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The Keepers have observed that whenever Alamaya and Jasiri visit, wild bulls are never far away. If they do not appear immediately, they usually arrive before midday. This morning, Alamaya came along the fence line and joined the herd. Soon after, the Keepers noticed shrubs shaking in the bushes and assumed wild elephants were approaching, but it turned out to be Jasiri. When he joined the orphans’ herd, Murera stepped back and watched him carefully. She rumbled softly to her baby, Mwana, calling her to follow, and this marked the end of the orphans remaining at the pellets area.

Alamaya and Jasiri were soon followed by two wild bulls, who stayed behind to eat pellets as the rest of the nightclubbers moved off with Murera into the deeper parts of the Kibwezi forest to browse. Lima Lima and Sonje stayed close together with their babies, Lenny and Sulwe, leaving Zongoloni some distance away with other nannies caring for her baby boy, Zigi, along with Quanza.

When Zigi crossed to the other side of the road, Kiasa did not leave him alone and gently wrapped her trunk around him. Immediately, Sulwe stepped in and nudged Zigi in the face. However, Sulwe quickly received her own lesson when Zigi pushed her to the ground while she was not expecting it. Zongoloni came rushing in, yelling loudly as she tried to see what had happened to her baby, but by then Sulwe had already retreated to her mother, Sonje, for safety.

Since the beginning of 2026, most of the Umani elephants have reported back home, allowing the Keepers to account for their safety. Only one boy, Kiombo, has not returned yet this year. When he does appear, it is always in the company of the wild herd that adopted him, and he seems content with his new life among them.

Many wild herds continue to visit the Umani elephants, although the family that lives with Kiombo has not been seen for some time. Ziwa and his family, however, remain frequent visitors, and when they leave with wild friends, Ziwa always goes with them, never alone.

Today at the waterhole, Kerrio led her fellow Nairobi girls, Latika and Kamili, into the mud bath. Kerrio loves the waterhole and, immediately after finishing her bottle, went straight into the pool. After wallowing, she walked over to Sulwe and Mwana to play. Mwana was especially kind and friendly today, leading Latika and Amali to the dust pile, where they dusted together.

Lenny later joined the group and climbed onto Mwana as the babies played on the dust pile. When playtime ended, Kamili went to Kerrio for what seemed like a consultation. After they agreed, Latika and Amali joined them, and all the babies moved into the shade as the heat increased. Murera did not follow immediately, instead calling her baby Mwana to remain behind with her. Murera’s mood has been changing more frequently, with some days calmer than others, but despite these mood swings, her affection for Lenny and Mwana remains constant.

This morning, a large number of Umani babies reported at the stockade, beginning with Alamaya and Faraja, followed by the nightclubbers’ team led by Sonje and Lima Lima. Murera was already outside with other babies from the stockades, and the Keepers were surprised to see such a big Umani herd together this morning, something that does not happen easily.

Faraja and his friends did not stay long. They left after making sure they had eaten all the pellets still on the ground. Soon after they left, baboons invaded the area to try their luck and get anything left behind. When Mwana and Latika saw the baboons invading the pellets place, they stood firm and defended the area, not allowing the baboons to get closer. However, some naughty baboons managed to sneak around and avoided the side where Mwana and Latika were, hiding in the bushes. Mwana was eventually defeated and decided to follow her mother, who was still nearby waiting for her. Latika then followed the direction where Kerrio was with Kamili.

Zongoloni and Mwashoti took another direction towards the hills, but they were blocked when they got close, as buffaloes stood in their way and forced them to turn back. They then teamed up with Mwashoti, Kapei, and Maktao, who helped Zongoloni and Latika greatly. The boys blew loud trumpets, which scared the buffaloes away.

At midday bottle-feeding time, all the babies arrived on time. Kerrio, Kamili, and Latika came ahead, followed by the others, but Maktao and Kapei failed to arrive in good time. Their bottles were enjoyed by Murera and Kerrio, and the Keepers decided to give Murera and Kerrio the role of team leaders, or head girls, as a reward. After some time, Kapei appeared from the bushes, with Maktao following behind. Both hurried to the milk truck, peering inside to see if they might still get their bottles, which had already been taken by Murera and Kerrio. Maktao could not believe his bottle was gone and stayed by the side of the vehicle, still hopeful that he might be given his milk.

