In Voi, the new year started as one big group. After camping outside the stockades on the previous night, ex-orphans Mweya, Mudanda, Sagala, Pika Pika, Rorogoi, Naipoki, Kihari, Mbirikani, and Panda, with Mweya’s babies Mwitu and Mwangaza, enjoyed breakfast with their dependent friends. Former and current orphans shared treats of range cubes and fresh lucerne grass before Mbegu led her dependent herd out to browse over the summit of Msinga Hill.
Only Lasayen and Murit were absent. At the end of December, the big boys joined ex-orphan Mweya’s herd and chose not to visit at all this month. We aren’t worried — this is the beginning of the rest of their wild lives! We feel sure that they linked up with some wild bull friends who led them further from Voi.
Ngilai and Ndotto are taking their reintegration at a slower pace. Ndotto is particularly enchanted with the idea of living wild — but putting that idea into practice is a whole other story! The boys spend most days hanging out with the dependent herd before splitting off to join the ex-orphans in the wild for the night. Come morning, we can usually find them outside the stockades, patiently waiting for their younger friends to be let out of their bedrooms.
Among our dependent herd, the order of the middle may change, but the bookends always remain the same! Rokka always leads the herd out to the browsing fields, while Mbegu brings up the rear so she can see everyone and make sure no one is left behind.
The Voi Kids — Akina, Ashanti, Baraka, Busara, Dabida, Epiya, Hildana, Itinyi, Juni, Kenderi, Kilulu, Losoito, Manda, Rokka, Seri, and Ushindi — are one big happy family, with nannies Mbegu, Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Godoma, and Lemeki at the helm. Of course, there are special friendships and closer bonds amongst certain elephants, but as a group, they all get along marvelously.
In general, the entire Voi herd is very affectionate. The following sights throughout the month are just a few examples of everyday occurrences: Tamiyoi trunk-hugging Lemeki as they ambled over the hill together; Losoito rumbling with delight upon seeing her nanny, Lemeki; Akina cosseting young Baraka to her side; old friends Manda and Rokka browsing so close together that their bellies touched; Busara closing her eyes in delight as Mbegu enveloped her in a trunk hug. Even the boys feel the love! One day, cheeky Hildana clambered atop Thamana to achieve his real mission: trunk-hugging and kissing his best friend, Kilulu.
We can always rely upon Hildana to cause mischief — just as we can count on the nannies to put him in his place! One chilly morning, the naughty bull gulped down his milk and tried to grab a bottle from the others in his group (Seri, Akina, Kilulu, and Lemeki). Hearing indignant trumpeting, Mbegu, Godoma, and Tamiyoi ran out of their stockade to the rescue. They sternly pushed Hildana away from the trough and exiled him to the nearby terraces.
Among our current Voi herd, we have two snare victims: Baraka and Ashanti. Little Baraka evidently got her head caught in a poacher’s snare as a baby because, when she was rescued, we found two deep cuts running lengthwise down each ear. Fortunately, aside from the lasting scars, she is unaffected.
The same cannot be said for little Ashanti. A poacher’s snare cut off the end of her trunk, also severing the two ‘fingers’ that African elephants use to eat and grasp objects. But elephants are very resilient — we have seen many wild elephants thriving with a severed trunk — and Ashanti has adapted marvelously. All the same, Mbegu clearly feels that Ashanti deserves a little extra oversight because she stands protectively by as the younger girl kneels to scoop up pellets into her mouth, ensuring no boisterous bulls get in her way. (While we admire Mbegu’s vigilance, it’s quite unnecessary — Ashanti is more than capable of looking after herself. In fact, we often witness her brazenly trying to steal other orphans’ bottles right out of their mouths!)
Itinyi was the last of the Voi Kids to be rescued during the 2022 drought and took the longest to heal. His mother was killed before his eyes, and for many months, he struggled with post-traumatic stress. But today, he is one of the gang. He especially comes to life in the water — rivaling even our original water baby, Pika Pika! Long after the other orphans have vacated the pool, we can usually find Itinyi splashing around with abandon. It is wonderful to see him so happy and innocent after such fraught beginnings.
On 21st January, Tagwa was courted by a wild bull in musth. She welcomed his advances and allowed him to approach and push her with his head. They went off together to continue their romance, and Tagwa spent the night out in the bush. We will have to wait and see if a baby arrives in 22 months’ time!
Thamana and even Emoli are rather laidback bulls, but the Voi Kids boys are feisty — especially Kilulu. During one particularly spirited sparring match, we saw the bold young bull pulling down bushes, trying to scare Kenderi away, but he forgot that Kenderi never backs out of a wrestling fight. Another day, when Kilulu saw Hildana and Epiya kissing with trunks entwined, the jealous bull walked over and twisted his trunk around Hildana’s head as he tried to pull him away from Epiya.
The month ended much as it began, with ex-orphan visitors. Mweya, Mudanda, Sagala, Pika Pika, Rorogoi, Naipoki, Kihari, Mbirikani, Panda, and Mweya’s babies Mwitu and Mwangaza arrived at the stockades for quality time with the dependent herd.