The new year began with a humorous surprise. After their midday milk feed, the orphans ambled along to the mud bath, as usual. Much to their surprise, however, they were not alone: a hippopotamus had migrated over from the Tiva and taken up residence! Although the hippo wasn’t interested in them, the orphans got an enormous fright. They ran out of the water en masse and hid in the nearby bushes.
The orphans had their morning milk bottles and came out of their night stockades to feed on dairy cube supplements. As it is still green after the recent rain, the orphans seemed in a hurry to begin their day, and it wasn’t long before they started to file out of the compound and into the bush. They later made their way over towards the Kone dam for a drink of water and to feed on the surrounding bushes. Roho, who only arrived at Ithumba in November, was very busy browsing and was grabbing branches from several different shrubs as he walked along, rather than settling on just one.
When it was time for their next milk feed at 11am, the orphans made their way to the feeding area beside the big waterhole. After having their bottles the orphans enjoyed wallowing, led by Maramoja. Pare was busy mounting on Musiara while playing. Today we were surprised to find a hippopotamus at the mud bath as well! The orphans got such a fright and ran out of the water and into the nearby bushes. Equally the hippo also got a fright and ran in the other direction away from the mud bath.
The orphans soon settled down to browse and decided to go back to the mud bath later on in the day to cool off. They looked about and were happy to wallow in the water again. We spotted the brave Roho climbing on Mapia while Kauro and Sapalan were busy playfighting.
The orphans returned to the stockades for their evening bottles of milk and to go to sleep for the night. Enkikwe and Sapalan also arrived at the compound this evening but didn’t want to be locked in with their friends, and they decided to stay out. Mundusi and Karisa are still with Yatta’s ex-orphan herd too.
This morning the dependent orphans were greeted by ex-orphans Lualeni, Loijuk and Sidai with their babies Lulu and Lexi, Lili and Sita. They had just come to the compound to pay a visit and didn’t stay long before heading on their way. We were happy to see them as it has been some time! The orphans had their lucerne pellet supplemental food and then walked out to the bush to begin their day.
Pare started playing with Sana Sana. Sattao was doing some early morning exercise as he rolled about on the ground. Lualeni’s herd showed up out of the bush again and the orphans were delighted to be able to socialize with the wild born babies for a while. Lexi was happily running about here and there. We spotted Dololo browsing on his own, quite content, and nearby Mundusi started a pushing game with Ambo, and Jotto with Mapia.
At the mud bath today, the orphans were very active after having their milk feed. The whole herd got into the mud bath to wallow. Rambunctious Roho started testing his strength against Naboishu while in the water, which escalated into him trying to climb on his back. Pare and Musiara were also wrestling in the water. Eventually Esampu led the herd out of the water and over to the pile of loose soil to dry off. After rolling in the soil, Roho decided to continue his play fight with Naboishu. We saw the hippo once again at the mud bath today as well! We couldn’t believe how far he must have walked to get to the mud bath, maybe even all the way from Athi River!
Back out in the bush Larro continued to show some affection for little Roho and they two could be spotted patting and lovingly embracing one another.
It was a quiet morning as the orphans came out to begin their day. They had their milk bottles as usual, and just as she was finishing, Neshashi decided to turn and run out to the bush to start browsing on the green vegetation, before any of the others were ready. She doesn’t like the lucerne pellets very much and much prefers the shrubs and greenery.
As the dependent orphans browsed this morning, Wendi’s ex-orphan herd appeared and decided to join them for a bit. Loijuk, Galana, Naserian, Sidai and their babies were all with her. Mteto, Malkia and Esampu were so excited to have the wild babies around for a bit and after playing with them, all the girls started to follow the herd as they walked away. Mteto and Malkia came back to their friends, but Esampu continued with the ex-orphans. With Wendi present, the Keepers were apprehensive and didn’t want to get too close to her herd, as Wendi can be unpredictable at times! We know Esampu will be safe in amongst all the ex-orphan mothers and various nannies though, and Wendi wouldn’t mistreat her.
Later on at the mud bath the orphans had their milk and decided to jump into the waterhole to swim and play. Mapia started playing by climbing on Naboishu while Musiara did the same to Larro, before moving on to Malkia. Ndiwa and Jotto decided to take their wrestling game outside the mud bath, before all the orphans started filing back out to the bush to continue browsing.
Out in the bush we saw Sattao befriend Roho. Neshashi was quietly browsing by herself and the rest of the herd concentrated on feeding and filling their bellies too.
On the way back to stockades this evening the orphans decided to pass by the mud bath again to cool off. They played and splashed about having a lot of fun! They were clearly going to tire themselves out before heading home for the day. Neshashi seemed to love the water the most and looked very active, and was one of the last out of the water. While playing the orphans also realized that the same hippo was back at the mud bath! The hippo was friendly though and ignored the orphans, content on having its own fun in the water. Malkia, Musiara and Maramoja took the lead when all the orphans were done, and led everyone back out into the bush to continue their afternoon of browsing.
It seems Karisa, Mundusi, Enkikwe and Sapalan are still all doing very well out in the wild, as this is their second week staying out with Wendi’s herd, and they continue just to visit from time to time.
The day began on a cold note after we had some rain in the area. It was already starting to dry out so we were delighted to receive a little extra surprise rain this morning.
The orphans began their day as usual and decided to focus on browsing throughout the morning hours. Kauro, Esampu and Musiara browsed with one another. Just before they were meant to go for their 11am milk feed, Roho and Naboishu started playfighting while Kauro and Ambo patted each other affectionately. Mapia rolled on the ground playing with Sattao. Sattao then got up to lead everyone to the milk feeding area, and Naboishu opted to continue playing with Musiara as they made their way there.
The orphans finished their milk bottles quickly and went straight to the mud bath to swim and play. Musiara was one of the most lively today, and when he was done swimming he got out to go and roll around on the soil to dry off. Malkia was there playing in the soil as well, before she got out to lead the others for the afternoon browsing session.
