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Three wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough when Naboishu led the orphans out of their stockades this morning. Mundusi, Rapa, Pare, Maramoja and Kauro walked straight down to join the wild bull. Soon after they had their fill of lucerne, the boys switched into a more playful mood. Jotto engaged Pare in a pushing game that ended when Jotto decided to surrender. Mukkoka tried his hand at taking on Sattao, a game that went for quite some time until Rapa intervened. Rapa took Sattao and left Mukkoka, since he understood that Mukkoka is young and wouldn't accept his request for a pushing game. Sattao agreed to play with Rapa but changed his mind when Rapa started playing rough with him, and at that point he simply walked away. 

Later on, out in the bush, Mapia played with Jotto while Esampu challenged Kauro. At one point Nabulu practiced how to hang her trunk on her tusks to relax, but her tusks are still too small to hold her trunk. Mteto teamed up with Enkikwe to browse as Ndiwa and Maramoja took a break from browsing to participate in a soil dusting exercise. 

At noon the orphans had their milk bottles but decided to skip the wallowing exercise, since it was quite overcast and chilly. Ex-orphans Naserian, Njema, Naisula, Kitirua and Namalok showed up at the mud bath. The ‘baby-lovers’ Mteto, Esampu and Malkia walked over to babysit Njema before following their friends out to the bush. Kilaguni showed up to join the dependent orphans briefly, then walked away. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing.

Ex-orphans Meibai and Kenze were among the wild bulls who reported for water this morning. Ambo tried his usual trick and turned right to head towards the lucerne store, before the Keepers arrived and told him off. Enkikwe walked down to the water trough and tried to charge at a buffalo who was sharing water with a wild bull. The buffalo totally refused to leave, leaving Enkikwe with no other option than to retreat and use the other water trough to have a drink. As soon as the orphans were through with the lucerne, Malkia led the way out to browse. 

Larro came across a tasty shrub that she tried to uproot with her trunk. When the pulling become difficult, Larro got down on her knees and used her mouth to cut the shrub. Larro finally managed to pull it up and enjoyed feasting on it! Kuishi took a break from feeding to play with Rapa as Jotto played with Mapia. Mteto, Malima, Dololo, Nabulu, Esampu, Ndiwa and Mukkoka took some time off from their busy feeding schedule to enjoy dusting themselves. 

At the main mud bath the orphans were joined by Mutara and her herd. Mambo jumped into the water to cool off and his nannies joined him. The late-night gang led by Oltaiyoni arrived at the mud bath later when the orphans and Mutara’s herd were leaving. They were in the company of Challa and Lemoyian too.

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill. Lemoyian engaged Kauro in a pushing game as Dololo played with Musiara. Ndiwa, who rarely plays, engaged Mteto in a pushing game too. In the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night.

The weather was chilly this morning as it was overcast. As soon as the orphans left the stockades it started drizzling. We were so excited to see a hint of rain. The orphans had some lucerne briefly before setting out to browse. Given the chilly weather, not a single wild elephant showed up this morning. Bomani, who has been away for some time, was in the company of Zurura and had a good time enjoying the lucerne left behind by the dependent orphans. 

The orphans enjoyed the cool weather but also wished they could enjoy a real downpour. Kauro decided to have fun by playing on the damp soil as Naboishu enjoyed the company of Sana Sana. Jotto had a private conversation with Ambo while Mundusi requested a pushing game with Pare. Pare declined and moved on as it was too early to start wasting time playing games. Esampu got into trouble with Kuishi when she slipped and bumped into her. Kuishi refused to understand that it wasn't intentional for Esampu to bump into her and she turned and bit Esampu’s tail! Poor Esampu ran away as fast as she could.

It was still chilly when the orphans made their way to the mud bath and they decided to only have their milk bottles and some water before disappearing back into the bush again. In the afternoon Mundusi engaged Kauro in a pushing game while Jotto played with Pare. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. 

The wild female known as the ‘crazy one’ was at the stockade compound with her baby this morning. It is our own ex-orphans who are actually the main nannies to her baby. The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Shortly later, Sana Sana and her favourite little Naboishu led the way out to the bush. On their way out Ndiwa came across a rock that she used to scratch her belly on. 

Out in the bush Karisa and Mundusi had a warm up exercise through a pushing game. Their game attracted Ambo and Sattao who started their own pushing game. The orphans settled to browse north of the Kalovoto seasonal river. Kauro ‘the stick carrier’ teamed up with Enkikwe, Karisa, Rapa and Pare in browsing as Kamok settled to browse with her favourite Ambo. 

