Choose your region

It was a wonderful cool morning on the first day of the New Year. The elephants padded out of their shared enclosures and down the path for a milk feed (except for Lemeki who is no longer milk dependent). Epiya was hanging out with Baraka at the feeding trough full of pellets while Sholumai, Mushuru and Akina enjoyed their range cubes on the lower terrace.

The herd soon headed out and settled to browse on fresh sprouting acacia branches the slopes of Msinga Hill. Young bulls Kilulu and Hildana were browsing side by side, holding trunks and rumbling occasionally at the foot of the hill.

In the afternoon, the orphans returned to the stockades for another milk feed. Rokka, Losoito, Baraka, Ashanti and Sileita were in the first group. They sprinted to the line of Keepers standing with bottles aloft and then settled on the mound of dust next to the wallow. Thamana was posing on the famous rock, asking in vain for an extra milk bottle. Kilulu displaced him from the rock to scratch his backside before joining Busara and Seri at the water trough.

The orphans spent the rest of the afternoon browsing on green vegetation at the foot of the hill overlooking the plains. Later in the day, Rokka led the herd back to the stockades for the evening feed and the orphans settled in their stockades for the night.

As the dependent orphans were enjoying supplementary pellets and lucerne this morning, Mweya’s herd of ex-orphans wandered in to the stockades. The older elephants and their babies pushed their way between our orphans at the trough.

When the herd headed out from the stockades on their usual browsing adventures, Mweya and her herd stayed behind. Juni tried to sneak back to join the ex-orphans so that she could spend time with little Mica, Mbirikani’s wild born baby, but Baraka called her out with deep rumbles. Juni cannot resist the wild babies.

Mweya’s herd later left the stockades, walking along the airstrip towards the river circuit where they spent the day browsing. Meanwhile, our herd spent the morning browsing over the open grass fields.

After the afternoon milk feed, the orphans rushed down to the baobab tree mud wallow. Sileita and Akina stood on the edge splashing the muddy water with their trunks while Mushuru squatted on the wall scratching her bottoms and Ashanti submerged her body in the wallow. Later, the orphans browsed until dusk on the slopes of the hill before returning to the stockades for the night. 

On another cool morning, the orphans spread out in front of the stockades for breakfast with many ex-orphans including Mweya, babies Mwitu and Mwangaza, Mbirikani, baby Mica, Panda and baby Panya. Mica and Mwangaza were playing, running up and down and rolling on the dust pile, while Panya stood quietly between his mother’s front legs.

The two herds set out together with the older elephants walking off in the direction of the river while the younger ones settled to browse at the foot of Msinga Hill. Kenderi, Sholumai and Akina climbed to the top in search of tasty acacia branches while Juni, Dabida and Lemeki remained at the bottom with Losoito, Busara, Baraka and Ashanti.

In the afternoon, we sent the orphans down in groups of four or five for their bottles of milk. After gulping the milk, they ambled on to the wallow where they drank from the trough or hosed their bodies with dry soil or scratched themselves against the baobab tree. No one went swimming as it was a cloudy afternoon.

Ex-orphans Ndotto, Murit and Mbegu arrived at dawn and were throwing their weight around at the feeding trough, allowing only Busara, Dabida, Ashanti, and Ushindi to feed close to them. Epiya and Baraka were also allowed to join them while the rest of the herd moved on the pile of lucerne. A few minutes later, ex-orphan Mweya (and babies Mwitu and Mwangaza) walked in with Panda (and baby Panya), Mbirikani (and baby Mica), Mudanda, Ndii Arruba, Tundani and Kenia to join the dependent orphans for breakfast. Panda and Kenia were standing close with trunks entwined while little Panya hid under their feet.

Mbirikani and Mweya led the way out to the browsing fields leaving some of the ex-orphans behind in front of the stockades. Ndotto was playing a sparring game with Murit and then Panda joined the wrestling party. Arruba and Tundani were playing pushing games. Panda, baby Panya and Mwitu soon headed out with the others following along in their wake.

Lemeki led our herd out to browse over Msinga Hill. In the afternoon, the orphans came down the hill for a milk feed and a visit to the baobab tree mud wallow. Some cooled off in the muddy water while others covered themselves in soothing dust.

