01 June 2017

Bird songs welcomed the orphan elephants as they exited their stockades in the morning. The orphans lined up behind Kihari and Naipoki as they headed out to the browsing grounds after the milk and supplement feeding. Once the orphan elephants had left, eland Tawi decided to ride onto Kore who was busy munching on some Lucerne grass. Kore was not too happy about what Tawi was doing and decided to engage in a head butting game being sure to be careful to avoid Tawi’s long sharp horns. Since Nguvu and Ajali joined the orphan herd at Voi Bada has been quite quiet and mellow as he has been unsure of his ranking as the other two bulls are both older than him. Today however, he decided to engage Tundani in a pushing game as the group were making their way to the waterhole. The game did not last long as the orphans were in a rush to get to their noon milk bottle.

02 June 2017

The orphans welcomed the day with some hide and seek games around the stockade compound before following Lentili and Mashariki towards the browsing grounds. When out in the browsing fields Kenia noticed that Ndii was paying a lot of attention to Araba and before Ndii could take Araba from her she sneaked away with her baby followed at a short distance by Rorogoi. Lempaute and Dabassa came and joined the dependent orphans in the browsing fields today. Kenia and Ndii both refused to greet the two Ex Orphans while the rest of the orphan herd greeted them with deep rumbles. Kenia and Ndii led the stockade dependant orphans towards the middle water hole earlier than normal as they wanted to get them away for the two Ex Orphans who were left browsing on the eastern sides of Msinga Hill. Kenia and Ndii made sure the rest of the browsing day went on close to that water hole as they knew for sure Lempaute and Dabassa could possibly head to the stockade to drink and enjoy some Lucerne grass and they wanted to keep the babies in the herd all to themselves.

03 June 2017

The morning was good with the stockade dependant orphan elephants browsing in single file until it was time for the noon mudbath and milk feed. The orphans had a lovely time at the mudbath with Mbirikani sliding down the mudbath walls into the water below. Tundani soon copied Mbrikani’s game while Nelion and Naipoki watched the two whilst trumpeting encouragement to them. Bada enjoyed diving into the water and rolling around. Ishaq-B seemed to be envious of Bada’s enjoyment and went in to oust him from his position so that she could take over; wanting to avoid conflict with Ishaq-B, Bada conceded his spot to her. Arruba enjoyed rubbing neck against the mudbath walls while Kenia was busy mixing the water with her front leg as Ndoria knelt in the water half submerged. Suswa managed to find a quiet bathing spot and made sure not to allow anyone to join her Panda was having fun sliding down the walls head first into the water. Rorogoi found this to be very dangerous and went to get Panda to change her tactics.

04 June 2017

The morning began with the stockade dependant orphan elephants downing a morning milk bottle after which they settled for some copra and Lucerne grass feeding. When out in the browsing fields Ishaq-B took Araba for a quiet browsing session. Ndii saw the two and came charging in forcing herself between the two in an effort to get Araba away from Ndii. Araba screamed loudly while Ishaq-b had to concede to Ndii and allow Ndii to take Araba away. Ajali and Nguvu heard Araba and Ishaq-B’s cries and thinking something was going on they separated themselves from the rest of the group, rejoining them when they headed to the water hole. In the afternoon, Kivuko came to the stockade and had a long drink from the water trough after which she had a lovely wallow in the stockade water hole. When she was done she enjoyed a scratch against an outcropping rock and tree trunk before feasting on some Lucerne grass.

05 June 2017

It was another beautiful beginning to the day as Kenia took charge of the orphan herd leading them out to the browsing fields as soon as they had finished their milk and supplement feeding. Lempaute, Layoni and Dabassa came to the stockades soon after the babies had left. The three had a drink of water and fed on Lucerne. Lentili and Ndoria had a wonderful time playing the water hole in the afternoon, staying in long after the rest had exited the water to browse. The group was browsing near to the waterhole and thus they were able to join them once they had finished wallowing. Others like Lentili and Ndoria had such a fun time playing one day they stayed long after the others had exited the water to carry on with browsing.

