensed what she was doing when they saw Roi speeding up and they shouted at her, but it was too late, Roi had picked up a full bottle of milk and ran away with it. The Keepers could do nothing other than accept the fact that Roi had outsmarted them today! Though the sun was hot, none of the orphans wanted to wallow. Later in the afternoon, the orphans settled in the Kanziku area and browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day.
After the orphans settled to eat some lucerne grass, a wild bull appeared from northeast and briefly checked on the orphans before heading off again. Rapa, Mundusi, Wanjala, Olsekki and Pare were happy to see the wild bull and even offered to escort him. The bull didn't mind and accepted the offer. The five boys were thrilled by the kindness of the wild elephant and followed along with him.
Karisa led the rest of the orphans out to browse and they decided to settle in the Kone area. Malkia, Larro and Mukkoka went for water at the dam. They were later followed by Naboishu, Sana Sana, Ambo, Malima, Maramoja and Musiara. Shortly before mud bath time, Mukkoka and Larro had a private meeting as Naboishu spent time with Kuishi.
Three wild bulls visited the mud bath when the orphans were there. The orphans boycotted the wallowing exercise and immediately after taking their milk, they went back to browsing. They walked west of the Ithumba Hill to browse there for the rest of the day. Roi teamed up with Sana Sana and Dololo, following the absence of Suguta and Sities in Mutara’s herd who love spending time with Dololo. In the evening, Rapa and Karisa left their friends behind and returned to stockades early before five o'clock.
Mutara and her group were present at the stockades this morning. Mukkoka, Larro and Naboishu walked down to the water troughs as soon as they felt like they had enough lucerne. They were followed by Kuishi, Sana Sana and Malkia. Karisa, as he often does, led the way out. As he walked along, Mundusi came across a log blocking his way. He decided to show off his pushing skills by clearing the way, and tossing the log to one side. He seemed tired after this activity but happy that he had managed to move the log out of the way of one of the orphans’ most well-trodden paths.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area again and as the morning wore on, the temperature soared, so the orphans decided to walk to the dam and have some water before heading to the mud bath. Sapalan and Mundusi played with the Keepers by taking a different route to the mud bath. The two boys arrived early at the mud bath to have their milk before the others. Ex-orphan Rapsu was the only guest of honour at the mud bath today. Rapsu walked to where the orphans were relaxing under a tree and had a brief conversation with the boys before heading off again. Esampu, Wanjala, Nabulu, Maramoja, Lemoyian, Sities and Larro all decided to get into the mud bath to wallow. Lemoyian quit minutes later and tried to block Wanjala from coming out too. Esampu left the water and she was in a charging mood again as she trumpeted, running to catch up with her friends.
In the afternoon, Mundusi, Sapalan and Enkikwe teamed up with Olsekki, Siangiki, Oltaiyoni, Naseku and Roi and left. They later returned early to the stockade compound. Ex-orphans Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah and Ithumbah passed by the stockades and left after having some water. The dependent orphans passed by the main mud bath for an evening cooling-off session, then dusted, before going back to the stockades for the night.
Enkikwe, Mundusi, Jotto, Wanjala, Roi and Dololo walked down to the water troughs soon after leaving the stockades. The six orphans settled to drink water as the rest of the herd settled for lucerne. Esampu decided to have fun by rolling on the soft grass. Once she had enough of rolling, Esampu stood up and resumed feeding. Sana Sana had enough lucerne and tossed some up on her head and looked as if she was wearing a grass hat.
Musiara engaged Ambo in a pushing game that ended when Maramoja, who happens to be Musiara's friend, showed up. Maramoja intervened by separating the two boys. Karisa, Mundusi and Wanjala teamed up and browsed together through the entire morning. Shortly before nine o'clock in the morning, the orphans were joined by a wild herd with two tiny babies. Maramoja left Musiara and went to greet the young babies. The wild herd didn't stay for long but left after interacting with the orphans briefly. Maramoja tried to follow one of the babies but changed her mind after walking for about one hundred metres or so.
On the way to the mud bath, the orphans were joined by Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah and Ithumbah. Esampu assigned herself the role of a nanny to Yogi. The ex-orphans escorted the orphans to the mud bath where they met two wild bulls. Kuishi and Naboishu opted for a soil dusting exercise. They were later joined by Mukkoka, Rapa and Wanjala. In the afternoon, the orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill.
