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.
It was a chilly morning today. The orphans, led by Naboishu and Nabulu, settled for lucerne soon after leaving their night stockades. Six wild bulls were enjoying water at the water troughs. Shortly later, two buffaloes showed up. Malkia, Sana Sana and Mundusi spotted them and walked down to try and scare them away by trumpeting, but the buffaloes stood their ground. They drank their much-needed water as the orphans retreated with their tails up in their air. Sana Sana regathered her courage when she saw the buffaloes leaving and charged after them, following them as if she had successfully managed to scare them away! The buffaloes didn't seem to care however and just carried on walking off into the bush. Sana Sana turned back and met with Jotto who praised her for her efforts. Shortly later, Naserian who appears to have formed a small group consisting of her baby Njema, Naisula, Kitirua and Namalok, showed up and joined to finish feeding on the lucerne there. Ex-orphan Meibai and a wild friend also joined them.
Later in the morning, Sana Sana was spotted taking care of Naboishu while Maramoja teamed up with Musiara. Kauro played with Jotto as Mundusi engaged Mapia in a strength testing exercise. When the orphans went to the mud bath for their noon milk feed it was quite cold and none of the orphans wanted to wallow in the mud bath. In the afternoon, the orphans were joined by Mutara and her small group. Karisa sneaked away from the herd, but returned to the stockades later shortly before dark.
This morning Ambo tried his old tactic and as soon as he came out of his night stockade he headed straight to the lucerne store; but he turned and ran when he saw the Keepers approaching, knowing that he had been caught! Mutara and her small group joined the orphans while a family of wild elephants joined the orphans shortly later. Malkia, who is still besotted with Mutara’s baby Mambo, made sure that she got close to him and was able to chaperone him around. Musiara, Mteto and Pare interacted with two wild babies who were with the wild herd, but the unfriendly Kamok spoiled their fun when she passed by and pushed one of the babies. The baby screamed and ran to his mother, as Musiara, Mteto and Pare shook their heads in disapproval of what Kamok had done.
Out in the bush Jotto engaged Mapia in a pushing game that didn't last for long as Kauro came over and separated the two boys by standing in between them. Jotto walked off to join Naboishu who was browsing, while while Rapa teamed up with Karisa to do the same.
When the orphans and Keepers made their way to the mud bath for the noon milk feed they came across a wild bull there in musth, who charged at anyone in sight, before proceeding to drink water at the water trough. The orphans boycotted the wallowing exercise due to the chilly weather and the rather aggressive bull hanging around. Ambo led his friends over to the pile of loose soil on the other side of the mud bath where they had a dust bath instead. Ex-orphan Challa arrived and was the only elephant there to get into the mud bath for a swim. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill and they all behaved themselves when it was time to return to the stockades, with none of them deciding to sneak off for a few hours or the whole night!
Ex-orphans Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Chyulu, Cheka, Lenana, Lapa, Kanjoro, Chemi Chemi, Garzi, the wild female elephant and her baby, plus Melia, all joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. Musiara ran into trouble with Lulu when he tried to share lucerne with her. Lulu pushed Musiara away to go and look for his own. Kanjoro disagreed with Garzi and they pushed each other, but we weren’t sure what it was about. Garzi decided to surrender and run away. Musiara bumped into Lenana’s baby Lapa and they had a light moment of pushing each other, but Lapa couldn't withstand Musiara’s strength and so surrendered and walked towards his mother. Mteto, Jotto, Enkikwe, Sapalan, Dololo and Ambo walked down to the water trough for a drink. A lone buffalo joined them there. Enkikwe tried to charge at the buffalo but the buffalo was unconcerned and only left after taking enough water. The ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans soon after they had all finished feeding on lucerne and Larro led the way out to browse.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and concentrated on browsing without any major distractions. Pare led the first group to the mud bath for their milk feed. A bright sun shone down and it was very hot. Pare, Musiara, Maramoja, Karisa, Rapa and Dololo went for a swim in the mud bath, as the rest of the herd participated in a soil dusting exercise. Jotto tried to block Pare from coming out of the mud bath, but Kauro pushed him aside to let Pare out.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled west of the Ithumba Hill. Larro, Naboishu and Mukkoka teamed up with Sana Sana to browse as Enkikwe and Karisa sneaked away and returned to the stockades early without the Keepers’ knowledge. In the evening, forty wild bulls showed up at stockade for water.