06 June 2017

The stockade dependant orphan elephants exited their night quarters full of energy and quickly emptied their morning milk bottle after which they enjoyed the copra cake and Lucerne grass that had been put out for them. They enjoyed some brief games around the stockade compound before Mbirikani and Naipoki led them to the peak of Msinga Hill for the mornings browsing session. Here they encountered some nice and untouched fresh green vegetation which they enjoyed feeding on. Ndii managed to sneak away with Araba and hide from Kenia in a green bush on the top of Msinga Hill among some rock boulders all of which provided a perfect hiding spot. Ndii tried her level best to give Araba the best care she could in the hopes that she would forget Kenia and was successful in her task. The two rejoined the group as the descended to make their way to the mudbath. In the evening Nelion decided to engage Tundani in a tough wrestling match before joining the rest of the orphan elephants who were slowly making their way back to the safety of the stockades for the night.

07 June 2017

The morning started well with the stockade dependant orphan elephants concentrating on their milk and supplement feeding before Kenia took the lead and steered them out of the stockade compound and to the browsing grounds. The orphans browsed their way to the far northern side of Msinga Hill before turning around and making their way to the middle waterhole for the afternoon milk feed and wallow. The orphans had a lot of fun playing in the mudbath. When they had their fill they exited the water and headed to the base of Msinga Hill for the afternoon browsing session. Soon after they had entered their night quarters Kivuko and Lempaute arrived as the stockade compound and quenched their thirst at the water trough. They then went and greeted the juniors and tried to grab some of the grewia branches that had been cut and put in the stockades for the babies to feed on during the night. The keepers saw that they were doing and gave them some Lucerne grass to feed on instead. The two stayed at the stockade compound until midnight.

08 June 2017

Another wonderful morning started with the stockade dependant orphan elephants emptying a milk bottle before assembling to feed on copra cake and Lucerne grass. Panda and Lentili took the lead of the others towards the browsing grounds today, and they stopped to browse half way up Msinga Hill. Soon after the orphan elephants left the stockade, Kore and Tawi, the orphan elands, enjoyed a pushing game making sure to avoid each other’s sharp horns. Ngulia the zebra watched the tussle from a distance as she was scared by the sharp horns which could injure her. Ten minutes later the two ended their game and joined Ngulia who was feeding on Lucerne which they have all come to love. There has been a noticeable change in Ngulia’s behavior since the death of Jamuhuri and she has become mellower.

09 June 2017

It was a nice beginning of the day with the orphan elephants downing an early morning milk bottle and engaging in some chasing games around the stockade compound before heading for the browsing grounds. The weather was fairly cold today and the orphans had their afternoon milk bottle on the eastern side of Msinga Hill. Mbirikani remained browsing at the top of the hill and the keepers had to call her to come down and she ended up having her milk ten minutes after the rest of the group. The afternoon was spent browsing between some big rock boulders on Msinga Hill with Ajali, Pasaka and Suswa taking their time to climb the hill while the others moved ahead at a faster pace. Lempaute and Dabassa visited the stockade in the afternoon and were joined a while later by Layoni. They all enjoyed a drink from the stockade water trough. Dabassa and Layoni enjoyed some time in one another’s company as they browsed on the acacia tree in the compound. The three then left for the field before the arrival of the stockade dependant orphan elephants.

10 June 2017

It was overcast as the orphans exited their stockades this morning and made their way to the browsing fields with sunshine occasionally poking through during their journey. They enjoyed their afternoon milk bottle on the northern side of the stockade compound after which they made their way to the middle waterhole under Kihari and Ishaq-B’s leadership. As it was quite cold none of the orphans partook in mud wallowing. In the afternoon, Dabassa left Lempaute and Layoni browsing at the top of Msinga Hill and came for a drink of water at the stockade water trough. He had a wonderful time playing around the compound and sharpening his tusks against a big rock. He remained at the stockade compound for three hours before rejoining Lempaute and Layoni on Msinga Hill.

11 June 2017

This morning the stockade dependant orphans enjoyed playing around the stockade compound following their milk and supplement feeding. On the way to the browsing fields the orphans came across Aruba and her family. Aruba is an Ex Orphan female kudu and upon seeing the orphans she ran under the fence, together with her family, into the bushes. The orphans spent the morning browsing at the foot of Msinga Hill. Tundani was seen smelling and placing his trunk into a hole under a big rock boulder where he then drew a small amount of water and had a drink. Ishaq-B tried to do the same but did not get any water so instead she went to scratch her knee against a nearby rock. The orphans visited the water hole after their afternoon milk bottle. They quenched their thirst at the water troughs but did not mud bathe as it was rather cold.