The orphans looked as though they were enjoying the best green vegetation they could find. Roho was patting Naboishu and strengthening their relationship.
As the orphans made their way home to the stockade compound today, Esampu returned to join her friends after spending the night out with Wendi’s ex-orphan herd. Enkikwe, Sapalan, Karisa and Mundusi are still with Wendi's herd.
The orphans, led by Naboishu, started their day early by walking out to the bush after having just a few dairy cube supplements. They walked towards the foot of Ithumba hill and started browsing there. Ndiwa set about enjoying the browse from a nice bush while Kauro walked past her to drink water that had collected on a rock from the rain last night. Mapia's mouth was full of grass. Musiara and Ambo started playing with each other and nearby Dololo and Mukkoka had their own strength testing match.
The orphans had their midday milk bottles as usual before walking into the main mud wallow to cool down and play. Some of the orphans, such as Kauro, Malima, Jotto and a few others didn't want to wallow, and chose instead to go to the water trough for a drink, where they met with a wild bull also coming for water.
Later in the afternoon all the orphans looked very active and busy browsing together in a group. Kamok took Ambo and Neshashi and disappeared with them, however just before it was time to return to the stockades for the night Kamok returned with the two youngsters. We spotted the two ex-orphan bulls Challa and Zurura in the area around Ithumba today as well and they both seemed in good health.
Today the orphans had their 6am breakfast milk bottles as usual before walking out to feed on a few supplements. They all enjoyed the lucerne which was recently delivered and is very fresh and green. Malkia took a bunch of it and walked off with it on her head to enjoy a bit later. Musiara and Mteto went to drink some water from the troughs, while Sattao and Naboishu started playfighting nearby. Dololo and Sana Sana seemed very affectionate with one another this morning and in a very happy mood as they patted and hugged one another with their trunks.
Again the orphans seemed in a very active and playful mood today. Ambo and Naboishu started their day out in the bush with a strength-testing match while some of the others took a break from browsing to roll and play on the ground.
Today only Larro, Rapa and Ambo decided to wallow in the main mud bath after the 11 o’clock milk feed. All the others chose not to join them and instead walked back out to the bush to continue browsing.
Kamok, Ambo, Larro and Neshashi decided to separate themselves from the group and went off to browse a short distance away as their own little herd. They returned to join everyone just before it was time to return home for the night, but we can tell that there is some reluctance on Kamok’s part. At nine years old she is showing some signs of wishing to be more independent, however she doesn’t want to go alone and acts like she wants to take some orphans like Ambo and Larro with her. Unfortunately, Ambo and Larro are still too young, and don’t share the same urge she has to be wild. Kamok has been spotted several times with them a short distance away from the rest of the herd and often she is in no hurry to walk back to the stockades in the evening and loiters at the back. Perhaps it won’t be long until she decides to go with one of the ex-orphan herds, as she will become impatient waiting for her favourite youngsters to join her.
Once again on this cool day the orphans seemed in a playful mood. Ambo was spotted strengthening his relationship with Naboishu in yet another wrestling match; it’s been a while now that we have seen these two play on an almost daily basis! After having their lucerne this morning and browsing for an hour or so, the orphans looked thirsty, an assumption that was proved right when they decided to walk to the small Kone dam for a drink of water. Once they were satisfied, they decided just to continue browsing there for a while.
Neshashi took a break from browsing and decided to dust herself on the roadside, while Kamok stood next to her watching over her. Happy that Neshashi was content in her game and that no one was coming to bother her, Kamok decided to join her favourite Ambo who was browsing next to them. Musiara and Sattao were busy on the other side of the dam having their own rolling game. Ambo started a pushing game with little Neshashi but he was gentle with her. Kuishi was far away from the rest of the herd, enjoying and resting alone in the trench alongside the road. Pare wasn’t quite left behind, but he wasn’t exactly keeping up with the herd, sauntering along like a tortoise on the road at the back. Rapa was quite content browsing alone in the bush as well, until it was time for the 11 o’clock milk feed when he walked to join the rest of the herd as they prepared to walk to the mud bath.
The orphans had their milk and as usual, some decided to get into the water to wallow while others instead went for a drink of water. Larro came and took a bottle by herself like it was self-service! But she didn’t try and steal an extra one today.
As they day wore on it became very hot and the orphans had to take a break and rest under some shade. They looked quite tired, but satisfied as well. Once it was a bit cooler, they browsed for the rest of the day before walking home for the night. We didn’t see any other ex-orphans today.
Just as the Ithumba dependent orphans were settling for some lucerne this morning, Yatta’s ex-orphan herd arrived including Naisula, Nasalot, Ithumbah, Lualeni, Loijuk, Chyulu, Galana and Lenana with all their babies. It seems that they wanted to come for some lucerne as well, even though it’s not that dry out in the bush yet. The wild born babies Lexi and Yogi were very playful and were chasing each other about and climbing on one another. Their funny antics caught the attention of Nasalot’s baby Noah who came to join in. It was also lovely to see how Karisa and Mundusi are really enjoying life with Yatta’s herd and they are looking so well. It’s about three weeks that they have been with Yatta’s herd now and they look like they are doing really well in the wild.
Kamok and Ambo went on to feed on some lucerne that the Keepers had put out next to a rock in the bush, before walking on to the Kone dam again to wash it all down.
After the 11 o’clock milk feed all the orphans decided to wallow today. They played and splashed about energetically! Roho was the first one to come out after he was done with his games and he looked eager to continue browsing as he walked straight back out to the bush.
Dololo and Mukkoka started a wrestling match in the afternoon while Roho, Ambo and Esampu browsed together nearby. Kuishi, Kauro, Kamok and Mapia bunched together and looked like they were having a private meeting, and it wasn’t long before they started walking back to the compound for the night which suggested what their conversation might have been about! Nabulu then took the lead and walked the first group in for the night.