Serenget enjoyed breakfast in her stockade while the other orphans were having lucerne and pellets outside their stockades. Serenget is still refusing to drink milk but is otherwise well and happy. Mweya’s herd of ex-orphans visited again but left as soon as they had filled their bellies, leaving the orphans playing and bonding in the feeding area and on the terraces.

Rokka, Losoito and Sileita led the herd out to browse on the slopes of Msinga Hill, walking towards the open plains. After browsing for a time, several elephants stood in the shade of boulders or trees as it was a very hot day.

In the afternoon, the orphans rushed down the hill for another milk feed led by Rokka who likes to be first. After the milk feed, the orphans had a short stint at the baobab mud hole. Mushuru was scratching herself on the peacock tree while Hildana was splashing the water with his trunk and Juni was massaging her back against the dead acacia tree.

After dust bathing, the orphans went for a second round of wallowing, this time in the mini mud wallow. Kilulu, Baraka, Itinyi, Juni, Kenderi and Losoito splashed around together, rubbing bodies while slapping the water with their trunks. When we whistled, the herd ambled back out to browse in a long line.

On another wonderful morning at the Voi stockades, a large herd of ex-orphans wandered in soon after dawn, joining the dependent orphans at the feeding trough and around the pile of lucerne. Ex-orphan Pika Pika was posing on the rock next to the entrance. Mbirikani and Panda were having a good time with babies Mica and Panya but also mixing with our herd. Nanny Kenia stayed close to Panda and Panya. After filling their bellies, Mweya led the independent orphans back out to the bush.

Tundani was left behind because he was sparring with Kilulu. The two bulls continued their game but then Tundani broke away and ran off to catch up with Mweya’s herd. Kilulu walked over to Hildana and began another sparring match. 

The elephants browsed over Msinga Hill in the morning. In the afternoon, the orphans went down to the baobab tree mud wallow. While Itinyi sparred with Ushindi on the edge, several others climbed into the muddy water to play and show off their wallowing skills. Kilulu was the star of the show with Hildana a close second. While Kilulu lay in the water twirling his trunk and splashing water in every direction, Hildana paddled in the mud and rubbed his face against the edge – and his friend. 

On a cooler morning at the Voi stockades, Ndotto and Murit were the only ex-orphans to visit. Mweya and her growing herd were no doubt browsing somewhere along the river. The two bulls hung out with our herd, allowing younger orphans like Sileita, Sholumai and Mushuru to greet them and stand close.

The dependents orphans soon headed out and settled to browse over the rocky Msinga Hill. They walked towards the baobab tree wallow, twisting up mouthfuls of grasses and shrubs along the way. Lemeki browsed side by side with adopted baby Rokka while Losoito and Sileita climbed to the summit of the hill.

In the afternoon, as the van carrying the milk feed arrived at the feeding area, we spotted a lioness and her cubs walking in to the baobab mud wallow. To avoid any risk of a confrontation, we quickly diverted the orphans to a different water hole.

After the mud bath, the orphans resumed browsing on the hill, gathering around the large pile of lucerne. While most picked up pieces and ate them, Sholumai, Juni, Akina and Ushindi each lifted a small bale of lucerne and carried it away to a private area – where they could enjoy their lucerne in peace far away from boisterous boys!

While we prepared milk and filled the trough with cubes at dawn, our orphans walked around in their stockades waiting for us to open the gates. As we opened the gates and the elephants sprinted out for another milk feed, Mweya arrived with a large herd of former orphans.

Mweya and Mwangaza stood quietly under the tree with Panda, Panya, Mbirikani and Mica for a time before joining the others at the feeding trough. Panda took tiny Panya for an early morning dust bath while Mbirikani, Murit and the others lined up at the trough with our herd.

Mweya led her herd back out to the bush first while our orphans were finishing the lucerne grass. Rokka and Mushuru led our herd out from the stockades and they settled to browse over the open grass fields. Best friends since they were babies, Lemeki and Thamana were browsing together this morning, entwining trunks while standing close.

