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Today the young girls, Godoma, Malkia, Tagwa and Esampu, were fighting over who should get to baby sit Musiara. Malkia did not want anyone to browse with him except Mbegu. Esampu, Tagwa and Kuishi were driven away but Godoma she just blocked from getting close to him; she knows her position in the hierarchy of the herd and would not challenger her. Murit was a bit naughty during the public visit today and was in a very strange mood as he kept trying to bite his friends tails! He moved from one to the other but kept trying to bite Malima and Enkesha and it reached a point where Godoma had to intervene and block him from approaching any others. Esampu also tried to snatch Tamiyoi’s milk bottle which annoyed the short little girl and she left her milk bottle for awhile to sort Esampu out, before returning to finish the rest. As the Head Keeper gave his talk during this visit, Jotto was busy trying to find where the voice was coming out of the strange looking speakers. He kept inspecting and trying to pick it up so the keepers had to move it as he was so interested. All the orphans from the baby Musiara to the matriarch Mbegu enjoyed a lengthy mud bath today, all except for Kauro who does not really enjoy them, no matter how hot it is!

Jotto decided to play into the night last night and he did not sleep as normal. Since his 9pm milk feed he only went down to sleep for a short while before getting up and playing again! Whenever his night keeper thought he would just start to close his eyes for awhile Jotto would pull his blanket to make sure that he stayed awake with him! When he got his 6am feed he started pushing to go out, climbing up against the keeper’s bed and pushing the wall as well. It was still a bit dark because of the misty weather but due to his persistence the keeper let him out and he ran in a celebratory fashion straight to Ndiwa’s gate which is right at the top of the stockade area. When Ndiwa saw him approach she moved closer to her gate to say hello. He came running back down to Tamiyoi’s door but she did not pay any attention to him. He started to push harder on her door trying to open it but was obviously unsuccessful. He moved on to Esampu’s gate and went down on his knees to do a head stand outside her gate and she did the same on the other side! This was a sign that she had accepted his game but he left and went to Maxwell’s stockade. Max too accepted the invitation to play and started running around inside his stockade, poking his horn through the posts of his stockade in excitement.

Today Tamiyoi and Esampu were left behind by the main herd as they were busy browsing next to Maxwell’s stockade. They did not know which way they went and started running around, stamping on the bushes and trumpeting to get the herd attention but it did not work. They were luck though as soon Sattao, Musiara and Luggard were let out of their stables to join the others in the forest too. Tamiyoi saw the trio heading out from a distance and she trumpeted before running towards the little ones with Esampu running behind her. They were very happy to join this little group and the babies were happy to see them too. Sana Sana has been hanging out with Ndiwa and Mundusi today and they have been browsing separately away from the group. It is rare to find her charging at or bullying anyone but today she decided to discipline Mteto when she was shouting for no reason after having her milk; she does not like this kind of nonsense. Malkia is still very protective of the little ones Musiara and Sattao and does not like anyone strange to come close to them, she will chase them away!

We can see that Sattao is becoming a little boy that likes to climb on things and he is always trying to climb on Musiara’s back whenever he finds him lying down. This morning Musiara was all alone and rolling in the soil when Sattao spotted him and came running over to climb on him. Ngilai was feeding in the bushes nearby and saw Musiara struggling to get up so he came over and helped nudge the baby Sattao away, to assist Musiara. Musiara got to his feet and was prepared to fight Sattao because he was annoyed, but Ngilai intervened and made sure a fight did not ensue. He kept initiating games to keep the atmosphere light and rolled on the ground so the two boys could bump and slide on him instead. They did not play for long before Mbegu came over as she was slightly concerned due to the fact Ngilai can be quite a rough boy. This time he was being very calm and gentle with them though. Enkesha is one orphan that can lead and escort others even when there is no keeper to lead the way. She always knows where to go and what to do whilst others like Jotto, Ambo, Malima, Kuishi and Tagwa cannot really do the same; they always need a keeper to help direct them, or someone else in the group. What started off as a dull mud bath today soon got more exciting as Jotto read the mood and decided to make it more fun. He tested the temperature of the mud with his trunk before jumping in and running up and down and playing with a football. Esampu joined him and Malima did not want to be left out of the fun either – within no time everyone was having fun in the mud and after they went to dry themselves on the soil piles. As Enkesha was rolling on the soil Jotto came over and started lying on her and she started screaming. The keepers ran over to help her as Godoma charged over to discipline Jotto.

