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Muridjo, Talek and Kipekee were browsing and playing in the forest together this morning. After pulling up clumps of browse, Kipekee rubbed her face and belly on the ground. While she was playing in the dust, Talek was trunk touching Kipekee and Muridjo had her trunk draped over Talek. As the little one continued her dust bath, Talek and Muridjo played a pushing game. Muridjo is a caring mini matriarch and Talek is becoming more maternal, choosing to spend lots of time browsing close to the younger elephants.

Later in the morning at the mud bath, Arthi charged down the path for his milk in first position in the first group. Despite being in the lead, he trumpeted loudly all the way to his bottle, behaving as if he had not been fed for three days rather than just three hours! As usual, he changed back into a calm polite boy as soon as he had finished his milk.

In the afternoon, the elephants wandered deep in the forest while Tytan and Notty remained within sight of the stockades. The rhino and the zebra browsed quietly, rolled around on a patch of dry soil, and lay down for a nap side by side in the shade of some bushes.

Two hours later, we shepherded the orphans back from the bush to the stockades for the night. They headed around the corner and down the path in twos and threes with Nyambeni (predictably) heading back first and Muridjo running in last.

Wamata is a big girl nowadays! The spoilt baby has disappeared and been replaced with a caring big sister. She was the youngest baby in the herd for a long time and had lots of adjusting to do when Kipekee arrived. At first she was jealous of the younger girl and sometimes pushed her when the older females were not looking. But no longer. This morning in the forest, Wamata was looking after Daba. She browsed next to him, touching him with her trunk over his head and along his back, and following him through the bushes.

Talek is still an easy-going girl. Our caring quiet girl rarely retaliates when one of the others behaves badly. At the mud bath today, naughty Kipekee gave her a shove from behind. Talek hardly reacted – she regained her balance, put her head down and continued browsing on supplementary greens. We told off the baby with warning whistles but Muridjo, Mzinga and Nyambeni did not – Kipekee is still their indulged baby!

The herd spent a peaceful afternoon in the forest. Pardamat and Olomunyak played the pushing game while the rest of the herd browsed quietly, pausing occasionally to rub their bodies against trees or to hose themselves with dry soil.

Notty was very thirsty for milk this morning. The little zebra trotted down the path to the mud bath with Tytan running along behind her and two Keepers doing their best to keep up! On most days, the Keepers lead the way but not today. Instead, they had to sprint after the zebra around the corner to the wallow.

When Tytan and Notty returned to the forest, the elephants took their place. Mzinga padded down in the first group with Arthi and Daba. After drinking her milk, she looked for Nyambeni. When she could not see her best friend (who was in the last group today), Mzinga ran back up the path to find her. By this time, Nyambeni was sprinting towards the wallow (as she always likes to move fast). Nyambeni came to a halt and the two girls greeted each other with rumbles before walking on to the wallow. Rescued around the same time, Mzinga and Nyambeni are still best friends who often choose to be together in the forest.

Milk feed over, the herd gathered around the mound of dry soil for dust bathing. Muridjo squirted trunkfuls of soil along her back while Kipekee rubbed her belly on the ground and Talek played pushing-and-tumbling games with Taroha. As the others dusted, Arthi, Daba and Alia drank from the water buckets. 

In contrast to yesterday, the orphans were full of energy today. As Mzinga was sneaking back to the stockades (looking for leftover pellets), Muridjo, Olomunyak, Wamata, Nyambeni and Kipekee began trumpeting and lumbering around in circles. When she heard them, Mzinga abandoned her quest, turned around and walked back towards the herd. Along the way she came across some warthogs rolling around on a sandpile. Taken by surprise, Mzinga chased the warthogs - towards the herd. When the pigs ran at them, the elephants panicked and charged around in all directions. Even Kipekee was running up and down with Muridjo in pursuit!

The herd were so excited that they did not respond to our calls and whistles for some time. We surrounded the elephants and carried on calling until, at last, they calmed down and went back to browsing.

