It has been very warm this month which is typical of January weather in Tsavo, so when a light drizzle fell one day all the orphans savoured playing in the damp conditions rolling on the wet earth. To cope with the warm days the orphans have been enjoying the mud bath as well which has been great fun to witness.
The sky was partly covered by clouds when the orphans strolled nonchalantly out from the stockades. The orphans settled for water and thereafter left for browsing. Out in the bush, Maramoja settled to browse with Kauro while Esampu settled to browse with Ukame. The smart Esampu engaged Ukame in a girl to girl talk that lasted for quite some time. Karisa tried to challenge Tusuja but Tusuja is much much stronger than him and so Karisa lost the game.
Later, before mud bath time, Dupotto and Maramoja had fun cooling themselves down by playing in some mud. The sun was really hot and so the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session, followed by a soil dusting exercise. Olsekki engaged Tusuja in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse on the western side of Ithumba Hill. The sun was still hot and the orphans decided to take a break from feeding to relax under some trees with good shade. The orphans resumed browsing later on when it was cooler.
Sana Sana led the way out in the morning, followed by Malkia and Ndiwa. The three new babies led the way to Kone area and the rest of the herd followed them. Wanjala and Karisa started their day’s activities by engaging each other in a pushing game. Their game attracted Galla and Olsekki who also staged their own pushing game. The boys resumed browsing later when they felt that they had had done enough morning exercise.
At mud bath time, the temperature was high and Naseku, Karisa, Oltaiyoni, Olsekki and Tusuja emerged as the swimming stars of the day. Oltaiyoni had a brief strength testing exercise with Olsekki in the water that ended when Olsekki surrendered. Dupotto, Galla, Olsekki and Enkikwe settled for soil bathing soon after leaving the mud bath. After soil dusting, Roi and Olsekki settled for scratching on different trees. Enkikwe used Galla to scratch his ear while Sapalan used Namalok as a scratching post.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in Kone area where Olsekki and Kamok held a brief chat that was interrupted by Barsilinga when he forcefully passed in between them. In the evening, Dupotto led the first group back to the stockade for the night.
The orphans headed straight to the browsing field soon after leaving the stockade. Mundusi settled to browse close to Garzi and held a brief chat as Mundusi looked like he was asking questions. It's still green with lush vegetation and the orphans are enjoying every moment, given that they don't have to walk long distances in search of food. Due to this the orphans are feeling strong and Olsekki and Tusuja decided to test their strength by going up against each other in a pushing game. The game ended prematurely when Kithaka decided to show them who he was and how strong he was, by pushing the two boys away.
It was hot again at mud bath time today and the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session. After mud bath, Karisa and Pare had a friendly pushing game while Roi, Kauro and Naseku settled for a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, Yatta, Mulika, Yetu, baby Yoyo, Mulika, Mwende, Wendi, baby Wiva, Galana, baby Gawa, Makena, Ololoo, Vuria and a wild elephant passed at the stockade in a hurry and disappeared the same way they had appeared. The orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill where they browsed calmly for the rest of the day.
It was a cold morning with rain showers that settled the dust. Sana Sana led Ndiwa and Malkia out of their stable. Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi lagged behind as they feasted on lucerne as other orphans made their way to the bush. The temperature was just right, which made the orphans feel comfortable while browsing. At mud bath time, the weather was still cloudy and none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. It remained like that for the rest of the day and the orphans returned back to the browsing field immediately after having their milk bottles. The day went on well and in the evening they all went back to the stockade for yet another night.
It was a chilly cloudy morning again as the orphans left the stockades led by Maramoja. The orphans headed straight out to the bush to browse. Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi parted ways with the juniors, only to rejoin them later in the evening. Due to the appetizing weather, the orphans calmly browsed throughout the morning session as they enjoyed the lush vegetation available at the moment.
At mud bath time, the orphans only had their milk bottles and a drink of water, before returning back to the browsing field. They later settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. The playful Naseku took a break from feeding to participate in a soil dusting exercise. Sana Sana watched keenly what skills Naseku was using in dust bathing, then decided to join her to copy exactly what she was doing. In the evening, the orphans returned back to the safety of the stockades for the night.