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.
Mapia, Naboishu, Rapa, Ambo, Kauro and Musiara settled for a scratching exercise along the wall at the stockade compound this morning. Moments after the orphans settled for lucerne, Mutara’s herd along with a wild herd showed up and joined the them. As usual, Kamok had an unfriendly attitude towards the wild babies, and as such the wild babies avoided Kamok like the plague – they have had encounters with her several times so they know her character well! Sattao shared lucerne with Rapa as Ambo engaged Musiara in a pushing after a disagreement, but no one knew why it started. Dololo tried to make friends with one of the wild babies but the mother took her baby and drew it closer to her before Dololo could have more of a conversation.
The orphans settled to browse north of the kalovoto area. A troop of chattering baboons passed by and this annoyed some of the orphans. Mundusi, Pare, Rapa, Jotto and Mukkoka joined efforts to drive away the baboons since they were disturbing them with their relentless noise. The baboons didn’t hang around and disappeared as quickly as possible, leaving the elephants in peace. Mutara and her herd arrived out of nowhere and joined the orphans, and later accompanied them to the mud bath. Karisa and Enkikwe arrived later and after having their milk bottles they walked off to join some wild bulls drinking water. In the afternoon, Larro, Mukkoka, Malima, Naboishu and Sana Sana teamed up to browse as Karisa disappeared, only to show up later at the stockades.
It was a quiet morning. The ex-orphans and wild elephants were late coming for water. This is because they travel far by the night in search of nice vegetation. Meanwhile the dependent orphans settled for lucerne as usual. Shortly later, two wild teenage elephants arrived and soon after drinking water, they joined the orphans to feed on lucerne. A buffalo showed up and walked to the water trough. Enkikwe, Naboishu and Ndiwa spotted the buffalo and decided to walk down to chase it away, however the buffalo remained unmoved by the three orphans. Enkikwe tried to charge, but the buffalo didn’t take him seriously, and drank as much water as he needed before slowly sauntering away, just to prove to Enkikwe that he is still a kid and he needs to grow a bit more before trying to throw his weight around! Naboishu walked back to the lucerne feeding area and fed close to a wild elephant. He kept stealing glances up and the wild bull and we thought he must be wondering how long it might take for him to grow to the size of the wild elephant next to him.
When it was time to leave, Sattao lagged behind with the two wild teenagers, but later he ran to catch up with his friends. The sky was clear and this predicted a hot day a head. Sana Sana teamed up with Musiara to browse and later Sapalan engaged Jotto in a strength testing match. The game ended when Jotto decided to surrender.
It was still very hot when the orphans made their way to the mud bath so they all decided to get into the waterhole after having their milk bottles. After they enjoyed a soil dust bath to dry off, before heading to drink water. In the afternoon the orphans settled along the western slopes of Ithumba Hill where they browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day.
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.
The orphans left the stockades early as usual and settled for the supplement lucerne food. Nasalot, her baby Noah, Kanjoro and Tumaren joined the orphans. Mundusi and Mapia tried to wrestle with Noah but Noah was clever and ran to the safety of his mother. The two boys were scared of following Noah as they understood the consequences if they were too rough with Noah in front of his mother! Sana Sana took her favourite little Naboishu and started walking away towards the bush. Larro and Mukkoka followed as everyone started to get the message that it was time to head out to browse. Kamok, Ambo, Rapa, Pare and Nabulu passed by the water trough and drank enough water to see them through the entire morning.
Out in the bush, Jotto settled to browse with Musiara and Sattao as Malkia, Ndiwa and Kuishi teamed up together. It was another hot day and at mud bath time, the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise. Ex-orphan Challa was the only senior bull present while the orphans were at the mud bath.
The orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill in the afternoon. Malima settled to browse with Mteto as Musiara and Dololo engaged in a strength testing exercise. In the evening, Jotto led the way back to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning with no wild elephants or ex-orphans present. The dependent orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Half an hour later however, ex-orphan Kilaguni, ‘the loner’, arrived. Kilaguni joined the orphans for lucerne too. A wild bull also showed up and settled for some water. Sapalan, Rapa, Mundusi and Jotto got wind of the wild bull and decided to walk down to find out a bit more about him. They found it was a bull they know and so settled to share water with him. Shortly later, the wild bull left after drinking enough water. The orphans were left with their trunks up as they tried to find out where the bull was heading. Enkikwe found a suitable tree that he used to scratch his neck against. Malkia teamed up with Malima and as the time approached for the orphans to head for their milk bottles, they followed Larro to the milk feeding area.
The weather was chilly and none of the orphans wanted to wallow in the main waterhole. In the afternoon, Mukkoka decided to challenge Dololo. Ambo, who was close by, couldn't allow Dololo to be humiliated by this young boy, so Ambo intervened by teaming up with Dololo in defeating Mukkoka. Mukkoka couldn't withstand the strength from the two boys combined and so decided to surrender to maintain his dignity.
In the evening, Yatta her family along with Kinna, Sunyei and their families, Makena and Vuria showed up after being away for more than one month! It was lovely to see them all.
Soon after the morning milk feed, Ambo decided to cross back over to Class One with the intention of harassing Naboishu. Naboishu was lucky this morning however as in his attempt to push Naboishu, Ambo slipped and fell on the ground with a thump. Naboishu sauntered happily out of his stockade unscathed before Ambo could get up and attack him even harder now that he was embarrassed! Olsekki and Siangiki had slept outside the stockades during the night and woke up to receive the orphans who had started streaming out of their night stockades. A wild bull showed up at the water trough and Olsekki with Naboishu walked down to join the wild bull in drinking water. Later, Kuishi led the way out to the bush.
Jotto had an altercation with Malkia, but we didn’t know why. The two ended up in a pushing game that didn't last for long, as Kauro passed by and pushed the two out of his way. Karisa and Enkikwe left with the late-night gang and failed to turn up at the mud bath. Rapa was the only one who wanted to wallow today! The rest just left as soon as they had finished their milk bottles. Twenty wild bulls were present at the mud bath today.
The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill soon after leaving the mud bath. Mundusi and Kauro had a strength testing exercise that didn't last for long. Enkikwe and Karisa reported back to the stockades early before five o'clock in the evening and demanded their share of milk that they had missed at mud bath time. Fifty wild bulls were present in the evening and had their fill of water before finally walking off into the night.
A wild herd joined the orphans for lucerne in the morning. The wild herd had two young babies who were comfortable interacting with the orphans. As soon as the wild herd had enough, one baby was left behind interacting with Naboishu as his family walked to the water trough to have water. Naboishu saw it as the perfect opportunity to pinch the baby by pushing it the way it was trying to push him when the mother was around. The baby got upset and ran away to catch up with its family. Jotto, Kuishi and Mundusi had a game of sitting and rolling on the ground before leaving the lucerne feeding area and heading for water.
Out in the bush the dependent Ithumba orphans had a quiet morning as they concentrated on browsing without any major distractions.
When the orphans went for their noon milk feed at the mud bath they were joined by two wild bulls who wanted to wallow in the main mud bath. Shortly after wallowing, the orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise before having some water. In the afternoon the orphans concentrated on browsing again as they seemed intent on filling up their tummies before returning to the stockades for the night.
Kithaka, who has been away for over a month, arrived in the middle of the night with a sprained ankle, but otherwise he seems fine! Barsilinga left at the same time as Kithaka but didn't return with him, and we hope we might see him soon. It was a quiet morning with not a single wild elephant in the stockade compound. The orphans enjoyed their lucerne as Mundusi spared sometime to be with Kithaka in order to find out where he has been and what happened to his ankle. It appears that Kithaka didn't want to talk however as he pushed Mundusi aside.