On another hot afternoon, most of the orphans cooled off in the mud wallow. Arthi, Daba, Talek, Mzinga, Wamata and Taroha splashed in the mud, rubbing bodies against each other, while the others stood along the edge slapping water on their sides. A covering of thick mud was followed by a coating of thick dust. Olomunyak and Pardamat rolled on their backs with trunks twirling while Nyambeni and Muridjo lay on their sides.

Taroha is the dominant bull in the Nursery herd – but Pardamat is just a few months younger and would also like to be leader. This morning in the forest, Taroha was browsing peacefully with little Kipekee (as he is not only the strongest bull but also the gentlest). Without warning, Pardamat pushed hard from behind and knocked Taroha to the ground. This was a big mistake. Taroha may be easy going but Pardamat had crossed a line. Trumpeting loudly, the older bull stood up and chased Pardamat, pushing him in the backside and trying to bite his tail. Pardamat ran for cover, trumpeting in alarm.

Later in the morning, the herd visited the mud wallow for a milk feed. Today, we had to push Mzinga away from the wheelbarrow as she was hoping for an extra bottle. The orphans gathered around the wallow; some drank from the buckets while others browsed on supplementary lucerne or splashed themselves with muddy water. After mini matriarch Muridjo had chased away a cheeky warthog who was trying to pop into the wallow, several orphans climbed into the water.

In the afternoon, all the herd remained close to the stockades except for Mzinga and Olomunyak. The two friends went exploring, wandering far afield on their own but arriving back in time for the next milk feed. Mzinga is showing signs of independence, becoming less obedient, and walking off by herself quite often. Olomunyak is too young to go exploring but tags along happily behind his big sister.

This morning, Mzinga and Muridjo led the others out to the forest, walking in step with trunks entwined. The two girls are agemates and very good friends. The orphans settled to browse in the sunshine. Kipekee was doing her own thing today. She pushed away her entourage of nannies and walked off to browse with Wamata. Daba was being looked after by Muridjo - the mini matriarch stuck close to the little boy for most of the morning.

After filling their bellies, Olomunyak and Talek scratched their sides against a tree. With one on either side, they leant against the tree which swayed one way and then the other, entwining trunks and rumbling occasionally. Not far away, Nyambeni and Pardamat were tumbling in the dust, rubbing faces and bodies against the ground and each other.

On another hot afternoon, the elephants cooled off in the wallow. Muridjo and Taroha were first to climb in with Nyambeni joining them seconds later. While the three older elephants rolled around in the mud, Talek, Wamata, Daba and Arthi stood on the edge, splashing themselves with water. Daba moved on to the mound of soil to cover himself with thick dust and the others soon joined him.

Tytan and Notty are still choosing to stay close for almost the whole day. In the forest this afternoon, Tytan lay down for a rest on a patch of earth while Notty stood by. The little zebra waited patiently for the rhino to wake up and then the two friends carried on browsing.

In the morning, as usual, we opened the doors of the stables and the orphans padded quietly out. They trunk touched their friends before walking up the path past Maxwell’s stockade to the forest. Along the way, Taroha stopped off to greet the blind rhino, extending his trunk through the gaps in the gate and draping it over Max’s head. The elephant and the rhino stood together for a minute before Taroha ran on to catch up the herd and Max lumbered over to graze on pellets with some warthogs.

Arthi has been learning clever tricks from Mzinga! Soon after the others settled to browse, Arthi snuck back to the stockades in search of leftover pellets and lucerne. When the little boy saw a Keeper coming back to get him, he ran away along the path between the stockades. The Keeper whistled and Arthi ignored his calls. Instead, he jogged off along another passageway. It took two Keepers to catch naughty Arthi and bring his game of hide and seek to an end. When Arthi saw two men approaching him, he gave up and ran quickly to the forest.

In the afternoon, Wamata, Talek and Kipekee rubbed their faces against a patch of dry ground and squirted soil along their backs while Olomunyak and Pardamat played several rounds of the pushing game. Trunks waving in excitement, they pushed each other back and forth among the bushes while the older girls browsed around them. 