The orphans decided not to hang around very long enjoying lucerne this morning, they wanted to walk straight out to the bush. Roho was very active and running here and there browsing on the best green shrubs he could find. He then went to find his friend Mukkoka and started playing with him. The daring boy even ventured to climb on Mukkoka’s back in a show of dominance, despite Mukkoka being a year older than him! Mapia played with Musiara and later the whole herd walked to the mud bath for their midday milk feed.
Only some of the orphans decided to swim in the mud bath after their milk feed. Rapa and Mapia of course wanted to swim and started a wrestling match while they were in the water as well. Roho took advantage of Mukkoka being in the water and climbed on his back again! Rapa went on to playfight with Maramoja until they decided to join their friends who had already started to wander off to continue browsing.
Just before the orphans walked home for the night after a peaceful afternoon of browsing, Pare started a pushing game with Musiara, which culminated in them rolling on the ground and showing off. It was Nabulu who once again led the herd home for the night.
In the evening Challa, Mundusi, Karisa, Nasalot and her two children Nusu and Noah decided to visit the stockades. They were with Mundusi and Karisa too and we were happy to see them. They walked off into the bush as night drew in.
Ambo and Sattao had a disagreement soon after they had finished feeding on some lucerne. The two boys decided to sort out their differences through a pushing game, but this dispute was cut short by Kauro who, as usual, passed by and decided to disrupt the game. We don’t know why Kauro likes to disrupt the pushing game of others, but he often does!
Soon after the orphans left for browsing, the ex-orphans showed up at the stockades and decided to clean up the leftover lucerne before leaving again.
Kauro teamed up with Malima and Jotto to browse while Naboishu, Mukkoka and Roho had fun by rolling about on the ground. Later, Mukkoka, who is acting quite tough with the other bulls in the herd at the moment, decided to tackle Dololo. Their game was disrupted by Rapa this time, who came over and separated the two boys.
When it was time to head to the mud bath, Kamok, Kauro, Rapa, Ndiwa and Pare chose to lag behind and showed up twenty minutes later after their friends had nearly all finished wallowing. Rapa and Pare had a pushing game before getting into the water to cool off. Roho emerged as the star of the day as he led his friends for the wallowing session. Neshashi was the first one out, followed by Dololo and Mapia.
In the afternoon Larro was seen having a spot of fun by performing her own little games sitting and rolling on the ground. Enkikwe played with Kauro but their game came to an abrupt end when Enkikwe turned and bit Kauro's tail! Kauro obviously didn’t want to continue playing if Enkikwe wasn’t going to play by the rules. Roho settled to browse with Larro for a while, as Naboishu chose to engage Sattao in a light wrestling match to test his skills. Pare played with Musiara and later in the evening, Neshashi led the way back to the stockades for the night.
The orphans left the stockades in a jovial mood soon after finishing their morning milk. As the orphans waited for the Keepers to put some lucerne out, Roho decided to occupy himself by scratching against a nearby rock, while Jotto happily rolled on the ground to warm up and stretch his limbs. Once the Keepers had distributed the lucerne all the orphans happily tucked in. Challa emerged from the east in a slow measured walk and decided to join the orphans for a while. The impressive young bull was welcomed by Naboishu, Sattao and Ambo. As soon as the orphans had enough lucerne, Malkia followed by Malima led the way out. Challa was joined by Makena and later they both left the compound too.
Neshashi teamed up with Sana Sana to enjoy some nice green bushes while Maramoja browsed with Musiara. Whilst wallowing in the mud bath today it was Kamok, Malkia, Malima, Pare, Kauro and Rapa who emerged as the stars of the day, showing off and splashing everywhere. After coming out of the water, the orphans encountered a troop of chattering baboons. Larro, Dololo, Naboishu, Rapa and Mapia charged and trumpeted as they tried to drive away the noisy baboons. The baboons responded by running off and climbing up a baobab tree, where they sat comfortably and jeered down at the orphans and their inability to climb up the tree to get them. Mapia called off the now pointless game of chasing the noisy creatures, and led his friends away to continue browsing instead. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day.
Kuishi left her stockade with a branch in her mouth this morning which she continued to enjoy until some lucerne was provided. Mukkoka and Ambo decided to scratch their buttocks against the terrace wall in the stockade compound. Sana Sana and Ndiwa rolled on the ground to wake themselves up a bit. The orphans only settled for lucerne briefly, before Sana Sana rumbled, informing her friends that it was time for them to leave in search of fresh grass and leaves. Naboishu was the first one to respond by moving up close to Sana Sana, and then she set off in the lead out to the bush.
Mukkoka decided to challenge Ambo this morning, and the gentle Ambo accepted, turning to lightly tackle Mukkoka. The wrestling match came to an end only when Pare passed by and pushed the two boys apart. Ambo then decided to team up with his good friend Kamok walk towards the Kone dam for a drink. Sana Sana and Naboishu thought that was a good idea and decided to follow too. Kauro came across a dried-up thorny branch on his way and carefully picked it up with his trunk before throwing it aside. This was very thoughtful of him, ensuring that anyone walking behind him didn’t step on a nasty thorn. A short while later Yatta’s ex-orphan herd passed by. Mteto and Esampu, who have decided to explore the wild by becoming part of this ex-orphan herd, briefly said hello to their old friends before continuing on with Yatta’s group. Mundusi, Enkikwe, Karisa and Sapalan also accompanied them.
It was a very short session at the mud bath today as the orphans had their milk bottles and then swiftly decided to head back out to browse without wallowing. After an hour or so of browsing, Kuishi took a break and rolled on the ground, while Ambo engaged Mapia in a friendly game. In the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades.
The orphans stopped to enjoy some lucerne this morning which had been put out early by the Keepers. Shortly later, Loijuk and her daughter Lili emerged from the east and joined the orphans for some lucerne too. Yatta and the rest of her herd showed up later. Maramoja welcomed them all for the lucerne breakfast, before walking off to catch up with her dependent friends and leaving the ex-orphans behind to pick up all the remaining leftovers.
