Our Umani grandbabies do not receive milk bottles — they get all the milk they need from their mothers, like any other wild elephant — but they still like to join the dependent herd's daily dash for their bottles. When they see the others start to run, tiny babies Lenny, Zigi, and Sulwe race as if they were all to be bottle-fed. Lenny, who is just as competitive as his mother, Lima Lima, usually emerges the victor.
Jasiri and his close wild friend came to visit the babies while all were still near the stockades in the early morning. They found the other elephants still around but almost making their way back into the bushes to start their day. When Jasiri was spotted by Murera, she made a little rumble to call Mwana to join her, as she was preparing to avoid Jasiri and his friend. Mwana heard her mother calling and moved over, but when Amali and Kiasa saw Mwana heading to Murera, the other babies teamed up with her, leaving Jasiri and his friend alone. All the orphans then walked away to be with Murera, who called them. Jasiri tried to follow, but his wild bull friend later walked over to him, and the Keepers saw Jasiri stop following Murera’s group. They left for Umani Springs. Though Jasiri was unhappy with his friend’s decision to stop following the orphans’ herd, he had to obey his friend’s orders. This was a relief to Murera and her group, who were against Jasiri joining them.
Amali and Kiasa displayed stiff competition over Zigi. Both little girls wanted Zigi on their side. Kiasa had been Zigi’s keeper overnight, but Amali now wanted to be his keeper. This competition forced Amali to leave and go after Lenny, after she was outmatched by Kiasa’s strength.
At midday bottle feeding, Amali, Lima Lima, and Kiasa all came running for bottles. This made the little babies—Lenny, Zigi, and Sulwe—compete as if they were all to be bottle-fed. It was a good running exercise, and Lenny won the race, with Lima Lima close behind.
It was very cold in the morning, and the babies felt the cold, as did the Keepers. Sonje and Faraja had a disagreement when Faraja tried to get behind Sonje to smell her from the back. Sonje felt disrespected and took it as a serious slight, so she left the herd with her baby Sulwe. Sonje thought Faraja should respect her and Murera, as both are matriarchs, especially since Faraja and his friend Jasiri had been “night clubbing” and were not showing respect to the head females. This is why both Sonje and Murera kept their distance from those two boys.
When the Keepers arrived with the orphans for the afternoon milk feeding, a few babies walked to the waterhole to drink, but none was ready to take a mud bath. Enkesha and Mwashoti put their trunks in the water but found it too cold for wallowing. However, Lenny challenged everyone by jumping into the water, which was covered with water lilies. Enkesha, who thought it was too cold to swim, eventually joined after seeing Lenny in the mud bath with his tiny head floating among the lilies.
After the water, the babies teamed up and headed to the dust pile, where Murera was already asleep on the dust, followed by her baby Mwana, who then woke up and climbed to the top of the dust hill, showing everyone how big a girl she was today.
Umani seems to be blessed with many kinds of wild animals at this time, making their way to the Umani Springs in search of water. Some wild elephants mingled with the orphans, including a group that had little babies about the same age as Lenny and Sulwe. This brought some confusion to the Keepers, who had a hard time identifying the three little orphans among the wild babies. But Zigi was brave — he easily identified his mother. Then Lenny did the same, walking over to where Murera and Amali were browsing by the side of the herd.
Amali later changed course and followed Kiasa and Enkesha, who were walking with Sonje. Meanwhile, Kapei and Maktao were welcomed by one of their wild bull friends, who seemed to want their company back in the Kibwezi Forest. The wild bull group began trying to chase Quanza, but Quanza dodged them and made it clear she wasn’t interested — she wanted to be left alone. Only Kapei and Maktao joined the bulls for a walk toward Chyulu.
However, when one of the old bulls tried touching and smelling Kapei, it startled him so much he ran away faster than anyone expected. He returned quickly to join Zongoloni and Lima Lima, clearly no longer interested in spending time with the disrespectful wild bulls. He left Maktao behind with the group.
From a distance, the Keepers watched as Sonje gathered the orphans and gently persuaded them to group together and move away from the wild herd. Together, they made their way back home.
The morning was especially cold, and both Murera and her Keepers seemed to be feeling the chill. When the Keepers spotted Murera trying to leave her room, she hesitated and turned back inside. Mwana, however, didn’t seem to mind the cold — she quickly joined Amali, ready to start the day.
When Enkesha and Amali noticed that the nightclubbers hadn’t returned that morning, they were visibly disappointed. They had hoped to see the little babies and the rest of the team. Enkesha raised her trunk high above her head, and Amali followed suit — both girls were trying to catch a scent to locate where the others had gone.
Soon, sharp little Amali began trumpeting as she marched into the forest, with Enkesha following close behind to help her. After about an hour of searching, they found Lima Lima and Sonje with the little babies and walked them back to where the Keepers were gathered with the others.
When they reunited with Murera and Mwana’s group, the air filled with loud trumpeting and celebration. The elephants were clearly overjoyed to be together again. They then all walked to Chyulu to browse as one family.
Later, Jasiri arrived with a large wild herd — they had brought many wild friends, almost double the size of the orphans’ group. Faraja joined in, bouncing over to meet the others. But once Murera saw Jasiri and Faraja already within the herd, she stepped back and quietly moved away with Mwana. She wasn’t comfortable around the wild bulls who had come with them.
Quanza soon joined, and the two head girls stayed close to Murera and kept their distance, leaving Kapei and the other boys to play their pushing games with the wild friends.
