This month was all about browsing for our young Ithumba babies as the area around Ithumba has become desperately dry, which is not unusual for this time of year. As a result, the orphans have spent much of their time feeding so as not to return to their night stockades at the end of the day with empty tummies. We are helping them too, with lucerne in the morning when they leave the stockades, and at times they are joined by older ex orphans who are benefiting from these supplements as well.
Two wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. Mapia settled for scratching while Esampu walked down to join two wild bulls that were taking water. Shortly later, she was joined by the other orphans. Mundusi had a game of playing with Mteto but was interrupted by Roi who came in and tried to push Mundusi. The bulls left after drinking enough water. Wanjala and Ndiwa tried to follow the wild bulls but the Keepers intervened by calling them to come back. Out in the browsing field, Sapalan briefly engaged Namalok in a pushing game while Enkikwe knelt down to feed on some grass he really liked. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Kilaguni and Chaimu. The two ex-orphans accompanied the orphans back to the browsing field and in the evening, they all passed by the mud bath for an evening cooling-off exercise. After the evening mud bath, the orphans did some soil dusting to dry off, before going back to the stockade for the night.
Mutara and her ex-orphan group joined the Ithumba orphans in the morning and they had lucerne and water together before heading out to browse. Barsilinga had a brief strength testing exercise with Kasigau but lost. It was not too hot or cold today, and the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing up to mud bath time when Mteto, Malkia and Kuishi left as the first group for their milk feed, as Jotto led the second group. Jotto headed for the mud bath soon after finishing his share, while Mapia and Kuishi opted for a soil dusting exercise. Eighteen wild bulls were present at mud bath. Kanjoro and Garzi engaged in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. In the afternoon, the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine. Jotto decided to relax under a tree waiting for the temperature to drop to a more favourable level. In the evening, Mutara and her group escorted the juniors back to the stockade compound.
The orphans woke up in a good mood today, and soon after the six o'clock milk feed, walked down to have their lucerne before heading out. The orphans shared the lucerne peacefully as the independent Kamok walked along the wall scratching herself. The orphans briefly settled for water and after, Turkwel led the way out to browse. The orphans settled east of the stockade and browsed calmly up to eleven o'clock, the time for mud bath. Ten wild bulls joined the orphans in drinking water and after parted ways. The orphans returned back south east of Kalovoto where they browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day.
Olare, Mutara and Narok’s groups were present in the stockade compound in the morning. The junior ex-orphans joined the orphans for lucerne. Two wild bulls were busy taking water at the stockade water troughs and shortly later, Buchuma emerged from the eastern side and walked straight to join the orphans for the lucerne feeding. Buchuma didn't stay for long; after tasting the lucerne and saying hi to the babies, he walked away off to the south. Kitirua took such a large pile of lucerne for herself, that Mapia was staring at her and perhaps wondering if she could ever make a good mother. Mapia raised his trunk towards Kitirua hoping that she might invite him to share with her, but Kitirua threw a back kick towards him in return, warning him not to come any closer. Mapia had no option other than to turn and leave since he didn't want to invite trouble for himself.
Ambo led the way to the browsing field. Kuishi found a suitable rock to scratch her buttocks on, while Sana Sana settled for soil dusting. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans headed for their noon milk feed. The orphans didn't spend much time at mud bath and after taking milk and water, they headed south-east of Kalovoto, where they settled to browse for the rest of the day.
After lucerne feeding time, the orphans walked down to the water trough where they were joined by a solitary wild bull. Pare engaged Sapalan in a pushing game as they awaited their turn to drink. Pare ended up losing the game to the once slow and inactive Sapalan, but now Sapalan is as lively as ever, out to show that he is a force to reckon with.
Out in the bush, Kamok had a game of practicing how to attack her enemies by kneeling and piercing the ground with her tusks. Ambo enjoyed soil dusting and later Kuishi led the way to mud bath. Several wild bulls attended mud bath but stayed at one end, while the Ithumba orphans used the other end. Namalok tried to block the way for Sapalan but Sapalan used all his strength to push Namalok out of his way. In the afternoon, the sun was hot, prompting Jotto, Ambo and Rapa to relax under a tree.
