As the month began, Mukkoka decided it was time to stop and smell the roses. He strolled out of this stockade slowly, with his trunk in his mouth, much as human babies suck their thumbs. Naleku and Suguroi had no time for his dawdling and breezed past him, but even this didn’t induce Mukkoka to increase his pace. Instead of tucking into the lucerne with the other orphans, he first indulged in a nice, long scratch on a rock. He was determined to enjoy his morning at a leisurely pace.
Funny Mukkoka left his stockade with his trunk in his mouth this morning. It is something we sometimes see the orphans do after their milk feed - suckling on the end of their trunk to savour every last flavour of milk in their mouth and to soothe themselves as well, almost like a comforting thumb to a human baby! As he was sauntering along in his own little world, Mukkoka was soon overtaken by Naleku and Suguroi who didn’t have time for his dawdling. They were in a hurry to get to the lucerne feeding area. Mukkoka evidently wasn’t in a hurry at all and even when he eventually arrived at the lucerne area he decided to pause and scratch his belly on a rock rather than tuck into the supplement food before him.
The orphans were soon joined by 14-year-old Tumaren, who had shown up recently with Chyulu’s little herd. She enjoyed feeding with the orphans until they deemed it time to start their day out in the bush. Sana Sana led the way out.
Neshashi teamed up to browse on some nice shrubs with Kauro while Mapia engaged Jotto in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans encountered a buffalo. Sattao and Pare were the first ones to spot it. The two boys trumpeted and charged, alerting their friends that a buffalo was standing in their path ahead. Dololo, Ambo, Mapia and Naboishu prepared themselves to join their two friends in charging and driving the buffalo out of their way, but the buffalo appeared to read the mind of these rascals and ran off before the orphans could reach him, leaving the rowdy elephants only charging at empty bushes.
Led by Dololo, Suguroi, Sagateisa, Neshashi, Mukkoka, Naleku, and Roho all decided to go for a swim in the main mud bath after having their milk bottles. They also enjoyed a soil a dusting exercise afterwards to dry off. Later, Suguroi and Naleku led their friends over to the water troughs where they joined some wild bulls drinking fresh water. While the Keepers were standing under a tree having their lunch beside the milk feeding area, Roho, Suguroi, Sagateisa and Naleku convened a meeting. When the wild bulls started to wander off, the four young orphans decided to follow them. The Keepers tracked them down, and the quartet immediately knew that they had done something naughty! As soon as they saw the Keepers approaching, Roho, Suguroi, Naleku and Sagateisa didn’t need much encouragement before they started running back to join their friends. In the afternoon, Ambo enjoyed a fun wrestling match with Musiara while Mapia played with Jotto.
A big group of ex-orphans arrived early before dawn and decided to sleep outside the compound together with their babies. At six o'clock, the dependent orphans had their milk then wandered down to join the ex-orphans. Sagateisa, who likes the company of the wild elephants and ex-orphans, moved to eat next to Chyulu and Cheka, and later moved to join Naserian and Njema. Suguroi settled to play with Yetu’s baby, Yebo. Later the orphans followed Neshashi who had already left for browsing.
The orphans had a quiet morning, except for Ambo and Dololo who paused every now and then for a strength testing exercise. Later on at the mud bath it was only Sagateisa, Nabulu, Ambo, Jotto and Kamok who wanted to wallow. The rest of the herd just dipped their feet in the water before moving off to have a drink at the water trough. Kamok and her friend Ambo were the last ones to leave the mud bath after enjoying their swim the longest.
Sidai and her babies Silas and Sita spent the night just outside the compound. It was lovely to see Sita back with his mother again. When Sidai gave birth to Silas, Sita was annoyed that he wasn’t allowed access to milk anymore and he decided to be independent of his mother, often spending time with the other ex-orphans and their splinter groups. We often spotted him with other ex-orphans. He actually started to lose a bit of weight, as Sidai had another calf when Sita should still technically be nursing, especially during these times of drought. Thanks to the recent rains, Sita is looking much better, because there finally is lots of greenery for him to feed on. He has had a happy reunion with his mother too. Sita is a little survivor; he made it through these harsh times without getting any single drop of milk!
A wild bull arrived and joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. Mapia interacted with Silas briefly while Jotto played with the independent Sita. Yatta and her group started arriving and this prompted the orphans to start filing out away from the feeding area and into the bush. Naleku and Sagateisa lagged behind as they enjoyed playing with their wild baby friends, Noah, Yogi and Lapa. When the Keepers saw them taking too long however they decided to go back for Naleku and Sagateisa as their friends had already moved on and were quite far away.
Several ex-orphans showed up at the mud bath today. Lualeni Lulu, Lexi, Makireti, Kasigau, Wendi and her kids, Lenana, Lapa, Sidai, Silas, Sita, Loijuk and Lili all enjoyed wallowing before coming out and heading off into the bush again. Sagateisa, Sattao, Suguroi and Roho enjoyed wallowing with their older friends, before coming out of the water to dry off on the loose red soil. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly for the remaining part of the day.
A buffalo arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn and found the water level in the water trough was so low that he couldn’t reach the water to drink. He boldly lay down to sleep right then and there, knowing that the water trough would be filled in the morning! When the elephants came out of their stockades in the morning, they immediately went over to the lucerne feeding area. The ex-orphans arrived moments later, waking up the sleeping buffalo, who ran off into the nearby thicket. He returned later when the elephants had gone and drank his fill of fresh water. Neshashi had a light pushing game with baby Siku but ended up losing the game, and shortly later the orphans left for the bush. Mapia decided to leave with the ex-orphans and spent the entire morning feeding with them.
The orphans settled to browse near the Kone dam, one of their favourite places at the moment. Dololo engaged Mukkoka in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw.
