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The day started with a lively visit at the stockade compound from ex-orphans Galana, Gawa, Naserian, Njema, Teleki, Ithumbah, Iman, Makena, and two wild bulls – a happy start for the first day of the year! The ex-orphans mingled with the orphans during the lucerne feeding for a while. However, the tranquillity was briefly disrupted when Roho, in a playful mood, attempted to climb on Gawa, leading to a small tussle between the two. Fortunately, Teleki stepped in just in time to prevent the situation from escalating further. Shortly after this encounter the dependent orphans, led by Olorien, headed out to the browsing fields to begin their day, and the ex-orphans went their own way.

Soon Lodo engaged Suguroi in a pushing game, while Larro teamed up with Esoit and Dololo to browse. Jotto browsed with his old friend Musiara. Mukkoka and Sagateisa moved away to browse separately on their own for a while. Kuishi and Sattao came across a small muddy puddle from which they enjoyed splashing behind their ears.

When it was time, Kindani led the first group for the noon milk feed while Naleku led the second one. After the orphans had their milk, Naboishu led the herd into the water to cool off. It was a very hot afternoon, and the orphans took a break from browsing to relax under some trees until it was cooler. Naboishu engaged Mukkoka in a brief strength testing match before the day ended with a peaceful amble back to the stockades, guided by Esoit.

A misty morning shrouded Ithumba Hill as the orphans were let out of their night stockades. Kinyei settled to scratch her backside on a nearby rock as Sattao shared his lucerne with Naboishu. The orphans enjoyed a quick lucerne breakfast before embarking on the day's journey to the browsing fields, led by Naleku. On their way, they came across Dololo, Jotto and Musiara, who have spent the last few nights away. They were happy to be reunited this morning and the dependent orphans welcomed them with enthusiasm, eager to hear their stories.

While the orphans browsed, they were happy to come across Nasalot, Noah, and two wild bulls, adding to the day's excitement. Esoit and Lodo interacted briefly with young Noah as Bondeni, Kinyei and Kindani teamed up together to browse. Shortly later, Nasalot and her team parted ways with the orphans.

The orphans enjoyed their midday activities, which included a wallowing session that saw Kuishi and Esoit being the last to leave the mud bath. The afternoon was spent browsing in the cooler areas west of Ithumba Hill, with Suguroi, Naleku and Sagateisa opting to take a break under some trees as the temperatures rose, before Lodo led the group back to the safety of the stockade in the evening.

The morning at the stockade compound was bustling with activity as a considerable number of ex-orphans joined the orphans for the lucerne feeding session. Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Makena, Mundusi, Nasalot, Noah, Nusu, Yatta, Yogi, Mulika, Mkuu, Yetu, Yebo, Ithumbah, Iman, Lualeni, Lulu and Lexi all joined the orphans. The presence of so many older elephants and their babies created a competitive, prompting an early departure to the browsing fields under Kuishi's leadership. 

The rest of the morning unfolded with various interactions among the orphans. Esoit engaged Roho in a pushing game while Naboishu played with Mukkoka. Kindani teamed up with Bondeni to browse while Lodo played solo in an area of loose soil. Sattao, Jotto, Musiara, Mukkoka and Dololo moved away from their friends and enjoyed browsing as their own little boy-group for a while. We wondered if Jotto, Musiara and Dololo were trying to convince Sattao and Mukkoka to join them for a few nights out, away from the stockades. 

At the main mud bath after the noon milk feed, the dependent orphans were joined by the ex-orphans again and they all wallowed together for quite some time. Bondeni was the first one to leave the water, followed by best friends Kindani and Kinyei. The rest of the dependent herd eventually followed, leaving the ex-orphans behind still wallowing in the water. Settling to browse in the Kanziku area, Larro and Kuishi escorted their favourite little boy Esoit to browse separately away from the herd. Roho and Olorien took a break from browsing to have fun in a small water pan they came across. The orphans returned to the stockades in the evening for a peaceful night.

The day commenced with a visit from Galana, Gawa, Wendi, Wema, Wiva, Wimbi, Kilabasi, Kofi, Loijuk, Lili, Makena, Olare, Ola, Nasalot, Noah, and a group of six wild bulls. One of the bulls was in musth and kept threatening the other bulls. The interactions were lively, with Naleku briefly engaging with Wimbi and then encountering a minor squabble with Lili over access to Ola. Roho decided to gauge his strength by pushing Gawa. Gawa didn't take this invitation lightly and retaliated with determination, until Roho decided to surrender. Wema played with gentle Suguroi while Esoit played with Bondeni as usual!

The day continued with the dependent orphans venturing eastward, leaving the ex-orphans behind. They enjoyed lots of spontaneous mud baths which can be found everywhere at the moment due to all the recent rain.

Naleku settled to browse with Naboishu and Roho, and later the herd came across a small water hole which they decided to splash about in before continuing to the main one. Jotto, Dololo and Musiara joined their friends on the way, having spent their night out once more. Naboishu and Sattao looked as though they were asking the three boys where they had spent the night, and we wondered if Jotto was trying to convince them to join them and find out for themselves! Eventually the three bulls wandered away from the herd without recruiting anyone else to their small group yet.

After having their noon milk feed, the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session. Sagateisa, Kuishi and Sattao were the last ones to leave the water as they were having such fun splashing about and hitting the water with their trunks.

The orphans spent the afternoon browsing in the Imenti area. Kindani teamed up with Kinyei while Larro teamed up with Dololo and Bondeni to browse. The day drew to a close with the orphans all peacefully sauntering back to the stockades for the night, led by Lodo.