Early in the morning when the orphans settled for lucerne, a wild buffalo arrived at the water trough and enjoyed a drink. On the way to the browsing field, Turkwel found a suitable rock that she used to scratch her belly on. The same rock was also used by Garzi. Barsilinga tried to push Garzi away from the rock so as to use it himself, but he didn't succeed. Ambo settled to browse with Jotto until he developed an itchy ear, and so decided to scratch against Jotto. Later, Jotto led the way to mud bath.
On the way, the orphans were joined by Mutara, Kainuk, Kanjoro, Suguta, Kasigau, Sities and Kibo. Kithaka was the first one to jump into the mud bath, followed by these junior ex-orphans. After mud bath, the orphans settled for soil dusting. Siangiki arrived late to drink water at the water troughs and found ten wild bulls occupying the space. Siangiki stood silently, hoping that the Keepers might see what was happening and that she wanted to drink too. The Keepers came to her rescue and moved the bulls away. Siangiki was delighted and felt like a queen as she settled to drink as the ten wild bulls watched her from a short distance away.
Kainuk was spotted resting with Turkwel and it wasn't clear what they were apparently talking about. The Keepers didn't pay much attention to the two girls but later Turkwel, Kainuk and Sapalan disappeared. Only then did the Keepers realise that they should have paid more attention to them. The only option was to look for the two girls so as to recover Sapalan. The search went on until dark with no success. Once last year Sapalan managed to dodge the Keepers and spend the night out as well, and he was lucky then not to have met with the ferocious lions. The Keepers were worried about him but returned back to the stockade compound without Turkwel and Sapalan, hoping that they might return on their own accord. They were rewarded, and relieved when at seven forty-five at night, Sapalan, Turkwel and Kainuk returned back to the compound. Turkwel and Sapalan were allowed into the stockade and Kainuk remained outside.
Kainuk, who spent the night just outside the compound last night, was joined by Olare’s ex-orphan group in the morning and they all interacted and shared lucerne with the orphans. After lucerne, the orphans walked down to have some water from the water troughs before leaving for browsing. Pare had a brief strength testing exercise with Sapalan as he seemed relieved to see him back with all the orphans.
On the way out, the orphans met with two female elephants and a calf who were in a hurry to drink water. Garzi stood in the way in order to find out who they were but didn’t stay in their path for long as he realised the speed at which they were approaching. He stepped aside and watched in disbelief at the speed at which they were walking.
The orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba Hill up to mud bath time, when Ukame led the first group to the mud bath. On the way, Jotto tried to overtake Ukame but Ukame couldn't let him, so she tried to block him from overtaking. After mud bathing, the orphans settled for soil dusting and after returned back to the browsing field. Enkikwe and Sapalan were the last to leave as they enjoyed the soil dusting for longer. The orphans settled along the upper Kalovoto seasonal river where they browsed until evening. Garzi briefly engaged Barsilinga in a strength testing exercise as Sapalan settled for soil dusting. Kainuk escorted her friend Turkwel back to the stockade compound and remained outside, hoping to catch up with her the following day.
It was a quiet morning with only the Ithumba orphans roaming freely around the stockade compound, without any disturbance from any outsiders. Kauro settled to scratch against the stockade wall while Naseku shared her pile of lucerne with Wanjala. Galla held a brief meeting with Enkikwe and we weren’t sure what they were discussing. After feeding on lucerne, the orphans walked down for water and after Ndiwa led the way out.
The orphans browsed calmly up to mud bath time, when Sana Sana led the first group of Ndiwa and Mundusi to the mud bath. When they were done, the orphans walked back to bush where Galla spent some time soil dusting. Roi, who is Galla’s most trusted friend, came to stand close and watch him as he did the soil dusting. After Galla had enough, Roi used the same hole to sit in and scratch her hind. They later walked together to catch up with the rest of the group.
