Our four orphans Zongoloni, Ngasha, Ziwa and Faraja still like to spend their nights out in the forest and even if they return with the other Umani babies they rush out of the stockades once they have their milk bottles so they can go cavorting off into the forest and carry on with their night time adventures.
As the orphans made their way out of their stockades Lima Lima began to lead them to the Umani Springs. Shukuru, however, had a different idea and began to lead some of the orphans towards the Umani Hills, and didn’t bother to stop at the Springs for a drink of water. Murera opted to stay with Lima Lima.
At the midday feeding time, the Keepers had laid out the orphans’ milk bottles eagerly waiting the orphans' arrival. Lima Lima, Alamaya and Shukuru were the first to come running in for their bottles. Shukuru was given her share of milk by the Keepers while Lima Lima picked up her own bottles from the ground and downed her milk in a matter of seconds.
Later that afternoon, as the boys were charging around and causing more mischief, Shukuru and Mwashoti seemed eager for some peace and quiet and decided to move away where they could browse near one another.
Lima Lima seemed to be quite agitated this morning staying close to the Keepers and following them whenever one of them moved away. She stood so close to them that she was almost stepping on their feet. The Keepers were unsure as to what was bothering her as they could not see an indication of anything being amiss. It was not till later when the Keepers saw evidence of wild elephants that they realized that Lima Lima had been trying to alert them to their presence in order to keep them safe.
Once out in the forest the bulls, such as Ngasha and Ziwa, all began a strength testing games. Shukuru saw what was going on and made sure to step aside and give them a wide birth so that she would not become embroiled in their game. Ngasha was seen making his way towards Mwashoti, who was stood near Murera at the rear of the group, to see if he could convince the young bull to join in on the games that the older boys were playing.
The orphans came walking out of their stockades as soon as the Keepers opened their gates. They all convened around the Lucerne pellets with Alamaya having a few before making his way to the stone wall for a scratching session; he was sure to scratch all sides of his body from his cheeks to his bottom.
After their midday bottles of milk, the orphans began to make their way to the waterhole for a drink of water but Sonje seemed to have other ideas and led the orphans towards the water trough to rather drink there. After a long drink of water, the orphans made their way back to the waterhole where they found the Keepers enjoying their lunch in the shade of a tree. Murera rumbled at the Keepers, as if to let them know that they had returned, and then continued with the rest of the orphans to the muddy waterhole to cool off before resuming with their afternoon browsing activities.
After the orphans finished their morning bottles of milk, they made their way out to Lucerne feeding point and Ziwa and Zongoloni proceeded to go around greeting each of their friends. Once Ziwa was done greeting all his friends, he then made his way over to the stone wall where he enjoyed a good scratch. He was soon joined by Sonje who also began to scratch her entire body, before they both made their way to the forest.
The orphans were slightly early today for their midday bottles of milk and had to wait a minute or two for the vehicle to arrive. Shukuru saw the vehicle carrying their milk arrive and started to run towards it followed with the rest of the orphan herd hot on her tail. Shukuru wanted to be the first one to be given her milk bottle and the Keepers were happy to oblige her. Once Shukuru had finished her bottle of milk she made her way to the waterhole where she began to splash mud all over her body. When Ziwa finished his bottle, he made his way to the dust mound where he threw dust over his head and onto his back covering himself in red soil.
Later that afternoon, Sonje decided to lead the group back to the waterhole for an afternoon wallow and mud bath. They all enjoyed cooling off in the water before Murera led them away for the last of the days browsing session before returning to the stockades for the night.
Some of older orphans have taken to spending the nights out of the stockades, browsing in the forest, returning in the morning to greet the babies as they exit their stockades. Today, however, they did returned which worried the Keepers a little as aside from Zongoloni and Ziwa the rest always return in the morning. Murera decided to lead the orphans out into the forest today.
As the orphans went through the forest, Lima Lima seemed to be looking around as if she wanted to head off in a different direction than the rest of the group. Although curious, Lima Lima stayed with the rest of the Umani herd. Murera and Mwashoti were in the lead but gave that up when Mwashoti stopped to have a dust bath on the roadside. Murera waited for him to finish whilst Sonje was enjoying some soft green vegetation to feast on. The rest of the group stopped a little further ahead to begin their browsing activities, with Ziwa leaving the rest behind as he walked towards the Chyulu Hills.
