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On the first day of July, ex-orphans Ngilai and Emoli arrived in the early morning to join the dependent elephants at the feeding trough. Itinyi challenged Emoli to a contest and the two bulls began sparring. Feeling left out, Ngilai pushed Itinyi away and took his place against Emoli. Feisty Itinyi played the same sparring game with Thamana close to the two big boys!

Itinyi, who loves to show off, then play mounted Ashanti, but Ngilai came to her defence and pushed him off. His final trick was to clamber on top of Mushuru, who was soil bathing with Sileita and Sholumai. The three girls stood up and moved away while Ngilai watched on with warning eyes. With Sholumai, Sileita and Mushuru standing at a distance, Thamana rolled around on the mound of red earth and Hildana climbed onto his stomach with trunk waving.

At last, the herd headed out to browse around Msinga Hill. Ngilai and Emoli wandered away in the direction of the middle water trough area while the others spread out over the hill.

In the afternoon, as usual, the elephants visited the baobab tree mud bath. As a cool breeze was blowing, they paddled in puddles of standing water rather than the main wallow.

Almost ex-orphans Mbegu, Murit and Ndotto were early callers at the stockades this morning, joining the dependent orphans around the pile of lucerne grass. Busara and Dabida stood on either side of Mbegu, almost leaning against their big sister. Busara offered her back to Mbegu for trunk touching and hugging while Dabida scratched her neck on Mbegu’s bottoms. After feeding on range cubes and lucerne, the orphans played on the dust pile before leaving for the field.

Current and former orphans walked out together in a long line. Mbegu, Ndotto and Murit stopped to browse on the western slopes of the hill, but their dependent friends continued on in the direction of the baobab mud wallow.

On a cool and cloudy afternoon, the elephants had another milk feed and gathered around the wallow. Itinyi and Kilulu splashed in one of the small water holes. Thamana lay down in another and rolled around on his back. Ashanti tried to squeeze into the puddle next to him but there was not enough space for two.

The herd spent the rest of the afternoon browsing in the bush, returning to the stockades in the early evening.

After the morning milk and supplements feeding, Ashanti and Mushuru lay down and rolled around together on the mound of dry soil. Itinyi was moving around, searching for favourite girl Ashanti. After trailing along behind, he climbed on her back when she lay down to play with Mushuru. At first, Mushuru walked away from him but then she turned back to check on Ashanti. Mushuru stood next to Itinyi, allowing Ashanti to move away. Itinyi trunk touched her on her back and mouth and the two orphans stood with heads touching for a time.

The dependent elephants enjoyed a peaceful morning browsing session and visited the mud wallow in the afternoon. After another milk feed, Tamiyoi was first to head for the pile of soil with several others in her wake. Epiya and Kenderi sparring on top of the mound before catching up with their friends as they ambled out to browse.

Chapeyu, who was rescued in February, is still in his stockade. We are encouraging him to venture out, but he is reluctant to leave his stable paradise where he is surrounded by delicious food. He was seven years old when he was rescued - and adjusting to his new family is more challenging than for many younger orphans.

In the morning, ex-orphans Mbegu, Tagwa, Godoma, Murit, Ngilai and Ndotto arrived at the stockades and joined our herd around the mound of lucerne. When Juni walked over to greet Tagwa, her former adopted mother, Tagwa rumbled many times with fluid streaming from her temporal glands. When Mbegu and Murit rubbed their bottoms against each other, the other babies watched on with interest.

Current and former orphans left the stockades together, settling to browse at the foot of Msinga Hill. Just like old times, Mbegu browsed close to Busara, Godoma was with Baraka, and Tagwa stayed close to Juni. The three younger girls are similar ages but have different characters. Plump Busara is an easy going girl whereas Baraka tends to be shy and Juni rather reserved. Our extended herd spent four hours with each other before Mbegu and her mini herd disappeared into the bush.