The babies in the herd love spending time with Taroha! This morning in the forest, the bull lay relaxing on his side on the ground with Daba, Arthi and Kipekee clustered around him. Although they did not quite scramble atop Taroha, they draped their trunks over his body and leant against him. Maybe the oldest bull in the herd will be our next Nursery play-cushion!

When we called the herd together for another milk feed, Kipekee arrived with her security detail of nannies – Talek covered the left flank, Muridjo the right, and Mzinga was rearguard! The indulged baby is showing signs of forging her own path sometimes but certainly not today. Our princess toddled down to the mud wallow with the three older girls, who moved away only once Kipekee had settled to drink from the trough.

Later in the afternoon, the orphans spread out to browse in the bush. Olomunyak, Arthi and Daba were playing a gentle version of the pushing game in a clearing. Not far away, Mzinga lay on the ground with trunk twirling while Wamata climbed on top of her belly, slid off, and climbed up again. Muridjo and Talek browsed on either side of Kipekee and Alia near the stockades, in contrast to Pardamat and Taroha who wandered away to explore the forest.

On his way out to the forest in the early morning, Olomunyak stopped at Maxwell’s gate. The enormous rhino was waiting for a visitor on the other side. Olomunyak rumbled a greeting, touched Max with his trunk, and began pushing the gate with his head. Max stood still enjoying the game. When Kipekee walked over to join them, Olomunyak pushed her away and would not let her play the game.

Nyambeni must have been on Kipekee-duty this morning because, as soon as the little girl complained with a rumble about being left out, Nyambeni sprinted over. She checked that the baby was fine while Olomunyak continued hanging out with Max.

Soon after the elephants left the stockades, Tytan and Notty also headed out to the forest. In contrast to most days, Tytan marched past Max’s enclosure without pausing to defecate. Could the battle of the middens be coming to an end? The rhino and the zebra led their Keepers into the bush and settled to graze at a distance from the elephants.

Although it is taking time, Alia is settling into her new family and emerging from her shell. She is still shy of the Keepers but is choosing to browse among the herd more and more rather than by herself on the fringes. Today, Alia was in the midst of the elephants for the whole session in the forest - and we even saw her trunk touching Kipekee and Arthi.

This morning, Alia emerged from her stable to greet Taroha, Arthi, Daba and Nyambeni. She stood close to the other elephants while they waited to head out from the stockades. We whistled and the herd began ambling up the path and into the bush. Nyambeni and Arthi led the herd and Alia wandered along in their wake. Our new girl has become more confident and is happy to browse with the others but, when the herd is on the move, she prefers to tag along at the end.

Olomunyak was in a playful mood again today. He rolled around on the dry ground and then lay on his side, inviting Kipekee and Daba to play on him. They accepted the invitation of the friendly bull and were soon rubbing their faces and resting their forelegs against his stout body.

At the mud wallow, Taroha and Talek were dust bathing together. They squatted on the mound of soil, covered themselves in soil, and climbed on and off each other. Arthi and Daba were standing nearby, sucking up trunkfuls of soil, while Alia drank from the bucket and Nyambeni wallowed in the mud.

Later in the day, Mzinga was doing her independent thing. Rather than staying with the herd, she walked off into the bush on her own and ignored our calls. When it was time to head back to the stockades for the night. Mzinga wanted to stay out longer and we had to persuade her to join the others. Our little girl is growing up.

In the early morning when they walked out of their rooms, Pardamat and Olomunyak greeted each other with head pushes and began a wrestling game. These two young bulls are often challenging each other to see who is stronger and therefore dominant. The game folded up when Nyambeni got involved. She walked between them and pushed each boy away in a different direction.

Pardamat joined up with Taroha for some wrestling lessons and Olomunyak tagged along behind Talek, Wamata, Daba and Arthi who were ambling up the path to the forest.

Later in the morning at the wallow, the temperatures were soaring, prompting the orphans to gulp their milk and rush into the muddy water to cool off. Kipekee and Daba enjoying rolling into the pool and splashing in the mud surrounded by their security detail! Big girls Muridjo, Mzinga, Nyambeni and even Talek stood guard along the edges and then in the mud, protecting the two little ones.

