Choose your region

Mutara and Makireti’s groups Kibo, Chemi Chemi, Kalama, Orwa and Bomani were relaxing outside the stockade when the orphans were let out. Sities took Mteto and Mundusi aside to get to know them as Pare tried to challenge Kibo. Garzi played with Kainuk as Suguta tried to lie down to attract the young babies to play with her. The babies took no notice of Suguta which meant she got up after a short while. Makireti took a bale of lucerne and started tossing it up in the air, simply because she can get plenty of green vegetation everywhere, and she felt like she did not need to eat the lucerne! What Makireti was forgetting is that it won’t remain green forever, and one day in the not so distant future, she will come to regret her passive approach to extra food, when the dry season comes. Out in the Park all was quiet and Esampu, Mteto and Mundusi were still trying to come to terms with their new environment. They appeared to have settled down with Esampu trying to lead the way from time to time, despite the fact she hasn't mastered the area properly yet. At mud bath time, the weather was cloudy and the dependent orphans were on their own with no guest elephants present. After having their midday milk bottle, the orphans decided to have a wallowing session, and after ended up in a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area until five o'clock in evening when Kauro led the first group back to the stockade. A wild group visited consisting of five elephants. They were busy drinking water as the orphans arrived back. Shortly later, the group left and another group of six wild elephants with a four-month-old baby visited the stockade. It's the first time since the rainy season drew to an end that two purely wild groups have visited the stockade water troughs. They probably wanted to find out if there was still water in those water troughs since soon the water holes will start to dry up.

Laragai, who had spent the night out with Orwa and Bomani, joined the juniors early in the morning. Lemoyian held a brief meeting with Rapa and Tusuja, in which Tusuja appeared disgruntled with Lemoyian. Lemoyian was annoyed with Tusuja too, and decided to try and show off his strength by climbing on Tusuja. Rapa didn’t want to wait around for Lemoyian to do the same to him so he walked away. Orwa lay down in an effort to attract the young boys to come and play on him but the boys weren't interested in his games. After getting tired of waiting, Orwa stood up and walked to the water trough where he had some water. Roi and Naseku were the last to leave the stockade compound while Dupotto and Pare stayed for a little longer at the water trough as they tried to arm themselves with enough water to see them through the entire morning. Karisa engaged Rapa in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Shortly later, the orphans were joined by Kilaguni, Kasigau and a wild elephant. The wild bull was nervous and left Kilaguni with Kasigau enjoying the company of their junior friends. The wild bull headed towards mud bath. Kilaguni and Kasigau also then moved towards mud bath were the dependent orphans joined them at noon. Karisa, who never wastes time when it comes to mud bathing, jumped into the water as the rest of his friends followed suit. The mud bathing was followed by soil dusting and after Oltaiyoni led the way back out to the bush. Mutara’s group showed up at the stockade in the afternoon and later left again. In the evening, Orwa and Bomani escorted the juniors back to the stockade.

A wild mother with her two calves aged nine and four years old were at the stockade compound together with Orwa and Bomani when the orphans were let out to start their day. Maramoja was the first one out, followed by Karisa. One of the nine year old wild elephants started charging at the orphans and the orphans tried to avoid her. Out in the bush, Mundusi settled to browse with Mteto while Roi and Siangiki settled to browse with Enkikwe. The two girls put Enkikwe in between them as a show of solidarity; they kept him company and wished him a quick recovery. Shortly before mud bath time, Olare showed up out of nowhere and joined the orphans. She later escorted the babies to mud bath. After mud bathing to their satisfaction, Olare took the juniors for a soil dusting exercise and later bid them goodbye as she wandered off. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. In the evening, Olare, Orwa and Bomani came back to the stockade compound and relaxed for one hour before disappearing again.

Orwa and Bomani had spent the night just outside the stockade, and welcomed the juniors out in the morning. Orwa performed a game of rolling on the ground while Bomani, Tusuja and Namalok settled for a scratching exercise on the nearby rocks. It was a quiet morning as the orphans settled to browse in Kone area without any major observations. Olsekki settled to browse with Pare while Dupotto teamed up with Roi. At mud bath time, the orphans only had milk and water then went back to browsing. In the afternoon, the sun was getting hot and so Rapa, Tusuja, Olsekki and Siangiki spent some time relaxing under some trees and overhanging rocks. They only resumed browsing when it became much cooler later on.