Soon after leaving the stockades, the orphans, led by Sana Sana, headed straight out to browse, excited for all the vegetation they knew there was to eat out there. An hour later, Kithaka and Barsilinga, who were feeding far away from the others, came running back towards their friends. Their running scared Karisa, Rapa, Sana Sana, Malkia and Ndiwa and they started running towards the stockade. The Keepers intervened by calling them and assuring them of their safety. The orphans calmed down and resumed browsing again. In the afternoon, Ndiwa, Sana Sana and Malkia dodged the Keepers but later rejoined the group and they all started heading back to the stockades for the evening.
It was a lovely morning today when the orphans walked out of their respective stables in a jovial mood, and happily made their way to the lucerne field. They were given some lucerne but they didn't feel like any, and they walked straight out to browse.
Out in the bush they looked active and happy as they were all busy browsing. Wanjala was browsing on top of the hill. Namalok got a fright after being scared by a dik dik in the bush. Malkia was browsing on her own separately while Ukame and Siangiki were scratching mud from their bodies after playing in a small mud wallow. The group later walked to the mud bath for their milk bottles. It was another cloudy day so no one bothered to play in the main mud wallow. They all just had their milk and walked back to the bush to browse.
All the orphans went back to browsing except for Wanjala who was in a very excitable mood for some reason. And he was running around in the bushes, and then he frightened a warthog which made him run off in the other direction. Mundusi and Pare started play fighting and later Pare started rolling on the ground with his head up. The orphans later walked back home in the evening for their milk together with Kithaka, Garzi and Barsilinga.
Early this morning, the orphans walk out of their stables to the Lucerne field. They started feeding on Lucerne cubes and when they were done they walked out to the bush. Tusuja and Kamok walked to the water trough to drink water before following their friends and heading to the bush.
All the orphans were happily browsing together; Naseku and Tusuja browsed and chatted together to the side of where the others were. As they walked they came across a small dam of water and started drinking from it. It was cold and they decided not to play in it, but instead prepared themselves to head towards the mud bath for their milk. They had their milk bottles and walk straight back to the bush for browsing. It started drizzling a little bit and some of the orphans were enjoying the light rainfall. Enkikwe was busy rolling and playing in the mud with Kamok and Sapalan browsing together on one side, and Pare with Mteto on the other. The orphans later walked back home in the evening for their milk.
It was a quiet morning today after the elephants came out of their respective stables to feed on Lucerne. They don't like the Lucerne as much these days because there is so much green vegetation to be found out in the bush. They all rushed out to the bush to browse.
Out in the bush, Esampu was busy scratching on some rocks while Enkikwe busy browsing. Malkia was close with Ndiwa and they were browsing together. Usually Ndiwa browses with Sana Sana, but today she was with Malkia. Mutara's group later join the dependent orphans and started interacting with them. Kibo, Murka, Orwa, Narok and Bomani were amongst them. They stayed with them throughout the morning hours until mud bath time and the noon milk feeding for the dependent orphans.
At mud bath, a good number of elephants went in for wallowing despite the coldness of the water. They came out fast however and walked back to the bush to browse. As the afternoon went on it warmed up significantly, as the cloud cover disappeared, and later the orphans had to seek shelter from the sun. Oltaiyoni later led the whole group back home in the evening for their milk with Kithaka, Garzi and Barsilinga being more reluctant to follow them. They came in late after the orphans were already in.
It was another quiet morning with no visitors as the orphans had their milk and then walked out to the bush to browse. It’s very green everywhere and all the orphans concentrated on filling their tummies with the most delicious vegetation. Kamok was busy browsing hard while Roi was grazing. Olsekki and Siangiki were browsing together as their firm relationship continues. The rest on the other side are busy browsing too. They later made their way to the mud bath.
At mud bath they went straight to the new mud bath which is smaller and thus with warmer water and started playing in it. They did enjoy their mud bath and later walked back to the bush to browse again.
Malkia, Karisa and Esampu were all together playing with a stick. Kithaka later led the group back home in the evening for their milk and food tonight. We did not see any other ex-orphans today or any wild elephants.
Murka came to the stockade today and started interacting with orphans after their milk. Tomboi also came in to join them and later the whole group walked to the bush for their daily browsing. Kithaka walked out with Murka and Tomboi, Enkikwe wanted to follow him but the Keepers spotted him and led him back to the dependent herd.