This lovely morning began with all the nightclubbers reporting in very early, waiting for the other orphans to come out with Murera and Enkesha. Murera and Enkesha found Lima Lima and her team already gathered by the gate, waiting for the Keepers to bring them pellets. The nightclubbers had already recognised the familiar sound of the wheelbarrow — when Lima Lima and Zongoloni heard the creaking of the wheels, they knew the pellets were on the way. This caused a bit of pushing and shoving as the herd scrambled for position even before the pellets were released.
Kapei and Quanza didn’t wait for the Keeper to spread the pellets for everyone — in his usual greedy fashion, Kapei plunged his trunk straight into the wheelbarrow to scoop out pellets. But he wasn’t lucky; before he could run off with his loot, Mwashoti cornered him, prompting Kapei to flee into the bushes for safety.
Jasiri, Faraja, and Alamaya also arrived and appeared to enjoy spending time with the orphans. However, Murera, with Mwana and Kiasa, quietly moved away. Soon after, Zongoloni and Lima Lima joined them, leaving the older boys to socialise on their own.
At the dust pile, Mwana tried to convince Lenny and Sulwe to follow her to the top. Sulwe didn’t take part, but Lenny and Zigi followed Mwana and climbed up the dust hill, rubbing their bellies in the dust. Lenny even climbed on top of Mwana in play, while Mwashoti lay asleep on the slope nearby.
This afternoon, a herd of wild elephants approached and paused at the side of the clearing, appearing to assess how they might join the orphans. One of the wild bulls in the group began sniffing around and picked up the scent of the Keepers among the orphans. Once he realised the Keepers were present, the wild bull backed off. At the same time, Sonje and her team also began backing away, choosing not to interact with the herd.
Maktao and his close friend Kapei, however, decided to approach the wild herd. They soon found themselves in trouble. The wild elephants — particularly those around their age — were not welcoming. One of Maktao’s wild age-mates chased him away from the group. When Kapei tried to assist, more members of the wild herd emerged and pushed both boys out. Kapei let out a loud trumpet as they searched for a way to retreat safely.
The Keepers quickly intervened, calling all the orphans to regroup at Chyulu, wanting to move everyone away from the increasingly agitated wild herd. Murera followed the Keepers’ lead. However, just as things seemed to be settling, an eland unexpectedly crossed through the bushes where the orphans were walking. The eland startled the group, disrupting the calm again. Soon after, a bushbuck followed the same path, and the combined surprise sent the orphans into disarray.
The Keepers had a difficult time gathering everyone, as the frightened orphans scattered and began trumpeting and charging at the trees around them. Fortunately, Lima Lima, Zongoloni, Kiasa, and Quanza were the first to regroup with the Keepers. That made it easier to locate Murera and Mwana, and eventually, everyone reunited and made their way back home after what had turned into a tense and challenging afternoon.
Ziwa reported today at the stockade for lucerne, and when he spotted his Keepers, Ziwa stopped eating and walked to the fenceline where a Keeper was standing, calling out to him. He thought the Keeper was carrying pellets, which is why he left the lucerne and approached with his head raised high, pleading to be given something special. When he realised the Keeper didn’t have anything for him, he returned to the lucerne and continued eating before the other orphans arrived.
Then we heard movement in the bushes from the Umani Springs—it sounded like large animals making their way to the lucerne. After a few minutes, it was Lima Lima and her team arriving. A group from a wild herd also came along to join Ziwa at the lucerne feeding area. One of the young wild boys approached Mwashoti, who then called his friend to help chase the wild boy away. Faraja stepped in, and it became two against one until the boy retreated.
The wild herd later took over the space, forcing Sonje and her team to move off towards the stockade water trough. After a while, the wild herd also departed into the bushes, leaving Lima Lima, Quanza, and Kiasa to return and enjoy the leftover lucerne left behind. Ziwa was not left behind—one of the wild herd’s head females came back for him and positioned him in the middle of the group, ensuring he was fully part of the herd and wouldn’t remain with the ex-orphan group.
Quanza then led Sulwe and Zigi to their mothers, making sure they didn’t get confused and follow the wild herd. She was quick-thinking and made certain all the little babies remained safe under her watch, leaving Zongoloni and Lima Lima without any need to search for them.
Faraja and Mwashoti walked to the water trough close to the lodge cottage to drink clean water. The Keepers were some distance away and did not see their movement. After drinking, Faraja saw a baboon sitting on the lawn and blew his trumpet to chase him away—he didn’t want him sitting there. Mwashoti also joined to help with the situation, but the baboon tricked them and disappeared into the forest as they were still trying to track him down. They kept charging into the bushes, which attracted other orphans to start following them to help, but in the end, they failed to find the baboon. He was now watching them from the treetops.
Enkesha and Quanza were focused on keeping the little babies from wandering too far. Sulwe and Lenny, in support of Mwana, helped by blowing their little trumpets. Sulwe charged but missed her target while running and ended up bumping into Amali, who was standing in front next to Sonje. Sulwe had hit her foot on a rock and rumbled as she tried to find her way back to her mother. Amali then escorted her to where Zigi and Zongoloni were also playing around Murera.
At the waterhole, the orphans arrived after their games in the bushes looking for the baboons. They looked tired and thirsty. Kapei and his friend tested the water with their trunks under the water lilies and found it was cold. Later, Murera, Enkesha, and Sonje decided the babies must swim, and it was Lenny who opened the swimming session, which soon attracted all the orphans to join. Kapei and his friend initially ignored swimming, but eventually, half the herd joined in.
