The highlight of February was Serenget's long-awaited debut in the Voi herd. After nearly seven months of bed rest to heal from a bullet injury, she was finally ready to join the orphans out in the bush.
She walked out of her stable without any encouragement and was welcomed by Lemeki and Thamana, who laid their trunks over her head and along her back before introducing her to each and every member of the herd. By the end of her first day, she had already made friends with Mushuru and Rokka.
Serenget has an unusual approach to her milk feeds — she refuses to accept a bottle in her mouth, but allows a Keeper to pour milk into the tip of her trunk. When it is full to the brim, she signals to the Keeper and tilts the milk from her trunk into her mouth. We hoped she might pick up the regular way of bottle feeding as the month progressed. How wrong we were!
By day three, Serenget was old hat at the daily routine. She padded out with the herd in the morning, then spent the day browsing with all her friends. At the mud wallow, while Kilulu rolled around showboating, Ushindi rubbed her body against Losoito, and Thamana massaged his backside against the wall, Serenget stood on the edge, enjoying the action and slapping water on her sides.
With that said, not everyone was so excited about the addition of Serenget. Busara, Baraka, and Losoito had known about the young girl since her rescue, but the reality of having her out with the herd proved another matter entirely. The girls were very disgruntled to find themselves replaced as the smallest orphans. Losoito was particularly put out, as Serenget had claimed some of Lemeki's affections. Our mini matriarch, for her part, protected Serenget and would not allow Losoito to be a bully.
It is always funny how the smallest things can send elephants into a tizzy. One afternoon, a family of warthogs ran out of the bushes toward the wallow, startling the orphans. The elephants scattered in all directions, trumpeting and shaking their heads. Once they had been calmed down, the Keepers led them away from the water hole toward the lucerne feeding area, where they could regroup from their panic without any further incursions.
Edie and Mweya's ex-orphan herds were regular visitors throughout the month, and most mornings began with a big communal breakfast. The dependent orphans would pad out of their shared enclosures at dawn, and the visitors — Mweya with babies Mwitu and Mwangaza, Edie with babies Eden, Eco, Enzo, and Enid, Mbirikani with baby Mica, Panda with baby Panya, Kihari with baby Kiki, Arruba with baby Aura, Sagala with baby Sia, Mudanda, Tundani, Kenia, Ndii, Pika Pika, Ndoria, Mbegu, Ngilai, Ndotto, Tagwa, Godoma, Suswa, Naipoki, Rorogoi, Tamiyoi, and Lasayen — would pad in from the bush a few minutes later.
Some days, only the newer ex-orphans visited — Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Ndotto, Ngilai, Murit, and Lasayen. On those days, we noticed that Lemeki was always in a hurry to lead the herd out to the field, perhaps so she could enjoy being mini matriarch away from the older elephants.
Lemeki is the only member of the current herd who is not milk dependent — but that doesn't stop her from trying her luck. Sometimes she takes up a strategic position, hoping a Keeper might forget and offer her a bottle.
9th February brought another courtship with our resident Casanova, Laikipia. The big ex-orphan arrived at the stockades in musth and immediately sidled up to Suswa, making his intentions clear. She stood still, indicating her acceptance, as she was in oestrus, and the two elephants mated. We are hopeful of another baby in close to two years, with ex-orphans for both parents!
Valentine's Day brought a new rescue to the herd. We received a distress call that afternoon — a young male elephant had been spotted alone in the Taita Hills Sanctuary. According to reports, the little bull had approached several families of wild elephants over three days but had not been accepted by any of them. We left immediately to rescue him. He had an injured leg, likely the result of human-wildlife conflict. Lumo, as we named him, accepted a bottle from the outset and spent a peaceful first night in his stockade.
Two days later, on 16th February, we had a surprise visit from an old friend. After being away for over a year, Nguvu arrived with Mweya's herd. His visits are irregular but always very welcomed. The shy bull enjoyed the stockade ambiance, caught up with his friends, and then headed back into the bush with two wild bulls. We always remark at how long Nguvu’s tusks are.
Later in the month, some surprise and very gratefully received rain arrived. As the first sprinkles fell, several orphans climbed straight into the muddy erosion trenches to play. Kilulu was sliding from the top of the trench to the bottom while friends watched on. Kenderi and Itinyi rubbed bodies and faces in another trench. Serenget found her own solution, standing under a rock to enjoy a rainwater run-off mud bath.
It was, on the whole, a relaxing month at Voi. Some mornings, the peace was interrupted only by Kilulu approaching a Keeper in his favourite photo-me pose — ears tilted at a funny angle, legs crossed.