In the afternoon, Lima Lima appeared very tired and chose to lay down for an afternoon nap under some shrubs. Meanwhile Faraja and Alamaya were browsing nearby, still covered in mud from their long mud wallow they had earlier that afternoon.
Ngasha has become very independent since recently joining a wild herd and does not always return to the stockades in the morning like he used to do. This morning, however, he did return and remained with the rest of the Umani orphan herd as they were browsing along the Umani Hills. Shukuru heard Ngasha’s rumbles as he arrived, and she quickly went over to greet him all the while continuing to munch on some branches that she had broken off.
When the orphans made their way to the mud bath for their midday bottles of milk, they all appeared to be in a hurry and racing each other to get to their milk bottles first. Lima Lima and Alamaya were the first to arrive followed closely by Mwashoti. Once they had finished their share they walked to the nearby trees seeking shelter from the sun in the shade that it provided.
As the orphans were making their way out to the forest this morning, Alamaya decided to stop at one of the sign posts and enjoy a scratching session. The signposts throughout Umani often provide a good scratching post for the orphans and today Alamaya thoroughly enjoyed scratching his entire body moving around the post as if he was dancing. Once he was done, he joined his friends who were making their way to the Umani Hills and he found Shukuru pulling down branches to feed on the soft green vegetation that they held.
As the day progressed Shukuru seemed quite hot as she made her way to the muddy waterhole to cool off, covering herself in a layer of mud before joining some of her friends who were making their way to the Kenze Hill.
In the afternoon, Lima Lima was rushing to the keepers who were ahead of her, trying to catch their dustcoats which were flapping as they walked. In her hurry she did not notice two turtles in her path and stepped on one making it cry out. She stopped to see what was making the sound, touching the turtle with her trunk. When she realized it was alive, she seemed almost relieved and then continued on her mission trumpeting to get the Keepers attention. As soon as they hear her, they all stopped to let her catch up so that they could all move on together.
Zongoloni is the only female orphan who has decided to follow the boys when they spend time away from the stockades and as such they seem to be forming the beginning of the first ex-orphan herd at Umani. Zongoloni is leading Faraja, Ziwa and Ngasha, but today she did not return with them and they seemed a little lost without her. She did arrive later on, appearing out of the bushes to join her friends who were now close to the dependent orphan herd. Ziwa walked off and met up with some wild female friends. He enjoyed their company for a while until he heard the Keepers calling him and he left them to head back to the orphans who were making their way to the waterhole.
As it was time for the noon milk feed Lima Lima and her herd started running towards the feeding area, eager for their milk bottles. Wanting to be the first to arrive Lima Lima thought that she would take a short cut, crossing through some thick bushes, startling the crane birds that were resting there. The crane birds quickly flew into the air and over Lima Lima’s head giving her a fright and sending her running to her Keepers.
Today the orphan herd decided that they wanted to climb Umani Hill. Ziwa and Faraja led them all the way there with Murera not really wanting to go, but doing so in the end as Mwashoti was following them and she did not want to be separated from the youngster. Murera thus reluctantly joined the group, bringing up the rear. As the boys have become quite independent, Lima Lima was not able to take the lead and had to allow Ziwa and Faraja to be the leaders today. While the others walked up Umani Hill, Murera and her baby boy Mwashoti chose to stay at the base, together with Sonje, and they enjoyed feeding on the vegetation they found there. Ziwa and Faraja wanted to browse as they walked, keeping the group moving as opposed to settling in one place to browse. Murera, Sonje and Mwashoti on the other hand had happily settled on the slopes choosing to stay separate from the rest who were on a crazy browsing mission.
While in the Kibwezi forest today Ziwa made his way around one of the biggest trees in search of fresh greens to feed on. At noon the youngsters in the group made their way to the waterhole for their milk and a bath. Everyone arrived in good time and had their share of milk, with Ngasha coming up behind them and trying to get around them to get to the dust bath. He saw Jasiri rolling around in the water but chose not to join him and continued to the dust bath where he threw dust over himself before walking away from the area.