At mud bath, Naseku and Wanjala played in the smaller mud bath before heading back to the bush for browsing. It was so hot in the afternoon and some of the orphans went to seek some shade.
Enkikwe realized that Kithaka's group was still not with them and he slowly sneaked away from the group to go in search of them. The Keepers realized that Enkikwe had left the group and started looking for him. When Enkikwe could not find Kithaka’s group it appears he decided to hide in a big ditch in the shade from the hot sun. The Keepers walked everywhere in the area searching for him but he was nowhere to be found. In the end, the other orphans returned to the stockades in the evening without him, and the Keepers thought Enkikwe was with Kithaka’s group as he did not respond to them. The Keepers went on waiting for Kithaka's group to arrive in the evening and when they came at around 10:30pm, Enkikwe was not with them. Very late that evening, the Keepers noticed where he had been hiding the whole evening. A few minutes after Kithaka’s group had come in, he came in on his own and started rumbling. The Keepers let him in and gave him his milk. It appears that Enkikwe likes to stay with Kithaka’s group but struggles to keep up. Mutara’s group visited in the evening with Turkwel amongst them, she seems to be doing well as well as the rest of the group.
It was an exciting morning as the orphans were visited by Mutara’s group before they went out into the bush. Mutara’s group waited for the orphans. As the orphans came out their stables they quickly began to interact with one another before heading off into the bush. Enkikwe had to have his wounds cleaned before joining the others.
Out in the bush all the orphans interacted while browsing. Dupotto was together with Enkikwe while Bomani was separate from the others. Turkwel was not left out as she was chatting with Tusuja. Mutara and Suguta were there watching the orphans interacting with their group. Mutara later escorted Dupotto, who had wandered away from her group, back to the dependent herd. The dependent orphans together with the ex-orphans later walked to the mud bath for their milk bottles and wallowing.
Murka was the most playful one in the mud bath. She rolled in the water and dug at the mud with her tusks. Mutara’s group walked to the main mud bath and started wallowing there. They later came out and walked to the smaller mud-wallow which had clean water and started drinking from it, Olsekki and Siangiki joined them. The orphans later walked back to the bush to browse.
The orphans hid under the shade from hot sun. Later Karisa led some of them to a water pool and started playing in it. After a fresh mud bath he started scratching on a tree, and later all the orphans walked back home to the stockades for the night.
It was another quiet morning today as the dependent orphans walked out of their stockades in what seemed like slow motion today. They walked straight out to the bush in a hurry to go and browse. Mutara’s herd later came running in looking for the dependent babies to join them. Narok's group with Bomani and Orwa were among them. Kibo and Murka were also with them. They walked out in the direction the dependent orphans had gone and found them browsing out in the bush. Mutara was very active today and started play fighting with Orwa. She went on to roll around on the ground showing off playful poses. She went on to comfort Sana Sana, who had been pushed down by Pare. She's a very good caring elephant. They all later walked to the mud bath so the dependent orphans could have their milk bottles.
Siangiki led the group into the water after their bottles so they could swim. They started from one end of the water pool and swam to the other. Suguta, Sities, Kainuk, Bomani and Orwa got a fright when they realized they had been left behind by the group and ran very fast back to catch up with them.
Out in the bush, Mundusi was busy browsing while the others hid under the shade of the trees. Mutara’s herd later separated from the dependent orphans and walked away. Later the orphans walked back to their stockades as usual for the night. Kithaka, Garzi and Barsilinga followed the ex-orphans but they came back home later in the evening and were locked in.
The orphans finished up their milk bottles and walked down to the lucerne feeding area but they were not that bothered with feeding on lucerne and instead wanted to go out to the bush to browse. Mutara’s group joined them in the bush and they all browsed together. Enkikwe and Sapalan were browsing separately in the bush. Rapa and Mteto were browsing together too. Kibo was with Mutara’s group and was being very friendly today, staying with the babies and browsing with them. A wild female elephant was also with them and was charging around a bit; she was very unsure of the Keepers. Later they all walked to the mud bath for the dependent orphans’ 11am milk feed.
At the mud bath the dependent orphans, Mutara’s group and the female wild elephant interacted together while playing in the water. Later the orphans walked back out to the bush to browse, leaving the ex-orphans behind at the mud bath. Esampu started scratching on a tree while the other elephants were browsing. Later the orphans walked back home in the evening with Kithaka, Garzi and Barsilinga among them.