In the late afternoon, the sun was still hot so Pare led his friends back to the mud bath for an evening cool-off. The cooling off exercise was followed by a soil dusting exercise as the orphans made their way back to the compound for the night.
The orphans left the stockade and settled for lucerne as a lone bull reported for water. Shortly later, Mundusi walked down and joined the bull to drink water. Mundusi stood close to the wild bull as if comparing his height, and perhaps wondering when he would ever be the same size as the bull. The orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba Hill and enjoyed browsing peacefully up until mud bath time, when Mteto led the first group to the mud bath. Twenty-five wild bulls showed up for water while the orphans were there. Namalok enjoyed a brief chat with one of the wild bulls but kept a safe distance in case the wild bull changed his mind and decided to charge at him. Sana Sana relaxed under a tree soon after having her milk, and later led the orphans to walk around the mud bath, as it was quite windy and none of the orphans felt like wallowing. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse along the western slopes of Ithumba Hill until five o'clock, when they all returned back safely to the stockade.
The orphans were joined by Mutara and Narok’s groups in the morning. After sharing lucerne, the herd left for browsing. Led by Jotto, they all headed south of the stockade.
Mundusi and Pare had a strength testing exercise that ended when Mundusi surrendered. In the company of the junior ex-orphans, the orphans browsed calmly up to mud bath time when Mutara and Narok’s groups escorted them for their noon bottle feeds. Oltaiyoni, the usually very disciplined girl, was quite naughty when she realised that the Keepers were not paying attention to her. She turned and saw an unguarded bottle of milk which she picked up and started helping herself to. By the time the Keepers noticed what was going on, Oltaiyoni had already finished half the contents. When the Keepers called her, Oltaiyoni dropped the bottle and walked away, as if trying to teach the Keepers a lesson to always be on their guard! Oltaiyoni is such a good girl, but sometimes she is prone to stealing an extra bottle of milk when the Keepers are not paying attention. In the afternoon, the orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill and at one stage took a break and relaxed under a tree. Later, the orphans resumed browsing and later in the evening returned back to the stockades.
Soon after the orphans left the stockades, Taita brought his two wild friends to join them. Taita seemed to have informed his two friends of a place he knew where they could get free breakfast. The wild bulls were not so sure but followed Taita. When the Lucerne grass was distributed to the orphans, one of the wild bulls made away with a complete bale, while the other took a bit and fed a distance from the orphans. Taita mingled freely with the orphans and after through with the lucerne, Taita led the orphans to the water trough where they settled for water. After drinking enough, Sana Sana led the way out to browse.
Maramoja settled to browse with Kamok while Wanjala engaged Namalok in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Naseku developed an itchy ear and picked up a stick that she used to scratch with. At mud bath time, fifteen wild bulls were present. Wanjala and Karisa emerged as the wallowing stars of the day after spending much more time in the water than their friends who mostly watched from the edge of the mud bath. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Kalovoto seasonal river.
It was a quiet morning with no outsiders showing up at the stockade compound. The orphans settled for their morning lucerne without any disturbance. Soon after they were through with the lucerne, the orphans headed to the water troughs where they armed themselves with enough water to see them through the entire morning.
At mud bath time, the sun was really hot and the orphans, led by the bold Esampu, jumped into the water and had a prolonged cooling-off exercise that was followed by soil dusting. Tusuja had a brief strength testing exercise with Wanjala but that ended soon when Wanjala surrendered. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse along the western slopes of Ithumba Hill until five o'clock in the evening when they all returned safely back to the stockades for another night.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades. Shortly later, four wild bulls reported for water at the stockade water troughs. Sana Sana left her group and walked down to join the wild bulls to drink water. Enkikwe joined his friends after having his leg treated and settled close to Naseku. Naseku moved away when Enkikwe attempted to take lucerne from her mouth. Sapalan had a brief strength testing exercise with Galla that was interrupted by Turkwel who pointed at them with her trunk in warning, and then went and stood between them to separate them and bring their game to an abrupt end. Narok, Bomani, Orwa, and Kainuk joined the orphans as they were about to leave for browsing. Lemoyian, Kithaka, Barsilinga and Garzi, as usual, decided to leave the dependent orphans, and showed up early at the mud bath before the others. Lemoyian demanded his milk and soon after he got it, he left again with his rebel herd heading north of the mud bath. The temperature was moderate and the orphans only walked around the mud bath. Ambo had a game of rolling on the ground and later led the way back out to browse. Mid way, he was overtaken by Kuishi who led the group up to the upper Kalovoto area where the herd settled to browse. In the evening, Malima led the way back to the stockades.