The wild herd with two tiny babies showed up at the stockades this evening. One of the babies jumped into the water trough, prompting its mother to get in and lift the baby out with her trunk.
Only one wild bull stopped by the stockade water trough this morning to have his fill of water. Wanjala, Rapa, Olsekki and Mundusi walked down to have a brief chat with the wild bull. The bull didn't stay for long but walked away soon after the boys arrived. The boys were left with their trunks up in greeting as the bull walked away with a slow measured walk. Sana Sana decided to have fun rolling on the ground. Her game attracted Esampu and Kuishi who joined her on the ground. Later, Kauro led the way out to browse. Ex-orphan Kilaguni joined the orphans on their way too. Siangiki picked up a branch that she happily shared with Naboishu who was in her company. Kuishi came across a nice tree that she used to scratch her ears on, while Rapa settled to play with Ambo. Mundusi intervened by tackling Rapa himself. Perhaps he wondered why Rapa had chosen such a small bull like Ambo as his playmate. Rapa might have informed Mundusi that he was only training Ambo on how to defend himself whenever other bulls threaten him. Mundusi left Rapa and Ambo to continue with their training.
Jotto, Malkia, Musiara and Sattao settled for a soil dusting exercise and later resumed browsing. Wanjala attempted to bully and ride on Larro but was cautioned by Keepers to stop. Siangiki teamed up with Malima to browse as Kauro engaged Mundusi in a pushing game. When the orphans went to the mud bath for their bottles at 11am, they were joined by Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah and Ithumbah again. Shortly later, two wild bulls came for water and left immediately after they had enough. Yatta and her herd escorted the orphans back out to the bush when everyone was done at the mud bath. Kuishi engaged Sattao in a pushing game that ended when some warthogs ran past close by. The two orphans abandoned their pushing game to charge and trumpet after the warthogs instead. The warthogs increased their pace and soon they were out of sight, leaving Kuishi and Sattao confused which way to go.
Some of the bulls appeared to have woken up in a playful mood today. As soon as the orphans were through with the lucerne, Mundusi settled to play with Kauro while Tusuja settled to play Wanjala. Jotto played with Pare while Rapa played with Sapalan. Kilaguni then arrived and disrupted all the pushing games the boys were enjoying. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. It was very hot and the orphans browsed under trees as they made their way to the mud bath.
When they arrived, five wild bulls were present. It appears that the number of bulls showing up at the mud bath is slowly increasing, most likely because it is slowly drying out and a lot of the water holes are drying up too. Nabulu led the first group to the mud bath while Karisa led the second one.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Olsekki, Kauro, Wanjala and Dololo spotted two dik diks relaxing under a tree. The boys decided that the dik diks didn't deserve to rest under the shade while they themselves were burning in the sun. The boys charged and went for the dik diks. The dik diks didn't hang around but shot off into the bush, leaving the shade vacant for the boys. The boys didn't bother following the dik diks since they had got what they wanted.
In the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath to cool off again. After having enough of wallowing, Nabulu led the way back to the stockades for the night. There they found the ex-orphans, and Mteto had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Noah. Sapalan and Rapa threatened to push Nusu when they found him standing in their path into their night stockades. Nusu is a little rascal sometimes and likes to antagonise the orphans!
Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah and Ithumbah joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne. Esampu, Mteto and Naseku kept themselves occupied with the babies Noah and Yogi. Nusu and Yoyo tried to block the girls from getting to their brothers, but the girls fought their way through until they got to the babies. Naboishu was bold enough to team up with Nusu. Surprisingly, they enjoyed a private and peaceful conversation, which only ended when Sana Sana arrived and took Naboishu away. Nusu didn't react but walked down to play with Siangiki instead. Larro and Ambo talked at length about something, just the two of them, but we weren’t sure what about. Nabulu and Mukkoka settled to scratch against a rock as Karisa led the way out to browse. Yogi made the mistake of passing in front of the ‘not so caring’ Kamok. Kamok pushed Yogi away amid complaints from Mteto and Esampu who saw this as very unfair, especially when he is such a small baby. The two girls surrounded Yogi to offer him comfort and reassurance.
Mapia teamed up with Naboishu to browse while Maramoja settled to browse with Musiara.