In the afternoon, after finishing her bottle first, Busara led the herd down to the mud wallow. Ushindi stood on the edge of the wallow waving her trunk in the water before climbing in for a wallow. Akina followed her in and pushed Ushindi out of the pool.

After cooling off in the mud, Dabida and Baraka climbed out for a dust bath. They hosed themselves with dry soil while Lemeki rolled around on her back next to them, Kenderi dug a hole in the ground with his large tusks, and Baraka and Epiya squabbled over a dust hole. Only Hildana was left in the water. He enjoyed a solo mud bath before joining the rest of the herd as they ambled out to browse. 

After breakfast the orphans were having an early morning dust bath. Thamana lay relaxing on the pile of red earth, Seri was rolling down and posing by the terrace wall, and Lemeki was trunk hugging Epiya as the two friends covered themselves in soil. While Thamana squatted on the dry ground, Losoito massaged her backside against his back.

Mweya’s herd visited as usual in the morning but stayed for only a short time before returning to the bush. While the other ex-orphans browsed on lucerne, Ndii had a quick dust bath with our herd and then caught up with her herd.

In the afternoon, we sent the elephants down in groups for their milk feed. Padding in last in the first group, Losoito was trumpeting and throwing a tantrum, just in case anyone dared to stand in her feeding spot. After gulping down her bottles, Busara hung around the vehicle hoping for a bonus bottle.

Water baby Itinyi was first to plunge into the wallow today. Some submerged their bodies in the thick mud as others paddled or rubbed their faces on the walls. Juni, Akina, Ashanti and Baraka were rolling on the edge and Kenderi splashed around in the middle before climbing out for a dust bath. After the wallow, the orphans took turns next to the peacock tree – Kilulu was first to massage himself against the bark followed by Dabida and then Kenderi and finally Thamana.

In the early morning, ex-orphans Mweya, Mbegu, Tundani, Mbirikani, Mudanda, Pika Pika, Tagwa, Ndotto, Panda, Murit and Ndii (and their babies) padded up the path and mingled with the dependent herd for breakfast. They stood squashed together at the feeding trough, somehow managing to share the pellets.

While the others stood belly to belly at the trough, Itinyi and Epiya scratched themselves on the famous rock and Mwitu looked after Panya, standing very close and touching him lots. The little boy had a quick scratch on the rock before Mwitu and Panda walked off to catch up with Mweya’s herd.

Many of our orphans covered themselves with dust before heading out to browse on another hot sunny day. Juni led the herd out to the browsing fields leaving Kenderi and Itinyi still rolling around on the mound of soil. The orphans spread out over the northern slopes of Msinga Hill.

In the afternoon, the orphans visited the mud wallow and resumed browsing until they returned to the safety of the stockades for the night. 

On a sunny morning at the Voi stockades, our orphans emerged as usual and spread out in the feeding area in front of the stockades. Some drank water while others browsed on lucerne or scooped up pellets on the terraces or at the feeding trough.

Mweya’s large herd of former orphans soon strode in to join our dependent herd. Mweya, with babies Mwitu and Mwangaza in tow, walked up the trough and pushed Lemeki, Thamana, Ashanti, Akina, Hildana and Dabida away. The visitors took their spaces and the six younger elephants moved over to another spot, not daring to stand up to the older female.

Rokka led the orphans out to the bush with Sileita, Sholumai and Mushuru bringing up the rear. They spread out to browse over Msinga Hill while Mweya and her herd remained at the stockades for a little while.

In the afternoon, the herd visited the baobab tree wallow for mud and dust baths. After cooling off in the mud, Itinyi scratched himself against the peacock tree, Lemeki used the baobab tree and Kenderi massaged his body on the red soil. Afterwards, old friends Lemeki and Thamana played together in the mini mud wallow.         

On a cloudy morning, the dependent orphans lined up at the feeding trough to enjoy their breakfast. The ex-orphans were late today and so the elephants did not have to share their range cubes. Mushuru and Sholumai stood side by side on the lower terrace and Baraka and Juni were together as well.

It was not long before Mweya’s herd of ex-orphans including Mbegu, Murit and Ndotto arrived accompanied by a wild bull and joined the orphans in front of the stockades. Ndii drank from the trough while Lemeki posed on the terrace wall. 