The orphans browsed as they walked along, slowly making their way towards the Kone dam. Sattao, Musiara and Dololo, all Nursery friends, had a moment together, heads bowed, discussing something but of course we could not be sure what. The boys parted ways when Rapa came over and intruded on their privacy.
Just before the orphans were about the make their way to the mud bath for the midday milk feed, they were interrupted by a rather hostile wild bull who started pushing them all around a bit. When some of the orphans started to yell out for help, the Keepers intervened by shouting at the wild bull. The wild bull then turned his hostility on the Keepers and trumpeted and mock-charged, but finally he stormed off into the bush, much to the relief of the orphans and their human family.
After having their milk bottles Jotto decided to engage Mapia in a pushing game. Kuishi and Naboishu settled for a soil dusting exercise while Mukkoka teamed up with Pare to browse for the rest of the afternoon. In the evening the orphans passed by the mud bath to cool off again before heading home.
The ex-orphans Loijuk, Lili, Chyulu, Cheka, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Naisula, Nyx and Kandecha decided to spend the night just outside the compound last night, and awoke when the orphans started to come out of their night stockades in the morning. Maramoja and Malkia of course opted to spend some time with little Nyx, while Naboishu challenged Lulu. After sharing some lucerne together, the two groups parted ways.
The orphans walked out and settled to browse in the Kanziku area while the ex-orphans headed east towards Kalovoto. Mukkoka, who is still trying as much as possible to assert his authority over the other bulls in the herd, engaged Ambo in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Later he moved to tackle Musiara, but unfortunately he lost that game. Mukkoka walked away shaking his head in anger, promising himself that he would be back again for another trial.
Pare had a lone game of rolling on the ground but was disrupted by Kauro who passed by and tried to push him up. When Pare seemed uninterested in getting up, Kauro decided to lie on him! Pare yelled out because Kauro was heavy and the Keepers had to intervene, shouting at Kauro to get up and stop hurting his friend. Sattao teamed up with Neshashi to browse while Mapia settled to browse with Kuishi. Later, Pare engaged Rapa in a pushing game but Kauro came over and interrupted them, but then the three boys settled to browse together and looked as though they were having some kind of conversation. Perhaps they were discussing the right time for them to trial a life out in the wild, since a few of their friends of a similar age have already done so.
Roho led the way to the mud bath today but halfway there he was overtaken by Larro. As it turned out the atmosphere at the mud bath was quite tense, as there were five wild bulls there all competing to win Makireti’s attention as she is in season at the moment. One of the bulls charged at the orphans and the Keepers because Makireti tried to hide amongst them! Makireti saw that she was putting the dependent orphans and her human family in danger however, and turned to run in the opposite direction with the bulls in hot pursuit. The orphans were then able to relax a bit and drink their milk in peace, before jumping into the water to join the hippopotamus who has made the mud bath his home for the time being too. The hippopotamus didn't want to mix with anyone else and so moved further away to the other side. The orphans left the mud bath as soon as they had enough of swimming and settled to browse west of the hill for the rest of the day.
Makireti along with three wild bulls were at the stockade compound early before dawn. Challa was among the boys as he also seems to be trying his luck with Makireti. When the dependent orphans were let out, they surrounded Makireti and looked as though they were pitying her her with all these boys chasing her around. Minutes later, Makireti took off and her three boyfriends all followed in hot pursuit. The orphans had some lucerne and half an hour later, Yatta showed up with her herd. The dependent orphans decided they didn’t want to stick around to compete with their seniors, and left the compound to begin their day out in the bush. Malkia led the way.
Sapalan and Enkikwe, who are spending more time with the ex-orphans these days, joined their old friends briefly. Sapalan ran into trouble with Pare who started a pushing match with him. Sapalan stood his ground and the two boys stood locked in a fight that ended when Pare surrendered after the going got too tough. Perhaps Sapalan has been honing his wrestling techniques out in the wild! Later, Enkikwe and Sapalan left to rejoin the ex-orphans.
The orphans had a quiet morning and at mud bath time, Larro led the first group while Nabulu led the second one. Kamok managed to sneak off away from the Keepers and took Ambo and Sattao with her. Meanwhile the rest of their friends enjoyed a cooling-off exercise in the water where Mapia engaged Rapa in a pushing game. Later, Mapia played with Jotto while still in the water. Sattao apparently couldn't go without his midday bottle of milk and left wherever it was Kamok had taken him, and made his way to the mud bath half an hour after his friends had already left. Sattao found some of the Keepers waiting patiently for him who were happy to give him his milk, and then he followed his friends out to where they were browsing.
Kamok and Ambo re-joined the group after skipping the mud bath, and they all settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill for the rest of the day. Maramoja engaged Rapa in a pushing game while Nabulu welcomed Ambo in a similar wrestling match. She was happy to have Ambo back in the herd after his brief time away with Kamok! In the evening, Roho led the first group back to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning. Ambo was the first one to leave the stockades. Maramoja and Rapa were very happy to see one another this morning and entwined their trunks while Mapia engaged Jotto in a strength testing exercise. After having only a bit of the lucerne the Keepers put out, Sana Sana led the Ithumba dependent herd out to the bush. The orphans chose to browse in the Kone area as usual this morning where they were joined by the ex-orphans. Mteto and Esampu stopped to interact with their old friends for just a little while, and then left with the ex-orphans again as they are really enjoying being nannies to the wild born babies.
Roho teamed up with Larro to browse while Neshashi settled to browse with Sana Sana. Rapa, Pare, Jotto and Mapia held a brief meeting and we thought they might be discussing amongst themselves about their future, and how long they they might stay with their human family. Kauro separated himself from the rest of his friends and moved further away.
It was quite chilly as the orphans made their way to the mud bath so none of them dared to step into the water to wallow after having their milk bottles.
Mapia and Kuishi relaxed under a baobab tree and at one point Kuishi decided to practice how to peel bark off, just in case it becomes very dry again which will force the elephants to feed on the baobab trees again. Mukkoka settled to feed with Roho while Maramoja chose to browse with her favourite Musiara. Later, Roho moved on to team up with Ambo and Kamok. Rapa and Mapia finished up the days activities by engaging in a strength testing exercise as they frolicked along behind their friends on the way home.