Chemi Chemi, the lone ranger who was last seen in mid-April, was outside the stockades in the morning waiting for the orphans to come out. We were not sure what time of night he reported and who his companion was either as we had not seen him before. Chemi Chemi joined the orphans for some lucerne as soon as they were let out, and then shortly later settled for soil dusting, as Karisa challenged Pare to a pushing game. Their game attracted Namalok and Sapalan who started their own pushing game. Mapia and Kuishi settled into scratching their bellies on the nearby rocks. Ambo tried to go close to Mapia but was warned by him not to get any closer, by pointing at him with his trunk. When the lucerne was over, captain Chemi Chemi took with the rebels Kithaka, Barsilinga, Garzi and Lemoyian with him and they walked off into the bush. The dependent orphans settled east of Ithumba Hill up to mud bath time. On the way, Mundusi tried to challenge Pare but he was overpowered. Forty wild bulls graced the mud bath occasion and by the time the orphans were leaving, more bulls were still showing up for water. The orphans settled in the upper Kalovoto area for the afternoon and in the evening, eighteen wild bulls showed up at the stockade water troughs and left only when they had enough water.
Two wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough when the orphans were let out. Soon, Olare’s group emerged from the eastern side and later Mutara’s group emerged from the western side. The two groups joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. Naseku and Malkia, who were sharing a pile of Lucerne, had a slight misunderstanding that prompted Naseku to push Malkia away. Roi had a brief chat with Kamok while Esampu used the nearby rocks to scratch her itchy belly.
On the way out to browse, Mundusi found a suitable rock that he used to scratch himself on. The junior ex-orphans accompanied the orphans throughout the morning session. Sana Sana led Ndiwa and Pare in the first group to the mud bath. Olare stood behind Sana Sana and Ndiwa when they were enjoying a bath and appeared as if she was issuing them instructions on how best one can do a mud bath, just like a parent would stand on the side lines of a swimming pool. After mud bath, the orphans were escorted back out to browse by Mutara and Olare’s groups. The ex-orphans stayed with the juniors up to five o'clock in the evening when they led them back to the stockade.
Several wild elephants showed up for water at the stockade today. Noticeable among them was one of the respected older wild bulls ‘One Tusk’ who was last seen in October 2017! All the elephants made way for One Tusk to have some water, and when he was done he walked back out into the Park.
Soon when the Ithumba orphans settled for lucerne in the morning, a wild family herd consisting of a mother and her three calves joined in the feast. Orwa, Bomani, Narok and Kainuk were also present for the morning lucerne feeding. Fifteen wild bulls were busy taking water as Rapa and Sana Sana interacted with a one-year old wild baby. When the baby had enough with the juniors, it ran to its mum. When the feast was over, the mother and her children left while the orphans headed north east of the stockade. Tusuja came across a nice rock that he used to scratch his belly on, but moments later, he was pushed away by Kauro who also wanted to use the same rock to scratch himself.
Later on in the day, Naseku, Wanjala and Namalok took a break from feeding and spent some time soil dusting. At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate and the orphans had their milk and then some water, before going back to browsing as they decided not to wallow. In the afternoon, Pare engaged Mundusi in a strength testing exercise that was disrupted by Galla. Tusuja played with Olsekki as Roi settled to browse with Wanjala. Later, Esampu enjoyed a brief strength testing exercise with Galla.