Later in the day, our air support team working with KWS staff rescued a two-and-a-half-year-old male elephant at Lualeni. The calf had wounds from a hyena attack on the hind leg and around his ear. He was brought to the stockades and put on a drip for the night.

Mbegu’s herd of ex-orphans visited again this morning, arriving earlier than yesterday to enjoy range cubes and lucerne grass with our herd. After feeding, Godoma lay down on the dry soil and rolled onto her back. The other orphans watched on but then several joined her for a dust bath. Thamana rubbed his belly on the soil while Hildana climbed onto his back. Refusing to play, Thamana lay still until Hildana moved off - whereupon Thamana began playing again. Meanwhile, Kilulu and Kenderi massaged their bottoms from side to side on the lower terrace while waving their trunks in every direction.

Once again, the two herds left the stockades together, going off in different directions when they reached the northern side of Msinga Hill. The orphans browsed peacefully for the morning and visited the mud bath in the afternoon. While most of the herd stood quietly around the wallow, Kenderi, Juni and Epiya massaged their bodies against the baobab tree.

Sadly, the elephant rescued yesterday died in the evening, despite the best efforts of the veterinary team. He had been injured too severely in the hyena attack.

We have not seen Manda since he disappeared last month with a herd of wild elephants. He is a strong young bull and we are not concerned about him. The wild herd is likely to have wandered far from the stockades looking for fresh green browse.

In contrast to previous days, the ex-orphans did not visit the stockades this morning. After the morning feeding, Seri squatted on her backside on top of the dust hill, inviting the others to join her. They played around her in the dry soil, rubbing bodies and faces while blowing clouds of dust in every direction, but no one accepted her sparring invitation. Seri sat for a few minutes before jogging away to massage herself against the wall of the upper terrace. Hildana and Epiya were playing the pushing game on the lower terrace while Juni and Kenderi stood with trunks entwined next to the water trough.

The orphans soon headed out to the field at the beginning of a busy day of browsing. Losoito was standing as close as possible to big sister Lemeki. When Epiya wandered over to stand on the other side of Lemeki, Losoito became jealous and uncomfortable. She rumbled in protest and Lemeki extended her trunk to touch her little sister affectionately, reassuring her that Epiya posed no threat. Losoito calmed down and the three orphans browsed peacefully.

After a long afternoon of browsing, the herd returned to the stockades for the night. Safe and secure in their shared enclosures, almost all lay down to rest and sleep. They lay on their sides near each other, with some even synchronising their breathing.

On a cool morning, the elephants padded out of their shared stockades and down the path to the feeding trough where they stood belly to belly to scoop up range cubes. Ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit joined the herd for breakfast. Juni was full of energy and kept trunk kissing Lemeki at the water trough.

To our surprise, shy Baraka was hanging out with gentle Ndotto while the rest of the herd enjoyed a morning dust bath. Covered in red soil, the orphans wandered out in a line to Msinga Hill. They settled to browse all over the hill, heading in the direction of the mud wallow.

In the afternoon, the orphans returned to the stockades for their milk feed instead of visiting the baobab wallow. Afterwards, Ashanti led the herd in splashing and rolling on the dust pile while Lemeki played with adopted baby Losoito.

Later in the day, Itinyi, Juni, Epiya, Rokka and Dabida wandered over the rocky side of the hill while Hildana, Lemeki, Kenderi and Baraka browsed on shrub vegetation on the lower slopes.

In the evening, the veterinary unit rescued an elephant calf around five months old that was found collapsed in the Dakota area. Both Keepers and veterinary staff did their best to keep her alive, but sadly she was too weak and died during the night.

On a sunny morning, the orphans gathered for breakfast in the area in front of the stockades before leaving for their daily browsing adventures. Thamana browsed on the shrubs at the bottom of Msinga Hill with Baraka standing next to him, posing and showboating with ears flapping. The herd spread out over the open grass fields, browsing quietly. It was a cool day and they were less active and playful than on some days.