The Nairobi girls — Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili — have really changed very fast. Everyone has added more weight and looks good. Kerrio and Kamili are now big-bodied, and Latika, who came with her ears folded, can now only be identified by her short trunk — the folded ears no longer exist. This was proof that Umani and the Kibwezi Forest is a good home for wildlife. Our girls now look amazing and fatter than any of the other orphans.

The little babies — Lenny, Sulwe, and Zigi — remain very happy babies, being led by the princess Mwana, who has now graduated to a little nanny. The bullying that Mwana and Amali were trying to direct at Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili has stopped. Now, everyone accepts and recognises the Nairobi girls as their own family and are slowly becoming nannies. Latika is trying to bond with Sulwe. She tried with Lenny many times, but Lenny is very sneaky and prefers to be with Murera or his mother, Lima Lima. However, is is a very social young boy, just like his mother was.

Like his mother, Lenny likes eating a lot. He gets more milk from Murera and his mother, Lima Lima. He then gets more pellets every time the orphans walk back to the stockades. Lenny always demands more outside the stockades, where he waits for the Keepers to give him pellets through the fence line. Sulwe and Zigi, by contrast, are very private and stick to their mothers or nannies, with Zigi close to Kiasa, and Sulwe with Quanza.

Mwashoti tried his best to be a good friend to Kapei, but Kapei today found it hard to be comrades when Mwashoti mounted him at the dust pile during play time.

This evening, all the babies got ready to come back home. The Keepers called Murera, and Murera responded very fast, with her baby Mwana by her side. Lima Lima then followed with Lenny, because Lenny had moved to be with Murera and Mwana. However, the boys failed to come on time. Mwashoti, Maktao, and Kapei didn’t show up when Keepers called them.

The Keepers tried to call the boys one last time, but it was getting late. At last, Latika, Kerrio, and Kamili decided to lead the herd home, leaving Kapei, Mwashoti, and Maktao behind. As the journey progressed, Maktao peeked his head out by the road, but Kapei remained hidden. He was with Mwashoti and Sonje, so we knew he would be okay.

Today, Amali also failed to come home, choosing to remain outside with Sonje and Sulwe. Enkesha, who is newly sleeping out in the forest, persuaded little Amali to remain with Sulwe so she could show Amali how they go about night-time activities. Amali was assured that if she spent the night out today, very early in the morning she would be taken back to the stockades to get her milk bottle and pellets.

Late at night, the Keepers heard some elephants drinking water outside the stockades. One elephant was making noise just next to the fence line. When Keepers went outside to check, they found Kapei and Mwashoti together with wild friends drinking water. Kapei did not want to go into his room; he was having fun with his new friends. After a drink, the boys went back into the Kibwezi Forest with their associates. 

Kapei and Amali teamed up with Sonje and Zongoloni’s team, who misled the young orphans. Both missed the last evening bottles and slept away from home. This morning, they made their appearance very early, demanding their milk bottles, but again found nothing because they were not on time.

The Nairobi girls, on the other hand, slept in their rooms and therefore got their milk bottles. Since coming from the Nursery just a month and a half ago, Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili have shown how lovely the Kibwezi Forest is for them. Again, the bullying that had been directed at them by the other babies has now slowed down, and all three girls are now fully accepted into the Umani herd. Kerrio is still the boss of Kamili and Latika, and they remain under her command.

Murera stopped a few metres away after hearing screaming and trumpeting from wild elephants within the bushes. This made Murera feel unsafe. She called Mwana to be with her and the two walked back to their Keepers for guaranteed safety. When Murera feels unsafe, she goes to where the Keepers are or walks away and takes Mwana with her.

Mwashoti and Kapei disagreed with a wild bull who joined the orphans when Enkesha was on her honeymoon. Ever since then, he has not left Lima Lima and her team. This afternoon, he came and tried to bully Mwashoti, which Maktao did not like to see. His friend Mwashoti was being pushed by a non-resident, and he decided to join hands with Kapei and take the wild bull head-on to help Mwashoti. Zongoloni whispered to her friend Lima Lima after seeing the little boys trying to fight the wild bull. Then Lima Lima went to broker peace. Later, Mwashoti, Kapei, and Maktao stopped fighting and went to the waterhole to splash water on their bellies as a way of cooling off after the strong fight with the wild bull.