Our herd soon headed out to browse in the field with Mudanda wandering along behind while the other ex-orphans remained behind to finish the lucerne. Mweya’s herd then walked out, also in the direction of Msinga Hill.

After browsing separately in the morning, the two herds met up in the open fields in the afternoon. When we shepherded our herd down for another milk feed, the older elephants and their babies ambled towards the airstrip and the river. Today, the elephants spent a short time at the wallow and were keen to continue browsing.  

Ndotto and Murit were our first visitors today. The two bulls ambled in at first light with the rest of Mweya’s herd wandering along in small groups in their wake. Some rumbled in greeting to the resident orphans while others headed straight for the pile of supplementary lucerne.

After filling their bellies and drinking from the trough, the two herds stood together to bond and play. On some days, the ex-orphans keep their distance but today there was lots of interaction. Mwitu is so protective of younger sister Mwangaza and was shielding her as she tried to interact with Epiya. Suswa and Seri spent time together with the older visitor laying her trunk along the younger girl’s back.

This morning, the ex-orphans were first to leave, walking off towards the river. Our herd finished all the lucerne and then settled to browse over the slopes of Msinga Hill.

In the afternoon, the elephants paid their daily visit to the baobab tree mud wallow. On their way down the hill, Rokka and Busara were racing for first position in the feeding area. Rokka overtook Busara and sprinted in first with trunk aloft in anticipation of her milk. Afterwards, the herd gathered around the wallow where they stood peacefully for a time before returning to the bush.

On another wonderful morning, the elephants sprinted out of their stockades and down the path for milk as soon as we opened the gates. They almost had the space to themselves today as Ndotto and Murit were the only visitors.

After enjoying their breakfast, the orphans left for their daily browsing adventures. Rokka led the herd over the rocky Msinga Hill and down to the open grasslands where they settled to browse on shrubs and delicious acacia branches. They walked along in a long straggly line.

In the afternoon, they padded down in groups of five for another milk feed and a visit to the baobab tree water hole. Lemeki ran up to a Keeper with trunk aloft in the hope of being given a bottle of milk, but walked on happily when her attempt was not successful. She is the only elephant who is not milk dependent.

Today, the orphans chose the small water holes for mud bathing. Ushindi and Dabida rubbed faces and bodies and then Ushindi lay on her friend Dabida. Sileita and Mushuru splashed water on the sides of their bodies while Ashanti and Akina paddled together.

On a calm morning, Mweya, Mwangaza, Mwitu, Panda, Panya, Mbirikani, Mica and other members of Mweya’s herd of ex-orphans arrived at the stockades soon after dawn. Many more ex-orphans are visiting this January because of the disappointing rains in November and December. This morning, however, we noticed that some of Mweya’s herd were missing.

After feeding on range cubes and lucerne, friendly Juni greeted Kenia and then the two girls had a sparring match. While Seri stood very still, little Panya pushed between her legs in an attempt to suckle. When her search for extra milk was not successful, she toddled back to Panda. The two herds soon headed out in different directions.

Later in the morning, we saw the other ex-orphans browsing on the southern side of the hill. Very slowly, we approached the group and were very happy to see a tiny baby girl. Arruba had given birth to a female calf! Mbegu, Tagwa, Pika Pika, Mudanda, Ndotto and a wild teenage bull were standing guard around Arruba and her baby.

In the afternoon, we were happy to welcome Arruba, her baby, and her nannies to the stockades. They wandered in to drink from the trough, rested for a time, and walked away to join the rest of Mweya’s herd.

On a wonderful cooler morning, dependent and independent orphans mingled in the area in front of the stockades. The many visitors included Arruba with her newborn – who has been named Aura – and four very protective nannies – Pika Pika, Mbegu, Tagwa and Mudanda. The outside area was crowded with so many elephants!

After breakfast, our orphans spent a long time playing, interacting and bonding with the visitors on and around the mound of dry soil. With trunks entwined, ex-orphan Tundani and Thamana were playing a wrestling game while Murit, Epiya, Ushindi and Itinyi enjoyed rolling-around dust baths, Akina showed off her poses and stretches, Losoito squatted on the soil massaging her backside, and Ashanti nudged her big sister playfully.