At mud bath time Rapa, Kauro and Mundusi lagged behind as Malima led the first group while Esampu led the second one. Larro led Naboishu and Mukkoka. After getting their milk, only Pare, Dololo, Kuishi, Nabulu, Mteto and Malkia decided to wallow in the mud bath. As they were leaving, Galana, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Ithumbah and several wild elephants arrived. Mteto and Esampu, who love babies, went back to say hi to Nusu and Noah before following their friends out to the bush. 

The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Given the dry conditions at the moment the orphans were careful not to waste any time as that would mean going home without filling their tummies. In the evening, all the orphans returned safely to the stockades.

Ex-orphans Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Chyulu, Cheka, Loijuk, Lili, Ithumbah and Galana were present in the morning and joined the orphans for some lucerne. Mteto had a brief chat with Lili before moving to check on Cheka and Lexi. All the orphans fed on lucerne peacefully and as soon as they were all done, Larro led the dependent orphans out to browse for the day. 

They headed towards the Kalovoto area, an area they like the most at the moment given that it has quite a lot of vegetation still, perhaps due to the water underground, and it’s not far from the stockades where they can access water easily. The orphans settled to browse until Sattao and Musiara became engaged in a heated argument over a branch that they came across, probably dropped by a wild bull. As they continued with their stand off and while they were distracted, Mukkoka passed by and picked up the branch! Mukkoka taking the branch away brought the stand off at an end, as the two boys ran after Mukkoka to retrieve the branch. Mukkoka dropped it and walked off, and Musiara and Sattao resumed their fight as they each pulled an end of the branch and tried to out do each other. Luckily the branch broke in two pieces, so each got to leave with their own share! Soon it quiet again as the orphans got serious about their browsing. 

It was hot when the orphans made their way to the mud bath, where they were joined by four wild bulls to wallow in the waterhole. Kilaguni, who travels alone these days, showed up at the mud bath too, but left a few minutes later. Naboishu challenged Ambo but the game ended when Naboishu surrendered. Dololo played with Musiara as Mapia played with Pare. Sattao and Esampu joined several wild bulls to have some water before running to catch up with their friends. 

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Later on Enkikwe and Karisa dodged the Keepers and arrived back at the stockades early before the others.

A wild herd of elephants arrived at the stockade compound early in the morning. Soon after drinking water the wild herd joined the dependent orphans to feed on lucerne. Mteto, Esampu, Malkia and Ndiwa bonded with the young wild babies and later escorted them when they were ready to leave with their family. 

Nabulu led the way out to browse. Kuishi challenged Kauro to a pushing game but lost the game since she wasn’t quite strong enough to defeat Kauro. Musiara played with Mapia but when he lost to Mapia, Musiara moved to attack Dololo out of frustration. Dololo, who appears to have expected the move taken by Musiara, had prepared himself so the two boys locked trunks and had a pushing game that lasted for quite sometime. Naboishu and Jotto had a brief conversation before Jotto pushed Naboishu, probably after Naboishu said something that made Jotto annoyed or unhappy. 

Later in the day Musiara teamed up with Ndiwa to browse as Kamok knelt down to pull up a shrub with her mouth that she couldn't uproot just using her trunk. At mud bath time the orphans were briefly joined by ex-orphan Tomboi and a wild friend. The two big boys didn't stay for long but had water then splashed water behind their ears before disappearing. 

After mud bath the orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. As has become their usual routine in the afternoon, Karisa and Enkikwe sneaked away and disappeared, only to show up at the stockades shortly before six o'clock in the evening.

Ex-orphans Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Vuria, Makireti, Lenana, Lapa, Naisula, Sunyei, Siku, Saba, Orwa, Kanjoro, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah and Buchuma were in the stockade compound early in the morning. Soon after the dependent orphans had their morning milk bottles, Naboishu and Nabulu led the way out of their night stockades. The orphans joined the ex-orphans outside and they all patiently waited for lucerne. As they waited for the lucerne to be distributed Jotto and Ambo settled to play with the little rascal Lapa. Lapa surprised the two boys by the way he would lift his two legs off ground while attacking them, but when the going got tough for Lapa, the boy ran to his mother. Later Noah played with Musiara while Saba played with Mteto – so the wild born babies had a lot of fun with the orphans this morning. 