The ex-orphans browsed their way towards the mud bath and upon arriving there, Mapia decided to relax under the milk tree to wait for the 11 o’clock milk feed. He certainly didn’t want to miss his midday milk bottle and so bid goodbye to the ex-orphans who continued on their way. When the vehicle carrying the milk arrived, lucky Mapia was the first one to get his share of milk! His friends arrived shortly later and had their milk too.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Kuishi lagged, waiting for Naboishu who had passed by the water trough to get some water, before escorting him to join the rest of their friends. The afternoon got hotter and hotter as the sun beat down, so the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree waiting for it to cool down. Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi, who are now slowly getting used to the heat, stood in the middle of the group. It was a quiet afternoon comprised mainly of browsing and just before 5pm the orphans returned home for the night.
It felt like a very peaceful morning today. Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi are now fully acclimatised to life at Ithumba and the daily routine. All three looked very relaxed this morning as they settled for a scratch on the nearby rocks before going back to feeding on lucerne. Half an hour later, the ex-orphans started trickling in. Among them we were delighted to see Sities, Suguta, Kalama, Chemi Chemi, Namalok, Turkwel, Kilaguni, and Lemoyian, who we hadn’t seen for some time. Mutara, Mambo and Kainuk were missing from the group but perhaps they might show up in the next few days. With the peaceful morning disrupted, the dependent orphans started to leave and walk out towards the bush, opting to respect their seniors and give them some space in the lucerne feeding area and to avoid any competition. Neshashi, who had started playing with Noah, pushed him hard as if to have the last say and bring an end to the game, before running to join her friends.
Out in the bush the orphans were joined by Mundusi. Mundusi, Sapalan, Enkikwe, Mteto, Esampu and Maramoja have teamed up with the ex-orphans and have not been coming back at night to the stockade compound for the past two weeks or so. We felt sure that Mundusi was on a mission to try and recruit Rapa, Pare, Kauro and Kamok to get them to join him on his journey back to the wild. Only Pare agreed to follow Mundusi however, and the two walked off into the bush together. Jotto settled to browse with Ambo while Kuishi teamed up with Sagateisa.
At the midday feed beside the mud bath, naughty Naleku ran off with her second bottle and tried to jump into the water with it. She dropped the bottle just as she was about to get into the water. A Keeper ran to pick it up quickly before it could be kicked into the water. Only Sagateisa, Nabulu, Suguroi, Naleku, Ndiwa, Kamok, Mapia, Roho, Ambo, Jotto and Musiara decided to go for a cool dip in the waterhole after finishing their milk bottles. After having enough of wallowing, Ambo, Mapia, Musiara, Ndiwa and Kamok left to go and dry off on the loose soil. Mapia then had a pushing game with Musiara.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Kamok, Malkia, Ndiwa and Sana Sana split from the main herd and left to browse a short distance away. In the evening, the ex-orphans were back at the stockade compound and had some water before heading off into the night.
Some ex-orphans joined the Ithumba dependent orphans in the morning and they all went to enjoy some lucerne. The juniors decided not to stick around for long as they never like to create competition with their seniors. Suguroi and Naleku were very excitable this morning and charged about in the bushes as they followed the others who were walking more calmly into the bush. Neshashi followed them and tried to stop their excitement by attempting to push them. The two girls just ran faster than Neshashi however and disappeared into the thicket!
Sagateisa teamed up with Sana Sana and Malkia to browse while Ambo settled to browse with his best friend Kamok. Impressive 19-year-old Rapsu passed by the orphans and the boys Jotto, Roho, Dololo, Mapia and Sattao all stopped to admire him, raising their trunks up to greet the big boy. Rapsu just waved at the orphans and walked on without stopping. The boys seemed in awe of him, perhaps wondering when they might grow to the same striking height, and even tried to follow Rapsu, but the Keepers called them back to the herd.
Larro led the first group to the mud bath for the noon milk feed while Neshashi led the second one. Ex-orphans Loijuk, Lili, Ithumbah, Iman, Lenana and Lapa showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there. Sagateisa interacted briefly interaction with Lapa then left to join her friends who had started wallowing and she wanted to swim too. Ambo and Musiara were the last ones to leave the mud bath as they enjoyed rolling and splashing so much.
In the afternoon the orphans chose to browse in the Imenti area. It was a very hot afternoon which prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding and relax under some trees. Later, on the way back to the stockades, the orphans met with Yatta’s group. Pare decided to join them but arrived back at the compound shortly before midnight, and he was let in to join his friends.
Jotto left his night stockade with a branch in his mouth. Close to the exit point of the stockades he met with Kauro and in the process of entwining their trunks in morning greetings, the branch fell to the ground where it was quickly picked up by Dololo. The ex-orphans started arriving to join the orphans for lucerne. The girls Mteto, Esampu and Maramoja, who left the stockade-dependent life recently to become nannies for Naisula’s little baby Nyx, arrived with them. These three girls have always adored little babies and when Naisula had Nyx it was as though the ex-orphans didn’t have quite enough nannies within their herd to help, and so Esampu, Mteto and Maramoja seized the opportunity to join them and help with all the little babies, particularly Nyx. After having some lucerne, Kauro had a brief conversation with Roi while Mukkoka played with Sattao. Malima engaged wild-born baby Sita in a light pushing game which was only meant socially, but Sita didn’t seem very willing to play with Malima and walked back hastily to join his mother.
Nabulu chose to browse with Malkia this morning while Naboishu played with little Roho. Sattao quit playing with Mukkoka to have a strength testing exercise with the more experienced Ambo. The rest of the morning was quiet. Just like yesterday afternoon, Pare decided to stay with the ex-orphans while the dependent orphans continued with their morning of browsing.
While the orphans were at the mud bath today none of them felt like wallowing. Neshashi led the way back out to the bush after everyone had finished their milk bottles and taken a drink of fresh water, and they settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill.
In the evening, Kithaka, who left late last year after staying with us for several months as he recovered from injuring his leg, showed up close to the stockade compound. He stood a distance away from the wild elephants and the ex-orphans who were there. We felt sure that was because he didn’t want to be pushed by anyone which would result in him hurting his leg again. Kithaka is still limping slightly, but his swelling has massively reduced, which is a great sign. It is very sensible for him to stay a bit further away from the other boisterous elephants for now, to avoid any setback in his recovery!