Pardamat, Olomunyak and Arthi cannot resist climbing on top of any elephant that wallows next to them. When Pardamat dared to make a move towards Daba today, he was immediately seen off by Muridjo and Nyambeni! Kipekee is no longer the only favourite of the big girls as Daba has also captured their hearts - and the big girls are usually close to at least one of the babies.

The orphans were very calm this morning. In contrast to most days, no one was showing off or playing pushing and wrestling games. Playmakers like Pardamat, Olomunyak, Wamata and Talek just wandered quietly out to the forest. Muridjo, Mzinga and Nyambeni scooped up Kipekee and Daba when they toddled out of their stables and shepherded them out to join the others. Taroha, Alia and Arthi drank from the trough and then strolled up the path past Maxwell’s enclosure.

A few minutes later, Tytan and Notty emerged from their adjacent stockades and also set out to the field. In recent days, the two friends have played scampering-through-the-bushes games. Tytan likes to lumber after Notty who likes to run away. Of course, she is much faster than he is, but she slows her pace to make the game fun. The zebra runs a short distance, the rhino catches up, the zebra nips away. But they did not play today - perhaps it was too hot in the forest for games.

Later in the morning, almost the whole herd cooled off in the mud wallow again. Only Daba and Alia stayed away from the pool – the two young ones, especially Alia, are nervous of getting into the pool when it is crowded. They do not want to risk being squashed or mounted by the likes of Pardamat.

Mud bathing was followed by soil bathing. Wamata, Arthi, Kipekee and Talek had fun climbing to the top of the heap of dry soil, sliding down on backsides or bellies, clambering up again, and sliding down again.

In the forest this morning, Wamata, Arthi, Talek and Olomunyak were having fun charging and chasing after warthogs that kept popping out of the bushes. The elephants chased them away and the pigs disappeared into the bushes. As soon as Wamata and friends settled to browse, the pigs would appear and trot along in their wake. Then the elephants about turned and gave chase again!

The funny game folded at milk feeding time when, as usual, we sent the orphans down to the wallow in groups for their bottles. Although the warthogs followed them, the orphans’ attention was on drinking milk and eating lucerne rather than playing with pigs. One reason that the warthogs are often close is that they are safe from predators when with the herd and their Keepers.

We send Pardamat down to the wallow in the last group – because he often tries to grab an extra bottle of milk. In the afternoon today, somehow he sneaked away from the Keepers and padded down the path with Talek and Arthi. Sure enough, he gulped his milk and tried to grab theirs! We gave the greedy boy a time out in the bushes so that the others could enjoy their milk in peace. Pardamat’s tusks have still not erupted – they are taking a long time because they seem to be coming out at an angle.

Nyambeni was being very possessive of Kipekee this morning. After the orphans settled into the field, it was funny to watch how she would not allow Mzinga or Talek or Wamata to come anywhere near ‘her’ baby! Every time one of the girls approached, Nyambeni chased her away. But, when Muridjo walked over, Nyambeni allowed her access to Kipekee. A pecking order is a pecking order – and Nyambeni knows her place is below that of Muridjo, the mini matriarch.

After Tytan and Notty drank their milk at the mud wallow, they completed their daily lap of honour and lay down on the pile of loose soil. Both animals rolled onto their backs and waved their legs in the air. It was a sight to behold! The little rhino and the little zebra do not seem to see each other as different – one Keeper even describes them as bonded like twins. As they grow up, they will of course part ways – Tytan will establish his territory in the park and Notty will join a family of zebras. But for now, this unlikely pair are best buddies!

Today, despite the sunshine, the herd opted for soil bathing rather than mud bathing, a decision that may have been spearheaded by none other than Kipekee. After drinking her milk, she made a beeline for the dry soil with a gang of nannies in pursuit. Kipekee lay on her belly while the others also rubbed themselves against the soil, spraying clouds of dust.

When Pardamat and Olomunyak made the mistake of play mounting Wamata and Talek, Muridjo took charge. Our mini matriarch pushed them away from the herd, forcing them to play on another pile of loose soil. Muridjo maintained order in the herd – she is doing her job perfectly!