In the stockade today we had a wild bull elephant who visited in the evening and he was followed in by Mutara’s group.
The sky was clear as the orphans strolled out from the stockades this morning. Led by Oltaiyoni, the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Sapalan teamed up with Ndiwa, Sana Sana and Malkia for some time before parting ways. The parting was brought about by Ndiwa who tried to take some grass out of Sapalan's mouth. Sapalan stretched his trunk and warned Ndiwa not to ever repeat such a mistake again. Sapalan then walked away in an angry mood. Olsekki settled for a soil dusting exercise while Mundusi settled to browse with the hot tempered Ukame.
At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Kibo, Chemi Chemi, Naisula, Kitirua, Kandecha and Murka who all enjoyed wallowing, followed by a prolonged soil dusting session. In the evening, Wendi, Wiva, Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Mulika, Mwende, Kinna, Kama, Makena, Bongo, Vuria, Ololoo, Lenana, Ithumba and two wild elephants showed up at the stockade and left immediately after taking enough water.
Shortly before six o'clock in the morning, the ex-orphans Galana, Gawa, Nasalot, Nusu, Sunyei, Siku, Ishanga, Sidai and Loijuk in the company of two wild elephants showed up at the stockade compound. The ex-orphans waited until the orphans were let out and together they headed out to browse. Wild born babies Gawa, Nusu and Siku, who have really grown, spent some time playing with Naseku, Malkia and Pare. An hour later, the ex-orphans parted ways with the juniors.
Sapalan, who used to be more independent, has started to make friends and is so much more interactive with the other orphans. Wanjala and Mundusi took some time off from feeding to engage in a strength testing exercise. As expected, Mundusi lost the game to the experienced Wanjala. Later, Mundusi tried to play with Karisa, but Karisa was quite rough and even went to the extent of climbing on Mundusi’s back. Shortly before mud bath time, Sana Sana and Pare had brief soil dusting exercise.
Later on at the mud bath, the dependent orphans were joined by Tumaren, Kibo, Murka, Chaimu, Kalama and Chemi Chemi. After having a spectacular wallowing session, the ex-orphans escorted the juniors back out to browse before parting ways. In the afternoon, the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree for some time before going back out to browse again. The evening was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing throughout without any major distractions.
It was a quiet morning with the orphans settling for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Sana Sana, Malkia and Ndiwa were not interested in the lucerne and preferred the green grass to the dry lucerne pellets. The three babies started wandering off to the browsing field as they rumbled, trying to call their friends to follow them. It was only when the Keepers intervened by calling them to come back that they returned and joined them. Shortly later, when the orphans were done with the lucerne, Maramoja led the way out. Sapalan teamed up with Enkikwe to browse while Roi settled to browse with her close friend Galla. The smallest one, Esampu, teamed up with Kamok, Oltaiyoni and Kamok the biggest girls, and they seemed to all be conversing together. Esampu, who was brought to Ithumba earlier than others due to her naughty personality, has learned a few lessons and now she is very good and very smart. Maybe one day she will be left in charge after the big girls reintegrate back into the wild. Only time will tell. At mud bath time, the orphans were led by Esampu and they all enjoyed a good swim. Roi took over after and led the way out to browse again. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans settled to browse along the western slopes of Ithumba Hill.
The orphans skipped the lucerne feeding time and instead headed straight to the browsing field soon after they were let out in the morning. Barsilinga started his day by scratching against an acacia tree. His scratching exercise attracted Naseku, Malkia and Wanjala. They all lined up waiting for Barsilinga to finish and soon as he had enough, Naseku took over followed by Wanjala and then Malkia last. Kithaka teamed up with Mundusi and Kauro to browse and later, Kithaka abandoned them to join Olsekki and Barsilinga.
At mud bath time, Mundusi had quality playing time with Wanjala and Karisa. Mundusi is trying these days to gauge how strong he is by playing with the senior boys. After challenging the two boys, Mundusi headed for a soil dusting exercise and after that, followed his friends in the bush. It was very hot in the afternoon and this prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding and relax under some trees until it was cooler. We didn’t see any other wild elephants or ex-orphans around today.