Suguroi was the first one to leave the stockades when the gates were opened this morning. She was closely followed by Naleku, while Sagateisa was the last one to step out. Poor little Kaia was outside the stockade compound, crying for her mother Kinna. Kinna left the previous evening with some wild bulls pursuing her as she is in season at the moment. At the time, Kaia seemed oblivious, as she had been busy playing with her age mates. Keeping Kaia company were Tumaren, Sities, Kalama, Suguta, Kainuk and Kanjoro, who make up Mutara’s herd. The ex-orphans were late arriving this morning, so Kaia kept bellowing and calling out for her mother. Malima and Ndiwa tried to comfort the baby as well, but Kaia just wanted her mother. Kalama, Suguta and Sities took action by walking the babies out to the bush in search of Kinna and thankfully they were all reunited later in the morning.
Roho decided to have fun rolling on the ground. Mukkoka came over and tried to push him up, but Roho fought back as he was enjoying himself and only wanted to roll around. Later in the morning, Sagateisa, Neshashi, Suguroi, Larro and Malima took a break from browsing to have fun where they found some loose soil, throwing some up into the air and onto their bodies as well.
The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly up to mud bath time when Kuishi led the first group to the mud bath. The temperature was moderate today, so the orphans waded through the shallow end of the mud bath just to wet their feet and cool down a little. Only independent Sagateisa decided to get all the way into the mud bath and have a little swim. The orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise soon after washing their feet and when they had enough, Neshashi led the way back out to the bush. After the orphans left for browsing, Lenana and Lapa passed by the mud bath followed by five wild bulls and Zurura. The bulls were following Lenana who is in season just like Kinna.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill again. It was another very hot afternoon which meant the orphans took a break from browsing to relax under some trees until it was a bit cooler. In the evening, Kuishi and Roho led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Nusu and Noah were sleeping comfortably outside the stockade compound as their mum Nasalot kept watch over them. The two babies woke up when they heard footsteps of orphans leaving their night stockades. Ishanga, Tumaren, Olare, Sidai, Silas and Sita were also present in the morning. Two bulls were busy drinking water from the stockade water troughs. Naleku had the courage to walk down next to the bulls to share water with them and they were happy to oblige the little girl. Suguroi had a warmup exercise playing on the ground and later tackled Noah in a strength testing exercise. Nusu, Noah’s older brother, was standing close by to provide back up for Noah in case things escalated! Noah decided to surrender after Suguroi proved to be too strong for him.
Ambo played with Dololo and after their game ended in a draw, Ambo moved to join Mapia who was browsing. Jotto teamed up with Kuishi to share some leaves from the same bushes, while Kamok settled to browse with Musiara. She seemed to be in a good mood today!
At around ten o'clock in the morning, a buffalo walked by the orphans, minding his own business. Ambo managed to get wind of the buffalo and alerted his friends that there was an intruder nearby. Never ones to miss the opportunity to scare off or chase another creature, Dololo, Mukkoka, Naboishu and Mapia teamed up with Ambo and started trumpeting in an effort to scare away the poor buffalo. The buffalo understands the orphans and has encountered them many times, and he decided to disappear peacefully instead of waiting for the rascals to start charging and stamping everywhere.
At mud bath time the orphans teamed up with the ex-orphans who had arrived earlier in the morning to join them. Esampu, who has become part of the ex-orphan herd, joined the juniors briefly and tried to request for some milk at the feeding time, before going back to join her new friends. Rapa engaged Nusu in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw as they are similar in age and size.
It was another hot afternoon as the orphans browsed to the west of the hill again, prompting Kamok and Sagateisa to share the same tree to hide from the scorching sun. In the evening, Neshashi led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Barsilinga and Lemoyian spent the night outside the compound and joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne. We were so happy to see them both doing so well, considering the long dry season we have had. Neshashi soon walked down to the water trough and her friends followed so they could all have a good long refreshing drink of water. A gentle wild bull emerged from the east in a slow, measured walk. He finally arrived at the trough and shared water peacefully with the orphans. Barsilinga and Lemoyian escorted the orphans out for their morning of browsing. Enkikwe, who has recently been accepted by the ex-orphan herd too, joined them all while they browsed, and later he left with Barsilinga, and Lemoyian, leaving their younger friends to their morning. Overall, it was a quiet morning as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing.
While at the mud bath after finishing their noon milk feed, only Sagateisa, Mukkoka, Larro, Roho, Musiara, Jotto, Sattao, Ambo and Mapia decided to wallow. Later, Suguroi, Mukkoka, Kamok, Sattao, Roho, Naleku and Mapia had fun playing in the loose soil pile before heading back out to the bush.
Today the orphans chose to browse in the Imenti area. Jotto had a strength testing exercise with Mapia that ended in a draw, so the two boys resumed browsing after failing to establish a winner. In the evening, the ex-orphans showed up for water at the stockade compound and later the big wild bull known as Dad and two friends joined them too.
The ex-orphans reported early to the stockade compound even before the dependent orphans were let out today. Wiva stood at the exit point and tried to block the orphans from coming out. The Keepers called to Wiva to tell her to stop such uncouth behaviour, which is usually associated with her mother, Wendi! As soon as the orphans were out, Noah picked on Dololo for a morning warm up exercise in the form of a pushing game. Later, he also played with Suguroi, Roho and Naleku. When the orphans were through with lucerne, Sagateisa led the way out.
Everyone browsed calmly throughout the morning without any major distractions. Sattao led the first group to the mud bath which consisted of Roho, Sagateisa and Larro. It was quite cool and the orphans only waded through the water at feet level after finishing their milk. Once again only Sagateisa, who seems to have morphed into a water baby, decided to get fully into the water to swim!