In the morning, the orphans wandered out of their stables and stockades, greeted each other, drank from the trough and headed out to the forest led by Wamata and with Alia bringing up the rear. All settled to browse – no one was playing games again today. It rained last night and the forest was fresh and muddy.

Later in the morning, Mzinga and Arthi led the herd deep into the forest. After leading them far from the stockades, Mzinga made an abrupt U-turn and ran back through the herd, trumpeting loudly. We did not know what had spooked her but, even if it was nothing, her reaction led to lots of commotion! Every elephant also turned around and charged back towards the stockades.

When the instigator of the chaos, Mzinga, came to an open area, she immediately calmed down and settled to browse once again. The others followed her lead - and everything was back to normal.

At the mud wallow today, the orphans browsed on supplementary greens or drank from the water buckets. No one was showing off or playing games or dust bathing. Only Taroha wandered up and down the rope cordon, posing for the visitors. Up in his enclosure, Maxwell also did not mud bathe today. He lay in the mud enjoying the cooler day.

Arthi likes to be first. Today, when it was time for the orphans to return to the stockades, somehow Arthi missed his slot and was not put in the first group. Trumpeting in protest, somehow the little bull managed to evade his Keepers and charge down the path in front of the first group!

It poured with rain last night, almost from dusk to dawn. In the morning, three small elephants were very reluctant to leave their warm dry stables! Daba, Wamata and Kipekee sleep next door to each other in stables that are completely enclosed, in contrast to the stockades where the older elephants sleep.

We opened the doors as usual to find Daba, Wamata and Kipekee standing stock still in the middle of their stables. Usually, orphans pad out as soon as they can; sometimes, they even stretch their trunks over the stable doors at dawn. But today, the three orphans did not want to walk on wet ground! When we whistled, Wamata walked out very very slowly but the other two stayed put. At last, Kipekee and Daba reluctantly left their warm rooms, shouting like toddlers having tantrums.

In the forest, the herd found an enormous muddy puddle that was perfect for mud bathing. Muridjo, Mzinga and Nyambeni led the other orphans into the puddle. Some splashed with their feet while others lay down in the mud.

Pardamat and Olomunyak were enjoying climbing on and off Mzinga and Nyambeni. Our big girls were happy to allow the bulls to play on them, even though they do not allow them to play on the younger orphans. After observing the game, Arthi decided to copy the older bulls when he came across a prostrate Muridjo. The only problem was that she was large and wet and slippery and he is much smaller. Arthi could not grab hold and kept sliding off her belly into the mud! Nonetheless, he had the right idea – copying older bulls is the way that younger ones learn.

On a cold wet morning, everyone was dull and quiet. They walked out of their stockades with heads down and up the path to the forest. Maxwell was waiting at his upper gate as the elephants walked past. Only Talek paused to say hello - with a gentle touch of her trunk on his head as she passed his gate.

Muridjo is becoming very tall. Out in the forest, Muridjo was showing off her skills, stretching up tall to twist down branches from trees. Pardamat tried to do the same, going as far as to balance on his hind legs with trunk pointing upwards but his efforts were in vain: he could not keep his balance long enough to pull down tasty branches! Muridjo, meanwhile, continued to pull down browse and to share her spoils with a select few. Olomunyak, Arthi and Wamata were allowed the branches – but no one else.

Nyambeni is also rather tall but she does not like sharing browse. She was peeling off strips of tree bark and then running away from the others. Kipekee, Daba and Arthi ran after her in the hope of a tasty treat but Nyambeni just pushed them away. At last, clever Kipekee copied Nyambeni and tried to pull strips off a tree by balancing on her hind legs – but her efforts were also in vain.

In the afternoon, best playmates Pardamat and Olomunyak enjoyed a lengthy wrestling match in the forest. They pushed back and forth, broke apart and clashed heads again. Although Pardamat is older, Olomunyak is more determined and so the two bulls are well-matched.

Taroha has never liked heavy rainfall at night. When the rain pours down, rather than sleep, he paces around in his stockade. Last night, it began raining early before the 9pm milk feed and so Taroha did not want to even walk to his gate for his bottles. A Keeper had to reassure him with whistles and persuade the big bull to walk to the gate.