Thirty wild bulls were at the mud bath today, which is the highest number so far this year, and a sign that it is getting very dry in the area. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Yatta and her herd, who had stayed with the dependent orphans up to now, went a different route, but took Naseku, Olsekki, Siangiki, Oltaiyoni, Tusuja, Roi, Galla, Mteto and Esampu with them. Yatta brought the same orphans back to the stockades later in the evening.
The orphans settled for lucerne as usual soon after leaving their stockades. Musiara settled close to Sana Sana. When they had enough of the lucerne grass, Musiara requested Sana Sana for some training in pushing skills, which Sana Sana accepted without hesitation. When Musiara felt that he had done enough training for the day, the boy thanked Sana Sana, then left to team up with Maramoja. Roi, Naseku, Tusuja, Oltaiyoni and Olsekki left and walked off into the bush with Enkikwe and Galla.
Later, the dependent orphans were joined by Yatta and Nasalot’s families. As usual, the ‘baby lovers’ Esampu, Mteto and Naseku went for Yogi and Noah. At mud bath time, Kilaguni, Kanjoro and a wild elephant were already in the water when the orphans arrived. Yatta took her youngest baby Yogi to swim in the water too. Yetu, her first born, followed her mother and young brother into the water and they all had a very good time playing and swimming. Kenze, who has been away for a while, showed up at the mud bath with a wild friend. Sities tried to join Yogi, Yatta and Yetu in the water but was chased away by both mother and daughter. Nasalot brought her youngest son Noah for a mud bath too. Nasalot stood at the edge watching over her baby. Noah came out of the water when he had enough of swimming and left with his mother.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. It was a very hot afternoon and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree.
A wild herd who last visited in November last year showed up this morning. At that time the matriarch was pregnant, and today she arrived with her two month old baby. Now the matriarch has four babies and a grandchild! The herd settled to share lucerne with the orphans. Shortly later, Nasalot and Yatta’s families arrived, too. Esampu went straight to spend time with Noah while Mteto went for Yogi. Siangiki had a private conversation with Namalok. Perhaps Siangiki wanted to find out from Namalok what life is like out in the wild — and we are sure that Namalok would have told her he is having a great time! Yogi decided to accompany the dependent orphans as they started to walk out to browse, without his mother. While walking, Kamok seemed frustrated with Yogi and tried to kick him. Yogi got angry and cried out, seeking help from his mother. Yatta and her first daughter Yetu came running and collected Yogi.
The orphans settled to browse north of the stockades. Mutara and her group joined the orphans on their way to the mud bath. Lemoyian had a disagreement with Mapia that escalated into a fight. Lemoyian won the battle and to show his dominance he then climbed Mapia. The weather was cloudy and the orphans boycotted the wallowing exercise. Only five wild bulls showed up to the mud bath while the orphans were there. Sities and Suguta took Dololo for a soil dusting session, while Rapa settled for a pushing game with Lemoyian.
Mapia and Ambo had a light strength testing exercise where the orphans settled to browse west of the hill, while their friends decided to take a break from feeding and relax under a tree. In the evening, Nabulu led the way back to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning today. Kilaguni joined the orphans for some lucerne and shortly later, a wild bull showed up for some water. Naboishu left the feeding area and walked down to say hi to the wild bull. The wild bull didn't stay for long. Sana Sana walked down to keep Naboishu company after the bull left. Later, the rest of the herd passed by the water troughs too, to arm themselves with enough water that would see them through the entire morning. After drinking water, Kilaguni had a strength testing exercise with Olsekki while Enkikwe decided to play with Mundusi. Mapia and Ambo warmed up with a pushing game. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area where several buffaloes came to drink water at the Kone dam. Olsekki spotted them and tried to chase them away. The buffaloes stood their ground but when Kamok joined Olsekki in charging and trumpeting, the buffaloes ran away.
When the orphans went to the mud bath for their 11am milk bottle, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans wanted to swim in the water. Ten wild bulls were present. Musiara rumbled but we weren’t sure what he was complaining about. The girls, Maramoja, Sana Sana, Malima and Malkia rushed to Musiara to find out what was wrong. The girls accompanied Musiara back out to the bush as he apparently explained to them what was wrong. He felt much better in their company.