Jotto and Mapia have been trying to see who is the strongest between them recently, so the two can often be spotted engaged in a strength testing match trying to out do one another. This morning they locked trunks in yet another trial to see who would emerge as the winner. As usual however, their game ended in a draw, which means they will undoubtedly have to have another wrestling match another time! Meanwhile their friends decided to have some lucerne and shortly later we were joined by Kinna, Kama, Kaia and a wild bull. When the orphans were done with their morning snack, Neshashi led the way out.
Mukkoka is trying to establish himself as a strong boy in the herd at the moment, and challenged Dololo to a strength testing exercise. Their game went on for ages, until Malkia intervened and told the two boys to concentrate on feeding first, so they will still have energy to play later if they want. Quiet Musiara held a brief private meeting with Rapa, until he saw Roho go to play in some loose soil and Musiara decided to join him.
Later in the morning Malkia teamed up with Larro and Sattao to browse. Sattao ran into trouble with Malkia however when he started taking some food from Larro's mouth. Malkia pushed Sattao away to leave and find a place to get his own food instead of relying on someone else’s. Larro ended up leaving anyway to team up with Roho and have a chat with him. Perhaps she was wondering how life has been for him since he arrived at Ithumba! Roho seemed very happy to be in gentle Larro’s company.
While the orphans were at the mud bath later on a wild bull emerged from the thicket. Kauro walked towards the bull to find out whether he was someone he knew and chose to share water with him at the water trough. The rest of the herd decided to get into the mud bath soon after finishing their milk. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and had a quiet afternoon.
After having some breakfast lucerne this morning the Keepers kept the Ithumba dependent orphans close by to browse just near the stockade compound. This was because Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi were expected to arrive this morning from the Nairobi Nursery! We were very excited for their intended arrival, and by keeping the orphans nearby they could be there to welcome their new friends to Ithumba.
Naboishu, Roho, Larro and Neshashi were the first ones to meet and welcome the three girls to Ithumba, as they all knew each other from the Nursery! Naboishu entwined his trunk with Sagateisa in greeting. Later, Roho also came over to greet Sagateisa which soon turned into a friendly pushing game. Ambo was being all boisterous and tried to climb on Naleku’s back to show off, but the Keepers intervened and warned him warned him to stop such naughty behaviour or he would be sent away from the group. The new arrivals left with their friends, old and new, ready to learn the new ways of life at Ithumba. The three girls were much calmer compared to when Neshashi, Roho and Oldepe arrived. They interacted freely with their new friends and didn’t really seem bothered about where the Keepers were. Perhaps it was because they had so many familiar faces at Ithumba already, compared to Neshashi, Roho and Oldepe, who didn’t really know anyone. Roho appeared to be the closest and most familiar with the girls, moving up to them all the time and walking among them. Neshashi wasn’t as bothered with greeting the three new girls, and seemed more preoccupied with her usual routine of always wanting to be a head of everybody.
It was getting quite hot as it was a clear and sunny day, and we watched as the three new girls resorted to drawing water from the pouch in their throats and spraying it behind their ears. When the orphans made their way to the mud bath for the midday milk feed, all the orphans opted to swim, including Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi.
The orphans spent the rest of the afternoon browsing and playing to the east of Ithumba Hill. Roho chose to spend the majority of his afternoon feeding with Suguroi and Naleku, while Larro settled to browse with Sagateisa. In the evening, the orphans passed by the Kone dam to cool-off before heading back to the stockades for the night.
Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi were guided from their new stockade by the Keepers in the morning, assisted by Musiara, Ambo, Mukkoka and Sattao. They were shown were the lucerne is always distributed every morning and they settled to have some with their friends. Shortly later, ex-orphans Loijuk, Lili, Mulika, Mwende, Mkuu, Naserian, Njema, Naisula, Nyx, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Makireti, Kilabasi, Kofi, Yatta, Yogi, Yoyo, Mteto and Esampu arrived. Naleku and Suguroi were very excited to see such a herd of big elephants, and with babies too! They were immediately attracted to Lili, since they were of a similar age, who they engaged in a light pushing game. Suguroi tackled Noah after the young boy had antagonized and taunted Suguroi into a wrestling match. Noah couldn't withstand Suguroi’s strength however, and so he surrendered. It seems that ever since they left the dependent herd, Esampu and Mteto have become the main nannies to little Nyx which is very sweet to watch. They are in their element with all the young babies around!
The orphans settled to browse in the area known as Kone this morning. Roho spent most of his morning around Naleku and Suguroi, showing them everything he knew about the area. Sagateisa appears to be more independent and is happy going about her own browsing activities without bothering anyone.
Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi really enjoyed the mud bath later on and stayed in the water for ages, more than any of the others, as the heat here is so intense compared to Nairobi and they wanted to cool off as much as possible. In the afternoon, Maramoja led the way back out to the bush. It was a quiet afternoon, and when Sagateisa, Naleku and Suguroi felt the temperature raising, they went back down to Kone dam to cool themselves again. In the evening, confident Suguroi led the way back to the stockades.
The orphans settled for lucerne as soon as they left their night stockades this morning. Mukkoka had brief strength testing exercise with Dololo that ended in a draw. Sagateisa walked down to the water trough to quench her thirst where she was soon joined by Kamok. We were a little worried about how Kamok might treat the newcomer, but she settled quietly for some water and didn’t cause any issues. The calm and composed Sagateisa had her fill of water and then turned to face east while relaxing her back leg on the edge of the water trough. Naleku and Suguroi came to pick her up to rejoin the rest of their new friends who were deciding which way to go today.
As the orphans walked along to their desired browsing spot, Mapia and Kamok decided to stop for a brief soil dusting exercise to stretch their limbs, before running to catch up with their friends. As usual the orphans decided to stop off in the Kone area near the dam, where they had a quiet morning. The temperature was moderate and the sky was cloudy -the ideal browsing conditions for elephants!