In the morning, he began pushing at his gate at 5.30am when it was still dark. Because of the mist and the rain, we had planned to keep the elephants in their sheltered stockades for longer than usual. This would not have suited Taroha, however, and so we opened the bull’s gate and out he strode.

Out in the forest, Taroha calmed down and seemed back to normal, settling to browse with the rest of the herd. Not far away, Arthi was being taught wrestling tactics by Olomunyak and Pardamat. Taroha tried to separate the two big boys from Arthi, perhaps so he could teach the little boy. Before he could succeed, Nyambeni whisked Taroha away to play. The two friends played the pushing game – while Arthi continued with his lesson. Younger babies learn by copying the behaviour of their older peers.

Mzinga was doing her independent thing again this morning. While the others browsed or played together, our cheeky girl snuck away from the herd to browse on a patch of soft greens outside the offices. When Keeper Simon found her browsing happily next to the offices, she ignored his calls and he had to push her back to join the herd in the forest!

In the afternoon, little Arthi dared to play mount Kipekee. This was not a wise move. As soon as he put his forelegs on her back, she yelled, Nyambeni came running, and Arthi was driven away. Moments later, three other girls – Muridjo, Mzinga and Talek – arrived to make sure that our spoilt baby was absolutely fine.

Muridjo and Mzinga were full of excitement this morning. Rather than ambling along, they charged in the direction of the forest up the path, round the corner and smack into some sleeping impalas. Elephants and impalas both got a big fright. The girls screeched to a halt and trumpeted; the impalas jumped to their feet and ran all over the place.

When Muridjo or Mzinga (or Kipekee) trumpet, the herd always responds. All the other orphans immediately headed for the two girls and soon the herd was running around in the forest. After chasing away the impalas, the mini matriarch and her deputy settled down and so did the herd.

Taroha may be the dominant bull but he is still a water baby. Later in the morning, the orphans visited the mud wallow for a milk feed. Afterwards they gathered around the wallow. Some browsed on lucerne while others dipped their trunks into the muddy water. Only Taroha climbed in to splash and wallow in the mud.

Alia is physically stronger than she was but is still a shy girl who prefers to follow rather than be in the midst of the herd. This afternoon, when we whistled to gather the herd for a milk feed, everyone responded except Alia. Two Keepers found her browsing quietly in a clearing and shepherded her to the mud wallow. 

It was a morning of chaos, possibly because we opened Muridjo’s door last! The orphans assembled outside the mini matriarch's stockade while she was still inside. As soon as she stepped out, they all went wild with excitement.

Taroha, Olomunyak and Pardamat began pushing and pulling Maxwell’s gate. Max was grazing on pellets with his warthog friends, but the noise caught his attention and so he abandoned his breakfast and lumbered over to the gate. The rhino stood on one side and the three elephants on the other while all four played the head-butting-gate game.

Meanwhile, Muridjo, Nyambeni, Mzinga and others were entertaining Tytan who was still in his stockade. They stretched their trunks through the gate while he squeaked and moved backwards and forwards on the other side.

The herd did not want to head out to the forest. We called and they ignored us. Instead, they dodged the Keepers and kicked the water troughs and ran along the passageways. Eventually, we restored order and led our still-excited elephants out from the stockades.

In the forest, the herd came across many baboons. Rather than ignoring them (as they do on most days), Alia and Wamata led the charge. Trumpeting, the orphans gave chase through the trees. What a morning!

It rained for almost the whole night. Not only Taroha but also Olomunyak, Arthi and Kipekee were affected by the heavy downpour. The three elephants had a long night longing for the day and they were excited to walk out of their pens in the morning.

Wamata led the herd out to the forest. Different elephants lead the herd out from the stockades on different days as they are going to a familiar place. If they were going to a strange place, then the matriarch would lead them. It was a cold morning and the orphans were subdued. They browsed quietly, twisting up clumps of wet grass or pulling down pieces of shrubs.