Twenty wild elephants were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. Noticeable was an eighteen-month old baby with its mother. The orphans settled for the morning lucerne then shortly later were joined by two wild bulls. Mteto engaged Ndiwa in a pushing game that ended in a draw while Namalok played with Sapalan.
The orphans had a quiet morning concentrating only on browsing up to mud bath time when Kuishi led Mapia and Malima in the first group to have their milk bottles. Fifteen wild bulls were present at mud bath, and as one bull tried to run away from another who was throwing his weight around, he accidentally knocked into Ambo who stood in his way. Ambo bellowed as he struggled to get back to his feet. His friend Jotto, who was standing close by and had been missed by inches, wasn't happy about what the wild bull had done to his friend. Ambo was fine though and soon got to his feet.
The weather was chilly and none of the orphans dared to have a mud bath. Mteto settled for a soil dusting while Olsekki warmed himself up by starting a pushing exercise with Oltaiyoni. Sapalan played with Namalok as the rest of the group headed back to the browsing field. Esampu settled to browse with Pare and later they went separate ways. The rest of the day was calm and the orphans returned back safely to the stockades in the evening.
Twenty-one wild elephants were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. As soon as the orphans settled for lucerne, three wild bulls joined them. Mapia walked down close to the water trough facing east and appeared as if he was welcoming whoever was coming for a drink. Mapia only left when a family herd that was so thirsty threatened to push him for looking at them in a suspicious way. Mapia retreated and went back to join his friends.
Mundusi later engaged Karisa in a pushing game while Sapalan settled to play with Pare. At mud bath time, the temperature was high, and the orphans participated fully in a wallowing exercise. They were then joined by Mutara’s group with Chaimu and Kilaguni. After having enough of wallowing, the orphans had a dust bath and thereafter headed back out to browse. In the evening, thirty-five wild elephants showed up for water at the stockade compound and left at their own pleasure when they had enough water.
Olare’s group joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne feeding. Mapia, who loves scratching against the stockade compound wall, started his day activities by scratching his bottom up against the wall. Three wild bulls came for water and were joined by the orphans briefly before the orphans left for browsing. Malkia settled to browse with Tusuja while Rapa invited Galla for a pushing game. Galla declined and went on with his business of browsing.
At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate and the orphans just had their milk bottles and some water without swimming. Later Bomani got distracted and decided to climb on Tusuja, something that annoyed Barsilinga for some reason. Barsilinga came running and pushed Bomani off from Tusuja. In the evening, Malkia, Ndiwa, Kuishi, Mapia, Mundusi and Sana Sana dodged the Keepers and followed Olare’s group who brought them back to the stockade early before five o'clock, the normal time for returning back for the night.
Ex-orphan Rapsu, who was among several wild elephants that reported for water early in the morning today, joined the orphans for lucerne. When the orphans finished the lucerne, Rapsu went back to join his wild friends, while Malkia led the way out. It was a quiet morning as the orphans went about their browsing business without playing any games. At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate, and the orphans joined twenty wild bulls that were drinking water, without swimming. In the afternoon, the orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill where they browsed calmly until evening. Fifty-two wild bulls showed up for water at the stockade compound and later left when they were done.
It was a very cold morning with the dependent orphans having their milk and coming out of their stockades to feed on lucerne. Enkikwe’s leg was treated as usual before he came out to join the others. He found them busy feeding on lucerne with Ambo carrying some extra lucerne on his head while still feeding. Malima started scratching her neck on the fence wall and later the whole group walked out to the bush to browse.
In the bush, Tusuja was scratching his neck on a tree stump with Sapalan on another tree beside him. Maramoja browsed on leaves high in a tree as it is still quite dry in the area. The orphans later walked to the mud bath for their noon milk bottles. It was cloudy and they didn’t feel like playing in the water so they slowly filtered out to the bush again to browse. It’s very dry around and the orphans walked a long way today to make sure they had enough food.
A group of wild bulls came to drink water this evening at the stockade compound. Rapsu also appeared alone to drink some water.