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse to the west again. The clouds cleared giving way to sunshine and as a result, the orphans walked to the small roadside mud bath to cool off there. They browsed quietly for the rest of the afternoon. Rapa decided to leave his friends early and walked back to the compound thinking that he was being clever and would be allowed in to feed on the pellets before any of the others. Rapa was disappointed when he arrived at the compound and wasn't allowed in early as he had anticipated. He had to wait for his friends so that they would all be allowed in together!
The orphans left the stockade compound early as usual soon after finishing their morning milk bottles. The ex-orphans in Yatta’s herd were there to greet them in the lucerne feeding area. Yogi was in a playful mood and started his days activities by ambushing Suguroi. Suguroi rumbled to call Naleku for help, who came running to Suguroi’s rescue and helped in driving Yogi away. Yogi retreated to his mother where Suguroi and Naleku would never attempt to get him. Once happy that she was now safe, Naleku left to have a drink of water, leaving Suguroi still feeding on lucerne. Yogi waited until Naleku had turned her back and walked away before moved swiftly to push Suguroi again! Suguroi was caught unaware and so ran as Yogi pursued her. Luckily Kamok, the no-nonsense girl, met with Yogi running after Suguroi and whipped him hard using her trunk. Yogi didn’t hang about to be hit by Kamok again and so scampered back to his mother. Suguroi smiled as she slowed down and turned back to watch Yogi running back to his mother, happy in the knowledge that she has some older friends at Ithumba who will watch over her!
On the way out to the bush, Roho engaged Naboishu in a strength testing exercise. Challa, Kenze and Kilaguni chose to escort the orphans for about two hundred metres from the stockades, then they changed direction and headed off. Sagateisa found a suitable rock that she used to scratch her belly on while Larro teamed up with Roho to browse. Jotto had a strength testing exercise with Mapia while Neshashi chose Malima to browse with.
Again, the orphans decided to only dip their feet into the mud bath after their milk feed. Even Sagateisa refrained from her usual swim. It was quite cool and none of them felt like fully submerging themselves.
It didn’t take long for the temperature to skyrocket in the afternoon, however. The orphans made their way to the small roadside mud bath again to cool off. It was so hot in fact, that the orphans chose to pass by the main mud bath for a proper swim as they made their way home for the night. They had the most spectacular evening wallow, rolling and splashing about. When they were done, Sagateisa led the way back to the stockades for the night.
In the morning, we found a mother elephant standing in the water trough and this only meant one thing: A baby had fallen into the trough and the mother was attempting to get it out. The baby was tiny, probably only two or three weeks old, and the mother evidently couldn't extract it without assistance. The mother wouldn't allow anyone to get close however, so a tractor was used to keep the mother a safe distance away as the Keepers jumped into the water trough and lifted the baby out. As soon as the tractor backed away, the mother came running over quickly to collect her baby before they both took off into the bushes.
After all the action was over, the orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Five wild bulls and a few ex-orphans joined them. We witnessed something quite extraordinary today: a wild junior bull appeared to have quite nurturing and motherly instincts as he gently put one leg forward when he saw baby Milo approaching. Milo attempted to nurse from the wild bull but obviously he couldn't get any milk. Moments later, Milo walked down to the water trough to join Sities, Kalama and Suguta. The junior wild bull followed Milo and even went so far as to compete with the three girls over Milo’s affection. Milo went past each of the girls trying to nurse from them before finally trying again with the bull, before heading back to his mother Melia.
Confident Naleku joined two wild bulls at the water trough again so that she could share water with them. The incredibly autonomous Sagateisa quietly sneaked off with three wild bulls when she realised that no one was watching at her. The Keepers realised Sagateisa had disappeared when they saw three wild bulls and a small elephant disappearing off into the thicket, heading towards Kalovoto! It was a race against time as the Keepers knew that any delay meant it would be harder and harder to find Sagateisa and it might take them hours to track her. Some years ago, Dupotto, Kelelari and Karisa did the same thing after just a few days of arriving at Ithumba, and it took months to find them! Assisted by the other orphans, the Keepers managed to quickly locate the young girl, much to everyone’s relief.
It was a very hot day and for the first time since the beginning of the year, twenty wild bulls showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there, including the impressive Dad. The presence of so many wild elephants at the mud bath is a sign that other water holes out there in the bush are either drying or have dried up completely. The orphans had a brief wallow then went to dry off with a soil dusting session. In the afternoon they settled to browse in the Kanziku area and in the evening, Neshashi led the way back home for the night.
It was a relief in the morning when Mutara and her baby Mambo showed up after being away for such a long time! We thought that she would turn up any day now, as her other group members Suguta, Sities Turkwel and Kainuk have been around for a few days already without their matriarch, but we couldn’t help but worry a little bit as it is unusual for this group to be separated. They are the only group who has remained intact ever since they left their human family and joined the wild. It was a happy reunion between Mutara and the rest of her herd.
The orphans had their morning milk, then walked down to join the ex-orphans who had already arrived to share lucerne with them. Everything was peaceful until Sidai started chasing Kandecha, Kalama and Kilaguni away for some reason. The noise made by the fleeing trio scared the younger orphans since they thought that Sidai might turn on them next too. Neshashi led the way out but Sagateisa decided to stay with the ex-orphans. The Keepers came and collected Sagateisa and walked her to join her friends. She seems very intent on becoming independent as soon as possible!
Out in the bush Sagateisa consoled herself, after having her morning plans thwarted, by teaming up to browse with Musiara and Ambo. Suguroi came across a dik dik and charged at it. The dik dik disappeared fast leaving Suguroi charging at empty bushes. Kauro, Kamok and Ndiwa lagged, browsing together.
Later on, six-year-old Sattao led the first group to the mud bath for the milk feed while Mukkoka led the second one. It feels like just yesterday that these boys arrived at Ithumba but already they are growing big and strong with nice tusks. Ambo and Naboishu competed who between them would get to the milk feeding area first. The vocal Naboishu, being a little lighter than Ambo, won the race. Mukkoka, who knows how to hold the bottle by himself, refused to give it back after finishing it. He walked off with the bottle still in his mouth and only dropped it when he was about to get into the water to cool off.