The sky was clear and this was an indication of a hot day a head. Shortly before mud bath time, Mundusi and Kauro decided to take a break from browsing to relax under a tree to escape the scorching sun. At mud bath time, the orphans participated fully in the wallowing exercise and thereafter settled for a soil dusting exercise. Jotto engaged Mapia in a strength testing exercise that lasted for quite some time. At last, Jotto gave up and left. Ex-orphan Challa showed up briefly at the mud bath and later disappeared.
In the afternoon, Karisa and Enkikwe sneaked away from their group and disappeared; the two boys have had this tendency for quite sometime now. Only time will tell when the two boys will leave and join the wild as they are showing less and less interest in spending time with their friends and the Keepers! The two boys reported back to the stockades later in the evening.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockades. Shortly later, Yatta and her herd showed up and joined the orphans to have some lucerne too. A wild herd with two young babies followed and joined in too. An hour later, the dependent orphans left to begin their day of browsing, and they decided to settle in the Kanziku area. Malkia teamed up with Naboishu, Mukkoka and Larro while the boys Rapa, Mundusi, Pare, Kauro and Jotto split from the main herd and browsed some distance away.
It was a quiet morning as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. When they made their way to the mud bath for their milk bottles, they were joined by Kilaguni. It was very hot and all the orphans decided to wallow in the main mud bath, with the exception of Kauro who didn't even bother to step into the water. Ten wild bulls were drinking water at the mud bath water trough, and brave Nabulu and Sattao decided to join them. The rest of the herd kept away until the Keepers moved the wild bulls aside to allow them to have some water too. After drinking enough, the orphans headed for a soil dusting exercise and then went back to browsing for the rest of the afternoon.
Later in the afternoon Mapia engaged Jotto in a pushing game that lasted for quite sometime. At last, Jotto decided to surrender and almost immediately, Ambo took over. Eventually Ambo and Mapia decided to finish their game to spend a bit more time browsing before it was time to return home. Karisa and Enkikwe disappeared yet again, only to show up later at the stockades.
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.
The ex-orphans in the company of several wild bulls arrived early before dawn. There was no water left in the water trough as it had been finished during the night. Some of the elephants decided to take a nap by lying on the ground while the others waited and relaced while standing. The water bowser arrived and refilled the water troughs at dawn, and the thirsty elephants proceeded to quench their thirst. The dependent orphans joined up with the ex-orphans and wild elephants when they were let out of their night stockades. The Keepers distributed some lucerne and all the elephants enjoyed feeding on it. Maramoja, Malkia and Ndiwa assigned themselves the role of taking care of the wild born babies Saba, Mambo and Njema who were present this morning with their mothers. Shortly later, Larro led the way out to browse. Mukkoka, who is starting to reveal his true colours, engaged Mapia in a pushing game and later moved on to play with Sattao. He is starting to enjoy wrestling and establishing his place in the hierarchy of dependent orphans!
Karisa and Enkikwe did their usual thing and decided to sneak away – they went back to join the ex-orphans thus missing out on the eleven o'clock milk feed at the mud bath. The weather was chilly and only Rapa and Sana Sana managed to get into the water, but they wallowed there for a very long time! The rest of the herd opted for a soil dusting exercise before heading to drink some water. Several wild bulls who were drinking water at the water trough gave way when they saw the orphans coming in the company of their Keepers. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse in between Imenti and the Ithumba Hill. Mapia, Ambo and Mukkoka teamed up to browse together. Later, Ambo engaged Mapia in a pushing game as Mukkoka keenly watched the tactics used by the two boys. In the evening, Karisa and Enkikwe showed up at the stockade compound in the company of the Yatta's herd, having spent a lovely day with them.
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.
Only one wild elephant was present in the morning, and he joined the orphans for lucerne. The bull picked up a whole bale of lucerne and moved a distance away to enjoy it all by himself. Pare and Enkikwe soon finished their share and decided to join the wild bull. The wild bull was hesitant at first but the juniors were so persistent that eventually the bull had to relent and allowed the boys to share with him.
On the way out to the bush, Ambo engaged Mapia in a pushing game then later quit to team up with Malkia to browse. Karisa teamed up with Musiara as Sana Sana settled with her favourite Naboishu.