In the afternoon, Malkia played with Jotto as Kauro played with Malima. Later, Sapalan and Karisa managed to sneak away from the Keepers and their friends and returned to the stockades early, where they joined a few wild elephants that had come for water.
Only one wild elephant showed up this morning, and then later Mutara’s herd arrived. The orphans had their lucerne as usual then joined the lone wild bull at the water trough where they shared water. Lemoyian, who was in the company of Mutara’s herd, decided to have a strength testing exercise with Mapia while Malima played with Galla. Turkwel took Dololo to a nearby rock where she settled with him to scratch their backs. Karisa, followed by Rapa, led the herd out for the day.
Sana Sana, Malkia, Kuishi and Ndiwa spend the better part of the morning feeding with Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu. Turkwel and Suguta settled with their favourite Dololo, while Maramoja teamed up with Musiara. Sapalan, Enkikwe and Mundusi ganged up against a dik dik that was feeding quietly ahead of them. The dik dik sensed danger the moment it saw the bulls with their ears raised. The dik dik made a wise choice and scarpered into the thickets. The boys were left in a charging mood with nothing to charge at! Mundusi talked to his friends however and they abandoned their mission searching for the dik dik since it would be a waste of energy and time.
Mukkoka led the way to mud bath as Dololo lagged behind under the escort of Sities, Turkwel and Suguta. Ten wild bulls were enjoying water at the water trough. Soon after the orphans had their milk, the Keepers asked the wild bulls to move aside for a short while so the orphans could have a drink of fresh water before heading back out to the bush.
In the afternoon, Esampu ran into trouble with Sana Sana when she inadvertently slipped and bumped against her. Sana Sana thought that Esampu did it on purpose and decided to punish her. Esampu sensed danger and quickly disappeared before Sana Sana could retaliate. In the evening Yatta and Nasalot’s families, who are still in the area, showed up at the stockades for water and left shortly before dark.
The orphans settled for lucerne as soon as they were let out this morning. One wild junior bull joined the orphans and later left together with them. Larro, who has mastered the area very well, led the way. Mapia and Jotto disagreed about something, but we weren’t sure what. Their disagreement escalated into quite a strong pushing game, but Olsekki intervened and brought an end to it.
The orphans settled northeast of stockade to browse. Some guineafowl passed by where the orphans were browsing but they were making a lot of noise, which annoyed the orphans. Mukkoka, Wanjala, Rapa and Dololo were at the front and decided to unite to bring an end to the noise — they charged and trumpeted as they ran towards the guinea fowls, who scattered and flew up into air and to a different area, which was a very happy result for the orphans who continued browsing in peace.
None of the orphans wanted to swim in the mud bath after their bottles today, as it was quite cloudy and windy. Ndiwa led the orphans in a soil dusting exercise instead, before they made their way slowly back out to the bush. Mundusi headed north where he met with some bulls coming for a mud bath. The bulls questioned Mundusi where he was heading on his own given that he was only a small boy who should be in a herd. Mundusi had no answer and so the bulls made him turn around and they brought him back to the mud bath. He teamed up with some friends there who were lagging behind and together they walked off into the bush in the direction their friends had taken. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Sapalan, Tusuja and Karisa sneaked away and returned to stockades early before five o'clock in the evening.
As the orphans settled for lucerne this morning, a wild bull checked in and headed straight for a drink. Enkikwe decided to walk down and join the bull. He was followed by Sapalan and Naseku. The bull left shortly later after taking enough water. The rest of the orphans walked to the water trough to have enough water to see them through the morning. Karisa led the way today and shortly after they left the stockades, the orphans were briefly joined by Yatta and Nasalot’s families again. Mteto and Esampu, as usual, briefly attached themselves to Yogi and Noah as they love tiny babies so much. The two girls withdrew however when the ex-orphans started walking away.
It was quiet for the rest of the morning session as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. Six wild bulls were present at the mud bath when the orphans arrived. Soon after finishing their milk, Nabulu, Sattao, Rapa and Galla walked to the water trough and joined one bull who appeared very peaceful and kind since he allowed the orphans to share water with him. Kauro got into the mud bath and splashed water behind his ears several times, before getting out to join his colleagues. The rest of the team boycotted the wallowing exercise and headed to the roadside mud bath instead. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. An hour later, the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under some trees due to the hot sun beating down. When the temperature dropped to a more favourable level, the orphans resumed browsing for the rest of the day until it was time to return home.