Finally, our herd meandered out in a long line from the stockades, leaving Tundani and the other visitors behind. The elephants spent the morning browsing over Msinga Hill. Lemeki, Juni, Baraka, Busara and Losoito stayed at the bottom while the other climbed to the summit. In the afternoon, we gathered the herd with whistles and sent them down in groups for a milk feed.

This morning, the feeding area and terraces were crowded with elephants again! Our orphans are really getting to know many former orphans – and their wild born babies – because they are visiting almost every day. Arruba and baby Aura arrived at the stockades with nannies Mbegu, Pika Pika, Kenia and Mwitu. Again, the two herds mixed happily, playing and bonding with each other.

Dabida, Epiya and Juni were desperate to be on nanny duty too. The three girls kept approaching wild born babies Mica, Aura and Panya, pretending to play near them in the hope of getting closer. Big sister Mwitu pushed them away every time they got within touching distance! Even when little Mica lay down under the feet of mama Mbirikani for a rest, Mwitu did not abandon her guard duty. With other elephants surrounding her, Mica lay napping with Mwitu standing guard. Not far away, Panda was relaxing with baby Panya.

The visitors were waiting for a signal from matriarch Mweya to leave the stockades and return to the browsing fields. As soon as she made her move, they headed out in clusters behind her. Our orphans stayed back for a time to finish up every scrap of lucerne before also walking out to browse. As usual, they spent the day browsing on the rocky hill towards the baobab water trough. In the afternoon, the orphans had their milk feed and went on to the mud wallow.

After breakfast, Lemeki tried to lead the herd out from the stockades earlier than usual. She wanted to catch up with the ex-orphans who had already left. We stopped her as we did not want to risk a kidnapping scenario. Only when the ex-orphans were a distance away did we allow our herd to leave the stockades.

The elephants spread over the slopes of the rocky Msinga Hill, browsing on delicious acacia branches. Lemeki and Losoito browsed side by side while Ashanti used her short trunk to twist up grasses. Hildana wandered around at the bottom of the hill, occasionally pushing Itinyi with his large tusks. Kilulu was showboating and Thamana was scratching himself on the rock. Baraka and Busara were browsing on shrubs high on the hill.

In the afternoon, Rokka led the orphans to the open grass fields near the milk feeding area. Busara, Losoito, Ashanti and Rokka sprinted down in the first group, emptied their bottles in seconds, and walked on to the mud wallow. The other groups joined them minutes later.

The orphans gathered around the baobab trough to drink with Kilulu posing next to the trough, Thamana kissing Seri under the baobab, and Dabida walking around showboating. Afterwards, they climbed into the muddy water for a wallow. Kenderi invited Kilulu to a sparring match in the wallow while Losoito stood splashing along the edge. The orphans later resumed browsing.

This morning, the dependent orphans were full of excitement, running up and down and trumpeting even after breakfast. Losoito and Rokka went for an early morning dust bath as ex-orphan Arruba arrived to show off newborn baby Aura, accompanied by matriarch Mweya, her babies Mwitu and Mwangaza, Panda and little Panya, and Tundani.

Today, the herd headed out towards the west, rather than their usual direction which is east. They knew what had happened before we did! Just a short distance from the stockades, ex-orphans Edie and Sagala were waiting for them. As our orphans approached, to our surprise, we saw a wonderful sight - two newborn babies! Both Edie and Sagala had suckling babies. Naipoki and baby Nsimba, Kihari and baby Kiki, Eden, Ella, Eco and Enzo (Edie’s older calves), Ndoria, Rorogoi and Godoma were also there.  

Our orphans greeted the older elephants with trumpets as the two groups met and the two mamas showed off their babies. The ex-orphans spent the rest of the day with our herd, even coming with them to the mud wallow in the afternoon.

After a short time at the baobab area, the older elephants and their many babies wandered off into the bush. Except for Sagala who was still showing off her baby. Sagala and the tiny newborn remained with our orphans while Rorogoi waited for her at a distance. At last, Sagala and her baby walked off to join Rorogoi and the three disappeared deep into the bush.