Since Faraja and Mwashoti reunited with the orphans, they have continued teaming up with the Nightclubber group and reported back with them this morning. Faraja looked humbled in front of the Keepers, but when one Keeper looked away, he acted poorly towards little Mwana — prompting Murera to raise her concerns. A Keeper quickly picked up on the noise Murera was making and went straight over to separate Faraja from the girls, as he was not playing gently with the little ones. Murera was clearly unhappy. As soon as Faraja spotted the Keeper shouting, he knew he might be in trouble and wisely moved away.
Mwashoti, on the other hand, was warmly welcomed by Murera and the other mothers, who were still pleased to have him around. He remained calm and friendly with the younger babies, unlike Faraja and Jasiri, who often cause trouble when they join the orphans.
Sonje moved aside to allow Sulwe to nurse, after several persistent demands. At first, Sonje tried to ignore her daughter, but Sulwe insisted until Sonje stopped and allowed her to feed. Meanwhile, Lenny was denied any nursing by Murera, who seemed to feel it was time for him to stop. But Lenny was relentless, screaming and begging as Murera firmly held her ground.
The waterhole was full of fun when Quanza and Zigi splashed around. When Quanza went down to swim, Zigi tried to claim the same spot. With Quanza already using it, Sonje had to step aside to give Zigi the space he was demanding.
Ziwa and his wild friends came in the afternoon to visit his orphan friends. However, his wild companions — mostly older girls — didn’t give Ziwa much chance to linger. They waited patiently for him to finish his visit, but when they noticed he was taking too long, one of the lead females made sure they left with Ziwa, not allowing him to stay behind.
Later, after the Keepers finished lunch and delayed in joining the orphans, Lima Lima was seen walking back, trying to get their attention. She clearly wanted them to return to the orphans, who were now further into the Chyulu Hills. The Keepers chuckled, then followed Lima Lima and her baby Lenny into the forest, where they found Sonje and Sulwe near Zigi, who was fast asleep. Upon spotting him, Sulwe climbed on him to wake him up. Zigi quickly got up and went to Kiasa, who had been entrusted by Zongoloni as the only one, besides his mother, to care for him. Zigi was not encouraged to socialise with any other babies beyond Kiasa.
When a wild bull elephant arrived, the atmosphere among the orphans quickly changed. Quanza and Enkesha were the first to spot the bulls, and the other orphans sensed their presence immediately. Murera, having caught the scent, quietly moved away with Mwana to avoid any encounter. She knew she might become a target and wasn’t ready for that kind of attention.
The wild bulls lost their chance as Zongoloni and Lima Lima swiftly took off with their babies toward the Keepers, escaping the encounter. Disappointed, the bulls wandered away with Kapei and Maktao, followed later by Mwashoti. However, by nightfall, Kapei and Maktao returned to the stockades — very late — after being left behind in the bushes by the wild bulls. Maktao helped Kapei navigate their way back home after their unexpected adventure.
Quanza today seemed unhappy with the other babies when Lima Lima and Enkesha moved around her. When Sulwe tried to get to Quanza, Enkesha blocked her way, prompting Quanza to react by pushing Enkesha. Enkesha ran to Mwashoti for safety, and after he turned against Quanza to protect her, Quanza left the place and went into hiding inside the forest. She did not stay long in the bushes before returning to be with Zigi and Zongoloni, only to find Kiasa already playing around with little Zigi, leaving Quanza without a play partner.
Meanwhile, in the forest, the Keepers heard bushes moving and big animals charging on the trees, which made them very vigilant and cautious. From a distance, they saw it was Jasiri and his wild friends entering the herd. One of the wild elephants caught the Keepers’ scent and stopped, then turned back, leaving Jasiri to join the orphans. Immediately, Murera sensed Jasiri’s presence around the herd, which made Murera and Mwana walk away.
Today, the weather was not very friendly for elephants to approach the waterhole due to the cold. Sonje stepped in and tested the water with her trunk but quickly withdrew when she realised it was too cold. Her baby Sulwe also tried with her tiny trunk but slipped into the waterhole. Sonje and the other Nannies rushed to help, and Quanza lifted Sulwe out of the waterhole. Sonje and Kiasa then helped Sulwe to safety. Once Sulwe was out, all the babies gathered around her and walked her to the dust pile to dry off. Later, the orphans walked away with her towards the Kibwezi forests.
Ziwa arrived at the lucerne feeding area with his adopted mothers and some little babies before the orphans came back to visit. Mwashoti and Faraja were the first to spot the wild herd and later identified that Ziwa was among them. When Mwashoti tried to go and greet his former colleague Ziwa, one of the female wild elephants charged at him as a warning not to cross the line or approach Ziwa. This made Mwashoti fearful, so he returned to where Sonje and Lima Lima were at the water trough, waiting to see if the wild herd would leave.
The wild herd, along with Ziwa, stayed a long time before finally moving off. During this time, Zongoloni called all the mothers—Lima Lima, Sonje, and the other nannies—to follow her as they protested the invasion of the wild elephants at their lucerne feeding place. When the Keepers saw that Lima Lima and her group were leaving but unhappy with the wild herd’s presence, they went to the store and brought bales of lucerne.
Before the Keepers could wheel the cart to the feeding area, the orphans were seen waiting. Lima Lima and Zongoloni were initially hidden, but the Keeper found them waiting close behind the fence. The Keeper then moved the wheelbarrow around the fence, while Lima Lima and Zongoloni also walked along the fence line.