It was quite cool when the orphans made their way to the mud bath today and only Rapa, who has become quite the ‘water boy’, decided to swim in the waterhole. Ex-orphan Meibai in the company of a wild friend showed up at the mud bath too. Meibai went straight into the water and joined Rapa in wallowing. The rest of the herd enjoyed a soil dusting exercise before heading for a drink. As the orphans made their way back out to the bush to continue browsing, we spotted Enkikwe sneaking off and going his own way, only to show up later at the stockade compound early before five o'clock in the evening.
Mutara, her baby Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk, Kandecha and Kithaka spent their night outside the compound. Soon after the orphans were let out, the ex-orphans welcomed them and joined them for lucerne. Twenty minutes later, the late-night gang arrived in the company of Lemoyian and Bomani. After finishing the lucerne, Larro and Ndiwa led the way back out to browse. Mapia appeared to be in a playful mood this morning. He engaged Musiara in a pushing game and when Musiara surrendered, Mapia moved straight on to play with Mundusi. Mundusi was well prepared however and tackled Mapia properly. This time the game came to an end when Mapia surrendered. Mundusi climbed on Mapia’s back as a show of victory.
The drought continues to hit hard and the orphans concentrated mostly on finding the best vegetation. It was a cold day, and at mud bath time, only Rapa and Sana Sana dared to step into the mud bathing water to have fun. The rest of their friends just walked around the mud bath without showing any interest in joining their two friends. Maramoja, who had joined Oltaiyoni’s late-night gang for the morning session, arrived at the mud bath later and found that her friends had already gone back out to the bush. Realising that she was late, Maramoja ran with her trunk up in the air in an effort to locate her friends and find out which direction they had gone in. She finally caught up with them amid rumbles and trumpeting as she was welcomed back after being away for the entire morning.
Later in the afternoon Ambo took sometime time off from feeding to engage Musiara in a pushing game. Their game ended prematurely when Kauro emerged and separated the two boys. This seems to be a habit of his! The rest of the day was a quiet one as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
Three wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough in the morning when the orphans were let out. One of the wild bulls walked up and joined the orphans since he knew that by teaming up with them, he would definitely get to share their lucerne. Shortly later, Mutara and her herd arrived. After an hour of sharing lucerne, Larro settled to have a word with Suguta before leading her friends out for the day. Sattao spotted some monkeys a head of him and decided to chase them. He trumpeted and charged at them. His trumpeting attracted Mundusi and Malima who ran to check what was bothering Sattao. The moment they saw the monkeys, Mundusi and Malima helped Sattao in chasing the monkeys away, who ran up into the trees.
Ex-orphans Melia, Kilaguni, Chemi Chemi and Kibo arrived shortly later after the orphans had left for browsing and teamed up with Mutara’s group who were still in the stockade compound. The orphans had a quiet morning as they concentrated on browsing.
When they went to the mud bath area for their noon milk bottles, Karisa, Rapa, Mundusi, Jotto, Dololo, Sana Sana and Naboishu decided to get into the water for a swim soon after finishing their milk. Tomboi joined the orphans briefly at the mud bath before leaving.
In the afternoon Mukkoka challenged Sattao. Their game came to an abrupt halt when they saw Rapa approaching. Mukkoka and Sattao stopped their pushing game and faced in opposite directions, pretending nothing was happening just to let Rapa pass. As soon as Rapa went past them, the two boys resumed their pushing game.
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.
Barsilinga and Tusuja, who have been away close to two months now, arrived at the compound in the dead of the night. It’s not clear where the two boys have been for that long given that this is a dry season. Kithaka, who is part of their small group, already arrived a week back with a small limp. No one knows exactly what happened to him and we wish that Barsilinga and Tusuja could tell us, for they would surely know too. The orphans settled for lucerne as soon as they left their night stockades, and Barsilinga and Tusuja were all too happy to join them. Mutara’s herd joined in with the feeding too. Maramoja and Mteto decided to keep Mambo company by standing close to Mutara. Mundusi, Rapa, Karisa and Enkikwe were standing next to Tusuja and Barsilinga, eagerly waiting to speak to them and perhaps ask why they had been away for so long. The two older bulls only seemed to concentrate on the lucerne that they had missed for a very long time however, and as far as we aware they didn’t engage the younger bulls in much conversation!