Our herd soon headed back out to browse. While the others ambled along in groups, Ushindi and Dabida tried to sneak off and follow the ex-orphans. We were keeping watch over our wannabee nannies and stepped into their path before they had a chance to run off to see the new babies

Mweya’s large herd of ex-orphans padded in to the stockades area soon after dawn. While we opened the gates of the resident orphans’ stockades and brought out range cubes and lucerne, Panda and baby Panya went straight to the feeding trough and Mbirikani and baby Mica waited in the lucerne feeding area. Arruba was browing on lucerne as Kenia was babysitting tiny Aura.

After filling their bellies, Busara, Sileita, Mushuru, Sholumai and Ashanti rolled on the mound of dry soil, Aura rolled on the ground under her mothers’ feet and Mweya massaged her backside against the terrace wall.

Before long, Mweya led her herd out in one direction and Lemeki led hers out from the stockades towards Msinga Hill where they settled to browse for the morning. In the afternoon, they visited the baobab mud wallow. Almost the whole herd either went swimming or stood on the edge, slapping cooling mud along the sides of their bodies. Afterwards, they covered themselves in dust before meandering out to browse on their way back to the stockades.

It was a quiet day. In contrast to recent days, only Ndotto and Murit visited the stockades. The visiting bulls shared range cubes and lucerne with our orphans. Murit chased around after Dabida for a short time and then he and Ndotto returned to the bush, leaving Hildana with his big tusks posing on the mound of soil. With Ashanti, Busara and Akina standing next to her, Juni stretched her trunk over the fence to twist off acacia branches.

Lemeki led the orphans out to the browsing fields. Adopted babies Rokka and Losoito followed close behind her and then all the others. Sileita and Sholumai wandered along at the end of the line. The herd spread out to browse over the hill on a cool and cloudy day.

In the afternoon after the milk feed, the orphans drank from the water trough, stood around the wallow and walked back to the hill. No one was paddling or wallowing today. The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing peacefully before the herd returned to the safety of the stockades for the night.

It was a cool morning with rain drizzles and fog covering the clouds. As our orphans padded down the path from their stockades for a morning milk feed, Mweya’s large herd of ex-orphans padded in from the bush. The two herds ate, bonded and ran around together. When the visitors left, the residents stayed back, gathering around the mound of red soil for a dust bath.

Busara and Losoito squatted side by side on the dust, waving trunks and hosing their bodies. Lemeki joined the two younger girls and the three played tumbling games. After trunk hugging Lemeki, Losoito walked away and Rokka took her place. After more playing, Rokka walked away to browse on acacia branches across the fence.

Many others joined Lemeki around the pile of soil. Ushindi, Ashanti and Kilulu rolled on the ground together while Epiya and Akina did showing-off poses and lay down to relax. Epiya climbed on and off Lemeki as she lay twirling her trunk.

Moving over to the terraces, Ushindi scratched her bottoms against the lower wall while trunk hugging Baraka. Kilulu and Epiya played the pushing game and Hildana and new best friend Seri were also sparring. Finally, the orphans set out from the stockades to browse.

On a cloudy morning, former and current orphans gathered in front of the stockades. Mweya, Edie and their herds arrived at first light. Edie was with her newborn – whose name is Enid - and also Eden, Eco, Ella and Enzo. Mweya stood by the water trough with Mwangaza and Mwitu. Then Eco and Mwitu walked over for a dust bath and played together on the mound of soil, climbing all over each other. Arruba and Aura browsed on lucerne with Mbirikani, Mica, Pika Pika, Kenia and Panda. Panya and Mica were playing baby pushing and rolling games while the older girls picked up pieces of lucerne.

The two herds headed out in different directions – as they do on most days. Our herd settled on the slopes of the hill, browsing towards the baobab water trough. Sileita climbed to the summit, plucking down acacia branches as she ambled along. She was joined by Mushuru, Sholumai, Dabida and Ashanti.

In the afternoon, a lioness killed a buffalo by the baobab tree water trough. Observing the pride of lions around the wallow, we shepherded the herd back to the stockades for their milk feed.