Lima Lima, Zongoloni, and Kiasa pulled the bales to spread around so the babies could have their share. Zigi and Lenny enjoyed the lucerne and ended up sleeping on the hay. After the feeding, the three little babies began playing and rolling over one another. Zigi was clever—he waited for Sulwe and Lenny to get down first, then jumped on them, knowing he was the lightest baby boy.
Today, Faraja was accompanied by his fellow wild bull who stayed close to the orphans and never wanted to leave them. Murera kept her distance, fearful of him. The Keepers also stayed far away, watching him mingle with Faraja and Maktao. At one point, Maktao tried to give the wild bull some instructions to follow while with the orphans—not to disturb other mothers and their little babies. However, the wild bull gave Maktao his own medicine. The Keepers saw the bull chase Maktao a short distance away.
The bull elephants later joined the orphans at the waterhole to wallow together with all the babies in the mud bath. Young Kapei teamed up once more with his friends Maktao and Mwashoti as they walked straight toward the herd. The wild bull eventually agreed to walk away and left the babies, but he decided to come back again toward the end of the day.
Later, the Keepers joked that the wild bull could be the father of the little babies and had come today to check how his offspring were doing.
Two young wild girls came into the orphans’ group, trying to play around with the little babies. When Kiasa spotted them, she grew suspicious of their intentions. The wild girls focused their attention on Lenny, who was having his midday nap, while Zigi was with Kiasa. Sensing something wasn’t right, Kiasa moved quickly to shield the little ones from the newcomers. She rumbled, calling for backup, and Mwashoti responded to her call as a protective big brother.
Mwashoti joined Kiasa, and Quanza also noticed the girls and made her way into the herd to assist. Together, they kept the wild girls at bay. Mwashoti pushed them back into the bushes, and Kapei and Faraja joined in to help chase them off. When Kiasa reported the situation to Mwashoti, she was convinced their plan was to take Lenny and his friends away — and Kiasa was not about to let that happen under her watch.
Murera and the other mothers heard Kapei and Mwashoti were still chasing off the wild girls, prompting Murera and Sonje to call all the babies close to them. As they were gathering the little ones, a buffalo wandered towards the side where Sonje and Lima Lima were. The buffalo was caught off guard by the loud trumpets from Sonje and Lima Lima, who charged at him in unison. Alarmed by the threat, the buffalo quickly fled and disappeared into the Kibwezi Forest.
Murera is now beginning to deny Lenny and Sulwe access to her breast for nursing. Lenny had been very keen on breastfeeding from Murera, making it almost a must for him. However, when Murera is not in a good mood, she times Lenny when he goes under her chest, and today she even kicked him. Despite this, Lenny kept insisting, but Murera refused to let him nurse. Sulwe also tried her luck, but both were denied access.
Lenny was unhappy and turned away, screaming loudly as if looking for sympathy from Murera, but she stood her ground. After that, every baby went back to their own mother to nurse. Lima Lima was also tired of Lenny’s constant demands for breastfeeding and took a break, moving away from him. Both Lima Lima and Murera were worn out by his persistent demands.
Keepers said Murera was justified because her milk is drying up, and she feels pain when Lenny pulls at her breasts. Since she is now pregnant, she cannot produce more milk and needs a break from nursing, not only from Lenny but others too. Even Mwana is sometimes denied access to Murera’s breast these days. When Mwana started showing tiny tusks, Murera began to ignore her nursing attempts because the tusks hurt her breasts. Murera now sees Mwana as a big baby who needs to be weaned, especially with a new baby developing in her womb.
At the stockade water trough, the orphans were busy drinking water while Zigi and Lenny played around each other. At one point, Zigi stepped on Lenny, who was still on the ground struggling to get up. Suddenly, a bushbuck ran behind them, startling Lenny, who screamed loudly. This caused all the mothers and nannies to rush over and help. However, when they arrived, Lenny and Zigi were just wrestling, and Lima Lima, Sonje, and Quanza couldn’t see anything scary threatening the little babies.
This morning, a young wild bull—who looked to be about the same age as Maktao and had very torn ears—paid the orphans a surprise visit and didn’t want to leave anytime soon. He kept edging closer, trying to learn more about the little babies. When Sonje and Murera spotted him getting too close to Lenny and Mwana, Murera rumbled to the other boys to take a stand and chase him away. Mwashoti responded first, then called on Maktao and Kapei to help him drive off the wild boy.
Sonje and Lima Lima suspected he had a hidden motive—he seemed to be targeting the little babies, and they weren’t about to let him sneak off with one of them back to the wild herd. The girls stood firm and refused to give him any opportunity. Quanza then spoke to Kiasa, urging her to stay especially vigilant and not leave Zigi alone, lest the wild boy find an opening to sneak in. But all paths were blocked by the mothers, and there was no space left for him to penetrate the line and take a baby.
At the waterhole, the orphans came as usual, but Murera and Mwana didn’t show up. Murera skipped the midday bottle, and the extra was given to good girl and diligent nanny Amali, who always keeps a close watch when the babies are missing. She helps the Keepers a great deal by tracking down any elephants who haven't returned. When Zongoloni and the babies fail to report home, Amali is especially sharp in leading the Keepers directly to the spots where Lima Lima and her group sleep. But Amali must take the lead—only then can the Keepers find them.