Murera walked slowly back out to the forest where Alamaya and Mwashoti joined her and the three spent some time browsing away for them rest of the orphan herd. Ngasha and Zongoloni seemed to be having quite a bit of fun playing together. Zongoloni was on her knees and Ngasha was just about to climb onto her back but she quickly moved out the way. Ngasha wasn’t happy that was how the game turned out and walked to the water pool to cool-off, upset that Zongoloni had not allowed him to climb onto her.
Today Quanza arrived for the midday milk feeding with her trunk raised up and ready for the Keepers to put the bottle into her mouth so that she could down the contents. She could hear Lima Lima running up behind her for her share and made sure that she got her bottle before Lima Lima got there so that Lima Lima would not take it from her. Not being the first to arrive Lima Lima was not able to steal anyone else’s share, something that she often tries to do. When she had finished her milk she followed Shukuru and the Keepers to the waterhole. When the group got to the waters-edge they all plunged in for a swim and enjoyed the cool water which was a welcome respite from the hot sun.
When the babies exited their stockades this morning following their milk bottle they headed straight to the pellet feeding area. Lima Lima was being quite greedy and was picking up more pellets than she could eat at one go. Mwashoti wasn’t happy about this and started to push Lima Lima to get her to move away. She retaliated and pushed him back and the two of them were soon engaged in a pushing match as they fought over the space they were both standing in. Sonje saw what was happening and went to help Mwashoti and separate the two. Ziwa had also seen what had transpired and came in to prevent Sonje from reprimanding Lima Lima, who was being rough with Mwashoti who is considered to be Sonje and Murera’s adopted baby.
Shukuru had moved away from the area when Lima Lima and Mwashoti started their pushing contest as she prefers peace and quiet and did not want to become involved in their fight.
Today the orphans took a different route to the water springs and enjoyed the fresh green grass that they found on the way. At noon the orphan herd converged around the waterhole for a drink of clean water, after which Ziwa and Zongoloni headed off for a private browsing session away from the rest of the orphan herd.
It was raining this morning as the orphans exited their stockades to being the day. They seemed to be confused as to what to do as they had been dry and warm under the cover of their stockades and were now wet and feeling cold. In the end they decided to walk around the base of the hills because the hillsides would be slippery due to the rain, which would make it difficult for Murera and Shukuru to climb up. Sonje and Lima Lima made sure to keep the whole herd at the base, with Lima Lima moving ahead to stop Ziwa from heading up hill. Lima Lima then led the group to the anthills where they all enjoyed rolling around in the wet earth, covering their bodies with mud.
When the rain stopped, some of the babies walked into the forest but were soon seen running out headed straight to Sonje and Quanza who were resting under the baobab trees. None of the orphans had noticed the buffaloes that were napping in the area and when Quanza saw them she alerted the others and together they all ran to the Keepers. Lima Lima made sure that the orphan herd would quickly move away from the area.
Ziwa and Jasiri got in a fight when Ziwa pulled Jasiri’s tail, something that Jasiri was not happy about as he felt that there was no reason for his tail to be pulled, and so and he retaliated accordingly.
The morning browsing session took the babies up Umani Hills today as they went in search of some soft green branches to feed on. Today Ngasha and Zongoloni chose to spend some time away from their ex-orphan friends and made their way towards Murera. Shukuru, who had been browsing with Murera, saw them coming and moved away wanting to keep her distance from Ngasha as she knew that he would try to push her or bother her in some way or another and she wasn’t interested, preferring to keep away from the older boys as they can be quite rough.
The orphans quickly made their way to the slopes of the Kenze Hills were Mwashoti came across some rock hyraxes and started trumpeting loudly in an effort to scare them away. The hyraxes soon disappeared into crevices in the rocks leaving Mwashoti trumpeting as he charged around kicking at stones and branches with his feet; it was not long before the others joined in. Faraja charged into the bushes far from the rest of the orphans and got left behind when the Keepers decided that it was time for the orphans to head home. He stayed on his own for a while before returning to the stockades after his ex-orphan friends had already walked back out for the night; upon seeing that they were not at the stockades he turned around and headed off to find them.
The orphans headed off down their usual path to the browsing grounds and once there each one adopted a different browsing style; each orphan browsed separately from one another as they all searched for fresh un-trampled vegetation.