The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area for the morning. Ambo and Rapa, who had lagged behind interacting with the ex-orphans, caught up later with their friends. Sana Sana settled to browse with Naboishu as Kamok teamed up with Ambo. The rest of the group browsed calmly throughout the morning session. The temperature was moderate and at mud bath time, only Pare, Esampu, Larro, Mukkoka, Ndiwa, Malima and Maramoja decided to wallow in the mud bath after having their milk bottles.

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse along the western slopes of the Ithumba Hill. Larro and Mukkoka browsed a distance away from the rest but rejoined them later. Karisa and Enkikwe seemed relaxed and didn't think of dodging the Keepers like they normally do whenever they feel like it. All the orphans returned safely to the stockades at the usual time for the night.  

Kilaguni and a wild friend were playing outside the stockades in the morning as they waited for the water to be refilled and the lucerne to be distributed. Yatta and her herd arrived shortly after the orphans were let out. Esampu decided to have fun by playing with Saba. Mteto received a warning from Meibai when she tried to share the pile of lucerne he was feeding from. The orphans didn't stay for long since they faced stiff competition from the ex-orphans so they decided to head out to browse. 

Mukkoka and Larro settled to browse together. We couldn’t help but think they might be reflecting on their life for the past five months since they’ve been at Ithumba. Pare and Jotto had a warm up exercise by having a pushing game. Their game only ended when Kauro passed by and pushed the two boys out of his way. The orphans moved and settled to browse in the Kanziku area. Later they had their noon milk bottles at the mud bath and Rapa got into the water to show his friends how mud bathing is done. Sana Sana, Mapia, Ambo, Karisa, Mukkoka and Larro joined Rapa to enjoy the cooling off exercise. When they were through, Mapia got out first and tried to block Karisa from getting out. Mapia's action annoyed Karisa and he decided to fight his way out as he didn’t want to be held hostage in the water. At last, Karisa managed to push his way past and walked out to participate in a soil dusting exercise. Mapia walked over to Jotto, perhaps to receive an explanation as to why Jotto didn't want to wallow today. It looked as though the confrontation between Jotto and Mapia might escalate, but Jotto was clever as he went to stand close to his Keepers. 

Rapa came across a log of wood that kicked around for a bit like a football and later he engaged Mapia in a pushing game. In the evening when it was time to return to the stockade compound, the Keepers found that Maramoja, Sapalan, Sana Sana and Naboishu were missing. They couldn't return home without Naboishu, so some Keepers took the rest of the orphans home while the others went in search of Naboishu. An hour later, Naboishu, Sapalan, Maramoja and Sana Sana were found. Naboishu, who looks up to Sana Sana, was only following her and wasn’t really aware of where he was going or how late it was! The Keepers returned safely with the missing group so all the orphans were tucked up into their stockades for the night. 

Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Tumaren and Kithaka were at the stockade compound this morning. As soon as the dependent junior orphans came out of their stockades, the ex-orphans joined them for lucerne which the Keepers were busy distributing. Nusu ran into trouble with Musiara when he tried to block Musiara from picking up some lucerne. Dololo, who is Musiara's play mate, joined in and punished Nusu by driving him away. Nusu ran back to his mother. Shortly later, a wild herd showed up in the company of their young ones and joined in feasting on the lucerne too. Nasalot’s baby Noah picked one of the young babies about his size and engaged it in a pushing game. Sana Sana and Esampu stood close to the two babies ready to separate them if anything went wrong. Eventually they ended up separating the two babies anyway, when they felt their pushing game had gone on too long. 

The orphans left for browsing soon after finishing their lucerne. It appears that Kamok woke up in a good mood today as she and Malima were engaged in a light pushing game; it's rare for her to entertain her juniors. She only treats Ambo with any level of care and love! The light pushing game didn't last for long as Kamok left and started a lone game of playing on the ground. Ndiwa came across a small rock that she tried to move by using her foreleg but it was too heavy. Eventually she gave up and walked off to join Malkia to browse. Enkikwe dodged the Keepers and left, thus skipping the eleven o'clock milk feed. It was really hot, prompting all the orphans to get into the mud bath to cool off. Kamok and Rapa emerged as the stars of the day, showing off all their swimming techniques and splashing around, while Ambo and Pare emerged as the best soil bathing team. Despite the hot weather, only one wild bull showed up for water while the orphans were there. In the afternoon, the orphans browsed in the upper Kalovoto area. Enkikwe showed up later at the stockade compound accompanied by the ex-orphans. 