In the afternoon, the orphans had a milk feed and visited the mud wallow. Some drank from the water trough while others massaged their bodies against trees or stood around in small groups. No one paddled in the main wallow although Lemeki stood on the edge splashing water with her trunk. Ashanti played on the edge of a large puddle, slapping her trunk on her water, until she was displaced by Itinyi who was promptly displaced by Kilulu.

Later in the day, the elephants wandered up the hill, browsing either on the summit or over the upper slopes, before returning to the stockades for the night. As they ambled into their enclosures, several stopped off to extend trunks in greeting to Chapeyu, who remains determined to stay in his stockade. 

Ex-orphans Ndotto, Emoli and Murit arrived at the stockades soon after dawn. Former and current orphans fed together and then stood in small groups or played with friends. Ashanti was playing with Busara on the dust hill. The two girls hosed each other with soil while rubbing bodies. When the game became exciting, Thamana and former best friend Emoli broke off their sparring match and ran over to play with Ashanti and Busara. The girls walked away, leaving the boys on the mound of soil.

The two herds left the stockades together, walking off in the same direction before going their separate ways. Our herd spread out and settled to browse on the lower slopes of the hill.

On an overcast afternoon, the orphans visited the mud wallow but did not paddle in the water. Instead, they drank from the wallow, dusted themselves with soil and headed back out to browse. When a wild elephant and her small calf arrived minutes later to drink water, Lemeki and Tamiyoi left the herd and returned to the wallow. Tamiyoi kept following the baby elephant and so the wild female chased them both away. Perhaps she was worried that Tamiyoi might kidnap her baby!

In the early morning, the orphans rushed out of their rooms in anticipation of a delicious milk feed. They drank their milk in groups of four or five and walked on to the range cubes feeding trough. Ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit joined them around the pile of lucerne. The two bulls remained there when the herd headed out to the bush. The orphaned elephants padded out in single file towards the browsing grounds to the north of the stockades where they spent the morning.

In the afternoon, the elephants enjoyed another milk feed, again in groups of four or five. Rokka ran along behind Losoito and then sprinted past her. In response, Losoito slowed to a walk but trumpeted loudly at Rokka when she reached the line of Keepers holding bottles of milk.

As often happens on cooler days, the elephants splashed in the smaller puddles of water but did not wallow in the main mud bath. Epiya and Thamana squeezed their big bodies into one puddle of water while others stood around watching and Kilulu sat on the ground, rubbing his bottoms from side by side.

After breakfast, the orphaned elephants left the stockades and settled to browse on the slopes of Msinga Hill overlooking the baobab tree wallow. Itinyi stayed in the open fields at the foot as the rest of the herd ambled up the hill. As the sun was shining, Itinyi stood in the shade of a boulder while continuing to browse. Rokka and Losoito stood on either side of big sister Lemeki as the three elephants browsed peacefully while trunk touching each other regularly.

In the afternoon, the orphans cooled off in puddles of muddy water around the wallow. Thamana lay down and showed off his moves while younger elephants Baraka and Epiya took it in turns to rest their backsides on the bench of his bulk. Kilulu is another showboat! Today, he was paddling and rubbing his backside along the edge of a pool while shaking his trunk and slapping mud on his body.

After our herd had left, a herd of wild elephants arrived at the water hole. They wallowed in the small pools and drank from the water trough. 

On a wonderful morning at the Voi stockades, the dependent orphans emerged from their enclosures for milk, range cubes and lucerne. After filling their bellies with pellets, Ashanti, Sileita and Mushuru enjoyed a dust bath, rolling up against each other amid clouds of dust.

The herd soon headed out to browse over Msinga Hill. In the field, Sileita remained close to Mushuru for the morning while outgoing Sholumai mingled with the others. All three girls have settled well but Sileita is still quite reserved.