12 June 2017

The morning was good with the stockade dependant orphan elephants moving to the browsing grounds early in the morning. Kenia and Araba browsed close together which made Ndii quite jealous. Ndii went to try and steal Araba away from Kenia but was unsuccessful in doing so. She got quite frustrated and tried to engage Kenia in a pushing match but Kenia refused to become engaged in a tussle with her and walked away followed closely by Araba. The rest of the browsing day was peaceful and took place close to the big water hole, with Mudanda and Suswa enjoying a lead of the group back to the safety of the stockades in the evening.

13 June 2017

The day started with the stockade dependant orphan elephants enjoying an early morning milk bottle before settling to feed on Lucerne grass and copra cake that had been put out for them. There was a brief game of chasing baboons away from the stockade compound before Mudanda and Rorogoi led the group to the browsing grounds. On arriving at the foot of Msinga Hill, Mbirikani and Nelion took over leading the group and began climbing the hill wanting to reach the top. Nguvu found that the group were keeping quite a fast pace and were by passing some nice greens so he chose to stop and browse where he was until it was time to go to the mudbath, at which point he was joined by the rest of the group. Later in the afternoon, Dabassa and Layoni visited the stockade. They drank water and wandered around the stockade compound trying to find a way into the stockades so that they could feed on the grewia branches that had been cut for the babies. They remained at the compound for about two hours but left before the dependent orphans returned.

14 June 2017

The orphans exited the stockades after a good night’s rest and downed a milk bottle and fed on supplements after which they headed to the southern side of Msinga Hill for the mornings browsing session. At noon they returned to the stockades where they had a wonderful time interacting with some visiting school children that had been brought in by the trusts community out-reach program. After the milk feed was over Kenia introduced her adopted baby Araba to the school children and had some fun with them. Ndii felt left out and came to get attention from the children but she scared them as she came running in which game them a fright. Kenia took Araba to the stockade water hole and while Kenia wallowed, Panda got to play with Araba for a while. When Kenia rejoined them Panda went and teamed up with Arruba and the two had a rubbing session against a tree. Mashariki, Kihari and Nelion fought over a rock that they all wanted to scratch against. Ndii came in and chased them away so that she and Rorogoi could enjoy a scratching session while Suswa and Ndoria did the same on a different rock. Dabassa and Layoni came to the stockade at 3pm where they had a drink of water and fed on some Lucerne grass before making their way back to the park.

15 June 2017

The morning was cool with Lempaute coming alone without the stockade dependant orphans noticing. On seeing her drinking at the stockade water trough, Kenia and Ndii consolidated their herd as fast as they could and quickly left the stockade compound as they are always worried that Lempaute will try and steal their babies. Lempaute was lucky to encounter Panda who was left behind as she had been engrossed in scratching session. The two greeted one another after which Panda ran off to catch up with the orphan herd. Four hundred meters after leaving the stockade, the juniors met with Dabassa who was heading towards the stockade. Panda, who seems to be more social than the others, went to greet Dabassa in a trunk embrace after which Dabassa left to join Lempaute at the stockades and the two enjoyed feeding on some Lucerne that had been put out for them.

16 June 2017

It was a nice beginning to the day with the stockade dependant orphan elephants running out of their stockades to their milk bottle and supplements after which they enjoyed a drink at the stockade water trough. They were so busy drinking that they did not see Lempaute and Kivuko arrive. Kenia was not the happiest to see them as usual. She went into consultations with Lentili and they decided to just lead their group away. The rest of the herd happily followed leaving the two Ex Orphans in the stockade compound. Today Nelion tired to mount Ishaq-B which she did not appreciated and the two ended up in a brief pushing game which delayed them from leaving the stockades and they had to rush to catch up with the rest of the orphan herd. Ajali must have felt honored and happy when Kenia allowed him to spend some time browsing with Araba. It is very rare for Kenia to allow anyone to browse with her baby and as such Ajali counted himself lucky to have been accorded this privilege.