It was a beautiful sunny and busy morning at the stockades, as the orphans were visited by a big group of wild elephants and some of the ex-orphans. Amongst the ex-orphans was Orwa, Bomani, Kilaguni and Chaimu, who are all part of Mutara’s group. Orwa came over to scratch his back along the wall, whilst Jotto was busy scratching his face on a large rock. The orphans finished their morning Lucerne pellets and then made their way out into the field, leaving the wild bulls and ex-orphans at the stockade water trough.
Out in the bush, it is still very dry and all the orphans were busy browsing. Mundusi was scratching his back leg on a tree stump and the rest started walking to the mud bath.
At the mud bath there was a slight wind and therefore the orphans didn’t feel like swimming, but they had their bottles of milk and walked back to the bush to browse .They had a good evening browse and later walked back home for their evening bottles. We had also few wild bulls in the stockade this evening who came to drink water.
At the water trough this morning we had a wild herd of elephant’s drinking water with a 10 month old baby. They drank water and then walked away. The orphans had their Lucerne and then walked out to browse.
Lemoyian, Barsilinga, Namalok, Malkia and Maramoja browsed separately from the group. Lemoyian walked up to Naseku to chat to her and the two started browsing together. Maramoja was enjoying browsing on a thick green bush. Mutara's group later arrived to join the dependent orphans. Kanjoro started playing with Garzi. Malkia met with Karisa and they started browsing together. The group later headed to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
After the orphans had their milk at noon, they walked straight out to the bush to browse again without stopping for a swim. It is still dry and they don’t want to waste any time – we can see them peeling bark from trees and looking for all the green vegetation they can .They were all busy the whole afternoon and we watched Oltaiyoni stretching high to reach the green leaves from trees.
Today we had a big group of wild bulls in the at the stockade compound who came to drink water before leaving again.
It was a fantastic day this morning after we were visited by different wild elephant herds who came to drink water. The orphans had their breakfast and rushed to eat the Lucerne laid out for them by the Keepers. The Lucerne is very important to them as it’s very dry out in the bush now. The wild elephants enjoyed the water at the stockade water trough for a long time. Buffalo’s came to join the wild elephants drinking there too. Kuishi was scratching her bottom and neck on the rocks. Mapia came to join her and they greeted the wild elephants as they waved their trunks at them and smelled them. Lemoyian shared some food with Karisa, and when they were done the orphans walked out to browse for the day.
Enkikwe browsed on his own while Mundusi tackled a stick and tried to peel all the bark from it to eat. Turkwel was comfortably browsing with the milk dependent orphans and enjoys staying with them.
At the noon milk feed, the orphans again only had their milk bottles and some water before walking straight back out to browse. They started browsing immediately as it's dry and they walked far in search of food; they have no time to waste. Malkia was browsing with Sana Sana and was flapping her ears as she enjoyed the breeze from a wind that was stirring. Later in the afternoon just before 5pm, the group walked back home for their evening milk bottles.
At the stockade today, we had a group of wild elephants who had a baby among them; they drank water and walked away. It’s dry and the wild elephants are drinking a lot of water in one go before they move on.
Olare’s group joined the orphans in the morning and they all shared Lucerne together before heading out to browse. On the way, Kamok had a brief pushing game with Kauro that didn't last for long as Kauro decided to surrender and return to browse on the trees around him. The sun was shining bright and this didn't deter the orphans from carrying on with their browsing activities. They kept moving from one shade to another due to the scorching sun.
At mud bath time, despite being a hot day, the orphans just had their milk bottles and then some water before walking back out to the bush. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans settled to browse south of Kalovoto which is quite a distance from the stockade compound, making the orphans a little late to return to the compound, by about half an hour.
The orphans left the stockade early as usual and settled for Lucerne. Thirty five wild elephants were drinking water at the stockade water troughs as Mutara and her group arrived and walked straight to join the orphans to feed on Lucerne. Ambo settled to feed close to Sapalan and tried to pick what Sapalan was intending to feed on. Sapalan wasn't happy about that and warned Ambo by stretching his trunk towards him. Ambo listened since he didn't want to run into trouble with Sapalan.