In the afternoon, the orphans visited the baobab mud wallow where they found a herd of wild elephants. Ushindi, Lemeki and Tamiyoi greeted the wild elephants and trunk touched a small wild calf. When our herd wandered away from the wallow, Lemeki and Tamiyoi came with them but Ushindi lingered with the wild baby. We whistled to Ushindi. She responded by running to catch up with her herd with the wild calf and its mother following at a terrific pace. Realising the danger of the situation, Ushindi surrendered the little elephant to its mother and returned to her family.

Ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Ngilai and Tagwa ambled up the path soon after dawn. Baraka welcomed Godoma with rumbles and trunk touches while Busara and Rokka stuck close to Mbegu. Ngilai was chaperoning Godoma and Mbegu, leaving big boys Ndotto and Murit by themselves. We have not seen Lasayen for some time although Emoli has been a regular visitor. We have also not seen Manda this month.

After feeding on milk, range cubes and lucerne, the orphans spread out in front of the stockades. Some enjoyed a dust bath while others drank from the trough or massaged their bodies against the terrace walls. Cheeky Kilulu attempted to play mount Dabida but abandoned the attempt when matriarch Tamiyoi walked over to protect the younger girl.

In the afternoon, the orphans cooled off in the small water holes around the main wallow. Ashanti and Akina had a wonderful time mud bathing together. Afterwards, Ashanti lay down on the grass and anchored her head between Losoito’s legs. Juni and Epiya looked after Baraka who was lying down and playing in the muddy water. When we whistled, the herd head back out to the browsing fields.

In the early morning, the dependent orphans sprinted out of their stockades and down the path to the milk feeding area. As Rokka ran very fast, overtaking the others, Baraka and Losoito trumpeted loudly, making sure that she stayed away from their bottles of milk. After filling their bellies, the orphans headed out to the browsing fields, spending the morning on Msinga Hill.

In the afternoon, as usual, the herd headed down the hill to the baobab mud wallow. The sun was shining and many either paddled or wallowed in the water. After cooling off, Ashanti lay down on the mound of red soil and Ushindi rubbed his neck against her back. Meanwhile, Losoito was resting her bulk on Kilulu in the mud bath. When Tamiyoi noticed that Kilulu was having trouble standing up, she came to his rescue and pushed Losoito away.

As our herd was busy mud bathing, three herds of wild elephants arrived to drink water. They left the orphans in peace and did not try to join them in the wallow. When our herd headed back out to browse, Lemeki turned back and joined the wild elephants briefly before returning to her own family.

In the morning, the orphaned elephants gulped down their delicious milk in seconds and walked on to the range cubes feeding trough and the lucerne grass area. Afterwards, many drank from the water trough.

Kilulu and Thamana were soon playing on the mound of dry soil. When Thamana began playing rough, pinching Kilulu’s bottoms with his tusks, Kilulu picked up a small stick and raised it up above his head, warning Thamana to play fair.

The elephants set out from the stockades, ambling along in single file and settling to browse over Msinga Hill. Juni, Rokka and Kenderi stood under the shade of a tree while Hildana and Epiya clambered up to the summit.

In the afternoon, the herd had another milk feed on their way to the baobab mud wallow. Tamiyoi and Rokka enjoyed a dust bath in a hole in the ground with just enough space for them. After rolling in the dust, Rokka rubbed her neck against Tamiyoi’s bottoms. Busara squatted on the edge of a small water hole, massaging her rump from side to side, and then had a dust bath in the same hole. When the herd meandered out to browse, Kilulu made sure that Busara was not left behind.

On another cool July morning, ex-orphans Ndotto, Murit and Ngilai joined our herd for breakfast. Losoito was first to roll around on the red soil, covering her body with soil. Itinyi, Ushindi, Ashanti and Thamana soon joined her for a dust bath party.

After breakfast the orphans set out from the stockades to browse on the northern side of Msinga Hill overlooking the baobab water hole. Ndotto, Ngilai and Murit spent some of the morning with them before heading off towards the grass lands to continue browsing and meet their wild friends.