The dry season is just creeping in. The vegetation is slowly changing colour and it is becoming much hotter. The orphans led by Karisa headed to Kone area where they settled to browse for the morning. It was all quiet with the orphans concentrating on browsing until it became so hot that Sana Sana and Ndiwa decided to seek shelter under a tree that had a good shade.
At mud bath time, the orphans jumped into the water as soon as they finished their milk. Mundusi enjoyed scratching his buttocks against the edge of the mud bath as Barsilinga tackled Garzi in a strength testing exercise. Their pushing game attracted Galla and Tusuja who decided to have their own game that ended when Galla surrendered. In the afternoon, Wanjala settled to browse with Namalok and they had a brief chat that was interrupted by Olsekki when he passed by. The sun was still hot and this prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding and relax under a tree until it was cooler. It was only then that the orphans came out from hiding and resumed browsing.
Chaimu and her longtime friend Kilaguni visited the stockades early in the morning. The two ex-orphans teamed up with the juniors and together they headed to the browsing field. Chaimu had fun rolling on the ground as she tried to entice the juniors to join her to play. None of the orphans dared to join her but instead concentrated on browsing. Later, Karisa engaged Namalok in a strength testing exercise that ended when Namalok surrendered. Malkia, Sana Sana and Ndiwa, who have completely settled into their new surroundings, were the ones who were leading the way in the bush.
At mud bath time, Chaimu and Kilaguni escorted the juniors and they all had a spectacular wallowing session. In the afternoon, Kithaka and Barsilinga had a friendly pushing game that was interrupted by Kilaguni. Mteto settled to browse with Roi and they had a girl to girl talk that lasted for quite some time. The hot tempered Ukame had a bit of a disagreement with tough Wanjala. Wanjala didn’t wait around for Ukame to vent her anger on him, and he ran as fast as could to seek refuge from the Keepers. Ukame stopped following Wanjala when he saw Wanjala running towards the Keepers. Ukame knew that Wanjala had outwitted her and decided to keep low until the next opportunity to discipline Wanjala presented itself.
The orphans briefly settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades. Lemoyian, Mteto and Siangiki embraced the spirit of sharing and settled to feed on one bale of lucerne. Maramoja settled for a scratching exercise on the nearby rocks while Tusuja decided to move a distance away and enjoy the green grass before it dries up as the dry season approaches. Shortly later, Sana Sana led the way to the browsing field and settled in Kone area. Tusuja and Galla took a break from feeding to engage in a strength testing exercise. Their game ended when Galla decided to surrender and move away from Tusuja.
At mud bath time, the sun was really hot and this prompted the orphans to have a prolonged wallowing session. As usual after mud bath, Barsilinga and Garzi had a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Tusuja led the rest of the group into soil dusting before finally making their way back to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, the sun was still hot. Enkikwe and Sapalan decided to seek shelter under the same tree while the rest of the orphan herd relaxed under a different tree. In the evening while the Keepers gathered the orphans to take them back to the stockade, Enkikwe disappeared and it took the Keepers nearly an hour to find him. The Keepers walked him slowly back to the stockade.
It was a cloudy and a chilly morning today! Sana Sana and Malkia led the way out and continued to lead out to the bush. Half an hour after the orphans had settled for browsing, a lesser kudu ran past which created tension among the orphans. Maramoja and Rapa, who spotted the lesser kudu first, ran towards their friends, who panicked with Sana Sana, Malkia and Ndiwa leading, they all ran towards the Keepers for safety. The Keepers managed to calm them down by calling each orphans name and within no time, the orphans were settled. Galla found a suitable tree to scratch against while Mundusi and Pare had a strength testing exercise in an effort to sharpen their skills.
At mud bath time, the orphans joined a lone wild bull that had come to the mud bath prior to their arrival. The bull shared water with the dependent orphans and shortly later disappeared. The orphans had a spectacular wallowing and soil dusting session before heading back out to browse. In the afternoon, Kamok and Tusuja had a light strength testing exercise and in the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath again for an evening cooling off. At around six o'clock in the evening, ex-orphan Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Wendi, Wiva, Kinna, Kama, Ithumbah, Makena, Ishanga, Sunyei, Siku, Vuria and a wild elephant visited the stockade and left shortly later.