Later in the day, the sun came out and the orphans became playful. Mzinga dug up an area of dry soil in the forest with her tusks, creating her own sand pit. She rolled around on her back and lay on her side, inviting someone to join her. Pardamat was first to take advantage of her invitation. He climbed on and off Mzinga and lay on the ground beside her. Moments later, Talek and Olomunyak joined the game.

As usual, the orphans returned to their stockades later in the afternoon. We send them backs in groups of two or three. Arthi led the first group today and Alia padded in at the end of the line.

Daba and Kipekee are becoming friends. These two babies spend lots of time together because the older girls are always looking after them. This morning, Daba and Kipekee led the herd out from the stockades. The two little ones kept pushing each other - first one was the leader and then the other! Talek, Muridjo, Mzinga and Nyambeni ambled along behind the two excited babies.

The day was cloudy and the forest was full of rainwater pools. After browsing for a time, several elephants played in the muddy pools. Talek and Kipekee browsed side by side and then Talek watched on while Kipekee played in the mud, kicking mud in every direction and rubbing her face on the ground.

Tytan and Notty were full of beans at the wallow today. After drinking their milk, they trotted around chasing each other and then Tytan lay on the ground and Notty tried to lie on top of him!

When the elephants were at the mud wallow later in the morning, Mzinga sneaked away before it was time to return to the forest. In a repeat of a few days ago, she headed for a patch of tasty browse outside the offices.  Her exit led to lots of drama! Wamata is very close to Mzinga and so she kicked up a big fuss as soon as she noticed her absence. She tried to follow Mzinga and others tried to follow her. It was a big challenge controlling our herd, all because cheeky Mzinga had walked a short distance away!

Although Notty may sometimes think that she is a rhino, she behaves like a zebra. She is growing stronger and taller and, if someone makes the mistake of approaching her from behind, Notty kicks just like a wild zebra! The same goes for Tytan. He may think that he is a zebra but, if someone gives him a fright, he charges just like a wild rhino!

The two orphans are still the best of friends. In the forest, Notty tends to lead Tytan more often than the other way round, probably because her legs are much longer than his. If she walks too fast and he gets left behind, he stands still and squeaks. If there is no response, he squeaks more loudly – and carries on until Notty turns around and comes back to get him.

The rain was drizzling in the morning and the orphans browsed peacefully in the forest, enjoying the soft green grasses and shoots. In the afternoon, the sun came out and the orphans enjoyed playing in and around the mud wallow. Some stood on the edge splashing while others rubbed their bodies on the mud or submerged them in the water. Nyambeni and Pardamat were on their best behaviour today, wallowing happily with the others without any pushing or play mounting. When most of the herd climbed out for a dust bath, Alia climbed into the mud and enjoyed a solitary wallow.

On walking out of her stockade in the early morning, Muridjo headed straight for the line of three stables where Wamata, Kipekee and Daba sleep. She stood outside Kipekee’s door, rumbling and pushing it with her head, while Kipekee rumbled from the other side. We opened the door and the little girl emerged to a greeting of trunk hugs. The two girls waited for Wamata and Daba and then the four wandered out to the bush together.

Max was enjoying the first sunny morning for several days. He lay sunbathing in his enclosure with several oxpeckers cleaning his back. His warthog friends did not visit today – perhaps there is already plenty of new grass for them in the forest.

Emerging from their stockades, Tytan and Notty walked out to the bush soon after the elephants. The battle of the middens seems to have reached a stalemate – as Tytan no longer defecates every day at the corner and Max no longer charges at the fence. Perhaps they are learning to coexist – so long as neither ventures into the other’s territory!

Mzinga has always looked out for waifs and strays. Today, Alia carried on browsing in one place when the herd moved on to explore the forest. Noticing this, Mzinga chose to stay back with our shy girl. Mzinga and Alia browsed side by side for a time and then the older girl encouraged the newbie to rejoin the herd. On other days when Alia was not with the herd Mzinga has chosen to search for her to make sure that all is well. Alia is becoming more comfortable with the Keepers - but not with strange human beings.