In the afternoon, the stockade dependents had their usual milk feed and gathered around the mini mud hole, dodging the main wallow. Itinyi was showing off in the mud wallow, splashing and rolling around, while Epiya rubbed herself on Ashanti as she rolled in the dust, and Losoito scratched herself against a large branch on the ground. After a wonderful wallow and dust bath, the orphans resumed browsing on the hill.

Chapeyu is becoming confident and beginning to greet the Keepers but remains in his stockade. Today, we sent in Thamana to persuade him out but without success. Chapeyu stood stubbornly in the corner of his room. Kilulu and Hildana sleep in the stockade next to him and, every evening, they extend their trunks in greeting to their new friend.

On a sunny morning, the orphans were full of energy when they padded out of their shared stockades. After quickly finishing her own bottle, Sholumai was trying to grab Rokka’s bottle. Easy going Rokka walked away, leaving her half-full bottle. We intervened before Sholumai could pick it up and returned the bottle to Rokka so she could finish her milk without being rushed.

Losoito, Lemeki and Busara opted for an early morning dust bath as the rest of her herd clustered around the mound of lucerne. Ashanti has her own special way of scooping up lucerne. First she uses her foot to collect a small pile of grass and then she kneels so she can use her mouth to eat.

Tamiyoi, followed by Rokka, Lemeki, Losoito and Sholumai, led the herd out from the stockades for their daily browsing adventures over Msinga Hill.

In the afternoon, the orphans returned to the stockades for another milk feed. Mushuru, Sholumai and Sileita led the first group to the feeding area with Busara and Rokka walking behind them. The two girls stood patiently waiting because they were wary that Sholumai might try to pinch their bottles.

Afterwards, the dependent orphans had a mud bath followed by a dust bath. Water baby Itinyi took his time in the mud wallow, splashing and rolling around after the others climbed out. The orphans spent the rest of the afternoon browsing on shrubs along the pipeline circuit.

It was a cool morning and the orphans stood in clusters in their shared stockades, waiting for their milk feed. We opened the doors and they padded down the path in groups for bottles of milk and supplementary lucerne. After spending the night browsing over the hill, ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit joined our herd for breakfast leaving Ngilai, Mbegu, Godoma and Tagwa on the hill.

Akina and Rokka were browsing on lucerne with Ndotto, Hildana, Dabida and Kilulu while Losoito rolled around on the ground next to them. Ashanti was climbing the dust hill, Itinyi was spraying red soil in every direction, and Busara, Losoito and Ushindi were rubbing their faces on the soil.

As the day became warmer, the orphans headed out to the browsing fields. Rokka was left behind for a minute or two and ran to catch up with the herd. They spent the morning browsing on Msinga Hill. Losoito clambered up to the peak in search of fresh vegetation while Tamiyoi and Seri enjoyed delicious acacia branches nearer the bottom. 

Ex-orphans Ndotto and Murit are in the habit of joining the dependent orphans every morning for breakfast. Today, Ashanti, Akina and Kilulu were showboating in the feeding area while Ndotto and the others continued browsing on lucerne. Lemeki and little sister Losoito were having a dust bath with Ushindi, Itinyi, Kenderi and Baraka.

Rokka, with Sileita, Mushuru and Sholumai following closely, led the way out to the browsing fields. Some clambered over boulders on the hill while others remained on the lower slopes. They settled to browse on acacia branches and shrub vegetation while walking towards the baobab area for the afternoon milk feed. Ndotto and Murit went off in the direction of the water trough where they met up with Ngilai, Mbegu, Godoma and Tagwa. Mbegu’s mini herd of ex-orphans browsed along the river circuit.

In the afternoon, the orphans had a short mud bathing session at the mini wallow. Thamana and Kilulu played a sparring match on the edge. After several rounds, Kilulu joined some of the others for a wallow and a dust bath with Juni and Ashanti. Covered in dry soil, the orphans headed out to browse some more.