Out in the bush, all the young boys seemed in a playful mood. Jotto engaged Ndiwa in a pushing game and later tackled Pare. Mukkoka gauged his strength with Musiara while Karisa played with Dololo. Maramoja, who had lagged behind the rest of the group as she opted to take care of Mambo instead, joined her friends about an hour later.
It was quite chilly when the orphans made their way to the mud bath and none of the orphans dared to step into the water. In the afternoon, they settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area. Jotto and Mapia enjoyed a short pushing game, stopping when they realised that they had wasted a lot of time instead of concentrating on browsing. When it was time to return to the stockades, the Keepers realised that Rapa and Sana Sana were missing. A search was mounted but they couldn’t find them, although Rapa and Sana Sana happily reported back to the stockades later all by themselves, shortly before six thirty 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.
Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Chyulu and Cheka joined the orphans in the morning. Jotto briefly interacted with Lulu but Lulu appeared uninterested in Jotto's conversation as she concentrated on feeding on lucerne. Jotto just left to avoid further embarrassment since he couldn't push Lulu to get her attention as she was standing close to her mother. Meanwhile, the unfriendly Kamok had no qualms pushing poor little Cheka when Cheka tried to share her lucerne. Cheka cried loudly, drawing the attention of Chyulu his mother. Kamok didn’t hang around as she knew what would happen if Chyulu caught up to her! Kamok ran away, leaving Cheka to enjoy the pile of lucerne that she had been enjoying moments ago.
Later, Malkia led the orphans out to browse for the day. It was quite chilly and overcast, which the orphans were happy with as cooler weather is much nicer to browse in, without having to seek shade or take a break because it is too hot. It was a welcome break from the scorching hot days we have been experiencing. The orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto river. It was a quiet morning as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing.
When the orphans went for their noon milk feed they had their bottles and skipped the wallowing exercise, before heading to drink water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill. Ndiwa decided to spend the rest of the day feeding with Naboishu. The ex-orphans joined the orphans briefly and when they left, Mteto ‘the lover of babies’ decided to leave with them. The rest of the orphans returned safely to the stockade compound for the night.
A family of wild elephants arrived at the stockade compound shortly after midnight. The herd with two young babies decided to wait around until daybreak to join the orphans for their supplement lucerne feeding session. The late-night gang led by Oltaiyoni arrived in the morning too, and waited for lucerne to be served. At six o'clock in the morning as soon as it began to get light, the orphans had their morning milk bottles then Naboishu led the way out. After sharing lucerne with all the other elephants hanging about, Sana Sana led the way out for the day. Enkikwe decided to stick with the late-night gang where he has his friends Siangiki and Olsekki.
The sun shone brightly and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky today, so we knew it was going to be hot. Naboishu engaged Ambo in a pushing game while Pare played with Ndiwa. None of their pushing games didn't last for long as they are aware of the current drought and so they didn't want to mess around by spending too much time playing.
Mapia had a disagreement with Jotto when Jotto broke a branch that Mapia had his eyes on. Jotto tried to defend himself but after a second thought, he just let the branch go then moved on to break another one. Jotto didn't want any prolonged conflict but to browse peacefully without any undue stress.
It was very hot when the orphans made their way to the mud bath, so they all enjoyed cooling down in the waterhole after their milk bottles. Even Kauro, who rarely swims, was seen in the middle of the waterhole enjoying it to the maximum. Thirty-five wild bulls were present at the mud bath while the orphans were there. After having enough of wallowing, the orphans headed for a drink of water and then went back out to browse. Pare engaged Karisa in a pushing game while Dololo teamed up with Jotto to browse. Enkikwe walked off and returned early to the stockades while Mteto, who had left the previous day with the ex-orphans, came back to the stockades shortly after six o'clock in the evening.