17 June 2017

Upon exiting their stockades the orphans downed a morning milk bottle after which they enjoyed a soil dusting session at the stockade compound. Ndoria enjoyed a private browsing session for two hours before joining the rest the rest of the group as they made their way to the stockades for the noon milk feed and mudbath. Today the group was visited at the stockades by a group of school children who were on a field trip as part of the Trust’s community outreach program. After the milk feed Panda enjoyed a buttock scratching game which the school children found very entertaining. Apparently upon seeing the attention Panda was getting Lentili did the same thing. Nguvu also was busy scratching against a rock until Suswa came and chased him away from his position so that she could take his place. The afternoon was spent browsing on the southern side of Msinga Hill with Mashariki and Rorogoi taking the lead in the evening when it was time to return to the stockades.

18 June 2017

Another morning dawned and the orphan elephants began the day with their usual morning routine of a milk bottle followed by supplement feeding. They then engaged each other in some stockade games before heading to the browsing fields. Under the leadership of Tundani and Mbirikani the orphans browsed on Msinga Hill before returning to the stockades at noon for their milk bottle and some water. Bada had a lovely time buttock scratching against a rock while Mudanda watched. Panda sat on a different rock for a brief scratching session before joining Ishaq-B and Mbirikani at the newly built stockade terraces. Naipoki and Nguvu shared a rubbing stone with each one enjoying their session without interference from the other. Kenia was busy scratching which gave Mashariki the opportunity to take Araba for a soil dusting game. Kenia made sure to come and get Araba when it was time to return to the browsing fields for the afternoon.

19 June 2017

The morning started well with the stockade dependant orphan elephants drinking their milk and feeding on the daily supplements given to them by the keepers. Today the rock scratching game was given priority by the orphans who all seemed to be feeling rather itchy. Nelion chose a sharp edged rock and sat on it while rubbing his buttock back and forth for a good scratch. Bada did the same thing on another rock boulder. Panda was busy playing a dangerous game of sliding down the newly built stockade terrace. In the afternoon Tundani and Bada engaged each other in a tough pushing and strength testing game. Bada eventually surrendered and conceded defeat to Tundani. Later in the evening, Lempaute, Kivuko, Dabassa and Layoni came to the stockades and had a drink from the water trough. Kore and Tawi then joined them for some Lucerne grass with Tawi, the male orphan eland, trying to engage Lempaute in a fight. Lempaute saw his sharp horns and made sure to stay away from them and did not engage herself with Tawi. The four left for the main park at around mid-night.

20 June 2017

This morning Kenia and Ndii seemed unsure as to which direction to take following the visit last night from Lemapute’s herd. They had their milk and supplement feed after which they headed to the far northern browsing grounds. Pasaka was given the opportunity to lead today which made Ndoria very jealous. Nodria ran past Ndii and Kenia and tried to grab Pasaka’s tail to bite it. This scared Pasaka who ran up Msinga Hill to seek refuge in a think bush at the top of the hill. Three keepers went looking for Pasaka and it took them two hours to find him. Following the incidence with Ndoria Pasaka was reluctant to come down the hill and join the rest of the group. The keepers went and got some milk bottles to use them to persuade Pasaka to rejoin the orphan herd and together with some help from Mashariki, Kihari and Naipoki they were able to get Pasaka down to rejoin the group. The rest of the days browsing activities took place without any further incidences.

21 June 2017

It was a nice beginning to the day with the orphans playing games of hide and seek coupled with tree trunk and rock scratching games. Although it is very dry, there was plenty of Lucerne grass, copra cake, and Lucerne pellets for the orphans and Ex Orphans to enjoy. Lempaute, Kivuko, Dabassa and Layoni often come to the stockades to get supplements from the keepers so as to be able to stay in good condition. Pasaka seems to like being at the head of the group when the orphans make their way to the browsing grounds but today moved even further ahead, as he remembered what Ndoria did to him yesterday. Today Ajali had a soft spot for Pasaka and together with Nguvu were able to assume him that Ndoria would be kept away and he was safe. Pasaka was able to settle down and the keepers made sure to keep an eye on Ndoria so that Pasaka would not run off again. Panda also made sure to stay close Pasaka to give him the reassurance that he needed to feel safe and happy.