Ex-orphan Ndotto and Murit visited in the morning but without Ngilai, Mbegu and Godoma who stayed out on Msinga Hill. Ndotto enjoyed breakfast with the dependent orphans in the lucerne area, impressing the younger elephants with his showboating poses. Good friends Mushuru and Sileita were standing not far away with trunks entwined. When Ndotto ambled over to them, they did not move away but accepted his greeting. Ndotto and Sileita held each other’s trunks across Mushuru, as she stood between them, and then the gentle bull rested his trunk along Mushuru’s back.

Lemeki led the herd out to the surrounding bush, leaving Ndotto and Murit behind to finish up every pellet. The orphans settled to browse all over the hill.

In the afternoon, the orphans enjoyed wallowing after the milk feed in the mini mud hole. With ears flared, Seri was busy digging into the ground, Kilulu was rolling on the edge of the pool and Thamana was wallowing in the mud. Playful Itinyi invited Thamana to spar with him and then Kilulu. When both challenges were not accepted, he turned his attention to Busara as she was dust bathing and tried to play mount her. Busara wriggled away to safety with the older females and Itinyi was left on his own.

On another wonderful morning, the dependent orphans were having breakfast with ex-orphans Ndotto, Ngilai, Mbegu and Godoma.

Ngilai is becoming a fully wild elephant. Today, he was pushing some of the younger orphans and chasing the Keepers when we whistled to him to leave them alone. In contrast, Ndotto was his usual calm self, trunk touching the orphans and the Keepers. Aware of his behaviour, Ngilai walked away from the Keepers to the upper terrace while Ndotto stayed with his old herd.

Meanwhile, Mbegu and Godoma were trunk touching the younger orphans while standing close to Baraka and Busara. Kilulu was draping his trunk along Busara’s back while Ashanti was browsing on lucerne, using both her trunk and her front foot to collect up the pieces.

Tamiyoi and Lemeki led the herd out to browse over Msinga Hill. In the afternoon, the orphans came down for another milk feed and sprinted on to the mini mud hole. Juni squatted on the edge of the wallow, massaging her backside, while Kenderi paddled in the muddy water.  

On a sunny morning, the orphans emerged from their stockades and gathered in the feeding area. This morning, ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, Ngilai, Murit and Ndotto joined the dependent herd. They lined up at the range cubes feeding trough and then moved over to the pile of lucerne grass. The orphans browsed quietly with no one sparring on the terraces or having an early morning mud bath.

As usual, the herd headed out from the stockades with Ndotto and Murit following at a distance while Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa and Ngilai went their separate ways.

In the afternoon, Ndotto and Murit visited the mud wallow before the dependent herd. They drank from the trough with a wild bull and then disappeared into the bush with the bull before our orphans arrived at the wallow. Some paddled in the muddy water while others massaged their backsides against trees or covered their bodies with dry soil.

After visiting the wallow, the herd resumed browsing. When Itinyi browsed next to Mushuru, Sileita walked between them, pushing Itinyi and shepherding her friend away.

Almost independent orphans Mbegu, Ngilai, Ndotto, Godoma, Tagwa and Murit arrived soon after dawn. They settled at the lucerne feeding area but headed for the feeding trough as soon as we filled it up with range cubes. Baraka, Rokka and Busara were happy to be with their adopted mothers even if it was only for a short period.

When the dependent orphans headed out to Msinga hill at the beginning of a busy day of browsing, the ex-orphans walked off in a different direction.

In the afternoon, the herd returned to the stockades for a milk feed. Afterwards, some rolled on the mound of dry soil but no one got wet in the wallow as it was a cool and cloudy day.