In the afternoon a herd of six wild elephants was seen in the distance raising their trunks in an effort to locate the orphans. Lima Lima smelt the wild herd and was on full alert, staying close to the Keepers to make sure that they were safe should the wild elephants come to join them. She also let Murera and Shukuru know that there were elephants nearby so that they were aware of the situation and could act accordingly to make sure that the orphan herd would be calm and safe.
This morning Sonje and Alamaya headed out to the Umani water springs where Sonje wanted to show Alamaya some nice green vegetation. When they arrived they found Ngasha already there feasting on the lush green grass and chewing every mouthful slowly, relishing it before swallowing.
In the afternoon Ziwa seemed to be tired of walking. He walked to the front of the group where the Keepers were and followed them until it was time to head home for the night.
As the Keepers were making sure the entire herd was together so that they could return to the stockades, the orphans were on the lookout for a waterhole to wallow in as they were feeling hot. Lima Lima led the group to the waterhole where they had a swim to cool off. Ngasha was the star in the water.
Lima Lima has been dubbed as the greedy baby girl by the Keepers as she is by far the most avaricious orphan among the Umani herd and will not miss a chance to pick at anything green and put it in her mouth to see if is edible, and if not she will spit it out. Ngasha tried to get in front of her in an effort to slow her down but found that she is very resilient and can go for quite a while before getting tired. Ngasha somehow managed to get her to follow him to an anthill where he got her to lie down for a nap and the two fell asleep side by side which was a sweet sight to see. Lima Lima sensed someone passing her and opened her eyes to see who it was. She found Shukuru trying to squeeze past to get to a tree for a scratching session. Faraja and Ziwa fought over space to wallow in a small water hole.
The four ex-orphans did not come to the stockades this morning for the milk and supplement feed as they usually do. Lima Lima did not want to leave as she wanted to wait for Zongoloni but when the ex-orphans didn’t show the Umani babies decided to head out for the day. Sonje and Lima Lima stopped to decide which direction to go in and after a short discussion they headed to the forest for the morning browsing session.
Murera brought up the rear while Shukuru was in the lead followed closely by Lima Lima as the group made their way to the Hills. They set a good pace stopping when Quanza heard a ruckus at the back of the group and went to investigate. On arrival she found that Ziwa and Faraja had joined them and Ziwa had pushed Faraja wanting to engage him in a pushing game but Faraja was not interested in playing. The group continued on their way to the Kenze Hills to browse.
As noon approached Lima Lima was seen separating from the rest of the group so that she would be the first to get to the milk bottles. As soon as she saw the milk vehicle she started running towards it, stopping when it did and thus ensuring that she was the first one to be given her milk which she downed quickly, thinking that perhaps she would be given more, but she walked away when she realised that would not be the case.
The babies walked to the forest this morning to begin the days browsing activities. They made their way to the Kenze Hills with Jasiri looking all around him at all the lush green vegetation in the area. He could not help himself, reaching out with his trunk to try all the vegetation the saw. Sonje was watching him closely, something that he was not aware of, and when she saw him unable to reach something she went to went over to investigate what it was. Faraja had moved on by then and joined Jasiri, and the two remained behind browsing when the rest of the orphans followed the Keepers back to the stockades for the night, leaving the two to return at their leisure
This morning the Keepers were heard shouting Ziwa’s name calling for him to come to the stockades to join the orphan herd. Ziwa, who was browsing in the bushes, heard them calling and though he stepped out to have a look, he ignored the Keepers and remained where he was before moving further into the bushes so that the Keepers could not see him. Murera heard Ziwa running off and went over to her adopted baby Mwashoti to ensure that he would not be enticed into running off with the four ex-orphans.
At noon the orphans made their way to a waterhole close to where they had been browsing and where the wild herds often have a mud bath, and there they came across Ngasha. Ngasha had entered the mud bath but was struggling to get out as the mud was thick and he was stuck. Murera saw that Ngasha was in trouble and went to his aid, pulling him by the trunk while he got his feet and set himself free so that he could exit the muddy waterhole.