The orphans were having a good time enjoying their breakfast when Kihari and baby Kiki arrived in a big hurry. The two climbed over the rocks on Msinga Hill and ran into the stockades area. Following along behind were Mweya and a large herd of ex-orphans including Panda, baby Panya, Mbirikani, baby Mica, Ndoria, Tundani, Ndii, Aruba, baby Aura, Sagala and her baby who has been named Sia. The ex-orphans settled to browse on the lucerne grass, while their wild born babies walked around affectionately and bravely bonding with the dependent herd.

After breakfast, the orphans left the stockades for their daily browsing routine. Our orphans headed off in one direction while the older ones and their babies walked away in a different direction. Our herd spent the morning browsing around the hill while the ex-orphans walked deep into the park towards the river.

In the afternoon, the elephants had their usual milk feed near the baobab mud wallow, drank from the water trough, cooled off quickly in the mini wallow, and ambled back out to continue browsing.

On another wonderful morning at the Voi stockades, current and former orphans were having a good time enjoying lucerne and range cubes. Ex-orphan Murit was trunk hugging Eden (one of Edie’s babies) on the upper terrace and Edie was hanging around with Enzo and Enid on the lower one. Kiki (Kihari’s baby) was catching up with Eco. Meanwhile, three former orphans and their babies - Sagala and Sia, Mbirikani and Mica, Panda and Panya – stood calmly around the lucerne. The mamas picked up pieces with their trunks while the little ones stood very close.

Many of our orphans were having an early morning dust bath. Rokka and Lemeki tumbled together on the pile of soil while Kenderi and Akina sucked up dust to spray along their backs. Hildana and Thamana were stretching their trunks over the fence line to pull down acacia branches and Ashanti, Itinyi and Sholumai took it in turns to scratch their bottoms against the famous rock.

After spending the morning browsing over Msinga Hill, the herd returned to the stockades in the afternoon for their milk feed. They cooled off, either by climbing into the wallow or by standing on the edge and slapping water along their sides, before walking back to the hill.

The morning was peaceful with dependent and independent orphans (and their babies) feeding together in front of the stockades. The visitors kept close eyes on their babies and did not allow most of our herd to come close. They did make an exception for Juni, however, allowing her to stand next to little Panya and mama Panda. Kenia was on nanny duty for little Aura, Arruba’s baby. Aura even tried to suckle Kenia as she stood calmly next to her. When Panya began suckling, Panda was not happy to let Mwangaza stand behind her. She paused the feed to push Mwangaza, Mweya’s calf, away.

The herds soon headed out to browse in the bush. Lemeki climbed into an erosion trench to play followed by Ashanti and Epiya. They rubbed their bodies against the walls and each other. Meanwhile, Sileita, Mushuru and Rokka browsed over the summit of the hill.

In the afternoon, we received reports of sightings of five lionesses and seven cubs at the baobab tree water hole. Therefore, we did not take the elephants to the wallow and returned to the stockades for the milk feed.

The morning was full of activity with a very large number of elephants in front of the stockades! As well as 20 dependent orphans, there were many visitors – ex-orphans Edie, Mweya, Sagala, Kihari, Panda, Mbirikani, Arruba, Kenia, Ndotto, Godoma, Mbegu, Ngilai, Murit, Tagwa, Tundani, Ndoria, Ndii, Suswa, and wild born babies  Eden, Ella, Enzo, Eco, Enid, Mwangaza, Mwitu, Sia, Kiki, Panya, Mica and Aura. The area was so full with our herd and the herds of Mbegu, Mweya and Edie and many wild babies. It was a wonderful sight.

Agemates Busara and Eco were playing a sparring match. When Busara saw Mica on the upper terrace, she walked over to trunk touch little Mica. Feeling left out, Eco walked over to mama Mbirikani who stopped Busara from approaching her baby. Ushindi arrived on the terrace a minute later but was also pushed away. Only when Eco moved away did Busara succeed in playing with Mica. Kenia was looking after baby Aura while she played on the ground, allowing mama Arruba to browse on lucerne in peace.