Alamaya came along with his male wild friend to visit the stockades and found the other elephants had left for the Kibwezi Forests towards the Chyulu Hills. A Keeper who was at the stockades went to say hello to Alamaya. When Alamaya turned and saw the Keeper calling his name close by the fence line, he went to say jambo to his Keeper, leaving his male friend watching who Alamaya was with. When the wild bull spotted the Keeper with Alamaya, he got nervous and left the place, unsure and uncomfortable seeing Alamaya with his human family. He moved towards the springs and waited for Alamaya to join him later.

The Keeper dropped some lucerne bales for Alamaya to enjoy. After the Keeper left, his wild friend walked back to enjoy the lucerne together with Alamaya. The Keeper continued with his other duties and left the pair alone. The visitor was almost the same size as Alamaya, but had shorter tusks — Alamaya’s tusks are very long.

Kerrio led all the Nairobi girls straight to the bottles just after Maktao, who is now the most greedy boy at Umani. Later, they all went to the waterhole. The swimming pool was opened by Kerrio, who loves swimming. Immediately a big group came to the waterhole. Kerrio walked out with Latika, and they all went to the dust pile for their own space away from Kapei, who sometimes does not play very politely.

This afternoon, many wild elephant herds moved into the orphans’ group and tried to attract little Sulwe and Lenny. Zongoloni and her baby Zigi intervened after seeing that Sulwe and Lenny were getting lost among the wild herd without their mothers near them. It took Zongoloni some time to move them back towards the orphans. As soon as Kiasa, Enkesha, and Amali realised the situation, they moved very fast into the wild herd. Enkesha used all her tricks and brought both Sulwe and Lenny back.

Murera brought Mwana and Lenny to their own private area, away from the other orphans. Kerrio, Kamili, and Latika decided to walk back to Mwana. Unable to resist, Mwana tried to push Kamili from behind as she used to do when the girls were still new at Umani. However, she was swiftly put in her place: Kamili gave her a stern warning, making it clear that Mwana may have gotten away with this before, but now she is a full resident and must be respected. Mwana did not expect such a reaction and stopped.

Kerrio is fast becoming the Umani swimming star, together with Lenny. Immediately after Kerrio finishes her bottles, she looks for the pool and lowers herself into the water, covering her belly to keep away ticks and flies. When Latika and Kamili saw her, they also joined her with Lenny. Soon, the whole group was swimming. 

Lenny is now becoming too greedy for milk. After finding that Murera had been producing the milk he loves, and with his mother, Lima Lima, not having as much as he wanted, today the Keepers spotted Lenny hiding behind Zongoloni while she was nursing Zigi. Before Zigi could reach his mother, Lenny sneaked his mouth to Zongoloni’s breast without her noticing, trying to trick her into thinking he was Zigi. However, Zongoloni was very keen and careful. She watched Lenny as he tried to hide behind her and sneak milk even though he was not her baby. Lenny received a firm reprimand from Zongoloni, who is a no-nonsense mother, and she punished him for trying to steal her milk.

Lenny is becoming very greedy and never seems satisfied with what he gets from his own mother. Murera has been volunteering to nurse him, but now her milk is reducing as she is expecting another baby. Lenny could not settle and continued to be sneaky, trying to get milk from other mothers. The Keepers were left laughing after seeing how Lenny’s behaviour is becoming excessive, which could put him at risk if he continues trying this with more private mothers like Zongoloni and Sonje, who are not generous like Murera and are very protective of their own babies.

Kerrio and Kamili joined Mwana and Mwashoti at the dust pile today, where Mwana climbed to the top and played nicely. When Mwashoti walked up the hill, Mwana did not trust him and rumbled for her mother or an older nanny for protection. Quanza and Murera then moved in and sent Mwashoti away from the little babies who were at the top of the dust pile.

The orphans had a very good start to the morning. Both nightclubber groups came together and found the stockade-dependants already out at the pellet feeding area. Lenny arrived, then Kiasa came forward with Quanza and Mwashoti. When Kiasa spotted a baboon and her baby at the pellets, Sulwe and Lenny followed her so they could chase it away. The baboon thought she and her baby could run away from Lenny without knowing Kiasa was also on the other side. Murera and Sonje watched how the young generation chased the baboons away. They behaved as if they were now elders, leaving such duties to the juniors rather than handling them themselves.

Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili came along for the midday bottles, with Kerrio leading the girls. The upcoming greedy boy of Umani, Maktao, sneaked through the bushes and tried to go ahead of the Nairobi Girls. The Keepers soon saw him ahead of Kerrio and her friends.

Afterwards, the babies followed Kerrio into the waterhole for swimming as it had become very hot. Mwashoti and Kapei caused a big disturbance inside the waterhole by stepping too close to the little babies. Zigi and Sulwe screamed loudly for help, which brought Zongoloni and Quanza quickly to assist. When Mwashoti and Kapei were found close to the distressed baby Zigi, it became a serious matter for the two boys. They were shown the exit by the mums and nannies.

Two wild bulls of similar age to the orphans came out of the bushes, and later Faraja appeared. The Keepers whispered that there must be more wild elephants nearby. Shortly afterwards, Lima Lima arrived with Lenny and walked directly to where the Keepers were seated — she was delivering a message. The signal Lima Lima had brought was accurate, as two more large bulls emerged and joined them. This became a tense moment for Murera and the Keepers. As soon as Murera detected the scent of the wild bulls, she moved out into the open fields, while the Keepers also guided everyone out of the thick bushes to a clearer area where visibility was better.

Mwana led her mother, Murera, followed by the Keepers and Kerrio. The Keepers worked hard to bring Kerrio, Kamili, and Latika into the open as well, so the wild elephants would not draw them away, which would have made it difficult to bring them back at home time. They successfully kept Kerrio and her group together with Murera.

Meanwhile, Quanza and Kapei joined Sonje and Kiasa in disciplining some warthogs that had emerged into the field and found elephants scattered everywhere. Only the warthogs’ tails were soon seen as Quanza and Kapei chased them away until they disappeared from the area. Trumpeting echoed all around, and within the Kibwezi Forests the orphans charged in different directions to ensure no warthogs remained nearby.

At the mud bath, two buffaloes raised their heads and looked towards the elephants. Kerrio and Kamili were in the lead, and they stopped to watch what had raised its head. The buffaloes then returned into hiding as Kerrio and Kamili continued on their way to the bottles. Latika forced her way into the herd and pushed Amali, who was holding a bottle in her mouth. Amali became nervous and felt unsafe among the elephants that were crowding her, especially with Maktao and Kapei nearby, but the Keepers stood firm and helped her. Zigi came to help his nanny and found that Kiasa had already taken charge and was shielding Amali from the two boys.

Sonje then walked towards the water trough, taking Sulwe to drink. She led her baby and thought some friends might follow them, but none did except Mwashoti. Later, Alamaya joined them, arriving with a wild friend who became very nervous upon spotting the Keepers. Lima Lima quickly intervened and shielded the Keepers, just as she used to do when she was younger, repeating the same protective behaviour now that she is a mother. She remains very attentive to what is happening around the Keepers and is ready to defend them.

Lenny then followed his mother. He was perhaps a little curious about why Lima Lima was acting that way, but he was mainly interested in feeding. He slipped underneath her and began nursing. Zigi noticed and pulled his tail, which made Lenny stop nursing and charge at Zigi for disturbing him, as he clearly did not appreciate being interrupted while nursing.

Kiasa and Kerrio caught our attention today when they expressed their differences over Zigi. Kerrio has been trying very hard to bond with the little babies, Lenny, Sulwe, and Zigi, but she has been especially drawn to Zigi as her favourite. This was seen clearly in front of the Keepers when Kerrio walked over and encouraged Zigi to go along with her, and he agreed. When Kiasa noticed Kerrio moving away with Zigi, she did not approve and worked hard to stop him from following Kerrio. As the situation became tense, Zigi rumbled, which brought his mother, Zongoloni, to see why he was complaining. By the time she arrived, Kerrio had already moved away. She knows that Zongoloni is a very strict mother and was wary of being found too close to Zigi in her presence.

Kamili then moved to be with Kerrio, and Latika joined them as well, accompanied by Mwana. Kapei tried to involve himself with the girls, but his attempts were quickly blocked. His friend Maktao then came for him and led him away from the girls to where Mwashoti was with Quanza and Alamaya, which had become more of a boys’ gathering.

When Alamaya joined them, Mwashoti quietly left soon afterwards. The Keepers wondered what might be wrong between the two boys, but no one could say for certain. It may be connected to their changing dynamics as they have grown older. In earlier years, when Mwashoti and Alamaya were young boys within the stockades before joining the wild groups, they were very close friends, but now they seem to be slowly drifting apart since becoming part of the nightclubbers.

