At the Nursery, the new year started in high spirits. Nyambeni, Mzinga, Wamata, Talek, Taroha and Pardamat began plodding through the forest, bush bashing and trumpeting. Their mood was infectious — soon Daba, Arthi, Muridjo and Kipekee were also running around, full of vim and vigour!
Tytan and Notty were also full of energy. After plodding up the path to the forest, Tytan browsed for a time before lying down for a dust bath. The rhino rolled around on his back with legs aloft. The little zebra stood beside him (as always) and then she too lay down for some new year soil bathing. Meanwhile, back at the stockades, Maxwell was sharing his breakfast of lucerne and pellets with his usual wild friends, the warthogs.
Kerrio was known as the Nursery play-cushion — she would always recline on the ground, so the babies could scramble atop her. Now that she has graduated to Umani, little Wamata appears to be taking up the mantle! We observed her laying on her side, doing her best impression of a Kerrio-play-cushion while Arthi rubbed his body against hers and Kipekee climbed on top of her, twirling her tiny trunk in excitement. Wamata is growing up and she likes to look after Kipekee, Arthi, and Daba. Our spoilt baby is becoming a caring nanny.
Muridjo has become the mini matriarch of the Nursery herd following Kerrio’s graduation last month. She is doing a great job and the orphans are happy under her care and protection. One day, naughty Pardamat headbutted Daba. The little boy trumpeted as he lost his balance and fell over. As usual, Muridjo was standing close to Kipekee but Daba’s shouts sent her springing over. Pardamat was disciplined with a strong shove and Daba was helped to his feet with a gentle nudge. Although Kipekee is still her favourite, Muridjo looks after all the young ones nowadays.
Daba, who is our newest Nursery rescue, is really finding his feet in his new home — some little tumbles aside! One day, he was having fun charging and chasing after warthogs and their young ones. When the warthogs changed direction, he toppled over, climbed to his feet, and set off again. It was great to see the young boy playing — it’s a sign that he has really settled into his new family.
Alia, our other new rescue, is settling in but remains very shy. While she seems to prefer browsing on her own, she has become more friendly to the Keepers. One day, she greeted Keeper Peter with trunk raised and stayed close to him for a time. Another day, Alia was doing her independent thing, browsing quietly — until several squabbling monkeys ran past her, screaming. Alia shot out of the bushes and ran for the herd. We were happy to see her standing right in the middle of the others for the rest of the afternoon!
Arthi — our third newest rescue — has not been particularly welcoming to Alia. They are similar sizes and perhaps he sees her as competition. But one morning, the situation changed — all because of Daba, our budding mediator. Arriving in the forest, Daba found a solo area to browse. Before long, Arthi decided to join him. When Alia walked over, we wondered how he would react. But Daba set the tone, warmly welcoming Alia, and Arthi followed suit. It was a great development.
Apart from sometimes being rough to Alia, Arthi is a gentle boy. He is good friends with Daba, who is also a quiet soul. The two babies get on so well. Daba also happens to be the elephant trusted the most by Alia. Daba is bringing Arthi and Alia together, forming a little trio of newbies.
Tytan, our ornery black rhino, does not like getting too close to the elephants! One day, as he and Notty were making their way out from the stockades this morning, they walked around some bushes and into the herd who were browsing peacefully. Tytan did an immediate U-turn and sprinted back to the stockades, ignoring the calls of the Keepers. He did not stop until he reached his stable, walked in, and planted himself in the corner. Luckily, it was not hard to persuade Tytan to return to the forest, although this time the Keepers led him and Notty away from the herd.
Olomunyak and Pardamat are friends and playmates but also rivals, as both harbour hopes of becoming the Nursery’s dominant bull. One day, cheeky Olomunyak held Pardamat hostage. The younger bull found Pardamat’s gate open and the older bull still inside. Unable to resist the templation, he blocked the way out. When Pardamat tried to push him out of the way, Olomunyak threatened him with ears flared and tusks raised. Because Pardamat’s tusks have not erupted, he had to submit and stand back. It was time for us to intervene. Two Keepers ordered Olomunyak away from the gate and a rather crestfallen Pardamat emerged, at last, from his room. Pardamat often holds his neighbour Talek hostage, so it was fitting to see him get a taste of his own medicine.
Kipekee still has nearly everyone at the Nursery under her spell — but no one more so than Muridjo! One day, the mini matriarch was browsing with her back leg balanced against the roots of a tree. Kipekee toddled by and decided it was a very fitting little throne, created especially for her. She rested her bottom against Muridjo’s leg and the mini matriarch stood stock still, until Kipekee stood up and carried on browsing.
Interestingly, Mzinga and Nyambeni don’t seem quite as spellbound. One afternoon, the sisters were lolling in the mud, playing a rubbing-bodies-and-splashing game. When Kipekee climbed in to interrupt their fun, Mzinga and Nyambeni carried on playing rather than stopping to fuss over the baby. Observing this from the sidelines, Muridjo shepherded Kipekee out of the pool and over to the trough.
They may be a rhino and a zebra, but Tytan and Notty are perfectly matched partners-in-crime. They seem to mirror each other’s moods: When one is feeling sedate, the other is sedate. When one is full of beans, so is the other. When they’re in energetic moods, they chase each other around the forest, with Tytan lumbering along and nudging Notty with his head, while the zebra jumps and zigs and zags around him.
The Voi Keepers call Ndotto the ‘life-changing elephant’ — he is very attuned to the others’ emotions and intuits when someone needs a certain kind of support. At the Nursery, little Olomunyak seems to be cut from the same cloth. He understands everyone in the herd and knows when their moods are down. One day, the orphans were markedly subdued — and so Olomunyak rose to the challenge! He invited Mzinga to play, then Taroha and Pardamat, and finally Wamata. On his own, he lifted the herd. Soon the orphans were playing pushing-and-mounting games or hide-and-seek games, running all over the forest and trumpeting.
Taroha is the Nursery’s eldest bull, but he has a polite, calm character. The advantage of being gentle is that the elephants feel safe with him, but the disadvantage is that one of the others can be rough towards him, knowing that he is unlikely to retaliate. One day, much to our surprise, easygoing Talek gave him an unprovoked shove. Olomunyak stepped in, stopped her, and drove Talek away from the scene.
We love Mzinga, but she is a real glutton — and seems to be getting more gluttonous by the day. Most mornings, she stages an elaborate mission to sneak back to the stockades and finagle her way into the pellets store. She both exasperates and entertains us with her ever-changing machinations. One day, she kept dodging away from the Keepers in the direction of one of the two stores. We had to work as a team to block all the entry points!
Most elephants pad quickly but quietly down to their milk feed. A few take a different approach! They shake their heads and trumpet with gusto as they race down the path, signalling their excitement and possibly warning others not to get in the way of their milk! Weka used to be the Nursery’s resident trumpeter, and now Arthi has picked up where she left off.
We have a ‘naughty corner’ (really, just a pleasant patch of bush that’s a bit removed) where we send orphans who can be rough and rowdy at the midday mud bath. Nyambeni and Pardamat frequently find themselves relegated to the naughty corner. One afternoon, despite her small size, little Kipekee was also banished. This led to an enormous kerfuffle. Kipekee was happy to join Pardamat and Nyambeni, but Mzinga and Muridjo were upset to see her go. Lots of disgruntled rumbling and trumpeting ensued. If there is a drama, we can usually find Kipekee at the heart of it.