Our new year started on a delightful note, as everything revolved around the two precious babies who were born the month prior. Everyone at Umani, human and elephant, loves Lenny and Sulwe, the newest additions to our family.
When Lenny and Sulwe walk together you could mistake them for twins. Lima Lima’s boy and Sonje’s girl are not related by birth, but they will grow up as brother and sister. Like any siblings, they happily play and then bicker, play and bicker, in a constant rotation! Sulwe is younger by three weeks, but she is proving to be a tough girl and can more than hold her own against Lenny.
One morning, Lenny decided to assert his negligible seniority by pushing Sulwe as she tried to breastfeed. Sulwe, despite her small size, stood her ground and turned back to defend herself. She caught Lenny off guard, pushed him down, and stood victorious. The commotion caught the attention of both mothers, who rushed over — but not before Kiasa and the other nannies, who had already stepped in and restored peace. Sulwe’s unexpected victory left the Keepers in fits of laughter.
Now three members of our Umani herd are mothers, and each one has a distinct parenting style. Sonje is very independent and is only interested in mothering her own baby. Meanwhile, Lima Lima is very generous and happily looks after Sulwe and Mwana, along with Lenny. We are curious what type of mother Zongoloni will be when her time comes!
Murera is also a very giving mother. When Mwana was little, she nursed from all the pregnant girls — Lima Lima, Sonje, and Zongoloni. Now, Murera is returning the favour by allowing babies Lenny and Sulwe to nurse from her. When this happens, Mwana calmly steps aside, allowing the tiny ones to feed. She understands she is no longer the baby of the herd but now a nanny to the cuties.
Last month, Kiasa gave up her stockade in order to spend her nights outside the stockades, looking after Sulwe and Lenny. Sonje, Zongoloni, and Kiasa have formed one team, focused on Sulwe, while Lima Lima, Mwashoti, and Quanza have formed another team, focused on Lenny. Usually, however, both groups band together as one. Because of her age, Quanza has taken on the role of the head nanny, but she is ably assisted by Kiasa, along with Enkesha and Amali by day.
Kiasa’s decision to sleep in the forest left us with an empty bedroom. We decided to switch up the rooms, moving Enkesha over to Kiasa’s old room. Now, she neighbours Murera and her beloved Mwana, which makes her very happy.
Kapei and Mwana have become favourite playmates, friends, and rivals. Now that Mwana is a bit bigger, she is more than capable of holding her own against Kapei — although she isn’t above recruiting help when she feels a face-off isn’t going in her favour! One afternoon, Kapei and Mwana had a disagreement that escalated into a pushing contest. Mwana stood her ground and didn’t allow Kapei to push her backward easily. However, when she felt that Kapei was becoming too strong, she complained to her mother, Murera. Seeing Murera approach with her big ears raised, Kapei quickly retreated behind the bushes.
Kapei has a similarly loving-yet-contentious relationship with Amali. One afternoon, the two youngsters had a big disagreement over a stick, with both claiming it as theirs. It soon became a tug-of-war, with each baby using increasingly unsportsmanlike tactics to wrest the stick from the other. Realising this battle would have no winners, the Keepers intervened. Sour from his defeat, Kapei ran over to his older friend Sonje for comfort.
We now joke that our Umani family includes several wild buffaloes. There is a group of old males who have become used to us and us to them, although we are always extra mindful when they are in the area. Some days, the orphans tolerate their presence; other days, they want them out of their sight.
Sometimes, the buffaloes become the unlikeliest of allies! Such was the case one afternoon when the buffaloes kept watch as the orphans were dust bathing. All of a sudden, a family of four warthogs appeared. (They have also become familiar faces around Umani.) After the elephants spotted them, they started charging as one, trying to chase them off. This was only out of pure entertainment, however seeing their intentions, the buffaloes supported their efforts, rounding the warthogs out of sight! When the elephants saw the buffaloes trying to help them keep the warthogs away, they upped their efforts and started charging and trumpeting through the forest.
On 10th January, Umani’s eldest ‘brothers’ arrived to find Umani's newest little additions. Faraja, Jasiri, and Alamaya arrived after a long absence and were pleasantly surprised to see the tiny, adorable babies with the herd. Faraja tried to climb on Sulwe, but she easily skipped away to Sonje. Alamaya, on the other hand, was very gentle with the babies. After being briefed by Mwashoti about the new additions to the family, he played calmly with Sulwe and Lenny. Mwana stayed close by, carefully chaperoning the interaction.
Lima Lima has rediscovered her love for milk bottles since giving birth. As a treat for the nursing new mothers, the Keepers have reintroduced bottles for Sonje and Lima Lima, just as they did for Murera. While Sonje takes the treat in stride, Lima Lima’s old greedy-for-milk character has returned. One afternoon, she arrived for bottle-feeding ahead of time with Kapei and Enkesha, seemingly unaware or at least unperturbed that she had left Lenny sleeping in the shade. Murera handled the situation by bringing the baby to Lima Lima. Sonje, on the other hand, sticks firmly to her rule: her baby comes first, no matter what.
Kiombo has made it clear to Maktao that they must energise themselves in the morning by turning against each other and play-fighting. One morning Maktao woke up subdued and didn't want to partake in Kiombo’s games. He found it hard to escape, however, because Kiombo followed him into the bushes — the place where Maktao wanted to be alone. This made Maktao angry, so he taught his friend a lesson by pushing him down, which forced the peacemaker, Mwashoti, to intervene and help Kiombo get up.
Ziwa usually visits us with his adopted wild herd in tow, but one day, he arrived at the midday milk feed alone. This was a treat, as Ziwa’s adopted family is very possessive of him and rarely allow him to have much time with the orphans and Keepers.
The month ended with a whirlwind courtship for Murera that affected the entire herd. It started when Faraja arrived with an enormous, old bull in tow. It seemed like he brought him there to meet Murera, who was in season. We later realised that Faraja was playing a supporting role, as he sensed that Murera was ready to mate but is too young to partner with her himself.
The bull’s presence destabilised the herd. The orphans split into two groups, with the new mothers in one group and Murera and Mwana in the other, with the wild bull in pursuit. Everyone scattered, and for several nights, no one returned to the stockades. It was an odd time for the Keepers, who missed their babies and worried about everything Murera was going through, even though this is all part of nature. In 22 months’ time, Mwana may just have a little brother or sister!
After four nights of empty stockades, the Keepers heard a signature squeaky trumpeting from the hills — it could only be Enkesha, with her damaged trunk! They headed out again towards the airstrip area and found Murera, Enkesha, and Mwana, who had been left behind by the amorous bulls. When Murera saw the Keepers, she was visibly overjoyed. Slowly, the entire team walked the trio home. Murera, Enkesha, and Mwana slept deeply that night inside their bedrooms.
The last day of the month ended as it should — with the entire family reunited. The new mothers spent the night outside the stockades, within our sight. The following morning, Murera, Mwana, Enkesha, Amali, and Kapei happily joined their friends, and everyone walked into the forest as one.