Karisa left the stockade with a branch in his mouth that he continued to enjoy on the way out. Kauro and Maramoja decided to go and scratch their itchy bodies while Pare and Galla exchanged morning greetings by entwining their trunks. The orphans briefly settled for lucerne before Mteto and Mundusi who are close friends started rumbling as they walked away. Roi heard them and since they are just new to the area, she decided to follow and monitor them so as not to lose them. Later Esampu decided to have her own game of rolling and sitting on the ground while Rapa decided to gauge his strength by inviting Galla to a pushing game. Galla accepted and the two dueled for some time until Rapa decided that he had enough of the pushing game and opted out to continue browsing. Dupotto developed an itchy ear and decided to scratch on the nearby tree as Garzi dusted himself. Later, the rebels Kithaka, Laragai, Barsilinga, Garzi, Lemoyian and Sirimon dodged the keepers and disappeared into the thicket, only to show up late in the evening with Orwa and Bomani. At mud bath time the weather was chilly and none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. The orphans had their milk then sipped the drinking water before wandering off into the bush to browse again. Later in the afternoon Dupotto led the first group back to the stockade.

Kilaguni, Orwa and Bomani who had spent the night outside the stockade welcomed the juniors out in the morning. Pare in particular, who these days likes to challenge his seniors, entwined his trunk with Kilaguni in morning greetings. Galla challenged Bomani after their morning greetings as Mteto and Mundusi headed straight to the browsing field. The keepers hurried to catch up with them as they are not yet very conversant with the area. The boys were in playful mood in the morning. As they reached the bush Olsekki had a challenging game with Sirimon while Orwa played with Kilaguni. Tusuja played with Pare while the street wise boy Karisa handled Wanjala. Later, Esampu settled to browse with Sirimon and Namalok while Maramoja teamed up with Mundusi and Mteto. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and the orphans only drank their milk and had some water before going back to browse, deciding to forego the cold water of the mud bath. Only Enkikwe splashed water on his wound and behind his ears before following his friends. The afternoon was still chilly and Karisa saw it wise to have a warm up exercise by initiating a pushing game with Naseku. The quiet Namalok, who still drinks his milk from a bucket, had a light pushing game with Tusuja before settling for a lone soil dusting exercise. Towards evening, the sky cleared giving way to sun shine.

Tumaren, Melia, Chemi Chemi, Orwa, Bomani, Makireti, Murka, Naisula and Kitirua were outside the stockade when the orphans were let out. The entire herd briefly settled for lucerne and after Melia led the way out to browse. Tumaren enjoyed a game of lying down just to try and trick the young ones to come and climb on her. Mundusi, Esampu and Mteto didn't fall for Tumaren's trick but watched from a distance. Tumaren got up when she realized that she wasn’t getting any takers for her game. Mteto and Mundusi, who are close friends, settled for a soil dusting exercise while Kamok and Tusuja had a light strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Wanjala played with Roi while Chemi Chemi played with Naisula. At mud bath time, the weather was fairly warm and the orphans together with the ex-orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath before heading for a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, Melia led the entire team to the western slope of Ithumba Hill where the orphans settled to browse. In the evening, the ex-orphans escorted the juniors back to the stockade.

Bomani, Kilaguni and Orwa, who are always punctual to report early in the morning, were standing outside the stockade when the orphans were let out. Bomani picked on Galla for a morning warm up exercise that later turned into a strength testing exercise. Galla put so much effort in to make sure that he didn't lose the game and sure enough the game ended in a draw which made Galla very happy. Tusuja briefly sniffed at Kilaguni and later requested for a strength testing training exercise which Kilaguni obliged. Karisa put Pare on notice for teasing him from time to time, but Pare disregarded Karisa's warning and attempted to push him. Laragai took her rebel group towards the east as the orphans headed west of the stockade. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Tumaren, Melia, Chemi Chemi, Murka, Naisula and Kitirua. After the orphans had their milk bottles and drank some water, Karisa led the way to the mud bath. Tusuja put on the best performance of the day with his lavish swimming styles. He took so much time in the water that his friend Roi came to check on him and find out what was going on with him. Tusuja assured Roi all was well and he would be coming out shortly. Roi insisted that time was up and he should be on his way to soil dust just like his friends. Tusuja evidently heeded Roi's advice and so quit wallowing for another day. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse on the western side of Ithumba Hill. Galla had a brief strength testing exercise before resuming browsing.

It was a cold morning today as the orphans came out of their rooms and down to the lucerne feeding area after having their milk. They mingled there with Orwa and Bomani before heading to the bush to browse. Nasalot’s ex-orphan group with baby Nusu among them then arrived. They drank water and then left again. When the orphans went out to browse they were very busy making sure they found enough food to eat; Dupotto browsed separately from the others. Laragai's herd walked away from the orphans and browsed independently. After their milk at midday the orphans obviously felt warmer as they decided to go into the mud bath. Enkikwe did not want to wallow with them for fear one of them would knock his bad leg, so he splashed water on his wound and drank separately from them. It must have been relieving to wash his wound with the cold water. Later the orphans were browsing and Roi started playing in the dust. She was scooping and tossing chucks of soil in the air and some on her back. This attracted some of her friends who started doing the same. Pare and Maramoja were browsing together while Olsekki and Siangiki, as usual, were doing the same. The dependent herd later made their way back home in the evening for their milk. Laragai's group arrived later and was immediately locked into their stockade for the night as well.