Fifteen wild bulls were present at the mud bath at the same time. One of the wild bulls joined the orphans to wallow in the mud bath. Sagateisa followed the wild bull into the water and she was later followed by Roho too. When they were done swimming, Neshashi, Rapa, Sana Sana, Suguroi, Naleku, Sagateisa and Roho went to dry themselves off by rolling around on the loose soil. Nabulu and Sattao walked over to the water trough where they joined several wild bulls drinking water.
The orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day west of the hill. The heat of the day carried on into the afternoon and the orphans decided to pass by the mud bath for an evening cool-off. Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Makireti along with three wild bulls were outside the stockade compound early before dawn. Challa was among the boys. The day started peacefully and as dawn broke, we were happy to see Mutara and her herd sleeping peacefully outside the compound as well. Kithaka, still with a slight limp, was with Mutara’s herd too. As they slowly filed out of their night stockades, the dependant orphans settled for lucerne with Mutara’s herd.
Shortly later, the rest of the ex-orphans arrived. Suguroi, Naleku and Roho were very excited to interact with the wild born babies. Suguroi picked Noah to have a fun pushing game with that lasted for quite some time. Finally, the tough Noah overpowered Suguroi and Suguroi had no option other than to run away! Noah then moved to tackle Mukkoka, mistakenly thinking that Mukkoka was just like Suguroi. Mukkoka didn't want to waste any time with the little boy and just pushed Noah away. Perhaps he figured that the young Noah can have milk from his mother any time he wants, while he has to concentrate and find his own food! Naleku played with Yogi briefly then walked over to socialise with Kaia. Kaia, who already has small tusks despite only being one year and five months, raised her trunk up proudly to show Naleku that she had small weapons that she can use to defend herself. Malkia joined Mambo and Mutara, and Malkia requested permission from Mutara to help look after Mambo. Mutara obliged, but Mambo, who has so many nannies in Mutara’s herd, didn’t stay with Malkia for long and ran away to join Sities and Suguta.
The orphans settled to browse north of the Ithumba compound and had a quiet morning. The morning got hotter and hotter as the sun rose and the orphans walked under trees while feeding. When the orphans made their way to the mud bath for their midday milk feed, they found the ex-orphans there already enjoying a mud bath. As soon as they finished their milk the dependent orphans joined them.
In the afternoon while the orphans were browsing, just after 3pm, Suguroi and Naleku decided to sneak off and find their new friends Noah, Yogi and Kaia. The Keepers didn't realise their plan as the orphans had chosen to spread out over a large area to feed. Neshashi and Roho saw Naleku and Suguroi leaving and so decided to follow them. The four orphans walked all the way to the stockade compound where they met with their wild born friends! The ex-orphans, along with Naleku, Suguroi, Neshashi and Roho then headed on to the Kalovoto area (which the Keepers deduced later on by their tracks). Come four o'clock, the Keepers couldn't believe it when they found that four orphans were missing and to make matters worse, they were the new arrivals! They expected the older orphans to behave like that, but they were all present. Even the usual suspect Sagateisa was present and had decided not to follow her friends. The Keepers started tracking down the missing four, but started off in the wrong direction since they didn't expect the missing ones to head towards the stockades! The remaining orphans reported back safely to the compound at the usual time, and later at half past five, Nasalot, Noah and Nusu arrived with Naleku and Suguroi. At six o'clock in the evening, Roho and Neshashi arrived with the rest of the ex-orphans, much to the relief of all the Keepers. At least the ex-orphans know what to do when young Ithumba orphans decided to join them as well!
Suguroi was the first one to leave the stockades this morning, followed by Naleku. The orphans feasted on lucerne happily without any outside competition today. The ex-orphans were late and didn't report at their usual time which meant that they had walked far away during the night. Mutara’s small herd arrived but they didn't intimidate the orphans, and shared lucerne with them peacefully. Mambo tried to challenge Larro, which Larro didn't take lightly. Larro whipped Mambo lightly with her trunk. Mambo got upset with Larro and decided to run to Malkia who was standing close by. Malkia comforted Mambo by placing him underneath her and hugging him with her trunk.
After the orphans had enough lucerne, Neshashi led the way out to browse. Mukkoka and Naboishu had a disagreement that ended in a pushing game. Kauro, who was feeding close by, came and separated the two boys. Roho came across a log blocking his path and he tried to push it out of the way but couldn't manage. He decided to walk over it instead of continuing to waste his time and energy! Naleku, Suguroi, Neshashi and Larro teamed up together, but the Keepers had a keen eye on them today! Since they were being watched, the Keepers hoped that they were not discussing about some plot of sneaking off.
Ambo led the first group to the mud bath today, while Kuishi led the second one. A cool wind was blowing so none of the orphans decided to have a mud bath. Neshashi, Naboishu, Kuishi and Suguroi opted for a soil dusting exercise instead, while Nabulu, Sattao, Mapia, Mukkoka, Rapa and Kauro walked to the water trough and joined a wild bull who was drinking there. It was a gentle bull and he didn’t mind the orphans joining him. In the afternoon, the orphans were joined by Chyulu and her baby Cheka, and they all browsed calmly together for the rest of the day.
Mutara and her herd arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn. At six o'clock in the morning, the orphans were let out of their night stockades too. Suguroi and Naleku had a brief interaction with little Mambo. Shortly later, naughty Wendi and her family showed up. Mutara and her herd don’t get along with Wendi so well, as she can be so unpredictable and moody sometimes, so they moved off a short distance away. The rest of the ex-orphan herd arrived a bit later too. Once it got a bit crowded the dependent orphans decided it was time to head out for the day, and avoid any competition with their seniors; Larro led the way.
It was thankfully quite a cool morning, so the orphans browsed quietly and contentedly. Later on after having their noon milk feed, they walked through the mud bath to wet their feet on the way to the water trough to have a drink. Challa, Taita and two wild bulls showed up and shared water with the orphans. Roho, Dololo, Mukkoka, Neshashi, Larro, Sattao, and Malima had so much fun rolling and dusting themselves on the pile of loose soil, throwing it everywhere and covering everyone in the process as a light breeze was blowing. Kauro and Sana Sana were the last ones to leave the water trough as they were seemingly enjoying a good conversation with their older friends, Challa and Taita.