Later, Murera rumbled out a call to her baby Mwana, who wasn’t visible from where Murera was standing with Mwashoti. Mwana heard the call clearly, emerged from the bushes where she had been hiding, and rushed to where her mother wanted her to be.
Mwashoti took off with two little babies, Sulwe and Lenny, taking them to the water trough. The two just decided to walk behind Mwashoti, leaving all their mothers and aunty Kiasa, who just watched and ignored them. Some minutes later, Sonje realised her baby Sulwe was not with her and decided to look around the bushes nearby, but failed to see Sulwe. She then made a lonely search for her baby — but luckily, she heard Sulwe and Lenny screaming at the water trough. She ran there and found them with Mwashoti, but Sonje did not feel good about Mwashoti. She chased him off to keep away from her baby, as she believed Mwashoti was the one who had taken Sulwe away.
Kiasa and Zigi both arrived, but Lima Lima did not come for Lenny — she took a very long time before coming for her baby.
Zongoloni then followed her baby Zigi, together with Quanza, who escorted them into the Kibwezi Forest as they went away for their night patrols until the next day. A wild herd joined them later, but both mothers were very protective of their young ones and didn’t give the wild herd any room to make away with a baby.
Behind the stockades, another wild family came for the lucerne that had been left behind by the Nightclubbers to celebrate. Jasiri was then spotted coming to join them — this was the group that mostly hangs out with Jasiri. Meanwhile, Ziwa’s family had taken about a week’s break before coming back to visit.
While the wild herd was still behind the stockades celebrating the leftover lucerne, Amali looked through her room and found her neighbour Kapei also trying to peek through the wall posts, curious about how the wild herd was doing with Jasiri. Later, Maktao also seemed to feel the same — he checked on them, then went back to his bedroom and slept.
Today, at the time of mud bath, a huge wild bull arrived ahead of the orphans, before bottle feeding time. The Keepers tried to hide, hoping to avoid being seen or smelled by the wild bull. They began calling the names of the orphans loudly, urging them to cross over and come for their bottles. When Lima Lima, Sonje, and Zongoloni heard their names, Amali pulled away from the larger orphan group, then Kapei followed, and soon all came running towards the Keepers for their bottles.
Meanwhile, the wild bull remained at the waterhole, drinking. As the Keepers distributed the bottles, Murera and her baby Mwana never came out of the bushes — Murera didn’t want the bull to spot or find her, so she skipped the midday bottles.
Lima Lima surprised the Keepers and the other babies when she suddenly ran back, leaving Lenny behind. She went straight to the wild bull and screamed very loudly, confusing everyone. The bull just looked at her and didn’t seem bothered. Seeing this, Quanza stepped in and took Lenny, who was clearly unsettled without Murera or Mwana around. Quanza walked Lenny back to his mother to give him some peace. After being reunited, he drank more milk and then returned to play with Sulwe and Zigi.
Later, Kapei cut the game short, and Amali called in Kiasa and Enkesha to come take over from Kapei and Maktao, who weren’t playing safely with the little babies. The group was heading towards where Murera was with Mwana. When Mwana spotted Amali running to meet her, both were very happy to reunite after missing each other at bottle feeding time — which caused Murera to miss her bottle today.
It’s now quite clear that Murera is in the process of weaning, and she’s beginning to deny even Mwana the opportunity to breastfeed. Murera sees that Mwana is now a grown baby and should stop nursing. Today, when Mwana tried to go under her, Murera kicked her away. She did the same to Lenny — though Lenny didn’t understand why he was being denied. But Murera had her reasons: with Mwana now a big girl and Murera expecting her second baby, she needed to stop both Mwana and Lenny from nursing in order to prepare for the new arrival, who will need milk in due time.
Kiasa and Amali made their way to where Zigi and Lenny were tussling on the ground. Zigi began to feel overwhelmed by Lenny’s weight and started screaming for help. As the older aunties, Kiasa and Amali quickly jumped in to separate the babies before anyone got hurt.
Lima Lima didn’t seem concerned about checking on her baby — she had handed over all responsibilities to the nannies and was seen by the Keepers on her own, pulling down acacia branches to eat. In contrast, Sonje and Zongoloni were fully attentive to their little ones, not allowing any distance between themselves and their babies, unlike Lima Lima and Lenny, who were quite far apart.
Kapei and Maktao seemed to be plotting a different path today. They kept away from the main herd after Sonje chased Kapei when she saw him trying to mount Sulwe. Once spotted, he was given a proper chase until he disappeared into the bushes, followed by his close friend Maktao. After this, the two kept their distance from the herd — especially from Sonje — and no one dared get too close.
A big group of wild elephants was seen arriving into the orphans’ herd. When the orphans spotted them, they could hardly believe the sheer number of wild elephants joining them. Sonje and her baby Sulwe were the first to move away, and soon all the other orphans followed suit, retreating with Sulwe — leaving only Mwashoti, Kapei, and Faraja to greet the wild arrivals.
Murera, Sonje, and the other mothers were worried they might lose their babies in the confusion, as the little ones might not be able to tell their mothers apart from the wild elephants. Kiasa and Amali made sure Lenny and Zigi stayed close to them, struggling through the crowd but determined to keep the babies safe as they led them back to Murera and Sonje.
When Murera took off toward the Keepers — who were calling them over for safety — Quanza got surrounded by a group of wild elephants. Realising she was no longer with her own group but among strangers, she screamed for help. Lima Lima rushed back to retrieve her and guide her back to the orphans.