It was colder again today as some clouds had rolled over and there was a slight breeze. The dependent orphans walked down to feed on lucerne and found Orwa, Bomani and Bongo already there waiting for them. Kauro was feeling itchy and scratched on the wall while eating at the same time. Bomani also did the same on the wall while Kithaka was restless and wanted to go out to the bush to browse. Lemoyian was also very active and running all over the place with his ears held out wide. Out in the bush the orphans were all busy browsing. Olare’s herd with Melia, Tumaren, Murka, Kitirua, Naisula, Kilaguni, Kibo, Kandecha and Chaimu joined them and they started browsing together. Kibo and Kilaguni started play fighting and being playful. The orphans came in groups of 3 to have their milk at noon and after they walked in their groups with a keeper to the mud bath. Olare and the other ex-orphans followed them to the mud bath. A young wild female was among them. Tumaren started climbing on Olsekki while they were swimming. After swimming some went to the dust bath and others went straight back out to browse. It became very hot though and the orphans were struggling to browse and find shade at the same time. Ukame browsed right up until it was time to go home. They walked in a line all the way back to the stockades for their milk in the evening. Enkikwe had managed to stay with them for the whole day which was so nice for him. In the stockades today we had one wild bull who came to visit. He drank water and left. We also had Olare and Mutara’s herds. They came running in very thirsty and had some water from the water troughs, and then they started playing around, obviously relieved and more at ease since they had a drink. Kibo was play-mounting on a wild female who was with them. Kibo also started play fighting with Tumaren and they were communicating with each other in deep rumbling tones. Kainuk over on the other side was playing with Bongo and finally Naisula was play fighting with Suguta.

Mutara’s herd reported shortly up after the orphans were let out. Suguta walked to where Enkikwe was feeding on lucerne and with the use of her trunk, tried to touch Enkikwe's wound to find out how the boys healing process was going. Suguta herself understood the feeling when one is injured since herself has been a victim. Some years ago she was shot by an arrow and received injuries that made her return back to the stockades to nurse the wounds for a six good months. We thought perhaps Suguta was giving Enkikwe hope and wished him a quick recovery. Kauro settled to scratch his buttocks on the wall while Tusuja picked up a piece of stick that he used to scratch his chest with. While they were browsing, Karisa had a light moment of fun by engaging Namalok in a pushing game. Later, the orphans were joined by few ex-orphans where Tusuja took the opportunity to test his strength by engaging Ololoo in a pushing game. At mud bath time, Lualeni, Sidai, Ololoo, Kitirua, Tumaren, Melia, Kandecha, Chemi Chemi, Kalama, Orwa, Bomani, Kibo and Naisula escorted the juniors for their eleven o'clock milk bottles, and thereafter mud bathed and soil dusted. In the afternoon, the herd settled to browse on the western side of Ithumba Hill, and the ex-orphans parted ways shortly before evening.

It was a quiet morning with a clear sky when the orphans were let out. No single wild elephant or former orphans showed up that morning. Namalok settled for a scratching game on the nearby rocks, a game that also attracted Rapa, Kauro, Esampu and Roi. As soon as the orphans had enough lucerne, Maramoja, who has all the characteristics of becoming a future matriarch, rumbled as she walked out southwards. This was a sign of letting everyone know that it was time to head for browsing before it got too hot. Out in the field, the orphans were joined by Orwa and Bomani who were wondering when the time will come for Laragai and her small group to join them out in the wild so that they might have some company and grow their herd. Galla seized the opportunity to have a strength testing exercise with Bomani. Their game didn't last for long as Orwa warned them by taking too much time playing it would cost them time feeding, and they needed to get enough food to eat. At mud bath time, the orphans had a spectacular wallowing session and later, Siangiki and Olsekki took their friend Enkikwe to drink water and thereafter escorted him slowly back out to browse. Galla developed an itchy chest and looking around he couldn't find a suitable rock or tree to serve him. He then picked a stick that he used to scratch himself with, and when he was satisfied he went back to browsing. Kauro and Wanjala settled under a tree to relax and when they got bored of standing under the tree, the two boys decided to keep themselves busy by scratching against the tree as they waited for the temperatures to drop. Kamok and Roi, who came together from Nairobi, embraced the spirit of sharing when they teamed up to feed on the same shrub. Maramoja spend time feeding with Esampu as Mundusi always sticks with his friend good friend Mteto. In the evening, four wild bulls in the company of the senior ex-orphans showed up at the stockade and left immediately after having enough water.