It was another cloudy morning as the orphans left the stockade and settled for lucerne. Esampu had some private time with Sana Sana before being led away by Malkia. Sana Sana didn’t want Malkia to lead and so she ran ahead of her. Tusuja spent a considerable amount of time playing with Olsekki. Lemoyian took off with Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi, but they rejoined their friends later in the evening. The hot tempered Ukame had a conflict with Pare when Pare tried to feed on leaves that Ukame had her eyes on. Pare decided to quit since he knew very well that due to his age and size, he would never be able to win over Ukame. Though the temperature was moderate, the orphans briefly enjoyed a cooling off exercise before settling for a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, the orphans enjoyed feeding on the western side of Ithumba Hill.
The orphans headed straight to the browsing field soon after the gates opened. Chaimu and his longtime friend Kilaguni joined the orphans to browse. Garzi seized this opportunity to engage Kilaguni in a pushing game in order to gage how strong he has grown. Garzi learnt that he needed more time and training to be able to defeat or end in a draw with a big bull like Kilaguni; he surrendered when the going got tough.
At mud bath time, Karisa had fun as he emulated Kilaguni and Chaimu in bathing. Karisa was the last one to quit mud bathing as he tried to put into practice what he had seen Chaimu and Kilaguni doing. Galla, Siangiki and Lemoyian briefly settled for a soil dusting exercise as Maramoja led the way back to the browsing field. The afternoon was cool with the sky obscured by clouds which meant fun for the orphans. Chaimu and Kilaguni escorted the juniors back to the stockade later in the evening.
Sana Sana was the first one to leave the stockades this morning and headed to the only acacia tree remaining at the stockade compound, where she spent some time scratching against it. Namalok, Karisa and Wanjala headed to the water trough where they armed themselves with enough water that would take them through the entire morning.
Later, Mundusi and Karisa had a brief strength testing exercise while Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi parted ways with the juniors. On the way to the mud bath, the orphans were joined by ex-orphan Galana, her baby Gawa and two wild elephants. Gawa had a brief interaction with the dependent orphans before leading the way to the mud bath. Ex-orphans Yatta, Yetu, baby Yoyo, Kinna, baby Kama, Ithumbah, Makena, Ishanga, Sunyei, baby Siku, Vuria, Wendi and baby Wiva showed up at mud bath after the orphans were through with wallowing. Kama and Yoyo played with Esampu for some time before Yatta rumbled, informing her group that time was up and they had better start moving. Kama and Yoyo responded by quitting their game with Esampu and running towards Yatta. The rest of the ex-orphans did the same and Yatta led them away. In the afternoon, the sun was still hot and the orphans, led by Kamok, decided to have a road side mud bath in a puddle they found. Barsilinga, Kithaka and Garzi joined the orphans later in the evening on the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne immediately after leaving the stockades. As usual Barsilinga, Kithaka and Garzi parted ways with the juniors and walked out to the bush. Sapalan started his day activities by having a soil dusting exercise and later had a brief chat with Pare. Out in the bush, Wanjala climbed on Maramoja’s back, something that annoyed her. Maramoja tried as much as possible to disengage herself from Wanjala, and finally managed to free herself and team up with Oltaiyoni to browse. The two girls had girl to girl talk and later engaged one another in a light strength testing exercise. Dupotto, who is becoming close to Enkikwe, spent the entire morning feeding with him. At mud bath time, Olsekki and Siangiki gave their friend company by standing close to him while he was taking his share of milk. After finishing his milk, Enkikwe walked away with Olsekki and Siangiki heading in a different direction from the rest of their friends. The weather was moderate and the orphans only drank their milk and had some water before walking away and not swimming in the water pool. In the evening, Barsilinga, Kithaka and Garzi returned back to the stockades early, accompanied by a wild elephant. The wild elephant left shortly after the three boys were taken into the stockades for the night.
Mundusi was clearly in joyful mood this morning. As the orphans waited for the gates to open, Mundusi kept himself busy by engaging Sana Sana in a light strength testing exercise. When the gates opened, he continued to test his strength by engaging his friends in pushing games. He locked trunks with Pare and later moved to play with Wanjala, and ended up his pushing games with Galla. In all those pushing games, poor Mundusi ended as the loser. Mundusi got angry and decided to vent his anger on some birds that were singing close to him. The birds flew away when they saw Mundusi charging towards them at high speed.