Meanwhile, two warthogs darted across the open field, fleeing the noise and commotion of the wild herd. As they entered the bushes, they startled Amali and Enkesha, who had been resting. Frightened by the sudden movement, both elephants ran off in alarm, trumpeting and charging through the trees to scare off the intruders — making sure the warthogs didn’t come back.
At the waterhole in the afternoon, the elephants arrived looking very thirsty after all the running and chaos. After quenching their thirst, the babies jumped into the water for a cooling-off session. They kicked up the water, splashing under their bellies and swimming about. The commotion caused several turtles to scramble out of the pool — the waves stirred up by the excited elephants had tossed them out onto dry land.
This morning, the semi-wild orphans led by Sonje and Lima Lima failed to show up. Only Murera and her team of five milk-dependent orphans arrived to celebrate their morning pellet feed. Amali and Enkesha spent some time looking and sniffing around the bushes in the hope of finding the missing group, but none of them picked up the right direction. Eventually, Murera called off the search and led her group into the Kibwezi Forest to browse along the Unau Hills.
While on top of the hills, Amali caught the right scent trail after one of the babies screamed—believed to be Lenny. Amali and Enkesha ran toward the sound and, as it turned out, Amali was right. She returned with Lenny and Zigi, who followed Enkesha to rejoin Mwana.
However, when Kapei saw the little ones heading toward Mwana, who was peacefully playing in the dust with Zigi and Sulwe, he grew jealous and went over to mount on Mwana—something entirely inappropriate and uncalled for. This disrupted the peaceful moment the babies had been enjoying. Zigi, tired from play, lay down and fell asleep. When Kiasa and Amali noticed, the two attentive nannies moved quickly to surround the babies and stood guard over Zigi, allowing him to rest safely and undisturbed.
The entire herd remained under the shade, patiently waiting for the babies to wake from their nap. Once the little ones were well-rested, Sonje and Murera relocated the group to the Chyulu Hills in search of fresh greens. While there, loud trumpeting from wild elephants was heard nearby. Before long, the wild herd encountered the orphans, prompting the Keepers to call the young ones away to prevent any from being taken off by the wild elephants. Despite their efforts, Kapei and Maktao became swept up with the wild herd and wandered off with them.
Mwashoti and his close friend Faraja took Maktao and Kapei with them, forming what seemed like an all-boys outing that excluded the girls. The females were left behind to care for the babies, while the boys set off on an adventure toward the slopes of the Chyulu Hills, likely mingling with a wild herd. From a distance, the Keepers heard loud elephant trumpeting and screaming, confirming that Faraja and his group were indeed heading in that direction.
When Lima Lima and the others caught the scent of the wild herd’s commotion, she left her baby, Lenny, in Murera’s care. But Lenny became a nuisance to Murera, demanding to breastfeed when she was clearly not in the mood. Frustrated and not willing to give in, Murera left Lenny stranded. His next option was to find company in Zigi, who came over and the two played together until Amali arrived with Sulwe.
Later, Kapei returned and tried to get close to the babies again, but Enkesha stood her ground and wouldn’t allow him near. Amali also stepped in to block Zigi from getting too close to where Kapei was, reinforcing the protective barrier around the babies.
Suddenly, a group of warthogs came running through, cutting right between the orphans. The babies were caught off guard as the warthogs darted between them. Their fun was abruptly interrupted—their playful mood turned to confusion and fear, as they couldn’t make out what had passed through, only seeing dust and warthog tails disappearing into the Chyulu Hills. The young elephants ran back into the bushes, still startled by the unexpected interruption.
It was turf time for Mwashoti and Maktao after what seemed to be a disagreement between the two boys. At first, the Keepers assumed it was just playtime, but Mwashoti got too rough with his younger brother. He pushed Maktao hard, and one of his long tusks came dangerously close to Maktao’s eyes—almost poking them. Fortunately, the tusk missed, but it was too close for comfort. Sonje noticed what was happening and realised that Mwashoti had crossed the line. She stepped in immediately to stop him, and Mwashoti was shown the door, leaving Maktao alone.
That gave Maktao and Kapei the perfect excuse to change course and move away from the other babies, who were resting peacefully under the big trees within the Kibwezi Forest. Mwana was enjoying her day nap under her mother, Murera. Meanwhile, Enkesha and Kiasa seemed to be planning to lead the babies elsewhere.
As mud bath time approached, the Keepers gave their familiar whistle, and all the orphans recognised the signal. Quanza stepped out and headed towards Kiasa and Zongoloni, who had already made their way ahead. Just then, Lima Lima passed by the little ones, prompting Lenny and Sulwe to take off running, dashing straight for the bottles—as if they still had bottles to collect! Lenny reached the bottles and, in his excitement, kicked one down without a second thought.
Amali soon arrived with Zigi, who also demanded an empty bottle and kicked it away. Afterwards, Zongoloni took her baby Zigi and Mwana to the waterhole for a swim. After the mud bath, Amali climbed to the top of the dust hill, proudly watching the others from above and proving herself queen of the hill. No one followed her. Mwana later appeared from behind and cheekily threw some dust in Amali’s direction using her trunk—but Amali simply moved on, leading the rest of the orphans back to the Chyulu Hills for the remainder of the day.
Murera kept warning Lenny and Mwana that her milk was drying up. Mwana, now a big girl with small tusks, was becoming more difficult to nurse—her tusks would hurt Murera whenever she tried. This often led Murera to kick Mwana away to stop her from breastfeeding. But Mwana persisted, and today she pushed Murera too far. After ignoring several warnings, Mwana got a dose of her own medicine, as Murera lost her patience and pushed her away more firmly.