Three wild bulls showed up for water this morning. The orphans followed their usual routine and settled for lucerne. Kanjoro, who has been away for quite some time now, emerged from the east and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne too. One slightly older bull joined the orphans too, but the other bull was much younger and obviously not as familiar with us and our routine here at Ithumba. He was much more nervous and didn't dare come too close to feed on the lucerne too — but he was still curious what everyone was up to! As soon as Kanjoro — the tough boy who loves the company of wild elephants — had enough, he left the same way he had appeared. Shortly later, Ndiwa led the way out followed by Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu who are all still eager to learn. Malima, Karisa and Sana Sana had a morning soil dusting session before following to catch up with their friends.
Mapia settled to browse with Esampu while Sapalan settled to browse with Ambo. After their noon milk bottles, all the orphans decided to get into the water to wallow today. Enkikwe, who left earlier with the ex-orphans, failed to turn up to the mud bath. Nabulu and Sapalan saw the milk bottle for Enkikwe and decided to approach the Keepers to try their luck at being the lucky recipients… but the Keepers didn't give them the extra milk, as they had already had their fair share. Nabulu was annoyed by this and shook her head, before stomping off to the water trough where she joined the wild bulls that were drinking water there.
Kauro walked to his favourite spot in the mud bath where he loves to wallow, which is just along the edge under the tree. The orphans have scratched and dug at the sides with their tusks so much that they have worn the bank away so much, right up to the bench under the tree. Karisa and Sapalan had a prolonged wallowing session and were by far the last to leave. After coming out of the water, Malkia, who had got information from Nabulu that Enkikwe didn't come for his milk bottle, tried creeping up to the vehicle which carries the milk bottles to try and find the extra bottle there. Unfortunately for Malkia, the Keepers were sitting not far away having their lunch and were paying attention, and they pointed at Malkia who realised she had been spotted, so she abandoned her mission and walked away. By the time the orphans left, ten wild bulls were present at the mud bath all drinking water and wallowing to their hearts content – very happy that this luxurious water spot exists which offers them such respite in the dry heat.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Yatta and Nasalot’s families showed up at the stockades later in the day. They came to drop Enkikwe off who had spent the day with them, before heading east towards Kalovoto.
Mutara and her herd spent the night just outside the stockades and joined the orphans in the morning. A junior wild bull was present and very much enjoyed feeding on lucerne like everyone else. Bomani, who has been missing since about October last year, was also here! It appears that he arrived with the junior wild boy in the middle of the night. After finishing their lucerne, the orphans started leaving one by one. On the way out, Mundusi engaged Ndiwa in a pushing game, but there came a time when Ndiwa couldn't go on because Mundusi was playing quite rough. Ndiwa left and focused on browsing. Ambo and Kamok lagged behind as they tried to collect up every last bit of lucerne, but they joined their friends later on.
The late-night gang, Oltaiyoni, Naseku, Roi Olsekki, and Siangiki, as usual took a different direction to their friends. Enkikwe, who happens to be a long-term friend of Olsekki and Siangiki, decided to accompany them to their undisclosed location. Dololo felt very happy as he walked here and there in the company of Sities, Suguta, and Turkwel.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mutara’s herd escorted the juniors to the mud bath. Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Yetu, Nasalot, Noah and Ithumba had arrived before the orphans and decided to relax under one of the trees in the mud bath area. The orphans had their milk then got into the water because it was quite a hot, dry day, had a soil dusting session then headed back out to brose. Some of the orphans walked towards the smaller mud bath on the roadside. Pare was over at the water trough and suddenly had some kind of disagreement with Yoyo, and started chasing after him relentlessly. Yoyo yelled out for help but no one came to the rescue from his herd, but the Keepers shouted at Pare to stop bullying Yoyo. Pare seemed quite pleased to have won against wild born Yoyo. Karisa and Sapalan enjoyed wallowing to the fullest as they remained in the water for nearly an hour after their friends had left. Yatta and Nasalot’s families didn't follow the orphans but headed in a different direction. By the time the orphans, left eighteen wild bulls had arrived at the mud bath, slowly arriving at different times in their own little groups. In the afternoon, it was still very hot and the orphans relaxed under some trees until the temperature dropped to a more favourable level.