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A couple of junior wild bulls joined the orphan herd this morning. One of the bulls tried his luck with Sonje, trying to climb on her, but Jasiri and Ngasha were quick to join forces and chase him off. Then Faraja, Alamaya, and Mwashoti joined in on the chase, making it into a game. The Keepers were glad to see the two rivals, Jasiri and Ngasha, come together and successfully protect their friends. The older girls celebrated and showed their joy after the bull was chased away. The orphans were left in peace to browse undisturbed.

In the afternoon, Kiasa, Enkesha, and Quanza walked up front, leading the herd to the mud bath. Once they got to the mud bath, they decided the water was too cold, and they no longer wanted to go swimming. The other orphans agreed, and the mud bath remained quiet with no activities.

Osama came back for a visit today, after a long time away. While the orphans were having their midday bottle feed, a huge bull appeared from the bush. The Keepers tried to keep the bull away while the orphans finished their milk, but the bull had his own tricks, and he managed to invade the orphan herd while they were still having their bottles. The Keepers then recognised Osama.

Once Enkesha had finished her bottle, she moved over to Mwana and tried to lead her off to the mud bath, but the Keepers and Murera stopped her, worried about how Osama would react. Then Osama started moving to where Mwana was standing. The Keepers decided to move everyone away from Osama so that they were a safe distance away in case he became aggressive. He kept following the herd, trying to get all the smells of the older girls, including Sonje. 

Alamaya and Mwashoti decided that they would go and talk to Osama on behalf of the orphan herd. They must have been persuasive, as Osama stopped following the orphan herd. The Keepers were very surprised to see that Mwana had no fear. She wanted to go and greet the huge bull.

Kiasa, Enkesha, and Quanza moved off together, leaving Mwana feeding with her mother. Zongoloni came through the bushes just as the orphan herd was leaving the stockades. Sonje followed closely behind, she came crashing through the bushes, breaking branches, and trumpeting loudly to make sure everyone knew she was coming, and they should wait for her.

Murera stopped Mwana from feeding and started to walk away, to join Enkesha, Kiasa, and Quanza in the Kenzili area. Mwana was not happy about this; she ran along her mother, still trying to feed. Mwana must have hurt Murera, as Murera got angry and forcefully stopped Mwana feeding. Mwana was annoyed about this; she jumped from her mother to Sonje, to Lima Lima, then to Zongoloni, looking for attention.

Zongoloni brought her wild friends back to the stockades early this morning. The Keepers believe she brought them to see little Mwana, so they would understand why she is always drawn back to the orphan herd. Zongoloni faces great competition for Mwana's affection, notably from Kiasa, Enkesha, Sonje, and the others. If Zongoloni wasn’t a frequent visitor, Mwana would not depend on her or trust her. Thus, Zongoloni must be present every day.

Kiasa and Lima Lima allowed Zongoloni to spend some time with Mwana. However, Zongoloni then got greedy and took things too far, taking Mwana away and preventing Kiasa from following. Kiasa was very irritated by Zongoloni's behaviour.

Enkesha knew it was time to intervene. She moved over to where Murera was enjoying the mud bath and informed her of Zongoloni’s behaviour. Murera became very upset and went to retrieve her baby. She kept Mwana close for the remainder of the day.

The orphans chose to head to the Chyulu area for browsing. Amali and Kapei led the herd confidently at the front. They walked briskly without taking breaks, prompting Sonje and Quanza to intervene. Sonje blocked the path, causing Amali and Kapei to halt. They waited for Murera and Mwana to catch up. Mwashoti and Alamaya doubled back to walk with Murera and keep her company.

Murera was scratching herself with a stick when she noticed Kiombo eyeing her stick. However, Murera understood that allowing Kiombo to take her stick could spark a conflict among the junior bulls, so she did not permit him to do so.

Mwana grew very warm and requested to return to the mud bath to cool off. Mwana, known as the swimming star, was the first to enter the water. Kiasa and Enkesha swiftly joined in the wallowing. Kiasa spotted a crocodile at the mud bath's edge, leading the orphans to trumpet and splash water at it. Feeling threatened, the crocodile hastily left the mud bath. The orphans savoured the remainder of their mud bath without the threat of the crocodile.

Osama returned today. He watched the orphan herd from the Umani Hills, focusing on the older girls and trying to gauge their interest without getting into trouble with the Keepers. After some time, Osama came down to join Sonje. She happily accepted his presence and did not run away from him. Quanza, standing next to Sonje, was still unsure of him and she moved away.

Jasiri, Ngasha, Faraja, and Mwashoti were all standing guard, feeling protective of Sonje. They were ready to defend Sonje if needed. Osama felt the tension and walked away towards the Chyulu area. Amali got confused and almost followed the bull away. Enkesha quickly brought her back to the herd, convincing her that she should stay with the orphan herd instead of following Osama and getting lost.