Lenny, who had been playing with Zigi, wandered over to Murera for a chance to nurse. Murera sympathised and allowed him briefly, but after a short while, she pulled away and signalled that it was time for him to stop and go browse instead. Lenny reluctantly moved on, visibly unhappy, and ended up joining Amali and Enkesha.
Meanwhile, Kiasa and Quanza set off with Zigi and Zongoloni in search of more browse. Zongoloni and Quanza spotted some acacia trees with ripe pods and stopped to shake the branches, trying to drop some pods for the little ones who couldn’t reach the tall limbs. Kapei and Maktao arrived soon after, but Kapei’s greedy nature got the better of him. He pushed in too fast, not giving Zigi and Lenny enough space to enjoy the fallen pods. Quanza wasn’t pleased and made sure Kapei was driven off, allowing the younger orphans their turn to enjoy the treat while Zongoloni continued shaking the branches.
In the evening, before heading back to the stockades, the orphans made a stop at the waterhole to cool off after the heat of the afternoon. After their mud baths, Mwashoti and Lima Lima led the way to the dust pile, where both enjoyed a long dusting session. Later, Mwashoti was seen taking a nap on top of the dust hill, clearly in no hurry to walk home.
Zongoloni arrived at the mud bath in a bad mood. She seemed particularly irritable and quickly set her sights on Maktao and Kapei—two younger bulls she apparently felt were easy targets. The two boys were unaware of what Zongoloni had in mind until she charged at them. She first went for Maktao, grabbing his tail and attempting to bite him. Then she turned on Kapei, who had been peacefully standing by the waterhole with Amali. Zongoloni chased Kapei and bit his tail, ignoring his loud screams. The keepers had to intervene quickly to rescue Kapei, prompting Zongoloni to finally back off. She ran off with her baby Zigi, joined by Kiasa, who stayed close to Zigi as always.
Later, Faraja and a group of ex-orphan friends arrived and moved on with some wild elephants toward the mud bath, where they encountered Murera and Sonje wallowing. As soon as Murera spotted the wild bull leading Faraja’s group, she promptly exited the waterhole. Sonje, however, took her time and walked away slowly with Sulwe toward where Quanza and Lima Lima were relaxing under the trees.
Just as things were settling down, an uninvited guest—a massive wild bull—appeared at the shade. His presence made the females uneasy, especially those with young calves. Murera and Mwana were the first to leave, followed closely by the rest of the herd, leaving only Mwashoti and Faraja behind with the wild bull. The two seemed to get along well, perhaps even familiar with each other, but Murera wasn’t interested in finding out more—she simply took her little ones and moved on with the other girls.
Nightclubbers and their babies this morning failed to show up, making Amali keep looking and raising her trunk as she struggled to smell if she could find the side on which she might locate the babies. Enkesha tried to join Amali to help in the search for the babies, but neither was accurate in finding the way to the nightclubbers. Sometimes, when little Zigi is asleep, none of the orphans move until the babies are awake. Because of the delay this morning, Lima Lima and the babies went far, not coming home on time.
Murera, with the small number of orphans, had to move out to Kenzili place for more browsing, as they were still waiting to meet with Lima Lima and friends. At bottle time, all nightclubbers reported on time — they knew the time for midday bottles not to miss. Amali and her friend Enkesha were now very relieved to see Sulwe, Lenny, and Zigi running strongly to the bottle point. Lenny couldn’t control his top speed when running to the bottles; he lost control until he kicked two bottles down and started kicking the two bottles with his feet as if he were kicking a soccer ball.
Kiasa crossed over to the other side and stopped him from breaking the milk bottles. Later, Keepers had to call Sonje and Zongoloni out from the bottle feeding fields to the waterhole for all orphans to take part in drinking water. Then later, Kapei with Mwashoti started to splash water using their feet inside the waterhole. When Quanza arrived, she opened up the swimming officially, making everyone jump into the swimming pool, and all swam in style. When Kiasa walked away with Zigi, she cleaned him alone by splashing water using her feet to reach Zigi, because Kiasa did not want Zigi to get into deep water.
The nightclubbers reported on time, with all the little babies in front of each mother. When Sulwe spotted Amali, she walked over and grabbed Amali’s tail to play around with, and Amali also felt happy and played with Sulwe, making her feel very babyish this morning.
By the time the mothers left, Zongoloni and her baby Zigi had separated from the herd, together with Mwashoti and Kapei. They failed to join the group with Lima Lima. Zongoloni split herself off with Zigi and Kapei, leaving Sonje and Murera to take the babies for the morning walk into the Kenzili area to enjoy their morning browse.
The Keepers were left behind with Murera, who was slower walking with Mwana and her Keepers. Before taking a different route or path, Murera raised her ears up. The Keepers sensed that Murera had already alerted them to danger ahead, forcing the Keepers to look around keenly to see if anything was there. They thought it could be a wild elephant Murera was signalling, but after scanning the area closely, they only spotted a hyrax crossing over the rocks. That was the animal Murera couldn’t see well and was scared of—despite it being so small.
While in the forest enjoying their browse, none of the babies wanted to walk back for their midday bottles. This forced the milk truck to be driven into the Kenzili area, where the orphans were celebrating the fresh, lush greens they had found. When Quanza and Mwashoti heard the milk truck coming, both came out knowing it was time for bottles. Lima Lima and Kapei were the first to arrive, then the rest came later.