Later on, Sapalan and Namalok had a brief strength testing exercise that ended when Namalok decided to surrender. At mud bath time, only a few wild bulls showed up. The orphans left immediately after having their milk and some water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and browsed quietly up until five o'clock in the evening when the Keepers took them back to the stockades.
It was a quiet morning when the orphans left the stockade and settled to feed on Lucerne. Kauro and Kamok entwined their trunks in morning greetings. Once the Lucerne session was over, Kauro led the way to the water trough where the orphans had enough water before heading off for browsing. Esampu came across a big rock that she used to scratch her neck. Sapalan loves playing with Namalok and had a strength testing exercise with him that went for nearly twenty minutes. Enkikwe settled to browse with Malkia as the rest of the group scattered all over the place.
At mud bath time, the orphans had the venue to themselves since there were no other wild elephants there. After mud bath, Garzi and Turkwel found some useful rocks that they used to scratch their buttocks on. Namalok resumed his pushing game with Sapalan. Later, Turkwel left with Garzi, Kithaka, Lemoyian and Barsilinga. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where the jovial Naseku spent some time soil dusting.
It was a busy morning with several wild elephants reporting for water. The orphans, as usual, settled for Lucerne and waited for the bulls to leave to go and have water. After the wild elephants had enough water and left, the orphans walked down and occupied the water troughs to have a good long drink of water. Later, the orphans settled to browse south of the stockade. On the way to the mud bath, the orphans were joined by Kilaguni. The mud bath was short as the orphans had their milk, a short mud bath, dust bath and then returned back to browsing. Olsekki, who was the last one at the water trough, was joined by four wild bulls. The brave Olsekki took his time in drinking water then scratched against the acacia tree in front of the wild bulls before walking to join his friends who had already left. It was quite hot in the afternoon and the orphans decided to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree and later resumed browsing.
Orwa, Narok and Bomani joined the orphans for Lucerne breakfast in the morning. Shortly later, the three ex-orphans accompanied the Ithumba milk-dependent orphans out to browse. Mundusi and Pare had a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time before it was brought to an end by Bomani who walked towards them and pushed the two boys away. Later, Wanjala had a brief chat with Bomani but it wasn't clear as to what the two were talking about.
At mud bath, the orphans had their noon milk bottles and didn’t want to swim because of the temperature. In the afternoon, the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree. In the evening, Sana Sana led the way back to the stockades.
Six wild bulls were relaxing outside the stockade compound when the orphans were let out this morning. The orphans settled for Lucerne and left soon after finishing. Rapa had a strength testing exercise with Wanjala while Barsilinga tackled Garzi. On the way, the orphans met a buffalo and this made some of them really hyper, charging and trumpeting in a bid to scare the poor animal away. Roi led the team who were charging at the buffalo, which also included her friends Galla, Naseku, Esampu, Mteto, Rapa and Pare. The buffalo stood and watched but then got tired of watching the orphans charging and so left, making the charging orphans think that they had won.
At mud bath time, only five wild bulls were present and as usual, the Ithumba babies decided not to swim. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse on the western slopes of Ithumba Hill and browsed up to five o'clock in the evening when the Keepers walked them back to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning with only two wild bulls visiting for water. The orphans as usual settled for Lucerne and shortly later joined one of the wild bulls to drink water before leaving for browsing.
Mteto started a game of rolling on the ground and shortly later, she was joined by Wanjala, Esampu, Ndiwa and Tusuja. Enkikwe, who couldn't roll on the ground like them due to the injury inflicted on his leg by a lion more than a year ago, knelt down and used his trunk to soil dust.
At mud bath time, seven wild bulls were present. The orphans had their milk bottles then joined the wild bulls to drink water before Esampu led them to mud bath. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the mud bath and remained together in a group unlike other days when they scatter all over the place to feed. The orphans enjoyed feeding up to five o'clock in the evening when they all walked back to the stockade for the night.