Several wild bulls arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn but at that time there was no water left in the water troughs. One wild bull decided to lie down and sleep as he waited for the water troughs to be filled up. Mutara and her herd spent the night outside the stockades and joined the orphans as soon as they were let out. Ndiwa and Maramoja went over to supervise Mambo and assume the responsibility of watching over him. Maramoja naively offered to nurse Mambo but when he tried to suckle of course she had no milk, so Mambo opted to go back to his mother. Yatta’s ex-orphan herd arrived moments later. Mapia and Mundusi tried to block Kama from accessing any lucerne but were cautioned by Kinna not to try. Mapia and Mundusi left to team up with Nusu who defended himself when the two boys tried to bully him. A buffalo arrived to share water with the elephants, which surprisingly they allowed today. The unfriendly Kamok pushed Noah when the baby walked in front of her. Noah stood up and ran towards his mother as if to tell on Kamok, but Kamok just walked away as if she had done nothing wrong. One day she might receive a punishment for her grumpy behaviour from an older elephant and it might be about time!

Later in the morning Ambo was spotted playing with Esampu while Pare played with Karisa. Mundusi played with Kauro and ended up losing his game to Kauro. To stamp his authority, Kauro climbed on Mundusi's back.

At mud bath time, only Rapa, Musiara and Maramoja decided to swim in the main waterhole after their milk feed. The others had their milk, then headed straight over to join a group of wild bulls drinking water. In the afternoon, Dololo engaged Ambo in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. Karisa and Enkikwe disappeared off into the bush and by the time it was time to return to the stockades, the two boys still couldn’t be found. They ended up bringing themselves back to the stockades much later in the evening. 

Kilaguni was the only senior elephant present in the morning to join the orphans for lucerne. As such it was very quiet and the Ithumba dependent orphans very much enjoyed their morning as they experienced no disturbance from any outsiders. Half an hour later, a wild female with a two-month-old baby arrived. The baby’s nannies consisted of the ex-orphans Kitirua and Kalama! Two junior boys also accompanied the small group. Mukkoka and Sattao stood in front of one of the two wild boys with their trunks up, trying to get to know him better, but the wild boy didn't show any interest in familiarising with the two boys. Sattao and Mukkoka decided to leave as the bull looked like he might push them out of his way any minute. Meanwhile the wild baby interacted with Mteto and later played with Mundusi which was nice. After finishing the lucerne, Ndiwa led the dependent orphans out to browse. 

Mapia engaged Jotto in a pushing game and later they both entered a competition of trying to pick leaves from the tallest tree branches. When Jotto realised that he was losing, he stepped on a nearby rock just to make himself a bit taller and gain an advantage over Mapia. Musiara challenged Ambo to a pushing game that ended when Musiara surrendered. 

Again it was only Rapa, Sana Sana, Esampu, Mundusi and Pare who decided to wallow in the mud bath after the noon milk feed. The rest of the group opted for a soil dusting exercise before proceeding to have some fresh water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill. When it was time to return to the stockades for the night, the Keepers realised that Rapa and Sana Sana were missing. The two orphans showed up to the stockades later in the evening, accompanied by the ex-orphans in Yatta’s herd. 

Ex-orphans Barsilinga, Kithaka, Loijuk, Lili, Melia, Chemi Chemi, Bomani and Naisula joined the orphans in the morning. The sky was clear which meant it would be a very hot day ahead. Soon after the orphans had enough lucerne, Esampu led the way down to the water troughs where the orphans drank enough water to see them through the entire morning. Naboishu and Mukkoka had a light pushing game but Mundusi walked in between them and brought an end to their game. The two boys went their separate ways, and spared their energy to begin another pushing game later.

The orphans concentrated mostly on browsing as the drought continues to bite in this area of Tsavo. It is as if they understand that wasting time playing means a day ending without getting enough food. Jotto teamed up with Kauro as Sana Sana settled to browse with Naboishu. Kauro sneaked off early and arrived at the mud bath before the others to wait for his share of milk. As soon as he had finished his bottles, Kauro headed straight to the water trough to have some water. Today it was Kamok, Rapa, Mteto, Malkia, Larro and Mundusi who decided to swim in the waterhole. When all the orphans had finished a dust bath they started to walk back out to the bush to continue browsing. The ex-orphans, led by Yatta, arrived as soon as the last dependent orphans had disappeared amongst the bushes. They didn't stay for long as they only briefly wallowed in the waterhole and had some water, before heading off north. Kuishi teamed up with Malkia in the afternoon as Rapa, Mundusi, Karisa and Pare parted ways with their friends and moved to browse a distance away. The four boys re-joined the group when it was time to head back to the Ithumba compound for the night.