It’s quite funny to watch Tagwa who has learnt that all the other girls like Esampu, Godoma, Malkia, Malima and Sana Sana like to argue over who will mother and babysit Musiara, leaving her to dote on little Sattao. These days as soon as the babies are out in the forest she is seen attached to his side, leaving the other girls to concentrate on mothering Musiara! Today when the first group was separated for the milk feed from the older ones, Tagwa gave the keepers a hard time as she was held back but she wanted to join her beloved Sattao in the first group! She yelled out in protest which brought Mbegu running over to see what was wrong but she relaxed when she saw the keepers and Tagwa together. Tagwa is a lovely caring girl these days.

In the field this morning, Kuishi, Sana Sana, Malima, Ndiwa, Ngilai, Mundusi, Rapa and Mteto were having a great time chasing and charging after some impalas they encountered. It was a funny game to watch as the baby elephants trumpeted and ran with their ears spread out sending the impalas sprinting and jumping in all directions, but then some of the impalas turned around and challenged the elephants, sending them running back to their keepers for safety. After a brief moment of silence the group of orphans then went trumpeting and charging in the direction the impalas disappeared, starting the game all over again. Unfortunately, the game didn’t last long as Rapa and Ngilai decided it would be more fun to chase Sana Sana, Kuishi and Malima. They kept trying to climb on them but the three girls had enough and ran to Maramoja and Mbegu who were looking after the little boys, Musiara and Sattao, with Esampu, Tagwa and Tamiyoi. Rapa and Ngilai had no choice but to engage each other in a pushing game instead, which ended when Lasayen tried to join in as they didn’t seem interested in playing with him.

A character will always remain a character! Today at the public visiting hour, soon after the first group had finished their milk bottles and when most of the orphans busy feeding on the lucerne pellets, Esampu was having a great time running about, playing with the football. She ran from one end to the other kicking the ball, gaining much applause from the crowd. Esampu loved all the attention and even kicked the ball intentionally at the on looking crowd and then ran along the cordon deliberately bumping into the public to get even more of a reaction from them. Her mischievous behavior meant the keepers had to keep a close eye on her and eventually, after several attempts to bump into the crowd, the keepers had to put a stop to her games which were getting out of hand.

The warthogs that call the stockades home seem to have learnt the orphan’s daily routine. Once the orphans have left for the forest the warthogs visit all of the stockades to look for left over lucerne pellets and only when they have made sure they have found them all will they join the orphans out in the forest. The warthogs too have become uncontrollable at the public visiting hour, especially with the introduction of the lucerne pellets. Some of the orphans don’t like the warthogs to be present at the mud bath and try to drive them away. When the warthogs are chased away they run in all directions, even into the crowds of people. Today, Esampu, Godoma and Jotto were the “warthog guards” of the mud bath. Jotto waited by the piles of lucerne pellets to drive away the warthogs, whilst Esampu and Godoma stayed in the middle, in the open play area, and chased the warthogs far away back into the forest. The warthogs then walked around the back of the public and snuck through the crowds where the found Jotto waiting for them to chase them back. Unfortunately, with warthogs running between their legs and elephants charging about, the crowds became very nervous and it was tough for the keepers to keep everything calm. When the second group came down, it was Mundusi and Ngilai who were most disturbed by the warthogs and they yelled for help whenever they came close. Mbegu and Ndotto, with the help of the keepers, saved the situation. At around 1pm a DSWT helicopter landed at the nursery with a young baby bull orphan on board from Tsavo West.

Mbegu is trying to keep her distance from little Musiara and Sattao and giving all her attention to her adopted baby boy Ambo. It’s as if she is allowing the younger girls some time and space to practice looking after the babies. This has given Tagwa, Malkia, and sometimes Esampu, opportunity to pamper the babies and be there for them when needed. Godoma also spends time with the babies but if all is ok she just watches the other girls from a distance. Tagwa has relished this chance of proving her skills at being an adoptive mum and though she shows lots of love for all the little ones, she has a soft spot for Sattao. She seems to have set up a little routine for herself, alternating time between Sattao and Musiara. If she spends the whole day with Sattao then the next day she will make more time for Musiara. Today was Musiara’s day and Sattao spent his time with the other girls. This morning at 9am, Musiara started demanding for more milk after he finished his and was making quite the racket! Tagwa ran to him as soon as he started complaining to try and settle him down. Godoma, Malkia and Malima were not far behind but they found Tagwa had the situation in hand. When Maktao joined the others in the afternoon all the orphans ran to welcome him from quite a distance. After the dust settled and everyone calmed down, Sana Sana and Ndotto had the chance to spend some time with the new boy. Together they both walked him around, resting their trunks on his back and neck, hugging him. Malkia then showed up and started shoving Sana Sana. Eventually Sana Sana surrendered and walked away with Ndotto, leaving Malkia with the baby. Sana Sana was obviously very upset with Malkia’s behavior and when she walked past Mteto she showed her disappointment by charging her. Ndotto recognized this was not her normal behavior and quickly intervened to stop the situation from escalating.

