For our Umani herd, the month began with drama. Alamaya reported to the stockades early in the morning. The orphans were very happy to see him as he had been gone for a couple of days. Alamaya was keen to prove to Mwashoti that he was stronger after his adventure, so they proceeded to have a spirited sparring match. Alamaya eventually defeated Mwashoti and chased him away from the orphan herd — but not for long. Mwashoti returned later in the afternoon with his new friend, Ngasha. Mwashoti must have told Ngasha about his ordeal, because the bigger bull went straight to Alamaya and ousted him from the herd. Alamaya sought refuge with a wild family browsing nearby, who welcomed him warmly.
Alamaya came back to the stockades early this morning. The orphans were very happy to see him as he had been gone for a couple of days. Alamaya was keen to prove to Mwashoti that he was stronger after his adventure. They had a sparring match, pushing each other around for ten minutes. Alamaya eventually defeated Mwashoti and chased him away from the orphan herd. Mwashoti left, feeling sorry for himself. He came back later in the afternoon with his new friend Ngasha. Mwashoti must have told Ngasha about his ordeal, as Ngasha went straight to Alamaya, forcing him out of the orphan herd. Alamaya ran off and joined a wild herd that was browsing close by. The wild family welcomed Alamaya, who followed them to the Umani Springs.
At midday, the orphan herd went to the mud bath for their milk bottles. The nightclubbers accompanied by a wild bull joined the orphan herd. This made Murera uncomfortable; she refused to have her milk bottle with the others as the wild bull was too close. The Keepers tried to call her over, but she refused, so they decided to feed her further away from the bull. After her milk bottle she refused to follow the others to the mud bath and remained browsing at the edge of the Umani Springs. Later in the afternoon, after the wild bull had left, the orphan herd met up with Murera again and she followed the them slowly back to the stockades.
Kapei gets very jealous of Amali. He always pushes her away from the older girls. Kapei likes to be the centre of attention and the only one that they are caring for. Today Amali started walking with Lima Lima, and they browsed together all day. The Keepers even had a hard time separating them when they got back to the stockades that evening. Lima Lima wanted Amali to spend the night out in the bush with her, but Amali is still too young to stay out overnight. Eventually they got Amali into her stockade, but Lima Lima hung around close to the gate for a long time. The Keepers also found her waiting at the gate first thing in the morning.
Sonje and Quanza love looking after the babies, although they get jealous as both want to be with their favourite little Kapei. Today, Sonje caught Quanza trying to sneak off with Kapei. She got very upset and chased Quanza away. Kapei seems to prefer Sonje; he feels very comfortable with her, as he knows she is always nearby. Sonje sleeps in the stockades with Kapei, whereas Quanza and Lima Lima are nightclubbers and spend their nights out in the bush. Kapei is very smart, he follows Quanza and Lima Lima in the morning when the orphan herd walks out to browse, but in the afternoon, he will only follow Sonje, as he knows she will lead him back to the stockades.
Ziwa was the first orphan from the Umani reintegration unit to go back to the wild. He was adopted by a wild herd of elephants, and now he only occasionally visits the Umani orphans. Ziwa usually comes in the early morning or in the evening when the orphans are having their lucerne pellets. He stays for a little while greeting his friends then he re-joins his wild family. Ziwa’s wild family loves him very much and are very protective of him. They always collect him from the orphan herd before they move off.
Jasiri and his friend Faraja are both spending more and more time away from the orphan herd. They enjoy roaming around the Kenzili area and the Chyulu hills. The older girls in the orphan herd miss these two boys very much, as they keep Ngasha in check. Jasiri is especially good at making sure Ngasha behaves kindly towards the other orphans. Ngasha makes himself scares when Jasiri is around. The other boys Alamaya and Mwashoti get on well with the two older bulls, as they are all gentle bulls who don’t have any issues with each other.