In the afternoon, Naboishu tried to entice Sattao to play a pushing game with him. Sattao was reluctant though, as he wanted to relax. Naboishu wouldn’t give up though and persisted until eventually Sattao decided to teach him a lesson, so that Naboishu would leave him alone to relax in peace. Sattao pushed Naboishu hard and when Naboishu turned to run, Sattao grabbed him by the tail to bite him! Poor Naboishu managed to pull himself away just in time and ran off to join his friend Roho instead.
All the orphans decided to behave this afternoon and not give the Keepers the run around! They all stuck together and browsed quietly until it was time to return home. Little Roho led the way back to the stockades tonight.
Mutara and her herd were present in the morning to start the day with the dependent orphans. The Keepers distributed lucerne and they all peacefully enjoyed feasting on it together. Sagateisa and Mapia walked over to the water trough soon after they had enough lucerne. Ndiwa interacted briefly with baby Mambo then escorted him over to his mother. Suguroi and Naleku decided to begin their day with a brief soil dusting exercise before Sana Sana led the way out to browse.
As soon as the orphans chose an area to browse and relaxed for a while, Sagateisa decided to take the opportunity to have a dust bath. She was later joined by Sana Sana who went a step further and got down on the ground to fully enjoy her dusting session. Naboishu challenged Jotto who was also playing on the ground. Jotto is much older and bigger than Naboishu, so he took advantage of Jotto being on the ground and lower down to initiate a wrestling much. Neshashi walked around a boulder and came across a leftover tasty branch, probably dropped by a wild elephant, and picked it up to continue munching on it. Mukkoka started peeling bark from a tree as Musiara teamed up with Malkia and Ndiwa to browse.
It was a cloudy day and at mud bath time, the orphans had their milk then only walked through the water without swimming as they made their way to the water trough again. Three bulls were present, and we realised that one of them was ex-orphan Orok! He is 18 years old now and a very handsome bull. The orphans joined the bulls to drink some water and later went for a dust bath.
Unfortunately, the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine. The orphans converged under a tree to hide from the scorching sun, but resumed browsing later in the afternoon when it got a bit cooler as the sun dipped. On the way back to the stockades the orphans passed by the small roadside mud bath to cool off before proceeding home for the night.
Once again, the ex-orphans arrived early in the morning before the dependent orphans had even left their stockades. Once they were let out after having their milk bottles, Ambo walked over to Suguta from Mutara’s herd where they entwined their trunks in morning greeting. Suguroi and Naleku interacted briefly with Mambo before one of his nannies Sities pushed them away. As the compound slowly became more crowded as ex-orphans and wild elephants continued to trickle in, the dependent orphans, led by Larro, decided to leave and give their seniors space. Kauro, Kamok, and Rapa lagged behind with the ex-orphans and later followed their friends.
Musiara teamed up with Ndiwa and Malkia to browse. Ever since Maramoja left the stockade life to become a nanny to little Nyx, Musiara has been feeling a little lonely as she always used to take care of him. It appears Malkia and Ndiwa have noticed Musiara’s feelings and have decided to comfort him and keep him company.
Sattao and Naboishu led the way to the mud bath today. The orphans had their milk then headed for some water before resuming browsing without wallowing today. Malkia escorted Musiara to get his share of milk, then took him to join their friends. Sattao had a brief strength testing exercise with Malima while Mukkoka played with Dololo. It was another very hot afternoon so the orphans decided to make a brief stop by the main mud bath to cool off on their way home. Neshashi led the herd back to the stockades for the night.
Rapa and Kauro decided to spend the night out last night, but they re-joined their friends soon after they finished their milk bottles and came out of the night stockades. Shortly later, Mutara’s herd arrived. Malkia immediately joined Mambo who she absolutely adores. Mutara didn't mind and allowed Mambo to interact with Malkia. After feeding on lucerne, Neshashi and the Keepers led the dependent orphans out. Malkia wanted to stay behind to take care of Mambo for a little longer, but later said goodbye to Mutara’s herd to catch up with her friends.
Out in the bush, Ambo challenged Mapia to a strength testing exercise. After duelling for a while, Mapia emerged as the winner. Sagateisa, Malima and Nabulu took a break from browsing to have fun rolling in some loose soil, while Mukkoka, Naboishu and Roho split from the main herd and walked off a short distance away.
Sattao led the first group to the mud bath while Larro led the second one. The orphans had their milk then jumped into the water to swim and cool off. Ex-orphan Challa emerged from the nearby bushes and walked to where the orphans were swimming, and stood there as if he was supervising the wallowing exercise. Then he continued on to the water trough for some water. Kanjoro and three wild bulls joined Challa there. Naleku tried to join the wild bulls but was denied access to the water by one of the wild bulls. The Keepers moved in and helped Naleku by pushing the bulls a few steps back from the water trough so she could have a drink. Naleku was happy with the result but what she did next had the Keepers wondering if the playful little elephant was even thirsty! Naleku only washed her trunk then turned back to rejoin her friends.
It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day.
Even once the dependent orphans were safely in their stockades for the night, wild elephants continued to arrive at the compound for water. By the time it was dark, about one hundred and fifty ex-orphans and wild elephants had visited to drink water. Among them we were happy to see a wild family led by a one-tusked female that was last seen about five years ago. This is indeed an indication of how elephants have good memories and never forget! Ithumba received a good amount of rain late last year compared to surrounding areas and so we are seeing quite a number of wild elephant visitors.
The ex-orphans were at the stockade compound again this morning. Melia’s son Milo attempted to challenge playful Roho. One of the nannies, Kainuk, who was standing close by, sensed danger by the way Roho reacted to Milo, and stepped in quickly before Roho could be too rough and push Milo over. Kainuk then walked Milo back to his mother. Suguroi and Naleku attempted to interact with baby Nyx, but were blocked from doing so by Maramoja who seemed to want the sole responsibility. This upset Suguroi and Naleku and they walked away looking a little downcast at not being able to play with the baby.
