However, Twiggy also likes to be everywhere and anywhere. She makes her own schedule and links up with different orphan groups throughout the day. She knows where everyone will be, and when, and is always punctual for mud bath or milk feeds — even though she doesn't partake in them. The Keepers are used to having a tall giraffe materialise out of nowhere, perfectly on schedule for whatever is taking place!

This month, Chamboi seemed to be her preferred friend. She and the stout rhino make an unusual but perfectly complementary pair — one tall, one short, but both stolid in character. Twiggy joined Chamboi for many jaunts on the airstrip and quietly observed his mud baths and afternoon naps. Twiggy is also a great fan of Toto, Korbessa, Mwinzi, and Natibu. It is quite a sight to see a towering giraffe amongst a quartet of elephants barrelling in for their milk bottles, standing tall and calm, not blinking an eye at the frenzy going on around her!

Chamboi adores his somewhat-new duplex stockade. We can understand why: It is large and very comfortable, with plenty of space for evening snacking and sleeping, with an elevated bunk for his Keeper. In the morning, the young rhino often stands outside for a good while, surveying Kaluku like king of the castle, before finally plodding after his Keeper.

Chamboi's stockade also gives him plenty of room for his middens. Black rhinos are surprisingly fastidious creatures and create specific dung piles where they regularly defecate. In the wild, these serve as 'communication stations' that convey a rhino's age, sex, and even breeding cycle to other rhinos, helping them establish a territory. At just 23 months old, it will be a long time before Chamboi is ready to establish a territory of his own, but it is fascinating to see this instinctive behaviour kick in at such a young age.

It's getting very dry in Tsavo, which meant that Chamboi enjoyed his mud baths even more than usual. He likes to find a nice, Chamboi-sized pile of earth and stands atop, scratching the bottom of his tummy on the top. Then, he waits expectantly for his Keepers to toss shovelfuls of soft earth on his body, which sends him skipping and throwing his head back in pure enjoyment.

It was a lovely month for our Kaluku elephants. Korbessa remains as bossy and confident as ever, despite being the smallest of the four and the only girl. She loves her new bedroom, sandwiched between Toto and Twiggy — not least because she now has two neighbours to pinch branches from! Toto quickly cottoned onto Korbessa's stealing tendencies and now diligently moves any branch firmly out of her little trunk's reach.

We have noticed that Toto and Korbessa adore snuggling. If one sees the other resting during the day, they immediately trundle over and plop down beside them, lying head to head. Korbessa lovingly caresses Toto's face with her trunk, not unlike a mother soothing her baby. It's so sweet and so obvious to see how much they care about each other.

Natibu and Mwinzi's love language isn't quite so affectionate. They can often be found sparring playfully, just like bulls of their age are wont to do. Natibu remains fixated on proving his position as the dominant boy — never mind that he is actually the youngest boy and definitely not the strongest! However, his determination works in his favour — he never stands down from a challenge.

In reality, it's no contest: Plump Mwinzi is our Kaluku herd's dominant bull. He was rescued from Amboseli, and as is common amongst elephants from that ecosystem, he is shaping up to be very big. However, he never throws his weight around and is always calm, cool, and polite. He is happiest when browsing, diligently stripping bark off branches for hours at a time.

Our tiny new girl, who we rescued in May, is settling in well. Neonates are a great challenge, but our Keepers are working day and night to give her everything she needs. She is an incredibly intelligent, joyful little elephant and we are very happy with her progress thus far.

Apollo the Orphaned Black Rhino

Apollo may look stoic, but he has a delightful penchant for mischief. One afternoon, he spent a long time wallowing in the mud bath. It was only later that the Keepers realised he had sneakily detached the radio transmitter, leaving it several metres away!

July is our coldest month, so Apollo has been skipping his routine mud baths unless it is notably bright and hot. Instead, he retreats to one of the makeshift burrows he's carved out in the bush, where he rests for hours at a time in the shade. Apollo enjoys the cooler weather and is never in a hurry to come back to the stockades in the evenings. Black rhinos are most active at night, so it's little surprise that he eschews an early bedtime. However, he ambles back at his own time, tempted home by the prospect of milk bottles and a soft bed of hay to rest upon.

Apollo is now at Rhino Base in Tsavo East National Park.