22 June 2017

The day started well with the stockade dependant orphan elephants concentrating on their milk and supplement feeding before engaging in some brief games at the stockade compound after which they headed to the southern side of Msinga Hill for the mornings browsing session. Pasaka was looking more settled today and was following Ajali whom he has come to trust. The orphans had a wonderful morning browsing before returning to the stockade for milk and water and to interact with some visiting school children. Nelion was the star today, sitting on a rock boulder close to the stockade water trough entertaining the school children who enjoyed watching his antics. Nguvu went to scratch on a rock after the mudbath and was able to get Ajali to join him. Rorogoi bravely stood behind Panda who went to push Ajali off the rock that he was scratching against as she and Rorogoi wanted a turn as well. Lempaute, Dabassa, Layoni and Kivuko came to the stockade after the juniors had left for the afternoon. They had a drink and settled to enjoy some Lucerne grass. They left the stockade to return to the park a few minutes before the babies returned for the night.

23 June 2017

This morning the stockade dependant orphan elephants enjoyed playing a wonderful game of hide and seek around the stockades before leaving for the browsing grounds. Their browsing pace was deliberately slow so as to feed on as much vegetation as they could. In the early afternoon some rain fell with Ndii and Rorogoi playing rolling games in the slightly wet soil. They were having so much fun and were not paying close attention to their surroundings which resulted in Ndii nearly falling into a deep erosion trench. Today Embu took Pasaka for an amazing soil dusting game away from the others. Pasaka was thrilled to have been given the attention by Embu. Mashariki and Nelion had a private browsing moment away from their friends and rejoined them later in the day. The orphans enjoyed browsing on the moist grass and as it was rather cold none of them visited the mudbath.

24 June 2017

The morning was cloudy today as the orphans headed to the browsing grounds under Lentili’s leadership. She took them to the eastern side of the stockade where the browsed in single file until it was time for their noon milk bottle. The orphan elephants visited the mud bath at noon but did not really wallow as it was quite cold. Later on Ndii took little Araba for a wonderful dusting game in an erosion trench with Pasaka coming over to watch their game. Pasaka is still not entirely comfortable with all the orphans and although he wanted to join their game he did not know what kind of welcome he would receive and as such shied away from playing with them. The rest of the days browsing activities went well with Dabassa and Layoni coming to the stockades in the afternoon. The two had a drink and fed on some Lucerne grass leaving an hour after their arrival.

25 June 2017

The morning was wonderful with all the orphans enjoying their milk and supplement feeding before engaging in some socializing games. Mashariki stood on top of the stockade terrace and engaged Arruba in a strength testing pushing game using the height of the terrace to her advantage. When the orphans left the stockade for the browsing grounds they made their way to Msinga Hill and walked half way up the southern side of the hill where they settled for the mornings browsing session. At midday they made their way to the waterhole where they enjoyed mudbathing games before returning to the browsing field for the afternoon. In the evening Nelion engaged Tundani in a head on pushing game that looked very real and not just a play fight. Pasaka saw the two and ran away worried about what was going on. The keepers had to call Pasaka back and were able to calm him down and reassure him that everything was okay. He then rejoined the orphan herd that were still browsing as it was not yet time to return to the stockades.

26 June 2017

The morning was good with the orphans running out of their respective stockades and downing their morning bottle of milk before heading up Msinga Hill for the morning browsing session. Suswa and Kenia were feeling lazy and did not want to climb the hill and protested about doing so. Unfortunately though, they had to follow the rest as there is more vegetation for them to feed on higher up the hill. Today the orphans visited the stockade water hole as it was closest to where they had spent the morning browsing. After their milk bottle they enjoyed some scratching games with Nguvu and Embu sitting on the same rock for a buttock scratching session. Kihari had a unique scratching style of rubbing both sides of her tummy on a v-shaped tree. Panda went and sat on the newly built stockade terrace colouring it red as she was covered in red mud from the waterhole. Ndii seemed to be having fun swirling the water in the stockade water trough around and around with her trunk but not having anything to drink. The afternoons browsing session was spent browsing halfway up the southern side of Msinga Hill.