Mwashoti and Ngasha spend their days with the orphan herd, then when the herd goes back to the stockades in the evening, they leave them to spend the night out in the bush. The smaller babies are happy to have Mwashoti around during the day, especially Amali. Mwashoti is gentle and caring, and he doesn’t push the others around.
When Mwashoti first arrived, Murera adopted him and they became very close. Over the years, they have remained best friends. Each morning, when Mwashoti reports back to the stockades he gives Murera greeting hugs. The Keepers believe Mwashoti is so gentle because he has grown up with Murera as his mentor. The only time Mwashoti gets aggressive is when Alamaya gets too close to Murera, as he is very protective of her.
Mwashoti has also taken up the responsibility of keeping his age mate Alamaya away from the babies when they are eating lucerne pellets. He makes sure Alamaya doesn’t push them around or finish all the pellets first.
Lima Lima loves wild herds with tiny babies. Today, she tried to sneak a tiny wild baby away from its herd. Unfortunately for her, the mother was quick to realise and chased Lima Lima away.
The orphan herd is still very much obsessed with the two newest babies, Amali and Kapei. Amali is settling in well and making more friends within the herd. She has been spending more time with Enkesha, Kiasa, and Lima Lima – although the Keepers must be very careful that Lima Lima does not take Amali away with her to the bush. This is quickly becoming Lima Lima’s favourite trick. Amali is very clever and cautious; she knows which orphans are friendly and which ones to avoid.
This afternoon, a wild herd with tiny babies joined the orphans. The wild babies were age mates with Kapei and Amali. The orphan herd was welcomed by the wild family; they intermixed and spent over two hours browsing together. When it was time to leave, the Keepers had a very hard time separating the orphans from the wild herd. Little Kapei was the hardest to get back. Eventually, the Keepers got a bottle of milk to lure Kapei back. When the Keeper arrived with the milk bottle, Kapei came running over immediately.
Lima Lima arrived at the stockades with a friend. The elephant had no tail and for a minute, the Keepers mistook him for Alamaya. As soon as the Keepers approached the wild bull, however, he got upset and started charging. The Keepers returned to the stockades with the orphans, until the wild bull moved deeper into the bush. Once the coast was clear, the Keepers brought the orphans out to start their day. This time, everything was far more peaceful.
Quanza has joined the nightclubbers only very recently. She still comes to the stockades early every morning to greet the orphans. She misses the younger orphans, especially her favourite little Kapei. During the day, Quanza tries to stay with Kapei the whole time, but Sonje gets jealous and takes Kapei with her. Since Sonje has become so protective of Kapei, Quanza has started showing more interest in Amali. Today, Quanza and Amali walked together browsing, and then Quanza pulled a disappearing act with her. The Keepers searched around for them, only to find that they had gone ahead to the mud bath, where they were waiting patiently for the others. The Keepers laughed; Amali loves the mud bath so much she had to get there early.
Kapei has now been at the Umani Reintegration Unit for several months. He looks much better and healthier than when he arrived. Kapei is still the favourite amongst the older girls, who all accepted him into the herd immediately. He is becoming quite cheeky with all the attention, as he knows that the older girls dote on him. Kapei is possessive of the older girls and pushes Amali away if she ever tries to go near them, especially Sonje. Amali loves peace; she doesn’t want to fight Kapei, so she keeps her distance and moves away to be with Mwashoti and Murera.
Kiasa had a disagreement with Kiombo over an acacia branch. Kiasa had the branch first. Kiombo thought he could overpower Kiasa and take it, but Kiasa was not ready to give it up. She proved how strong and tough she can be. Next time, Kiombo will not underestimate her. Maktao came over to join in the game, but soon realised it was not a playful game. Maktao found it very funny that Kiombo had just been beaten by Kiasa.
This morning, the orphans were heading out towards the Kenzili area to browse. Amali and Mwashoti stopped next to where Murera was pulling down acacia branches to eat. Sonje and Quanza continued leading the babies down the path, until they came across some buffalos that had blocked the path. The buffaloes stood firm, not wanting to move. Lima Lima was brave enough to stand her ground and protect the babies. Seeing this, Sonje and Quanza gained confidence, charging and trumpeting at the buffaloes. The buffaloes ran off, clearing the path. Murera, Amali and Mwashoti remained a little distance behind, lucky to miss out on the buffalo encounter.