While out and about this morning Quanza became separated from the rest of the group as she walked off to browse on her own. When she returned she seemed reluctant to join the orphan herd, walking slowly so as to move at her own pace and give herself the time and space she wanted to do things her own way. Jasiri saw that Quanza was lagging behind and came to join her. When he got to where she was she ran off leaving Jasiri to understand that she wanted to be on her own. He moved away and rejoined the group leaving Quanza to browse in solitude.
When orphans had finished their noon milk feed Quanza returned and walked with Mwashoti towards the dust mounds. The Keepers thought they would stop for a dust bath but instead of doing that they made their way to the salt licking area where Quanza dug at the ground with her tusks to get the minerals they wanted from the earth. Shukuru found herself alone at the waterhole and she took the opportunity to enjoy a swim in peace and quiet before rest of the orphan herd came for a wallow.
The four ‘night-clubbers’ as the Keepers have dubbed the four ex-orphans as they like to stay out all night, did not come to the morning milk feed this morning. Zongoloni joined the orphan herd later, once they were out in the hills for the mornings browsing activities. Shukuru had taken the lead when the orphans left the stockades but once out of the compound gave the lead over to Lima Lima while Murera brought up the rear.
Today some wild bulls were seen coming out of the bushes as they made their way to join the orphan herd. Ziwa and Faraja were with the bulls but the bulls held back when Ziwa walked straight up to the orphan herd to Lima Lima to see if he could persuade the orphans to come and greet his wild friends. Lima Lima was seen walking towards the bulls but soon changed direction and headed to the Keepers to ensure that they were safe. The Keepers quickly moved away, followed by Shukuru, and they distanced themselves from the other orphans and the bulls to give them the opportunity to interact with the wild bulls if they wanted to.
When the stockade dependent orphans exited their night quarters this morning the night-clubbers, were not there to greet them again and join them for the Lucerne pellet supplements. Lately the four ex-orphans have taken to not returning to the stockades in the morning, and prefer to meet up later in the morning when the rest of the orphans are out in the forest. Murera spent longer than the others at the Lucerne pellet feeding area browsing on greens, while Mwashoti followed her, stuck to her side like glue. So as to not separate the group Sonje let Murera take the lead following her and Mwashoti.
Once they were out in the forest Zongoloni and her group was seen coming to join the babies. Mwashoti saw Zongoloni and thought she was approaching his feeding area and he became quite defensive of his space, not wanting to share the vegetation he was feeding on. When Zongoloni got to where he was Mwashoti started to push her very hard with caught the attention of Ngasha who stopped to watch their interaction as Mwashoti was showing quite a lot of strength. Faraja was busy browsing and had found some sweet sticks from which he peeled the bark to eat.
Early this morning Quanza headed to the bushes to search for vegetation to feed on. Murera followed her and found some sweet palms to strip and eat. Murera was not in a sharing mood today and warned everyone away that tried to come and join her.
Today none of the orphans wanted to wallow after their noon milk feed as it was a chilly day. Murera then led the way to the dust piles for a quick dust bath before returning to the forest to continue with the days browsing activities. The Keepers had time to quickly finish their lunch before following their charges back to the forest.
Once in the forest the orphans came across a waterhole that wild elephants frequent and there was the smell of wild elephants all around them. Alamaya made his way to a broken water pipeline where he stopped for a drink. Sonje also had a drink of water and went in search of Mwashoti. When she could not find him she trumpeted loudly and was relieved to see him running to join her.
It has been raining today which made the orphans reluctant to leave their stockades for the morning milk feed and he four ex-orphans were once again a no show. When the orphans headed out to the forest they were joined by Zongoloni who came out of the bushes and was welcomed with a lot of fanfare by the rest of the babies. Zongoloni was soon followed by her other three friends and together they all headed to the Umani Hills to browse.
Once the rain stopped Alamaya went to pull down branches from the bushes around him while Shukuru relaxed under a tree. The ground was very wet and slippery making it difficult for Sonje and Murera to move around. The orphans enjoyed wallowing in a mud bath formed by all the rain that had fallen during the night. Sonje was given a scare when a big tree fell close to where she was browsing and ran towards the Keepers while Faraja went to have a look at the tree and see if there was any nice vegetation on it that he could eat.