27 June 2017

It was a warm and sunny morning as the orphans downed their morning milk bottle and then settled to feed on Lucerne grass and copra cake. After the supplement feeding the orphans enjoyed some dust bathing games as well as games of chasing baboons down Msinga Hill after which they settled to browse in the western side of Msinga until it was time to go to the waterhole for their noon milk bottle. Ndii and Kenia had a wonderful time playing rolling games in the water, with Arruba, Suswa and Ndoria teaming up for a dustbath following their mudbath. Ndii got very jealous of Ishaq-B’s game of sliding down the mud bath walls and into the water and charged up to Ishaq-B pushing her from behind to take her spot. Ishaq-B did not feel like fighting and joined the others at the dustbath. Later in the evening, Tundani and Nelion engaged each other in a tough pushing game which they were so engrossed in that they did not notice that the rest of the group had started the journey back to the stockades for the night forcing the two to run to catch up with them.

28 June 2017

Ndii seems to have developed a slight dislike towards Ajali as Ajali adopted Pasaka whom Ndii was eyeing to adopt has her baby. Today Ndii was bringing up the rear of the orphan group as they headed out to the park and spotted Ajali in the lead which made Ndii run to the front bringing the entire group to a halt. Ndii called Kihari and Naipoki to come and take the lead over from Ajali who stepped aside not wanting to cause any conflict with Ndii. The morning was spent browsing on the northern flat lands of Msinga hill. Today some students from Kivukoni Primary School of Kilifi came to see the orphans at the mudbath and had a lot of fun watching them and getting to know the babies that they have chosen to foster. Rorogoi followed by Bada and Panda bravely climbed a steep wall out of the water pool and were cheered on by the students who wanted to acknowledge their difficult feat. Ndii got jealous of the attention that the three were getting and came in to lead them away. The afternoon was spent browsing close to the waterhole with Lentili leading the orphan herd back to the safety of the stockades in the evening.

29 June 2017

It was a nice beginning to the day as Lempaute and Layoni arrived first thing in the morning and went straight to the water trough for a drink of water before settling to feed on Lucerne. Once Kenia’s herd exited their stockades they downed their morning milk bottle and joined the two Ex Orphans at the Lucerne piles. Lempaute had a soft spot for Araba taking her for a browsing session while Kenia stood by helplessly as her baby joined Lempaute. Kenia, Ndii, Kihari and Naipoki then consolidated their herd and took them to the browsing grounds leaving the two Ex Orphans in the stockade compound. The two left for the park about 20 minutes after the babies and headed in the opposite direction to them. The orphans visited the water hole at noon but not everyone wanted to wallow. Mbirikani was the first to get into the water where she enjoyed a wonderful rolling game which caught Araba’s attention and got her to join in as well. Ndii once again got jealous and jumped into the water to take Araba away from Mbirikani. Today Nguvu was engaged in a friendly game with Mbirikani and was pushing her bottom. Rorogoi did not seem to approve of this game and came to drive Nguvu away. Suswa and Embu teamed up for a wonderful game of diving into the water, before joining the rest for the afternoons browsing session.

30 June 2017

The morning began with the stockade dependant orphan elephants enjoying their morning milk bottle and settling for some Lucerne grass before heading to the browsing grounds. Soon after they left, Lempaute, Kivuko and Layoni came to the stockade for a drink of water from the trough before also enjoying some Lucerne grass supplements after which the three Ex Orphans left the stockade for the browsing grounds where they went in search of the babies, joining up with them at the middle waterhole. After the noon milk bottle Mudanda engaged Embu in a chasing game. Embu had to run as first as she could so as to prevent Mudanda from catching her. Embu then went and embraced Pasaka who responded with deep appreciative rumbles. Mbirikani had her wonderful time rolling around in the water. Panda came and watched her games for a few moments before chasing her out of the water so that she could take her spot. Ajali stood behind Suswa watching her mud bathing games. Arruba had an amazing dusting session with Ndoria watching her closely and once she had dusted up sufficiently she went to enjoy a scratching session against a tree stump. Just before the group left the waterhole for the browsing fields they were joined by Layoni. Tundani stayed to watch Layoni’s bathing tactics after which he rejoined his group as Layoni headed towards the airstrip.