Murera was in a bad mood today. She only wanted Mwashoti and Amali near her. When Maktao and Kiombo approached her, she chased them away.
At the pellet eating corner, Kiombo and Kiasa were fighting over the pellets. In the commotion, Amali got pushed. Murera saw this and chased all the other orphans away, leaving only Amali and Mwashoti to eat pellets in peace. Sonje and Quanza decided to move the orphan herd away from Murera and towards the Umani Hills.
Ziwa and his wild family surprised the orphan herd on the hills. Mwashoti, Amali and Murera made their way up the hills slowly. When they got to the top and Murera realised Ziwa was browsing with Lima Lima, she went to greet him. Ziwa’s wild family patiently waited a little distance away. Ziwa tried to take some of the orphans to join his wild family. One of the wild females was not happy about this and trumpeted, signalling it was time to go. Ziwa joined his wild family as they walked away.
By midday the orphans were very hot and ready to cool off in the mud bath. They made their way to the mud bath, but Enkesha, Maktao, and Kiasa were nowhere to be seen. The Keepers tried calling them, but they didn’t appear. Lima Lima went into the bushes and a short while later she appeared with Enkesha, Maktao, and Kiasa in tow. The Keepers were very pleased with Lima Lima for helping them find the truant elephants.
At the waterhole, Amali went swimming first and had the best time. When she had enough, she moved out so Kapei and the big girls could have their fun. At the end, Ngasha came and squeezed himself into the mud bath. Sonje, Murera and Quanza took this as their signal to get out. Sonje led the herd to the dust bath, letting Ngasha have his space. Ngasha called to Mwashoti to join him, but Mwashoti joined the others at the dust pile. The orphans migrated to the shade to rest and browse.
Wild elephants appeared along the Kibwezi Road, where the orphans were browsing. Enkesha and Kiasa were the ones to inform the Keepers that they were being surrounded by wild elephants, so the Keepers would not be caught off guard. Today this duty fell to them as Lima Lima, who usually safeguards the Keepers, was not with the Umani herd. Murera and Mwashoti moved away when they saw the wild elephants, as they did not want to be caught in the middle. When the wild elephants got close enough, they smelt the Keepers and ran off in the opposite direction.
Sonje, Quanza and Kiasa moved quickly to protect Kapei and Amali from getting confused and running off with the wild herd. After the commotion, the Keepers called all the orphans to regroup. Amali appeared with Mwashoti, while Kapei appeared from the thickest bush with Lima Lima. Lima Lima must have joined the herd after hearing the Keeper’s call. Kapei looked very happy to be back in the company of his familiar friends.
Kiombo and Maktao started their usual sparring match. Kiombo is usually the instigator; he starts pushing Maktao, who then must follow suit. Mwashoti has taken it upon himself to be the mediator and stops the fights if they ever become more serious. When the two boys saw Mwashoti approaching, they stopped fighting and pretended to be innocent. Mwashoti stood between them, separating them.
The orphans walked towards the Umani Hills. Murera kept to her slow pace, not influenced by the speed of the others. Ngasha was trying to walk with Kapei, but Enkesha and Kiasa were not happy about this. They were worried about Ngasha’s intentions. Enkesha and Kiasa wanted to prove to Lima Lima that they could be good matriarchs and look after the little babies. Later Quanza and Lima Lima got jealous and came to take Kapei back. Kapei happily followed the older girls, leaving Enkesha and Kiasa upset at how quickly Kapei abandoned them.