After feeding on lucerne, Neshashi, who always wants to be in the lead, rumbled, informing her friends that it was time to go. Roho, Suguroi, Mukkoka and Larro immediately followed, while the rest of herd followed later. Sattao and Malima teamed up together to browse. Roho chose to wander off to browse with Musiara while Suguroi teamed up with Naleku. Ndiwa came across a branch which had been chewed on and dropped by a wild elephant, and picked it up to peel the remaining bark. Sana Sana took a break from browsing to have a soil dusting exercise by herself, while Dololo engaged Ambo in a short wrestling match.
It was very hot whole the orphans were at the mud bath and they all decided to get into the water for a swim soon after finishing their milk. A wild bull joined the orphans briefly, splashing water behind his ears. Ambo and Mapia were the last ones to leave the mud bath as soon as they were out, the two boys engaged each other in a strength testing match. They seem determined to try and establish who is the stronger bull! As the orphans walked back out to the bush towards Ithumba Hill, they stopped to roll in the soil and dry off, changing the colour of their skin from grey to earthy red. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing, and in the evening Larro led the way back to the stockades.
Wendi, Galana and their babies spent the night outside the compound and were the first ones to join the orphans for lucerne in the morning. A wild herd with young ones also arrived to have some water from the stockade water troughs. Naleku and Suguroi walked down to the water trough to say hi to the babies but after having enough water, the wild herd left, heading towards kalovoto. We were completely taken by surprise when Suguroi and Naleku started running after the wild herd! The Keepers tried to call them back, but the defiant girls didn't respond, or couldn’t hear, so the Keepers followed behind them continuously calling their names. After walking for about a kilometre, Naleku and Suguroi changed their minds and turned to head back towards the compound, which is when they heard the Keepers calling. The two girls walked back and met with the Keepers and were soon reunited with their friends.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area and were delighted that it was a cloudy morning. Elephants love cool weather as they all browsed calmly throughout the morning. It was still cool when the orphans were at the mud bath so they decided not to wallow today, but did have a short soil dusting session. Sagateisa, Roho, Naboishu, Larro and Suguroi stayed having a dust bath the longest, while Neshashi led the others back out to browse. The impressive wild bull known as Dad and several of his friends came for water at the mud bath and later headed over to the stockade compound for even more water.
In the afternoon Ambo engaged Sattao in a pushing game, but it quickly came to an end when Kamok emerged from nowhere and warned Sattao to keep away from her favourite Ambo! Ambo left with Kamok as Sattao tried to dissuade Ambo from leaving and continue their wrestling match, but Ambo raised his trunk up and waved at Sattao telling him perhaps another time.
Towards the end of the day the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine, so the orphans decided to pass by the roadside mud bath where they cooled off before heading home.
The ex-orphans reported very early in the morning before the orphans were let out. As the dependent orphans came out of their night stockades after having their milk, Noah stood at the exit point and tried to select the right orphan to play with. Noah ended up picking Roho, but Roho wasn’t going to be shown up by the young calf and he kept wrestling with Noah will all his strength until Noah surrendered. Noah then decided to try his hand on Suguroi where he was a bit luckier and won that wrestling match. He continued with his mission of strength testing different orphans until he met Malima. Malima took him through a series of strength testing techniques until Noah got tired and left to look for his mother. The orphans left for browsing as soon as they had enough lucerne.
Sagateisa went to browse with Malima and Sattao. Malima appears to be developing a soft spot for Sagateisa and was happy to browse with her. Mapia, Jotto, Mukkoka and Dololo split from the main herd and walked off to browse separately.
None of the orphans felt like wallowing today while at the mud bath. They joined several wild bulls drinking water soon after having their milk, and then went for a soil dusting exercise.
In the afternoon, Suguroi came across a lesser kudu that had a little baby. Suguroi hadn’t seen a lesser kudu before and she decided to trumpet and charge at the antelope, trying to scare her away. None of the other orphans were bothered by the lesser kudu like Suguroi, and just continued browsing. Suguroi managed to chase the lesser kudu out of sight and happy with the result, she went back to browsing with the others. She walked off to join Rapa and Naboishu while Kuishi walked off to browse side by side with Malima.
Nabulu, Malkia, Larro, Kauro, Ndiwa and Mapia decided to go for a roadside mud bath to cool off when they got too hot this afternoon. All the orphans relaxed under a tree until the temperature dropped a bit, and Malima decided to cool off by rolling in the loose soil on the ground. Jotto and Kuishi saw Malima on the ground and started to scratch their bellies on her! In the evening, Neshashi led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Kithaka, Kilaguni and a wild elephant joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. When they were done, Sana Sana led the way out. A lone buffalo met with the orphans on their way to the browsing field. The buffalo hesitated to get out of the way. The orphans couldn't take this lightly and Kauro led the team in an operation of driving the buffalo out of the way. Suguroi and Naleku, who are always happy about such encounters, danced in the bushes as they cheered their colleagues who were leading the charge. In the end, the buffalo surrendered by running away with the orphans in hot pursuit. After he disappeared out of sight, the orphans calmed down and settled to browse.
Roho teamed up with Sattao, Naleku, and Suguroi, while Neshashi teamed up with Sagateisa and Mukkoka. At mud bath time, Orok and Challa in the company of several wild bulls were present. The orphans briefly attended the wallowing exercise but were not comfortable with the wild bulls that got in for cooling off exercise. The orphans were avoiding being bullied the bulls while in water. Only Suguroi, Naleku, and Sagateisa stayed in water longer than the rest of their colleagues. Ambo, who didn't go into the water, walked towards Challa and stretched his trunk towards him just to say hi. Challa didn't respond but continued with his business as usual. Sattao headed for a soil dusting exercise soon after mud bath while Jotto led the way to the browsing field. In the afternoon, the sun was still hot and the orphans decided to take a break from browsing and relaxed under a tree until the temperatures dropped to a favourable level.