Sonje became annoyed and kicked Maktao after seeing him trying to play roughly with Sulwe while her mother was watching. Maktao was unaware that Sonje had been monitoring him closely. Just before he could place his heavy foot on Sulwe, Sonje grabbed his tail. When he felt it being pulled, he tried to run away, but Sonje caught up with him, shoved him firmly from the side, and sent him on his way. None of the girls showed any concern for Maktao, as they know his habit of being too rough with little babies. Only Kapei and Mwashoti later walked over to sympathise with him.

Lenny, ever a sweet boy and very devoted to his Keepers, walked over when they called him, assuming they had food for him. When he realised there were no snacks, he quietly returned to his mother, Lima Lima, looking disappointed.

At midday bottle time, when all the elephants lined up, Kerrio and Kamili competed with Maktao, who has now taken over the leading position — much like Lima Lima used to do before she became a mother. Maktao came first, Kerrio second, and Kamili third in what is always a fiercely contested race.

Enkesha arrived with Kiasa, and as soon as they approached Mwana and Zigi, tension arose between the two nannies, leaving the Keepers wondering what had caused the disagreement. Shortly afterwards, Quanza joined them and attempted to calm the situation. Enkesha, who is normally a very gentle girl, stepped back once Quanza intervened. Kiasa had taken offence because Enkesha was holding a stick that Zigi had picked up from her, which made Kiasa think Enkesha was trying to bond too closely with him. In reality, Enkesha was simply giving Zigi attention and had no intention of pushing Kiasa aside.

Zongoloni soon arrived and led Zigi away to avoid further nanny disputes. He settled beneath his mother to breastfeed. While he was nursing, Mwana passed by and touched his tail, which he strongly disliked. Being disturbed while feeding was poor “table manners” in Zigi’s view, and he protested loudly, prompting Mwana to move away to stand beside her mother, Murera.

Later, Kerrio and Kamili went down to the mud bath, where they were soon joined by Latika, giving the Nairobi girls an enjoyable time in the pool. The trio briefly blocked other orphans from entering. Amali chose instead to take Sulwe and Lenny to a nearby waterhole for quieter space until their mothers arrived. Once the mothers collected their babies, Sonje walked alongside Sulwe and then left with her calf, while Murera, Kerrio, and the others moved into the shade so the babies could rest comfortably during the hot afternoon.

Trumpets were heard by the Keepers deep inside the forest, prompting everyone to get up and see which elephants might be causing the commotion. This time, Lima Lima was not nearby to give early warning or alert the Keepers. They climbed onto higher rocks for a better view and saw, in a wider clearing, Faraja arriving with a companion coming to join the orphans.

Murera did not move away, which reassured the Keepers that all was well. When Murera remains calm and does not retreat from the bushes, it is a reliable sign that there are no threatening wild elephants nearby.

Mwana was called by her mother for breastfeeding, but she has grown quite large. She bent her head to reach the breast, but her head and trunk blocked her from nursing properly. When she tried on the other side, Murera left, and Lenny took the opportunity to suckle, taking all the milk that was available for Mwana. Seeing this, Mwana gave up and walked over to where Kerrio and Latika were enjoying themselves.

Meanwhile, Mwashoti had a difficult time trying to stop Maktao and Kapei from play-fighting, which looked dangerously like real fighting. Mwashoti intervened, attempting to prevent the aggressive behaviour. He was concerned that Kapei might be getting hurt, but Kapei was determined to continue. Boys being boys, Kapei resisted leaving, but Mwashoti applied more force and managed to push him away from attacking Maktao.

Lenny was playing tricks with Sulwe during pellet-eating time. When he saw Sulwe approaching, he moved to block her and played around with her, trying to confuse her so that she would not eat the pellets. When Sulwe realised that Lenny was playing a trick on her, she rumbled, which brought her mother, Sonje, to her side. Lenny became frightened and ran away, leaving Sulwe there while he went to Murera.

Kiasa walked over to check on the babies but did not get far when Zigi made noise that required the nannies’ attention. Kerrio and Latika went to look for greens and found a tree that had been pulled down by a wild elephant, and they enjoyed the leftover acacia branches. Kamili did not want to leave the spot even when it was almost time to go home, so she was left behind and soon found herself alone without any friends nearby. When she realised this, she called out loudly to attract attention from any elephant who might help her find the others, who had already headed back to the stockades.