The orphans were browsing very well and calmly within the Chyulu Hills until an eland and a zebra showed up near Faraja and Kapei. Kapei, who had not seen these kinds of animals for a long time within Umani, was surprised and made a U-turn, running towards Sonje and friends. Maktao also spotted the same animals, and soon everybody was running away for safety after seeing the eland and zebra. The Keepers were also excited to see an eland and zebra today after a very long time. This happened because the Chyulu is now getting very dry, and animals are making their way to the Umani side of the Kibwezi Forest for more food and water.
Sonje and her team rested under some big trees after finding their babies were demanding a rest and needed breastfeeding. Zigi was with his mother Zongoloni, but Lenny settled on Murera. He found Murera unwilling to nurse him, so Lenny kept on screaming as he pleaded for her to allow him to breastfeed. Murera was not in a position to accept his request, and his persistence became too much for her, so she continued to refuse. Lenny did not give up, using all tactics to plead with Murera, but she only responded to her baby Mwana, who was nursing while Lenny watched.
After the afternoon browsing, some of the little babies became tired and needed a nap. The mothers and nannies moved them to an open area within the Kibwezi Forest and found a good sleeping spot. Lenny and Sulwe went down to sleep together, and when Zigi saw them already napping, he joined them for a day nap beside their mothers and nannies.
Kiasa grabbed Zigi from his mother, Zongoloni, while Zongoloni was busy pulling down a branch to eat and didn’t see Kiasa walking away with her baby. Kiasa walked Zigi around the water trough. After drinking, Zigi rumbled to be taken back to his mother, Zongoloni. The screaming made Zongoloni run very fast toward the side where the sound was coming from. When she found Kiasa, she didn’t care who was with her baby — she pushed Kiasa, making her afraid to come back to where Zongoloni now stood with Zigi.
Kiasa, who usually loves Zigi more than any of the other little babies at Umani, was left wondering why Zongoloni turned against her like that today. But before Zongoloni could settle down again with Zigi, Zigi himself turned around and went back looking for Kiasa. He was very much welcomed by Kiasa, who remained his best nanny ever, because Zigi had no idea why his mother had disagreed with Kiasa.
Sonje and Enkesha walked away with Sulwe and Lenny, leaving Lima Lima without her baby, because Lenny had been playing push-and-pull games with Sulwe, his age mate. Amali tried to join them. When Kapei tried to be part of the little babies’ group, he was given a very big no by Quanza, who stepped between them. This was because Quanza didn’t want to see Kapei with the babies after he was seen trying to climb over little Sulwe, which was a very wrong thing to do to a baby.
Enkesha, who also saw Kapei raising his feet on Sulwe, agreed that Kapei should not attempt to climb on little babies.
Jasiri and his wild friends came to the stockades this morning and met with the orphans, but Murera and her baby Mwana left and stayed away after seeing Jasiri had brought along two wild bulls whom Murera did not trust to be part of the herd or join the orphans' group.
Lima Lima, who enjoys associating with different bulls, welcomed the newcomers and went to be with them, leaving Lenny with Kiasa to take care of him. Later, Lenny moved to where Murera was with Mwana.
In front of Murera and Mwana, two buffaloes were approaching. When she spotted the buffaloes, Mwana took off with Lenny and then whispered to Murera, trying to signal her mother about the buffaloes—only to find that Murera had already picked up the hint and was moving into the bushes for safety with the Keepers.
Later, before midday, Jasiri and his friends left the area for Chyulu.
Lima Lima led the babies in a strong run for the midday bottles. Enkesha and Kapei couldn’t compete fairly, as Kapei passed by Enkesha as if she wasn’t running at all—his top speed far above hers.
At the dusting pile, Amali walked to the top of the hill as the little babies tried to follow. Lenny and Zigi followed Amali, but found it hard to reach the top because the soil was too slippery for little babies. This forced Amali to come back and pull Lenny by his trunk until both reached the top of the dust hill.
Quanza felt it was time to take the little babies back to the bushes for shade, as the day was becoming hot and Zigi needed shelter. It became a duty for Quanza and Kiasa to begin walking with the babies back to the bushes. All the other orphans decided to follow Quanza and Zigi into the shade along the Kibwezi Forest.
Ziwa and his wild herd—a group of six females with Ziwa among them—visited this morning behind the stockade and found Lima Lima and her Nightclubbers having lucerne. Immediately, when Sonje spotted Ziwa, she moved towards him for a reunion celebration. But before Sonje reached Ziwa, she was blocked by the oldest-looking female in the group. The wild female didn’t want to see Sonje going to greet Ziwa, her former brother. It seemed the wild female thought Sonje had bad motives, perhaps trying to take Ziwa away from them.
They watched closely to see if Sonje was telling Ziwa to leave. But once Ziwa finished the greetings with Sonje, he moved back into the herd and later walked away with the wild group, leaving the Nightclubbers to go their own directions for the night patrols.
Later, Zongoloni and Lima Lima fell out with Sonje when Sonje wanted to take them to a location they were not ready for with the babies. Lima Lima whispered something to Kiasa, who was already in front with Zigi. When Kiasa stopped and listened to the instructions Lima Lima and Zongoloni were giving her—not to follow Sonje—she turned back.
When Sonje saw that the two mothers were no longer with her, she returned and rejoined her Nightclubbers, so the family could be united in one decision. In the end, all agreed to be with Sonje as one family.