It was a quiet morning. The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Only one wild bull that joined the orphans in feeding of lucerne. The compound looked deserted as compared to other days. The orphans knew that the ex-orphans would soon be arriving and so fed quickly and leave before the ex-orphans arrived. Half an hour later, Malima spotted the ex-orphans approaching. Malima rumbled, alerting the others to summarise whatever they were doing as their seniors were on the way.
Neshashi led the way to the browsing field as Suguroi and Naleku opted to wait and meet the wild born babies. After interacting with Saba, Noah, and Yebo, Naleku and Suguroi left to catch up with their friends. Kamok walked hand in hand with her friend Ambo, while Malima escorted Sagateisa. At the browsing field, Kuishi had a lone game of rolling on the ground. Ambo decided to come over and have fun of climbing on her. Kuishi protested by bellowing, informing Ambo that he was hurting her. Ambo climbed down smiling and walked over to Kamok for protection in case Kuishi opted to punish him for what he had done to her.
Naboishu attempted to ride on Suguroi, but he was pushed down by Roho. Naboishu was angered by Roho's action and turned to tackle him. Roho stood his ground and defended himself from being pushed. Malkia, who was feeding close by, intervened by separating the two boys.
At mud bath time, Sattao grabbed Naleku's tail and tried to bite it when she passed in front of him. Naleku made a lot of noise, prompting Sattao to let her go. The sun was hot, but only Sagateisa, Ambo, and Roho participated fully in the wallowing exercise. After having enough of wallowing, the two boys and one girl headed for a soil dusting exercise. The rest of the group joined a wild bull in drinking water. In the afternoon, the sun was still hot, and the orphans decided to take a break from feeding and relaxed under trees to hide from the scorching sun. In the evening, the orphans returned safely to the stockades.
Sunyei, Siku, and Saba spent their night outside the stockade. Once the orphans were let out in the morning, Sagateisa had a brief interaction with Saba, but Siku came in and told her to keep off from her sister. The composed girl Sagateisa didn't waste time arguing and instead moved on to feed on lucerne. Kuishi had morning stretch up exercise that was done inform of sitting and rolling on the ground. When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Ndiwa led the way to the browsing field. Malkia lagged behind with Sunyei and her family.
At the browsing field, the orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning session. Neshashi teamed up with Suguroi and Naleku while Naboishu teamed with Sana Sana and Ndiwa. Mapia, Kauro, and Rapa parted with their colleagues but joined them later on the way to the mud bath. The orphans had their eleven o'clock milk where Larro attempted several times to steal a bottle of milk but the Keepers were very alert. Larro abandoned her mission after it proved so difficult for her to succeed in grabbing a bottle of milk. sagateisa roho mapia ambo and dololo headed straight for a cooling off exercise. After having enough of wallowing, sagateisa and roho attended to a soil dusting exercise and thereafter left to join her friends, who had already returned back to the browsing field. In the afternoon, Rapa and Maramoja had a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Their game ended when Kauro emerged from the bushes and pushed both of them out of the way. The remaining part of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated more on browsing. M
Malkia didn't return back on the evening, as it appears she met with Mutara's group and helped in babysitting Mambo, who she loves so much.
Suguroi and Sagateisa had a light pushing game early in the morning. This was to keep themselves busy while waiting to be given their milk. They could see it through the wires but there was no way to get it by themselves. After getting their morning milk, Ambo led the way to the lucerne venue. Moments later, Naleku wanted to leave, but she didn't know how to get her friends to follow her. She stood and thought deeply of a plan. She walked down a few metres away then started trumpeting and increasing her pace. In another few metres, she changed to running while trumpeting. Suguroi responded by running towards Naleku, also trumpeting. This drew the attention of the entire herd. Led by Malima, the orphans followed the two girls in trying to find out what was happening. The orphans found out that the two girls were just playing with their minds. The orphans couldn't turn back, so they decided to browse in Kone.
Roho, who thinks that he is grown and can take on his seniors, tried to challenge Larro, not knowing that he was pressing on a wrong number. Larro, who appears small, didn't waste any time with Roho. The next thing that was heard was Roho screaming for help after being shown dust by Larro. The other orphans didn't respond, as Roho was the one who had instigated things with Larro. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. Naboishu lagged with Sana Sana and Ndiwa, who are no longer on milk. The two girls escorted Naboishu to have his milk then walked back to the browsing field to join their friends.
In the afternoon, Roho played with Ambo while Jotto played Mapia. Kuishi had a light pushing game with Rapa, while Mukkoka teamed up with Dololo. In the evening, Malkia, who had gone on a tour the previous day, showed up with Mutara’s group.
Lenana, Lapa, Kibo, Kitirua, Ishanga, and two wild bulls were present in the morning lucerne feeding time. The orphans shared the lucerne peacefully with the ex-orphans, and soon after getting enough, Sana Sana led the way to the browsing field. Suguroi settled to browse with Roho and Naleku, while Mapia engaged Jotto into a strength testing exercise.
Later on, Roho quit the company of Naleku and Suguroi. Instead, he teamed up with Naboishu. Naboishu hesitated and appeared not to be willing to accommodate Roho. Roho forced himself, but Naboishu aggressively pushed Roho away. Sana Sana, who was close by, intervened by separating the two boys and advising them not to live like enemies but be friendly to one another.
Kauro and Rapa parted ways with their colleagues and rejoined them later. At mud bath time, the temperatures were moderate and the orphans only had their milk then headed for a soil dusting exercise. Six wild bulls attended the wallowing exercise as Roho stood a distance away, watching how a proper mud bath is done. After soil dusting, Malkia led the way to the water trough where the orphans settled to drink water. Challa showed up and joined the orphans for a few minutes. On the way to the browsing fields, Ambo met with a wild bull and attempted to challenge him. The wild bull used his trunk to warn Ambo that he was playing with fire. Ambo heeded the warning and left immediately. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any major incidents.