Only Rapa, Dololo, Mukokoa, Roho, Kamok, Sattao, Suguroi, Naleku and Sagateisa chose to wallow after having their noon milk bottles. A lone wild bull appeared and headed straight to the water trough for a drink. Kauro, Ndiwa, Larro and Pare joined the wild bull for some water and to exchange pleasantries before joining their friends.
The orphans walked to the Kanziku area to spend the afternoon there. It was very hot though and they had to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree. In the evening, Musiara and Maramoja settled for a soil dusting exercise while Naboishu and Ndiwa found small muddy pool and chose to play there for a while.
Rapsu and a wild friend who looked a bit younger than him joined the orphans for some lucerne this morning. Shortly later, Rapsu's wild friend walked down to the water trough to have a drink. The new girls Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi followed him to the water trough and after few minutes, they returned to join their friends. It was as if they wanted to chat to this wild elephant about his life and what it was like in the wild.
Moments later, five wild bulls accompanying Sidai and her baby Silas arrived. Sidai gave birth to her Silas when Sita, her first born, was only two years old, and now she is in season again and Silas is only one year and two months! If she becomes pregnant now it means she will give birth to a third baby when her Silas is about three years old. We are very happy for Sidai who is so easily able to have so many calves. Her first-born Sita is already very independent and doesn't accompany his mother like other calves. Perhaps he was rather put out when Sidai had another calf when he was still young! Sidai and her team joined the orphans for some lucerne too. When it was time to leave, Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi seemed reluctant to follow and looked like they were really enjoying the company of the ex-orphans. It took a lot of persuading from the Keepers to get the girls to leave the company of their seniors and follow their dependent friends.
Roho settled to browse with Naleku and Suguroi while Mukkoka chose to browse with Rapa. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by the ex-orphans again but they only interacted for a little while before parting ways. The weather was cool while the orphans browsed in the Kanziku area for the rest of the afternoon which was very advantageous for them as they could browse comfortably and peacefully for the rest of the day.
The weather was cloudy and although it looked as if it might rain, none actually fell. Ambo was the first one to leave the stockades once the gates were opened this morning. The orphans settled for lucerne before newbie Sagateisa led the way down to the water troughs. She was followed by Naleku, Suguroi and Ndiwa, who escorted the young girls. Sidai appears to have come to the end of her season as she showed up with her baby Silas and only one junior wild bull following them. Naleku and Suguroi ran to meet and interact with Silas, excited to see a small baby once more, but Silas appeared uninterested in playing with the two girls and tried to hide by his mother. Suguroi and Naleku eventually gave up and walked back to the water trough. It was Sana Sana who led the way out today.
Neshashi, Larro and Naboishu decided to take a break together and enjoyed rolling on the ground and throwing soil about. Dololo engaged Mukkoka in a pushing game while Jotto decided to team up with his friend Pare to browse on some tasty branches. Suguroi and Naleku chose to share one shrub with Malkia while Malima settled to browse with Ambo.
At the midday milk feed Roho ran as fast as he could to compete with Naleku and Suguroi over who might reach the Keepers with the bottles first, and he nearly lost the lead to Suguroi who is also very fast! It is wonderful to see how fast the three new girls are settling into their new home. The orphans decided not to have a mud bath today after their noon milk feed.
Later, they chose to browse in the Kone area east of Ithumba Hill. Roho teamed up with his old Nursery friend Larro to browse. Ambo and his good friend Kamok spent most of their time removing bark from the trunk of one tree – it appears this particular tree had very tasty bark as they spent quite a lot of time there! Roho chose to browse with Dololo while Malima teamed up with Ndiwa.
The afternoon began to heat up and the orphans decided to visit the Kone dam to drink and cool off. Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi were very happy with this decision and jumped into the water to cool themselves down. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
Ex--orphans Mulika, Mkuu, Naisula, Nyx, Esampu, Mteto and Mwende visited earlier — and it is lovely to note that Mwende is pregnant. Nabulu tried to engage baby Mkuu in conversation but Mkuu sadly wasn’t interested. Malkia and Maramoja joined their old friends Esampu and Mteto to take care of baby Nyx – they were very envious that the two girls who recently joined the ex-orphans got to take care of little Nyx all day as some of her nannies! It seems there is no turning back for Esampu and Mteto as they are very happy helping Naisula to take care of Nyx. Perhaps they might try and convince their friends Malkia and Maramoja soon too. After a while, Sagateisa led the way out to browse while the ex-orphans headed east.
Musiara found a nice big rock that he used to scratch his belly on before joining Maramoja and Malkia to browse. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Neshashi led the way to the mud bath for the milk feed and when they were all through, Sagateisa led the way over to the mud bath. It was a very hot day so all of the orphans wanted to swim today. Just as the orphans were leaving, five wild bulls arrived and headed straight for a drink. The orphans chose the Imenti area to browse in for the rest of the afternoon and slowly made their way there. Roho led the way back to the stockades in the evening.
Ex-orphans Chyulu, Cheka, Loijuk, Lili, Sita, Tumaren, Ithumbah and Iman joined the orphans in the morning. Sagateisa picked on Iman to interact with for a bit before they parted ways without starting any pushing games. Sita, who doesn’t seem concerned about being around his mother Sidai since she had her second calf Silas, was among the group and seems to be thriving. He is clearly a strong and independent little calf and is happy to join up with any of the ex-orphan groups that he feels comfortable with. On this particular day he seems to have selected Chyulu and her son Cheka! After sharing lucerne together with the ex-orphans, Sagateisa led the dependent orphans out to the bush. She was eager to get out and get going, and as soon as she reached a good spot she got down on the ground and enjoyed her first dusting session of the day. It wasn’t long before she was joined by Sattao too. With Sagateisa now preoccupied, Neshashi took over the lead followed by Sana Sana and Naboishu, who took everyone to browse in the Kone area near the dam.