Her loud rumbling and calling prompted the other babies to return and help her find her way home, with Kerrio coming back for her. Meanwhile, the other night-roamers took their usual direction behind the stockades for milk bottles and lucerne. Lenny arrived and went straight behind the lucerne store, knowing he would find pellets there. A Keeper followed, and Lenny also followed along the outside fence line, aware that the Keeper would bring him the pellets he wanted.

Lenny had been bonding with Murera with plans he had for breastfeeding, but Murera did not allow it. Lenny turned to play with Sulwe and Zigi. The moment he meets Zigi, they must play-fight as boys trying to prove themselves. Lenny’s agemate, Sulwe, does not like pushing games.

Enkesha now lost interest in demanding her bottle. She only targets the midday feed, but when she comes home in the evening she no longer demands a bottle. Since her honeymoon ended, Enkesha has changed; she is more calm and a happy girl. Kerrio is now taking the position that Enkesha was playing, with support from Latika and Kamili.

Today, Kapei found a wild friend who sneaked his way into the orphans’ herd. The young bull did not want to play with them because they were very junior to him, and instead chose to play around with Mwashoti, who was closer to his size. Mwashoti then welcomed his other friends Kapei and Maktao back. All three boys surrounded the bull in a friendly way, but the bull had enough and left.

Mwana has learned a lot from Amali and Kerrio. She is a composed and caring young girl who can be trusted with little babies when given the opportunity. Mwana is proving to be as kind as her mother Murera, who volunteers to help every baby in need of her.

If Mwana shares the big heart Murera has for babies, it would be another milestone for Umani. It is becoming a place where kind nannies help new mothers take great care of their babies, much like how Murera supports Lenny when Lima lima is not around.

Kamili and Latika are both trying to bond with Sulwe and make her be their friend. Before, Sonje would scare the girls away, because she is very protective of her daughter. Despite this, Sulwe likes the girls and enjoys spending time with them.

This afternoon, Alamaya appeared from the bushes with Faraja. It had been awhile since Alamaya’s last visit, but he was welcomed well by Murera, who was not in a good mood. When she spotted Alamaya joining the herd, she chased him away. Faraja she permitted to stay, being a big boy.

The nightclubbers didn’t report today on time when we expected them. Only Quanza, Kiasa, and Enkesha came along this early morning and found Amali with friends already having pellets. They were welcomed by Kerrio and Kamili, who caught their smell from within shrubs and walked out to bring them into the herd. Mwana and Murera were having their own special time, which they set aside to be only for mother and daughter eating table.

Later, Mwana walked over to her good friend Amali to say hello. Murera followed, and Kerrio was spotted in a hurry running away from her, worried that she was going to get in trouble. Many of the babies don’t trust her, because of her ever-changing moods. Some days Murera behaves so sweet and jovial, other days she doesn’t have time for anyone. Her changing moods never affect her baby Mwana, who she always favours.

While the orphans were browsing inside the Kibwezi Forest, buffaloes came out from the bushes and surprised them. Kerrio brought Amali and little Mwana away from the buffaloes. Some minutes later, the Keepers heard trumpeting elephants and breaking branches. Now, it was Lima Lima and her team returning to join the orphans.

Amali stopped what she was doing and rushed to join them as a way of welcoming them into the herd. The Keepers waited from a distance to see if there was a wild elephant amongst them and, finding one, joined the group.

Quanza and Enkesha arrived, then Lenny and Sulwe were competing to reach Murera first. Lenny won the race.

Like mother, like daughter, Mwana is really showing the kindness and love that Keepers see with her mother, Murera. Mwana always has time for the little babies, Lenny, Zigi, and Sulwe. Any moment they walk to her, she gives them an ear and listens to them. If she can do anything for them, Mwana takes over and helps.

This time, Zigi had an issue with Sulwe. They were fighting over a stick that Sulwe was holding in her mouth. Zigi wanted to grab it from her, but Sulwe denied him that stick. By some good luck, Mwana walked by and intervened in the fight-and-pull situation. First, she walked over to Zigi, then went to Sulwe for consultation. Some minutes later, the Keepers saw Mwana returning back to Zigi, and Sulwe agreed to give the stick to him. After that, Mwana took Zigi back to where Amali and Zongoloni were.