A wild bull was with the visitors today. After drinking from the trough, he climbed up the terraces very quickly. When the ex-orphans left the stockades, he wandered along with them. The two herds walked out in different directions. The visitors headed towards the river while our elephants settled to browse over the hill.

On a calm sunny morning, resident and visiting elephants squashed up at the range cubes feeding trough and around the water trough and pile of lucerne. Panya was standing between her mother Panda’s legs, with Juni standing by to greet her when she emerged.

When the ex-orphans left the stockades, Ushindi and Epiya tried to follow them in hope of spending more time with the babies. Luckily, when we whistled they returned to the herd – as they are milk dependent and not ready to live wild lives. Choosing to do his own thing rather than hang out the female ex-orphans, big bull Tundani stayed back when the visitors left. He drank from the trough and then headed out on his own.

Our herd settled to browse on the slopes of Msinga Hill. Itinyi was browsing alongside Kilulu and Kenderi while Busara spent time with Ashanti and Epiya. Thamana lay down on a large patch of dry soil with Baraka and Juni playing around him and Lemeki and Losoito scratched their bottoms against a boulder.

Mweya’s large herd of ex-orphans arrived at first light this morning. Tundani walked in with them but soon moved away to enjoy a solitary early morning dust bath. He rolled on the ground while the others ate and drank. After feeding, Busara challenged Eco to another wrestling match while Losoito led some of the others to the dust hill to join Tundani. Some lay down while some rubbed their faces or hosed their bodies amid lots of happy trumpeting.

Dabida was standing strategically next to the famous rock. When the ex-orphans walked back to the bush, she tried to tag along behind Panda and Panya. We intercepted Dabida as soon as she walked away from the rock and ushered her back to the herd.

Our herd wandered out in single file towards Msinga Hill. Lemeki, Rokka and Losoito stood in the shade of trees at the bottom of the hill while Epiya and Kenderi climbed to the top.

In the afternoon, many elephants cooled off in the baobab wallow before covering their muddy bodies with dust. Hildana and Losoito splashed around together while Kenderi massaged his backside against the baobab tree.

The dependent orphaned elephants were being sent down for milk feeds when the ex-orphans arrived today. When several padded in behind Losoito as she was drinking, the little girl trumpeted loudly despite a mouthful of milk, assuming that her bottle was under threat. Lemeki immediately charged over to check on her little sister.

Today, a wild bull with large tusks was with the visitors. We soon realised that he was there because of Mbegu. He followed and flirted with her. She accepted the bull’s advances and soon the two elephants were mating near the stockades.

After feeding, Aura lay down to sleep with mama Arruba standing on one side and nanny Kenia on the other. Ndii was scratching herself on the boulder outside the big stockade, Mushuru and Sileita were playing a pushing game on the lower terrace, and Ashanti and Epiya tumbled in the dust together.

The ex-orphans headed back to the field and settled to browse around the Msinga Hill water hole. Except for Mbegu and the wild bull who walked away to continue their courtship alone.

In the evening after the orphans had settled in their stockades, Lasayen arrived! We have not seen him for many months. He arrived with Ngilai, Tagwa, and Godoma (who were missing in the morning), drank from the trough, stood under the tree for a time, and padded out into the night.

The ex-orphans arrived early in the morning to catch up with the dependent orphans for breakfast. Ngilai, Tagwa and Godoma were there but not Lasayen. Mbegu and the wild bull were also absent. The two herds fed peacefully on range cubes and lucerne before playing on the terraces or drinking from the troughs. Panya rolled around under her mother Panya’s feet while Busara watched on with curiosity.

The ex-orphans headed out first today. Tagwa stayed behind for a time before walking away to catch up with her herd. Our herd then wandered out in a long line from the stockades and settled to browse over Msinga Hill. On the other side of the hill, the wild bull was with Mbegu. We believe that the two elephants spent last night together.

In the afternoon, the orphans came down the hill for another milk feed, emptying their bottles in groups and padding on to the mud wallow. Kenderi and Kilulu stopped off to drink from the trough before joining their friends in the muddy water. After cooling off, Sileita, Sholumai and Mushuru clambered out for a dust bath. While Sholumai hosed herself with soil, her two friends rolled around on the pile of dust.