Although Ngasha and Alamaya have joined the nightclubbers, they stay close to the Umani orphans and the Umani area. This contrasts with Zongoloni, Lima Lima, Faraja, Jasiri, and Ziwa, who all travel much further and can be gone for weeks at a time. When the Keepers got to the midday mud bath, they found Ngasha and Alamaya already waiting. The Keepers tried to get Ngasha to move away so the babies could enjoy their mud bath in peace. Ngasha knew that he was about to get in trouble, so he quickly walked towards the Kibwezi forest.
As usual, Amali was the first one in the water. She rushed over to the mud bath immediately after her milk bottle. Mwashoti followed her, ready to protect her if needed, while Maktao followed closely behind. Then all the other orphans piled in. The whole herd enjoyed cooling off and playing in the water.
As the orphans were all getting out of the mud bath, they heard monkeys yelling on the tops of the trees close to the mud bath. Amali and Kapei got a fright and ran for cover, while Sonje and Lima Lima rushed after them.
A herd of wild elephants came to the water trough by the stockades. On closer inspection it was Ziwa’s family. Ziwa was corralled in the middle of the wild herd. When he tried to move towards the orphan herd to say hello, the matriarch blocked his way. The wild herd was in a hurry to drink and keep moving, and they did not have time to wait for Ziwa to greet all his friends.
Sonje, Kiasa and Quanza led the Umani herd to the Kenzili area to browse. While they were browsing, Faraja, Zongoloni and Jasiri joined them from the Chyulu area. Jasiri did not give Ngasha any warning; instead, he caught him by surprise, ready to start a serious fight. Luckily, Ngasha managed to escape before Jasiri got too close.
Murera and Sonje were spending some quality time together when Murera saw a wild bull approaching. Sonje likes to greet the wild bulls, but Murera keeps her distance. Murera moved off to be with Mwashoti and Amali.
At the waterhole, the babies had a great time playing. They kicked water around and lay on their bellies cooling off. As usual, Amali was the swimming champion. She was the first one in and the last one out. When Amali had eventually had enough of the mud bath, she moved over to Mwashoti and Murera, who were waiting in the shade.
Kapei and Enkesha got surprised by some hornbills flying overhead. Their wings made a strange noise, which caused the two elephants rushed to the protection of the older females.
Quanza, who recently joined the nightclubbers, refused to leave the orphan herd this evening. The whole orphan herd came back to the stockades for their dinner lucerne pellets and water. After they had their fill, Mwashoti, Alamaya, and Lima Lima walked off into the bush, but Quanza did not follow her friends. She ran into the stockades, trumpeting loudly, making it crystal clear she did not want to spend the night out in the bush. The Keepers let her in, and she promptly went to check on Enkesha, Maktao, and Kapei, before joining Kiasa in her old room. Kiasa was not happy about having to share again, as she had gotten used to having her own room.
The orphan herd was peacefully browsing with a wild herd. The orphans were mixed in with the wild elephants, so when the wild herd moved off, Kiasa and Kiombo inadvertently followed them. Kiombo realised after a brief time and went to tell Kiasa. Luckily, Kiasa is very good at tracking, and they found their way back to the orphan herd. They appeared out of the bush near where Sonje and the rest of the Umani orphans were browsing. Kapei was very happy to see Kiasa back, he came running over to her. The wild herd carried on walking toward the Umani hills.
In the afternoon, the orphan herd came across some buffaloes. Sonje, Quanza, and Lima Lima teamed up to chase the buffaloes away. They charged at them, trumpeting until the buffaloes moved off and left the orphan herd in peace. Murera kept her distance, browsing with Mwashoti and Amali. She left the task of chasing buffaloes to Lima Lima and the other girls.
This morning was cold and misty. Murera does not like the cold, as it makes her bad leg stiffer. She followed behind the orphan herd, walking slower than normal. Her trusted friend Mwashoti walked with her. Ngasha came to get Mwashoti, but Mwashoti was worried about leaving Murera. Eventually, he followed Ngasha into the bush.
At the midday milk feed, Murera decided she did not need her bottle; she is a big girl now and she can go without the milk supplement. On the other hand, the little babies, Amali and Kapei, love their milk bottles and are always asking for more.