Kiombo and Maktao were play-fighting and testing each other’s strength. Then the game turned into a serious fight. Maktao pushed Kiombo forcefully, sending him flying backwards onto the ground. Instead of stopping, Maktao went to push Kiombo while he was still down. Mwashoti and Alamaya sympathised with Kiombo, and they stepped in to separate the two young boys and spare a serious fight. Maktao saw the older bulls and left Kiombo alone. Kiombo, feeling sorry for himself, followed Alamaya to browse.

The orphan herd later moved towards the Chyulu area for better forage. Some wild friends moved past the orphans. The wild herd was very friendly; they were not aggressive towards the babies or the Keepers.

After a long day of browsing, the orphans got hot and tired. They were all ready to cool off in the mud bath. Enkesha, Kiasa, and Lima Lima took the lead and brought the herd back to their usual mud bath. The Umani herd had a joyful time wallowing in the mud bath and playing lots of games.

The orphans were peacefully browsing when two bushbucks unexpectedly crossed right in the middle of the orphan herd. The serene environment was disrupted, and the orphans scattered. All the orphans ran in opposite directions; they just kept running and would not listen to the Keepers’ calls. Sonje and the older girls were particularly defiant. The Keepers decided to leave them charging around and trumpeting until they eventually calmed down. The bushbucks were long gone; they had run far away from the hostile herd.

Murera and Mwana had gone off in a separate direction, and now they had lost Sonje and the rest of the herd. Murera started trumpeting, calling for Sonje, Quanza, and Zongoloni. The girls heard Murera and went to find her.

By the time the orphans were eventually back together, the day had become very hot and the orphans were feeling the heat. They were ready for a mud bath. Enkesha and Kiasa led the babies and the rest of the herd to the waterhole. The whole Umani herd joined in the mud bath and had a fun time playing and swimming together.

Mwana is very smart; she is learning lots of things from her Umani family. Today she picked up a stick with her little trunk to scratch herself, like she has seen her mother doing. Then she saw Kiasa scratching on a rock, so Mwana dropped the stick and started scratching her tiny bum on a rock. It was quite a funny sight because the rock was too big. Once Kiasa had finished scratching, Mwana followed her to where Enkesha and Amali were rolling in the dust. Kapei, who never misses a trick, commandeered Mwana’s stick.

Mwana started rumbling for her mother. Murera heard her baby and came running, thinking someone was picking on her. When Murera got to Mwana, she found that nothing was wrong; Mwana was just testing her mother’s reaction and wanted her attention. Murera fed Mwana to make her feel loved and safe.

Ngasha was chasing Zongoloni, but nobody knew why. Zongoloni ran to the mud bath to escape Ngasha. She went straight into the water, but Ngasha followed. Then the whole orphan herd got into the mud bath and had a fun time playing. The fight between Zongoloni and Ngasha was forgotten.

The orphans were joyful this morning. As soon as they were let out of their stockades, Kiasa, Enkesha, and the other nannies went to collect Mwana. After a long night of feeding and being with Mwana, Murera deserved a break. Mwana’s nannies took her a short distance away, so Murera could rest and eat pellets in peace. 

Mwashoti and Ngasha came back from their night out. They tried to join the herd, but Ngasha was stopped by Jasiri and Faraja. They chased Ngasha away from the herd to give everyone a peaceful day. Kapei and Amali had their own disagreement today. Amali was scratching on a stump, then Kapei had the same urge to scratch. They could not share the same scratching post, so they started pushing each other. Mwashoti was the peacemaker; he came and intervened.

Following the very sad passing of Patrick, there is still a lot of sorrow and mourning. The Umani herd has not yet regained its joy. As the orphans were let out of the stockades, Sonje and Lima Lima appeared from the bushes. The orphans did not stop to eat at the pellet corner; instead, they moved out straight away, which was unusual.

Enkesha was teaching Mwana fun games of charging at the bushes. Mwana is not as fast or as strong as Enkesha, so she accidentally fell over. Her nannies all came running to help her up. Kiasa was the first one there, helping pull Mwana up. Amali also went to find out what was happening, but it was too crowded for her to see Mwana. Murera came over and pushed through the other girls, grabbing Mwana and moving her away from the chaos.

The orphans were all browsing in the Kenzili area when Mwashoti appeared and went straight to Murera and Amali. They were resting under a tree as Mwana fed. The orphan herd patiently waited for Mwana to finish before they moved on.

Lima Lima, Sonje, and Quanza were the leaders today. Enkesha also helped, practising her skills for being a matriarch. The orphan herd lined up, ready to head out into the forest; they were all very amenable and organised this morning.

The herd met Alamaya down the path. He let out a very funny sounding trumpet in greeting. Amali and Kiasa mistook his noise for a warning and went running back to Sonje and Murera for protection.

Further into the forest, Lima Lima and Kapei spotted a wild herd with tiny babies. Lima Lima, as usual, was fascinated by the wild babies and she went over to meet them. Kapei followed her, and Kiasa led Amali over, too. The wild babies quickly went to hide behind their mothers. The wild herd was very protective of their calves, and the mothers moved forward to usher the orphans away. They were especially worried that Lima Lima and Sonje would steal their babies.