Pare teamed up with his friend Kauro to browse as usual, while we spotted Dololo choosing to feed with Nabulu. The ex-orphans passed by the dam while the orphans were there, but they didn’t stay long. Kuishi was happy to stay with Suguroi and Naleku to teach them the ways of Ithumba life. She got them to slow down so as not to compete with Sana Sana who was still looking after Neshashi and who was currently leading the herd. The two girls listened to Kuishi, who later escorted them both to the mud bath for the noon milk feed as well.
After a successful milk feeding session without any drama, all the orphans opted to go and wallow in the mud bath. It was fairly cool, however, so they didn’t stay in the water long. When they came out, they all walked over to the pile of loose soil to roll around and dry off, caking their skin in a nice thick layer of soil.
As the orphans settled to browse to the west of the hill for the rest of the afternoon, the sky cleared, giving way to sunshine. In the heat of the day the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree for a while. Roho led the way back to the stockades at the end of the day.
Yatta and her large herd of ex-orphans joined the orphans this morning. The dependent orphans weren’t that happy with the competition over lucerne brought about with the arrival of their older friends, and so decided to make way for the ex-orphans and leave the compound to begin their day. Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi were hesitant at first as they wanted to spend more time with wild born babies and their mothers. The independent-minded Sagateisa decided to move first, and started to follow the dependent orphans, and later Suguroi and Naleku followed.
Ex-orphan Lenana and her baby Lapa joined the orphans briefly while they browsed. Naboishu took the opportunity to have a strength testing game with Lapa as his mother watched on. Kamok emerged out of nowhere however to interrupt the game between the two boys, before starting to bully Lapa a bit. We always thought that Kamok’s habit of browbeating younger babies might land her in trouble one day, and today was that day. Lenana took offense to Kamok bullying her son and decided to teach her a lesson. Lenana came running over and pushed Kamok from behind. Kamok panicked and started running away as Lenana ran after her! Lapa looked quite happy to see his mother scolding Kamok who is notorious for bullying young ones. Kamok ran as fast as her legs could carry her and soon disappeared out of sight. Lenana then took her son and walked off into the bush. Lapa raised his trunk towards Naboishu as if informing him they will meet another time.
Later in the morning Neshashi and Ambo took a break from feeding to throw some soil around and on their bodies. Roho teamed up with Ndiwa to browse as Musiara, Dololo and Mukkoka moved a slight distance away from their friends to enjoy some green vegetation they had spotted.
Kuishi led the first group for the midday milk feed while Naleku led the second one. Roho, who has become quite close to Sagateisa, jumped into the water with her soon after finishing their milk bottles. The two had so much fun rolling around in the water and lying on top of each other. Naleku, Suguroi, Larro, Mapia and Malima joined them and all seven of them had a spectacular time in the water. Six wild bulls showed up for some fresh drinking water, which suggested to the Keepers that it is becoming quite dry out in the bush already if they have to come all the way to this trough for a drink.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. It was such a clear day and at one point it became so hot it prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree. Naboishu and Kuishi decided to take a nap and lay down on the ground as they waited for it to become a bit cooler so they could resume browsing.
Independent Sagateisa was the first one to leave the stockades in the morning. She settled for a good long scratch against the wall in the stockade compound. Later, she settled to play with her newfound friend Roho. It is such a sweet little friendship these two have struck up. Larro settled to feed on some lucerne close to Sana Sana while Malkia attempted to bully Suguroi and Naleku. This was quite out of character but happened because the two girls tried to take some lucerne that Malkia was feasting on, and she can be quite protective over her nice green grass supplement! The Keepers shouted at Malkia and warned her to be nicer to her juniors. After feeding on lucerne, Neshashi led the way out for the day.
The morning was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. Malkia decided to take a break at one stage to enjoy a soil dusting, throwing soil in the air and on her back. Suguroi browsed with Naleku while Mukkoka teamed up with Dololo.
At mud bath time the weather was quite chilly as it was overcast, but this didn't deter Suguroi, Naleku, Sagateisa and Roho from wanting a swim! They still find the weather at Ithumba much hotter than in Nairobi and they wanted to cool down. Several wild bulls showed up at the mud bath water trough again. The orphans waited until the bulls left before going for a drink of fresh water. They then settled to browse west of the hill and browsed calmly for the rest of the day.
Ex-orphans Makena, Kilabasi, Kofi and Makireti were outside the stockade compound this morning when the orphans woke up. Naboishu spent a bit of time interacting with Kofi. Soon after the orphans had enough lucerne, Neshashi led the way out again, and took the orphans in the direction of Kone. Naboishu teamed up with Kauro for a bit but it seemed whatever questions he might have been asking the older bull ended up annoying him, as eventually the usually rather docile Kauro ended up pushing him away to leave and join his age-mates. Roho chose to browse with Kamok for a while, who didn’t mind his company, while Naboishu moved to feed with Sana Sana. At around nine o'clock in the morning, the orphans were joined by the ex-orphans and a wild bull that was in musth.
A bit of drama unfolded when Suguroi, Sagateisa and Naleku decided to join the ex-orphans and move off with them as they enjoyed the company of the young wild born babies. The Keepers tried to separate the three new girls from the ex-orphans but the bull in musth was complicating efforts! He kept blocking the Keepers from getting to the orphans. At last the Keepers managed to free Suguroi and Naleku, but Sagateisa, the independent and very composed young girl, decided not to look back and continued on with the ex-orphans as if everything was normal. One could have thought she was a full-time member of the ex-orphan herd! It took nearly two hours before the Keepers managed to extract her from the ex-orphan group. At this stage it is far too early for her to leave as she has only just arrived at Ithumba and needs to assimilate a bit more, but it remains to be seen if Sagateisa will leave earlier than usual to join the wild, or if she might stay longer like the likes of Kamok.
The sky clouded over and all of a sudden it started drizzling! We couldn’t believe it and were very happy to receive this rain out of the blue. This got the orphans in a very playful mood as well and they started running about in the bushes and lying down on the wet earth to roll in excitement.