Zigi whispered to his mother about the fight he was having with Sulwe, but Zongoloni made no reaction — she knew Sulwe could have been very right, and her baby could have been wrong.

Later, Zongoloni and Murera joined Kerrio and Kamili, who were having a good time trying to pull down a branch to eat. Unfortunately, the branch was too tall for anyone to reach, and they needed a taller elephant to come and help them. By good luck, Mwashoti and Faraja came along and helped to bring the branch down.

The rain just started after a dry spell. During the dry season, we experienced many wild elephants mixing up with the orphans. This sometimes made Murera very worried, because she doesn’t trust an unknown group of elephants around her.

But when it rains, the wild elephants travel far. They move to places now with lots of water and go look for new green pastures away from our babies. They will only come back again in large numbers when the rain stops.

Mwana would not leave her mother far away, even while playing around with other little brothers and sisters in the company of nannies. Lenny miscalculated his movement and slipped on the wet earth, taking him down. He screamed for help, but none of the nannies or big girls were bothered. He had to get up and walk away as a strong boy. He went to his mother Lima Lima, but he was ignored; he found his mother too busy pulling down some food for him.

When Sulwe came along with Sonje, Lenny thought it was not wise for Sulwe to enjoy the food that was dropped by Lima Lima. He tried to push her, but Sulwe stood firm and challenged him. Then Lenny had to stop after seeing Sonje walking towards them.

Amali and Enkesha went to perform their duties as nannies, where Zigi welcomed Amali. He then jumped on top of Amali at the dust bath to play, before Kerrio joined them to play together.

Lima Lima with her team never showed up this morning, but everyone was hopeful that before the midday feeding time all would be around. We kept our faith in Amali, who is always very accurate. When Amali sneaked into the bushes and raised her trunk up to get the accurate direction so that she would go and find them, we trusted her judgment.

By midday, the nightclubbers remained absent, but then the Keepers noticed that Amali was very restless and rumbling. We knew she was making a plan and followed her. When Kiasa and Enkesha came out from the woods, there was big trumpeting around the babies and rumbling. Everyone was overjoyed to be reunited. Kerrio and Latika even joined the party.

Murera walked to greet her best friend, Sonje. Then Murera placed her trunk on Sonje’s mouth, smelling what she ate and seeing if she would share with her, but she found nothing to celebrate. Kamili and Kerrio, accompanied by Mwana and Enkesha, led the way back to the waterhole.

The Keepers never expected that the orphans would do the mud bath because of the morning rains, but they surprised us. In a very wonderful moment, little Sulwe and Zigi jumped into the waterhole, then all babies big and small joined them, making the mud bath today very fantastic.

Murera and her baby Mwana led the stockade-dependents outside. After the morning bottle feed, the Keeper took his wheelbarrow full of pellets, pushing it outside the gate for all babies to enjoy. It was still a bit dark, but it was time for the Keepers to open the gates for the orphans to come out.

Murera did not see the wheelbarrow when the Keeper was taking it away. She got confused and walked back to the milk bar area looking for pellets because she did not see it when the Keeper was pushing it to the elephants. Only when the Keeper called Murera did she realise that the pellets were already outside.

Maktao with his close friend Kapei were found in a tight corner when Murera and Mwana found them in the place they considered to be “their” place. Murera charged at Maktao, making him run far away. The boys went into hiding, leaving Murera to enjoy pellets with the Nairobi girls.

This afternoon was very peaceful. No elephants went into the waterhole to swim since it rained last night. Today it was not very hot but warm, which was not pleasing for the elephants to go and swim. Instead, Kerrio, Kamili, and Latika played in the dust which they dug using their feet. That was the end of midday actions.

The orphans woke up today looking happy and ready for the long day awaiting them ahead. When Murera and her baby Mwana came out, they found Maktao, Kapei, Amali, Latika, Kerrio, and Kamili were already enjoying their morning pellets, but all nightclubbers were not in attendance.

While Keepers were still with Murera and her team outside the place, Amali heard some little elephants blowing out loud trumpets. It was obvious to her that those must be Lenny and Zigi running to join them. Amali listened, and again she listened only twice, and she located the direction she was sure to get them from. She went for them and brought back Lenny and Zigi, because Sulwe was still not around with her mother Sonje.