As the herd was ambling out to the forest, greedy Arthi (who has learnt his tricks from Mzinga) took a left and nipped along the passageway between the stockades. Another left took him to a very narrow passageway with a drainage channel which led to – the pellets store! He squeezed his stout body through the gap and his trunk through the hole at the bottom of the wall. So skilful is the little boy that he was able to scoop up pellets into his trunk and sweep more pellets through the hole and into the channel!

Reversing the way he came, Arthi realised that the others had left him behind. Whereupon he trumpeted in protest, Wamata ran back to find him, and the two friends walked out to join the herd. After browsing for a time, Arthi had a small nap on his feet (it’s quite common for young elephants to sleep for short periods while standing). He stood still with eyes closed – perhaps Arthi was gathering his strength after the exertions of his morning!

In the afternoon, the orphans enjoyed the pools of standing water in the forest. Nyambeni stood in a deep puddle drinking rainwater and squirting it all over the place, Taroha was paddling in a flowing stream, and Olomunyak was multi-tasking – paddling along the edge while chewing on mouthfuls of green grass.

On an overcast day in a muddy forest, the orphans browsed quietly until the day became warmer. Then Pardamat and Olomunyak challenged each other to yet another wrestling match, Wamata and Talek rubbed their backsides against trees, and Taroha played a gentle version of the pushing game with little Arthi. Arthi is a Taroha mini-me: a calm, friendly and gentle bull.

After a mid-morning visit to the mud wallow, the herd returned to the forest for a mud-bathing afternoon. As well as pools of standing water, the recent downpours have created areas of thick gloopy mud: a perfect elephant playground! Kipekee (who is becoming so playful), Talek and Taroha tumbled and rubbed bodies in one large patch; Mzinga and Wamata each chose their own patch of mud for rolling around on; and Daba rolled on her back watched over by Nyambeni.

Later in the afternoon, Muridjo led the orphans, all of whom were covered in a layer of protective mud, deep into the forest. Alia tagged along today rather than stay behind close to the stockades. As the next milk feed approached, the mini matriarch led the herd back to the stockades for the night. They padded down the path in small groups past Maxwell lying in his own patch of mud.

Daba is becoming stronger and has also made lots of friends in the herd. This morning, he browsed first with old friend Alia, then with dominant bull Taroha, and finally with new bestie Wamata. As Daba and Wamata sleep in neighbouring stables, we expected them to become good friends.

Later in the morning, the herd visited the mud bath as usual for a milk feed and some supplementary lucerne. Several rolled on the mound of dry soil while others picked up pieces of lucerne or drank from the water buckets. When Daba and Arthi first arrived, they were not able to suck up trunkfuls of water and squirt them into their mouths. Recently both boys have learnt how to suck and squirt - and this morning they were showing off their skills!

In the afternoon, there was lots more mud bathing. Today, Talek, Pardamat, Daba and Nyambeni were the stars – they rubbed bellies in the mud and twirled trunks and climbed on and off each other. Meanwhile, Muridjo, Wamata and a very muddy Kipekee stood quietly next to them, browsing and also just resting. Mzinga was drinking from a rainwater pool while playfully hosing water all over the place.

It poured with rain again in the night and all the orphans were reluctant to leave their stockades in the morning – except for Kipekee! While Daba stood at the back of his stable with back turned, signalling that he did not want to go to the forest, Kipekee skipped out of her stable to celebrate the showers. Although she does not like downpours after dark, she enjoys showers during the day.

Waiting outside were Muridjo, Nyambeni and Talek. The three older girls scooped up Kipekee, persuaded Daba out of his warm stable, and shepherded the two babies out to the forest.

The forest was awash with puddles of rainwater. Water baby Taroha paddled into some flowing water to rub his face and lie on his side. With Pardamat and Talek watching on while browsing on low hanging branches, Kipekee climbed in to join Taroha. Our little baby has become confident enough to swim with the dominant bull without any nannies!

In the afternoon, the orphans browsed quietly in the forest, focused on filling their bellies rather than mud bathing or game playing. When we whistled, they gathered in a herd and we sent them back to the stockades for the night.