Later in the afternoon, we came across a two-year-old female elephant on her own. The calf had a spear wound on her left leg. The leg was swollen and she was walking on three legs. The veterinary team rescued the calf, treated her in the field, and brought her to the Voi stockades after dark. We calmed her and soon she settled and lay down to rest.

The new rescue slept well in the night and seemed well in the morning. Rokka, Sileita, Sholumai, Mushuru and Busara – who sleep in the neighbouring stockade – greeted the little girl with friendly trunk touches through the gaps before their early morning milk feed.

Not only Mbegu, Ndotto, Ngilai, Godoma, Tagwa and Murit but also Naipoki and Rorogoi visited the stockades, arriving soon after dawn and standing around the feeding trough, waiting for the Keepers to fill it with range cubes.

Naipoki has not visited her old family for seven months and was last seen with Mweya’s herd in December. We were happy to see that she is heavily pregnant and likely to have her baby soon! Rokka welcomed Rorogoi and Naipoki with many rumbles and trunk touches.

When the dependent elephants headed out to the field, the ex-orphans remained at the stockades. They finished all the pellets and then ambled back out to the wild. Meanwhile, our herd spread out over Msinga Hill. Epiya loves an opportunity to grandstand – while others browsed around her, she was dancing back and forth with ears flapping!

Ex-orphan Ngilai arrived on his own this morning while the dependent orphans were still in their stockades. Mushuru, Sholumai and Rokka emerged first from their shared enclosure followed by Busara and finally Sileita. As they rushed down to the feeding area, Losoito trumpeted in protest as she was still in her stockade.

The new rescue, named Serenget, was eating her breakfast of lucerne and pellets in her stockade while the rest of the herd settled at the feeding trough full of range cube treats. Ngilai was performing his special trick of moving back and forth between the trough and the lucerne with a stash of lucerne balanced on his head. His stash ended up being stolen by Lemeki, Kenderi and Kilulu!

Matriarch Tamiyoi led the herd out to browse over the rocky Msinga Hill. As the oldest female, Tamiyoi has taken on Mbegu’s role of matriarch. Today, she seemed to be missing her old friends who recently went wild and wandered away from the herd while they browsed together. She disappeared on her own for a short time before returning to the others.

On another wonderful morning at the Voi stockades, the elephants filled their bellies and then played on the terraces and in the feeding area. Kilulu and Hildana showed off their strength to the younger orphans while Juni and Kenderi rubbed their backsides on the terrace wall.

Mbegu’s herd of almost ex-orphans did not visit the stockades today but we spotted them browsing close to the middle water trough on Msinga Hill.

When our herd spread out over the hill to browse, Lemeki stayed very close to Losoito and Rokka. Our big girl now has two adopted babies and is often seen with both in tow. Today, she touched them regularly between mouthfuls of greens and the two younger girls happily shared her attention.

In the afternoon at the wallow, Dabida, Losoito and Seri were squatting on the edge playing mud bathing games. They were splashing and kicking with heads shaking. Lemeki did not tolerate being without Losoito for long – she could not resist interrupting the games and ushering Losoito away to the mound of dry soil to play lying down and dusting games with her! After a long time around the wallow, the elephants ambled back to the bush with their Keepers.

When Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa, Naipoki and Ngilai arrived at the stockades at midnight, they found Ndotto and Murit already there. The ex-orphans spent some time feeding on lucerne grass and drinking from the water trough before walking away and leaving Ndotto and Murit behind. The two bulls joined the dependent orphans in the morning to feed on range cubes.

After feeding, Thamana and Hildana played several rounds of the pushing game, clinking their growing tusks as they tested each other’s strength. Meanwhile, Murit was trunk hugging Mushuru. The young girl stayed calm, accepted the attention and did not feel threatened by the older elephant.

Ndotto and Ngilai followed our herd for a short time when they set out to browse in the field before turning back and spending the much of the day feeding on lucerne outside the stockades.

Newbie Serenget was behaving calmly today and the spear wound on her leg was not looking bad.