Kapei and his friends Mwashoti and Maktao started to play around the dust pile, going close to where Zongoloni and Zigi were playing on top of the dust pile. Zongoloni thought they were going to make Zigi run away from the dust pile, and this made Zongoloni push them all aside and give Zigi good time to play in the dust. He was even trying to take a nap while on the dust pile. This was why Zongoloni was protecting Zigi from being disturbed by Mwashoti and friends.

Lima Lima with her team didn’t come this morning when everyone was out and enjoying the morning pellets. Murera was in a good mood. She even welcomed Kamili and Latika to her side, close to Mwana. Latika was not trusting to be so close because Murera often keeps them on toes, pushing them aside and only wanting Mwana to be next to her. Today, it was different.

Latika and Kamili were later called by Kerrio to follow her. With Amali, they waited for Murera to show them a direction for the day. Murera chose the way, but the young boys, Kapei and Maktao, made their own decision. Being a boy, Maktao chose to convince Kapei to join him in the bushes. They left the girls on their own. After a little while, however, the two boys later came back and joined them again. Murera remained the top and rightful leader to all.

When it was almost time for the midday feed, the Keepers heard loud trumpets and recognised the sounds of the Nightclubbers. Some minutes later, Amali was seen running towards the trumpets and came back with Lenny, Sulwe, and Kiasa. The Keepers were very happy to see everyone finally gathering together.

Lima Lima’s team just made good timing when everyone was almost going for the bottles. Only Mwashoti did not show up. After bottles, Sonje and Sulwe joined Zongoloni and Zigi at the water trough. Then all the babies came back to the swimming pool, as it was time for everyone to cool him or herself. Sulwe jumped over Lenny while inside the waterhole. Mwana and Amali joined the little babies in the swimming pool, while Murera decided not to swim, perhaps seeing herself as an old mother who must give the babies space to play.

Last night Kibwezi had very big rain that lasted almost the whole night. This made Lima Lima and her team change coming to visit today, as they must have gone far to hide from the rain.

Murera took over the role and led the remaining herd to the forest, while Mwana kept an eye on her mother. She did not leave any gap between her and her mother. Amali stayed close to Mwana as sisters. Kamili, Kerrio, and Latika made their own choice to be alone as three girls under Kerrio.

When Kerrio took off into the bushes, Latika followed her, because she trusts Kerrio in every decision. Kamili was also left with no choice but to join them. Kapei and Maktao later led the three girls to where yesterday’s rain storms had brought down some acacia. Maktao and Kapei moved to that side and enjoyed the browse, then invited Kamili, Latika, and Kerrio. Murera did not join them; she was away with Mwana and Amali.

Midday feeding was good. Without Lima Lima and her friends, the orphans enjoyed extra bottles which were prepared for Lima Lima, Sonje, and Kiasa. Because they failed to report, Murera was given extra because she nurses many babies and another in the womb. The Keeper called every baby so that they walked back into the Kibwezi Forest for the remaining part of the day.

One buffalo, followed by an antelope, emerged from the shrubs. Amali got scared of the antelope and decided to give it a chase. The antelope was very tricky and took Amali to where the buffalo was sleeping, but the buffalo did not care and just continued his nap. Amali went her own way and avoided the buffalo trap.

Following last night's rains, the morning was very wet. Amali and Mwana came out running, in a rush to join Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili. Kapei was quick to scare the Nairobi Girls. He likes to push his weight around and thinks of them as easy targets.

This did not sit well with Murera. She did not want such behaviour towards the little girls. She had to apply discipline, showing herself as a boss who expected everybody to behave. Kapei had to run away so fast, leaving Kerrio and friends at peace. The Nairobi Girls joined Amali and Mwana, who have become good friends.

As the Keepers were getting ready to bring the babies for the midday bottles, trumpets and rumbling elephant noises were heard from within the Kibwezi Forest. Amali raised her ears to locate the direction from which the nightclubbers were coming. Just a few minutes later, the Keepers saw Lenny and Sulwe running as if they were competing to get to Murera first.

It was stiff competition between Lenny and Sulwe, but Lenny became number one to Murera. Murera was also missing him, and he was really welcomed back. Lenny begged to be allowed to nurse, because Mwana was some distance away. Because she missed him, Murera allowed him to breastfeed.