When out browsing today Alamaya got spooked when he thought he saw a hyena, which brought back memories of when he was attached by a hyena before his rescue. He didn’t run away but started screaming for help instead. Sonje and Murera were quick to come to his aid and did their best to calm him down and let him know that he was safe.
The orphans visited different browsing grounds today as Alamaya could not shake the fact that he thought he had seen a hyena and did not want to go back to the area that they had been browsing in this morning. Lima Lima did her best to find other areas for them to feed so as to keep Alamaya and the rest of the group happy.
The orphans all had a good night’s rest and were full of energy as they exited their stockades for their morning milk bottle followed by the supplement Lucerne pellet feeding. It was at this point that all the drama started as the four ex-orphans came to join the youngsters for the supplements wanting to have them all for themselves and making it very difficult for the youngsters to get their share. Murera stood aside and watched what was transpiring carefully before intervening. She walked up to the group and when the older boys saw her coming they ran off not wanting to be reprimanded by her for their actions which they knew were wrong.
Once out in the forest Ziwa was seen throwing branches onto his back and playing with the long grass. Murera followed the group who were making their way towards the Chyulu Hills. On the way there Sonje heard some wild elephants trumpeting and she scampered into the bushes to hide, not wanting to be seen by the wild bulls and not wanting to join them either, so sje remained where she was to browse while the rest went further ahead.
When the babies exited the stockades this morning they had their milk and then stopped to enjoy the Lucerne Pellets. Lima Lima was not aware that the Keepers had already put the pellets out and made her way to the pellets store to try and steal some. A Keeper had to chase her away and send her back to the other orphans who had already been feasting on the pellets and had nearly finished them. She approached Alamaya who had a few pellets left but he chased her away so that she wouldn’t take what he considered to be his share.
Quanza and Murera took the orphan herd to the Umani Hills for the morning browsing session where they found sweet and soft branches to feed on. At the noon milk feed all the babies, Shukuru included, came running for their milk. Some of them were fed by the Keepers while others picked up their own bottles and downed the contents. They then went to the water trough for a drink of clean water and to quench their thirst. The group then returned to their browsing activities with Shukuru lagging behind as she wanted to stay close to the Keepers.
Mwashoti has become very jealous of the other orphans not wanting any of them to come close to Sonje and Murera, both of whom he considers to be his adopted mothers and feels that he is the only one that should get their attention, which is the same way that Ziwa felt before Mwashoti arrived.
As Murera and Mwashoti were preparing to head to the forest for the morning browsing session they heard movement in the bushes near them and upon checking what was going on they found Ziwa there on his way to join the stockade group. Ziwa was welcomed warmly by all the orphans who miss him and the other three ex-orphans, all of whom eventually came to join them as they headed out for the day. Sonje was in the lead followed by Jasiri and they led the group towards the Chyulu Hills.
It was a lovely beginning to the day as the orphans exited their stockades to be greeted by the warm weather. They had their milk and supplement foods before heading out to the hills for the days browsing activities.
Lima Lima was in the lead and became a little disoriented, as did the other orphans, when some bush bucks came running out of the bushes. Ziwa gathered everyone together and once everyone was calm they continued on their way, browsing until it was time for the noon milk feed. The orphans headed to the mud bath when the Keepers alerted them to the fact that it was time for their milk. Even though it was a warm day none of the orphans seemed interested in wallowing.
When Sonje saw that none of the orphans was interested in wallowing she headed to the water trough for a drink of clean water. Lima Lima followed her, had a drink, and moved on to the salt lick area where she found that the salt had been washed way but the rain. Even though they couldn’t see the salt, some of it had been absorbed by the soil and as such they had some of that instead.
Quanza was in the lead today followed by Shukuru and the two of them led the group out for the day. Murera had hidden in the bushes for a private browsing session but on the way they did their best to get her to come out from her hideout, where she was enjoying the vegetation, and follow the group. Murera was slow to do so and the Keepers had to call her several times before she came out with a mouthful of greens and slowly followed the rest of the orphan herd. As they were leaving they heard some trumpets from wild elephants and realized that must also have been part of the reason for Murera’s delay in following them; in the end she got them to go in a different direction, away from the wild elephants, as she didn’t want to join them.