Right after the 9am milk feed, Maktao came out to join the rest in the forest. One good thing is that he is very hooked on his keepers. The keepers have taken advantage of this as it helps them control his strange behavior around water. To keep him from heading straight to all the others water troughs, the keepers open his doors and run towards the forest, he instantly follows them and only stops when they stop. This morning, when he joined the others, he was surrounded by Mbegu, Kuishi, Malkia, Maramoja and Esampu. However, he decided to mount Enkesha’s head and even when Mbegu tried to stop him and pull him down, he kept on doing it. Malima was standing close by and soon Maktao started doing the same to her. None of the girls pushed or charged him, understanding he is still very little and learning, but when he started mounting Sattao, Musiara jumped in and pushed him to the ground. Today was full of games for all the orphans. Ndotto played his favourite wrestling game with big boy Kauro. Kauro was always one of the biggest baby bulls and Ndotto was the smallest orphan we have ever had at the nursery. It is wonderful to see the littlest bull now compete with the biggest bull so competently. Kuishi engaged Luggard in a pushing game but Luggard was playing too rough and poked her with his little tusks. Pare got into trouble when he pushed Maramoja from behind; he only wanted to play but he caught her off guard and she chased him away. Malima decided to play with Musiara and Sattao’s blankets that were hung on a tree when it became warm. She knocked them to the ground, threw them up and down and then did head stands on them. Godoma has gotten into the habit of kicking her peers with her hind legs but today she was punished for it by Murit who chased her and poked her with his tusks when he had enough. Jotto, Malima and Tamiyoi raced to see who could get to the milk first; Jotto was leading but just as they got to the finish line, Tamiyoi came from behind and overtook them all. Malima came in second and Jotto finished in last place.

Ambo and Malima were trying to sort out their differences today during a wrestling match. Tagwa was witness to the fight and was trying to act as moderator to help them resolve their conflict. However, Ambo did not pay attention to Tagwa and so she decided to discipline him. Mbegu was browsing close by and saw what was happening but just ignored it and paid no attention to Ambo or Tagwa. Eventually, Ambo went over to Mbegu who was browsing intently, and took some of the leaves from her mouth but Musiara then came over to join them and Ambo didn’t want to share Mbegu so he started shoving the little boy away. Mbegu was disappointed with little Ambo’s behavior and sent him away instead. Musiara was pleased that Ambo had gone and enjoyed spending time with Mbegu who let him suck her ears which the babies always find comforting. When Kiko was let out of his stockade in the morning he raced off at speed into the forest where he located the babies and ran towards them. Sana Sana was the first to spot him and she raised her ears and charged him to try and stop him scaring the little ones. However, Kiko wasn’t scared by her threats and continued so Sana Sana alerted the other orphans by trumpeting loudly. Godoma, Esampu, Malkia and Mbegu came running from different directions and when Kiko saw them coming he tried to scare them away but they had made up their minds to protect the little ones from Kiko’s games. As they got closer he decided to run back to the safety of the stockades and the protective girls went back to check Musiara, Sattao and Maktao were all ok. At 3pm there was new fresh soil for at the mud bath which all the orphans love. Musiara in particular was enjoying the soil bath at the edge of the mud bath when he accidentally fell into the water. He got stuck and started screaming for help. Godoma got really upset seeing him in distress and even blocked the keepers from going to help, but eventually she calmed down and gave them space to assist him.

When the orphans came out of their night stockades, some of them like Murit, Tamiyoi, Mteto, Lasayen and Mbegu were seen walking amongst the rooms looking for extra lucerne pellets, whilst others like Ndotto, Kauro, Pare and Rapa were greeting each other with pushing games and Esampu, Tagwa, Malkia and Kuishi were welcoming the three little boys – Musiara, Sattao and Maktao. Malkia and Esampu were fighting over Maktao’s attention and each one wanted to be closer to him. They both engaged in a pushing game and Esampu ended up falling over after being over powered by Malkia. Esampu knocked into Maktao as she fell and she started to shout, so she got up and ran away for fear of being disciplined by Mbegu who she could see running over to find out what the problem was.