Out in the bush, the orphans concentrated on browsing as the temperature continued to soar. Mundusi took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree with Esampu. The moment Mundusi saw Karisa passing by, he quietly left Esampu and followed him. At mud bath time, the sun was really hot and this saw Kenze, Rapsu and four other wild bulls join up with the dependent orphans to drink water and cool-off. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse on the western side of Ithumba Hill. Due to the high temperature, Sapalan and Malkia found a suitable tree that had nice shade and relaxed before browsing again later. Barsilinga, Kithaka and Garzi parted ways with juniors only to show up back at the stockade late in the evening.
As soon as the orphans left the stockade compound and went out to browse, the ex-orphans Wendi, Wiva, Kinna, Sunyei, Siku, Ithumba, Vuria and two wild elephants showed up for water at the stockade water troughs. It appears that quite a lot of the water holes are drying up in the area and slowly the wild elephants are coming back for water. Six other wild elephants checked in for water after Kinna and her group left to join the dependent orphans. Siku spent some time playing with Naseku while Vuria had long chat with Olsekki.
At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and the orphans only had their milk and some water before engaging in various activities around the mud bath. Rapa challenged Galla as Oltaiyoni acted as the referee of the match. Sapalan, Kauro and Enkikwe settled for soil dusting while Namalok tackled Karisa. Later, Karisa shifted base and walked to play with Mundusi. Tusuja took advantage of the new game and jumped on Mundusi too. Olsekki joined two wild bulls drinking water as Esampu had a lone game of rolling on the ground. In the afternoon, the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine and this prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding to relax under some trees that had good shade.
Ithumba Hill was partly covered by clouds when the orphans left the stockades and settled for lucerne. The weather was also chilly and the grass was covered in dew following light showers that fell early before dawn. Out in the bush, the orphans concentrated on browsing with Esampu teaming up with Ukame while Tusuja settled to browse with Olsekki. Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi as usual parted ways with their dependent friends and reported back to the stockades later in the evening.
At mud bath time the temperature was okay, and the orphans did decide to go for a little wallow, including Enkikwe who is still recovering one year after he was attacked by a lion. After mud bath, Kamok, Tusuja, Esampu, Roi and Olsekki decided to roll on the ground and later Olsekki engaged Oltaiyoni in a pushing game that saw Olsekki surrender shortly after. In the afternoon, Namalok engaged Wanjala in a pushing game that ended in a draw. In the evening, only one wild bull showed up for water at the stockade compound.
It was a day with perfect temperatures for the orphans. One wild bull paid a brief visit to the stockade compound and saw the orphans off as they headed out to browse. The wild elephant appeared torn between following the orphans and going on with his business as usual. After thinking for some time, the bull decided to go on his way. The orphans settled to browse in Kone area and were calm throughout the morning session.
Later the orphans swam in the water hole after having their noon milk bottles. A wild bull was the guest of honour and interacted with the orphans for quite some time before parting ways. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse along the western side of Ithumba Hill, an area they really like to browse and play in. In the evening, ex-orphans Sunyei, Siku, Galana, Gawa, Ishanga, Chyulu, Zurura and three wild elephants showed up at the stockade compound and spent nearly two hours there before wandering off again.
Ex-orphan Yatta and her group spent the night outside the stockade and joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. Kama, Yoyo and Esampu had fun rolling on the ground. Later, Yatta and her group escorted the juniors to the browsing field before disappearing. Siangiki and Olsekki kept their longtime friend Enkikwe company for the entire morning session. The sun was really hot and the orphans looked forward to mud bath time where they would have a nice cooling off exercise. The orphans were joined by ex-orphan Rapsu and a wild elephant and they had fun in water. After the orphans had enough of wallowing, Kamok led the way back out to browse. Pare and Mundusi settled to feed on the bushes but their peaceful feeding turned to a pushing game when Mundusi felt that Pare should find his own shrub to feed on. Pare fought back and Mundusi who started the fight, ended up running away. Later on, Mundusi, who is trying to test his strength with everyone, tackled Tusuja. Tusuja warned Mundusi to keep away from him if he wasn't strong enough to fight back. Mundusi listened to Tusuja and immediately walked away without looking back. Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi, who prefer to browse away from the others during the day, returned back to the stockades later for the night.