The orphans moved to the mud bath, but only a few orphans went swimming today. The others stood at the side, splashing their chests with water.
Zongoloni, Jasiri, and Faraja came back today after spending some time away. Sonje was very happy to see her friends, and she clearly enjoyed catching up on all their stories.
In the afternoon, the orphan herd spent time resting in the shade. Kapei and Amali had insisted on resting, as they were both very tired and hot. Enkesha wanted Kapei to spend time with her, so she tried to persuade Kiombo and Kiasa to help her keep the young bull away from Lima Lima and Sonje. Sonje and Lima Lima saw what was going on and stepped in, whisking Kapei away with them to join Quanza and Maktao. Enkesha and Kiasa were upset, as their plan had failed.
When it had cooled down, the Umani herd went browsing towards the Chyulu area, where there was more vegetation.
After a long hot day of browsing, the Umani herd split into two groups for the mud bath. The first group included Quanza and Lima Lima, who were both looking after Kapei. Murera, Mwashoti, and little Amali waited for the first group to leave, so they could enjoy the mud bath without worrying about being pushed around.
Some hornbills flew over the orphans resting in the shade. Kapei got a fright and proceeded to run around, ears flared as he looked for the source of the noise. Sonje and Kiasa saw Kapei looking worried, so they moved over to comfort him.
This morning, Sonje and Kiasa did the rounds of the stockades, checking in on everyone and finding out how their nights were. They spent a long time talking to Kapei, as he clearly had a lot to tell the girls. Once all the orphans were out of the stockades, Lima Lima rushed them out to the bush, giving none of the orphans time to stop at the lucerne pellet corner. Lima Lima and Quanza had a difference of opinion on which direction to go and both tried to convince the others to follow them. Eventually, Quanza abandoned her plan and joined Lima Lima.
Kapei has a habit of screaming loudly when he is unhappy. When the older girls hear him trumpeting, they rush over. Kapei has cleverly taken advantage of this, and now he screams even when nothing is wrong, and he just wants the girls to be near him. He used this trick today. Sonje, Lima Lima, and Quanza rushed to help him, but there was nothing amiss. However, Kapei was happy and relaxed now, as he just wanted their company.
Jasiri, Faraja, Zongoloni, and Alamaya appeared today in the company of a wild herd. They kept their distance and did not seem interested in joining the orphan herd. Even so, Murera made sure she was far away from the wild herd. Mwashoti tried to join his nightclubbers friends, but Murera asked him to stay, not wanting to be alone. Mwashoti agreed and remained with Murera and Amali.
Sonje and Lima Lima led the Umani herd towards the Chyulu hills. They went much further than normal, and by the time midday arrived, they were nowhere near the mud bath. Amali and Kapei were the only orphans who realised they were late for their milk bottles; the two little babies were hungry! The Keepers arranged for the car to bring their milk bottles to the Chyulu Hills.
After their milk feed, the orphans were very hot. However, there was not waterhole or mud bath nearby, so Sonje and Murera took the orphans to rest under the shade of some acacia trees. Later, the orphan herd walked back to their usual mud bath. The orphans had fun wallowing and none of them wanted to get out, but it was starting to get late and the Keepers insisted the orphans must go back to the stockades.
The orphan herd rushed over for their milk bottles, with Kapei in front closely followed by Enkesha and then the others. Only Murera kept her distance until the chaos had calmed down. Sonje led the herd over to the water trough for a drink, before heading to the mud bath with Lima Lima.
The mud bath was madness today, as the orphans were all fighting for the prime spot. Quanza was trying to make room for Kapei and keep Maktao from squishing him, but Maktao insisted on invading her space. Kapei started trumpeting, knowing that this could cause Sonje and Lima Lima to come to his defense, too. Maktao was forced out of the mud bath. Mwashoti and Enkesha followed Maktao to cheer him up, as he was not happy about being kicked out of the mud bath. Then Ngasha arrived and everyone evacuated the mud bath.