Due to the rainy weather the orphans chose not to have a mud bath after their noon milk feed. They only dipped their feet in the water before going back to browsing. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly for the rest of the day.
Karisa visited the stockade in the morning accompanied by several ex-orphans. It has been a while now since Karisa decided to join the ex-orphans permanently and he is looking very well. He did always have a rather independent streak since he went for his three-month walkabout after only just arriving at Ithumba in 2017! Karisa stood at the exit gate greeting each and every orphan as they filed out past him on their way to the lucerne area, before joining them there. The boys Ambo, Rapa, Dololo, Sattao and Jotto held a brief meeting with Karisa as if inquiring from him what life is like outside of the stockades.
Later in the morning while the orphans were browsing, Sattao teamed up with Mapia and Naleku. Kamok, Kauro, Pare, Rapa and Ndiwa decided to browse on their own separate to the rest of the herd. Ambo and Mapia took a break from feeding to have a strength testing exercise while Kuishi had lone game of rolling on the ground.
It was another chilly day today, so none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water, even the new arrivals from Nairobi. As the orphans browsed to the west of the hill they suddenly felt the afternoon warming up, so they took a break to relax in some shade. When it was time to return home for the night, Larro led the way back to the stockades.
A wild herd who we refer to as ‘Queen’s family’ joined the orphans for Lucerne this morning. More wild elephants are showing up these days which indicates it is quite dry out there. There were two youngsters within the herd, one of which Sagateisa picked a fight with. It was the first time for Sagateisa to meet with this wild group. The pushing game went on for quite sometime until Pare intervened by separating the two. The wild baby then moved to play Naleku. Naleku won the pushing game and the wild baby retreated to its family.
Neshashi led the way to the browsing field where Musiara and Ambo started their day activities by participating in a pushing game that ended when Kamok appeared and took Ambo away with her. Sattao engaged Nabulu in a light wrestling match. Despite Nabulu arriving at Ithumba after Sattao she has already graduated to the next class before him.
Nearly all the ex-orphans decided to arrive at the stockade compound around eleven o'clock while all the dependent orphans were at the main mud bath. The only group that we haven’t seen recently is Mutara’s herd! Because the area is slowly becoming a bit drier as we await the March/April rains, perhaps her herd might show up any day now.
The orphans had their eleven o'clock milk feed as usual and since it was quite windy they opted out of a mud bath and instead went back out to the bush to continue browsing. Later Suguroi came across some loose soil that she used for a soil dusting exercise. Pare played with Rapa while Dololo played with Mukkoka. In the evening, Roho led the first group back to the compound while Naleku led the second one, and the rest filed in after them.
The orphans left the stockade compound early as usual to enjoy some lucerne before starting their day out in the bush. Sana Sana kindly shared her lucerne pile with Naboishu. Sagateisa settled for a scratching exercise on a nearby rock and later entwined trunks with her friend Roho in morning greetings. When the orphans had enough lucerne we were surprised to find it was Malima who took the lead of the herd, as she rarely does.
On their way out the orphans met with the ex-orphans. Malkia, Kamok, Rapa and Pare decided to join them. Mteto and Esampu, who have been in the ex-orphan group for a while now, welcomed them. We wondered if Kamok informed the two girls that they were there only for an adventure for the day, but not to stay.
Meanwhile the rest of the dependent herd settled to browse in Kone near the dam. Despite being early in the morning it was already heating up, and the orphans decided to take a break and relax under a nearby baobab tree with nice shade.
Naleku led the first group to the mud bath. Soon after the orphans had their milk, Naleku, Sagateisa and Suguroi got into the waterhole to cool off. They were joined by Roho and later by the rest of the herd too. Roho, Sagateisa’s new friend, moved closer to her so that they could enjoy swimming and playing together. Shortly later, ex-orphans Melia, Challa and baby Milo showed up in the company of a wild herd. The wild herd felt uncomfortable with the Keepers around and so decided to leave. Melia, Milo and Challa didn’t stay long and decided to follow them, having been unsuccessful in convincing them to stay. Sagateisa, Larro and Musiara went to dry off on the loose soil after swimming.
Later in the afternoon we watched playful Dololo engage Mukkoka in a pushing game which ended in a draw. In the evening Yatta brought her herd to the compound and left after enjoying all the lucerne that was given to them.
New arrivals Suguroi and Naleku were the first ones to leave the stockade today! Not feeling fully confident yet, the two girls stopped outside and waited for their friends to follow them. As soon as they reached the lucerne feeding area, the two girls stopped to have a scratch on the nearby rocks. It wasn’t long however before Naboishu came over and threatened Naleku and Suguroi to leave the rock or he would push them away, for he wanted it for himself. Sagateisa was watching close by and we thought we saw a slight smile on her face when she saw Naleku walking away, as Naleku often pushes her when they meet! She was happy that Naleku had met her match, although she was careful not to let Naleku see her gloating! Sagateisa then walked away and settled on a nice rock that she used to scratch on herself.
Neshashi led the way out today. Ambo teamed up with Roho and Naleku to feed. Ambo tried to teach them what he has learned from Kamok recently about how to peel bark from trees. His lessons done, Ambo then moved to play with Mukkoka.
It was getting hotter with each passing hour as the sun beat down and the orphans chose to feed under some trees they found with nice shade. At mud bath time, Larro led the first group for a milk feed, while Naleku led the second one. Soon after the orphans had their milk, Musiara led the group for a good wallowing session in the main mud bath. Roho and Sagateisa enjoyed their swim together again, as they engaged in a friendly light pushing game in the water. Nabulu settled for a soil dusting exercise soon after mud bathing, while Sattao teamed up with Naleku and Suguroi to show them how proper soil dusting is done. When they were done, Nabulu, Suguroi, Naleku and Sattao joined the rest of the herd who were starting to walk out to the bush. In the afternoon, Roho settled to browse with his friend Sagateisa while Musiara browsed with Mapia. The rest of the remaining part of the day was quiet as the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under trees.