Murit, Ngilai and Ndotto arrived early at the stockades this morning but without Mbegu and the other ex-orphans. They fed with our herd and headed back to the bush with them at the beginning of a busy browsing day.

In the afternoon, Ndotto pulled back, keeping a distance from the herd, and Ngilai walked away by himself. Murit kept pace with the dependent orphans, reaching the water hole with them. Murit and Thamana wallowed together in the small water hole, rubbing bodies while splashing.

Meanwhile, Tamiyoi was leading the rest of the herd over to greet a herd of wild elephants with young calves at the baobab tree water hole. The wild elephants allowed Tamiyoi to come close to their babies and to touch them with her trunk while Ushindi played a sparring match with another wild elephant.

Sileita was not happy with this situation. Seeing the much older wild females, she trumpeted very loudly again and again. She probably felt that her friends Mushuru and Sholumai could be kidnapped by the wild herd. Sileita fell silent for a minute and then trumpeted as she ran towards the Keepers. Responding to the alarm in her voice, the rest of the herd followed her away from the wild herd.

Ngilai, Ndotto and Murit arrived early again this morning. Although the three bulls are spending nights out, they are still enjoying supplementary feeding almost every day. They joined the dependent herd at the trough and around the lucerne, remaining at the stockades when Tamiyoi and her herd headed out to the bush.

The orphaned elephants browsed in single file for most of the morning. Arriving at the wallow in the afternoon, they found a wild bull drinking water. The bull moved a distance away and stood watching the orphans and Keepers. Sileita did not react to his presence but remained close to Mushuru and Sholumai in the midst of the herd.

Although it was a cool day, water baby Lemeki plunged into the muddy water while Kilulu and Seri rubbed their big bottoms from side to side on the edge of the wallow. Juni, Kenderi and Rokka did not get wet but rolled around on the mound of dust.

After mud and dust bathing at the wallow, the elephants ambled back to Msinga Hill. They browsed almost until dusk when they returned to the safety of the stockades for the night.

Serenget is doing well. The spear wound on her left front leg was treated again today by the vet. It is clean and showing signs of healing.

Waving their trunks in anticipation of delicious milk, the orphans jogged out of their stockades in the early morning. After emptying their bottles, they walked on at a more sedate pace to the feeding trough where they found Ndotto and Murit already scooping up pellets.

Lemeki and Losoito browsed next to each other on lucerne. When Losoito somehow walked away from her nanny without Lemeki noticing, there was a commotion. Lemeki trumpeted in alarm, pushed two orphans out of her way and headed towards Losoito who, by this time, was already on her way back to her nanny.

Ndotto and Murit spent most of the day with their old herd who browsed peacefully for many hours. As usual, they visited the wallow in the afternoon but only to drink water as it was a windy day. Murit was trailing along behind Tamiyoi and trying to mount her. He was rebuffed and so walked away to catch up with Ndotto.

As we prepared the milk at dawn, ex-orphans Mbegu, Godoma, Tagwa and Naipoki padded up the path and gathered around the water trough. After drinking deeply, Naipoki led the small group out to the bush towards the west while our herd was still in their shared stockades. Naipoki, Godoma and Tagwa wandered away as Mbegu turned back to the stockades. She greeted her old herd and settled at the feeding trough.

As the dependent orphans were eating cubes and lucerne, Ndotto and Murit wandered in from the east, suggesting that the bulls had not spent the night with Mbegu’s herd.

When Tamiyoi led our herd out from the stockades, the three ex-orphans followed along in their wake and spent the morning with them on the hill. Ndotto and Murit walked off to the south in the afternoon but Mbegu remained with Busara, Baraka, Juni and Ashanti for much of the day.

Neither Kenia’s nor Edie’s herds of ex-orphans have visited this month. At this time of year, our ex-orphans tend to wander further afield in search of green browse. In contrast, Mbegu’s herd, who returned to the wild only recently, have been frequent visitors.