The dependent orphans awoke to a quieter morning and quickly settled for their lucerne breakfast. Jotto, Musiara, and Dololo joined the group fresh from their night out, and Jotto promptly lay down to take a nap amongst his friends! Later, Kindani led the orphans out to the browsing fields, where they settled to browse in the Kone area. Kuishi teamed up with Esoit to browse and showed him how to peel bark from trees using their tusks. Esoit practiced and got it right in the end. Larro chose to browse with Musiara and Naboishu. Naboishu, Sagateisa, Olorien, Roho, Naleku and Lodo took a break from feeding to play and roll on the ground. Sattao settled to browse with Suguroi while Mukkoka teamed up with Bondeni.

Kinyei led the way for the noon milk feed. After having their milk, the orphans jumped into the water to cool off. As usual, Bondeni didn’t seem that keen on swimming and was the first one to leave the water, whereupon he walked over to a nearby fallen tree to scratch his tummy. As the orphans slowly resumed browsing on the nearby bushes while the Keepers had their lunch, Bondeni teamed up with Kindani and Mukkoka to browse. Lodo settled to browse with Larro while Naleku teamed up with Suguroi. The day came to an end with another peaceful amble back to the stockade compound, led by Sagateisa and Kindani.

There was an early morning buzz in the stockades as Jotto, Musiara, and Dololo decided to join the dependent orphans after spending the night out. Naleku and Sattao were the first to decide they were done with their morning routine in the compound, and walked down to browse on the nearby bushes in front of the stockades while they waited for the others. Kindani and Suguroi enjoyed a quick scratch against a rock before walking down to join their two friends. Naboishu and Kuishi stopped by the water trough for a drink and slowly the rest of the herd all assembled to walk out to the bush together.

Later in the morning Kinyei, Kindani and Suguroi took a break from browsing to roll and play on the ground. Their game was disrupted by the playful Roho who came over and started climbing on them. This interruption was enough to convince the three girls to finish up their game and walk off to continue browsing. Roho didn’t follow them but continued having fun in the same spot the three girls had been rolling, so this was probably his tactic all along!

Slowly the orphans made their way to the mud bath, guided by Olorien, in time for the midday milk feed. During the mud bath after having their milk bottles, Sagateisa and Roho emerged as the swimming stars, enjoying the water the most exuberantly and for the longest! Lodo had a brief soil dusting exercise soon after wallowing before catching up with his friends.

Bondeni came across a fallen tree trunk which he used to scratch against. Larro came and stood beside him until he was done scratching and then they walked away together. Lodo and Roho came across a muddy area where they had fun smearing themselves with cooling mud. Suguroi briefly engaged Kindani in a friendly pushing game. The orphans returned to the stockades in the evening looking happy and content, led by Esoit.

It was wonderful to see ex-orphan Kasigau this morning, who arrived and had a drink of water, before joining the orphans for their lucerne breakfast. Sagateisa and Sattao sidled up to stand next to Kasigau as if trying to secretly measure their heights against his, but Kasigau threatened to push them as he thought that they were after the lucerne he was eating. Roho had a brief interaction with Naleku, who was perhaps wondering why Roho no longer sleeps in the same stockade as her at night, as he recently graduated to the next class up. Kasigau soon had his fill of lucerne and ambled away. It was very sweet to see Esoit, Lodo and Bondeni raise their trunks up in his direction, as if bidding him farewell and at the same time, showing an element of curiosity at where he was going.

Soon the orphans, led by Larro and Sattao, ventured out to the bush with a spring in their step, happy to begin their day out in the Park. Jotto, Dololo and Musiara, who didn't turn up yesterday, joined the dependent orphans while they were browsing in the Kone area. The group browsed slowly but in the direction of the mud bath in time for their noon milk feed.

The orphans enjoyed a splendid wallowing session under the shining sun, with Jotto, Musiara, Dololo, Suguroi, Kuishi, and Mukkoka choosing a more secluded mud hole for their fun. Suguroi then went to play on some loose soil by herself. The afternoon's heat prompted the orphans to seek some shade, only resuming their browsing when the temperature became more favourable. The day drew to a close with Kindani leading the orphans back to the stockades for the night.

It was a serene morning, as Lodo eagerly led the orphans out after finishing their morning milk. The orphans enjoyed their lucerne amidst some playful interactions - Naboishu kindly shared his lucerne with Naleku while Kindani enjoyed a morning stretching session which involved sitting and rolling on the ground. 

As the orphans were preparing to leave the stockades, a group of ex-orphans including Sana Sana, Loijuk, lili, Ithumbah, Iman, Tumaren, Tembo, Makireti, Vuria, Ndiwa and three wild elephants showed up, adding a layer of excitement to their morning routine. This was amplified when Naleku, Suguroi and Sagateisa attempted to leave the dependent herd and instead follow the ex-orphans in the interest of looking after baby Tembo! It took a lot of persuasion from the Keepers to call them back to rejoin the Ithumba herd.

Out in the bush, Kuishi teamed up with Sattao to browse while Larro settled to browse with Naleku. Naboishu had a brief strength testing exercise with Roho. When the time drew near, Olorien led the first group for the midday feed near the mud bath, after which the orphans enjoyed a brief wallow. Mukkoka was the first one out of the water while Kuishi, as usual, was one of the last to leave.

The orphans concluded their day with a visit to a small bush mud bath which they have come to love, before Bondeni walked off with Suguroi and Lodo in their own little browsing trio for the rest of the afternoon. Jotto, Musiara, and Dololo made a brief appearance at the stockade compound before heading off again on their own little mission. The evening saw Kinyei guiding the orphans back to the stockade compound for another peaceful night.