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A new month has clocked in, and here in Umani it all began so well and nicely, with all the babies happy to be in the new month in style. Though it seems this month marks the beginning of the cold season. No elephant walked to the waterhole to swim today. Little Lenny tried to go into the water, but Lima Lima, Kiasa, and Amali stopped him from doing so. He didn’t understand why they stopped him, but it was because the nannies didn’t want Lenny to get even colder.

When the Keepers tried to call back the babies — as we always do by calling Murera — she rumbled, and all the babies respected the call and moved to where Murera was, also rumbling to keep the herd intact. Sonje, Enkesha, and Quanza followed the direction Murera and the Keepers were heading. Little did we know, Mwashoti was also on his way, and this was why Murera insisted on calling the herd to her side — knowing they had communicated with Mwashoti.

Mwashoti had been away for many weeks without returning to the herd. He left with Kiombo but returned today, though Kiombo did not come with him. Instead, Mwashoti arrived with Faraja. The Keepers believe that since Kiombo is a young male, he may have stayed with a wild herd to make new friends.

We later heard some screaming sounds from the little babies. The orphans were under the shade, and the mothers were breastfeeding their little ones. It was Sulwe making the noise, after she was caught by Zigi trying to sneak a feed from Zongoloni. When Zongoloni realised Sulwe was trying to suckle — and Zigi was also trying to push her away — she kicked Sulwe to chase her off and allow Zigi to breastfeed. Sulwe loves suckling from Zongoloni, while her own mother, Sonje, never allows any baby besides Sulwe to breastfeed from her. That is why Zongoloni also chased Sulwe off — to send her back to her rightful mother, who never shares her own milk.

Alamaya decided to come and visit the orphans today after a long recess. He had left together with Jasiri and Kiombo, but today, when he arrived walking alone towards the fenceline without his friend, the Keepers realised that Kiombo has now proven to be a big boy — able to make his own decisions — and has likely joined a wild group. That left Alamaya to return home alone.

As soon as Alamaya was spotted by Maktao, the two started a pushing game, but Maktao couldn't keep up with Alamaya's strength. Being much lighter in weight, Maktao gave up quickly in the pushing match.

Murera led her group towards the Umani Hills, passing through the springs. When the younger babies approached the water, Enkesha and Kiasa didn’t allow Lenny and Sulwe to get into the springs, aware that crocodiles might be hiding in the water with their heads submerged, waiting to ambush passing animals. Lenny and Sulwe didn’t understand why they were being blocked, but Kiasa and Enkesha were very aware of the danger and insisted on keeping them safe.

Lima Lima then crossed the dryland with Zongoloni and Zigi to lead the babies towards the Kenzili area. Murera and her baby Mwana took another direction, avoiding the path taken by Sonje and Lima Lima, who were leading a larger group. Eventually, Murera and Mwana rejoined the others. Though Murera remains the matriarch, she chose not to lead a separate group today, instead joining and becoming part of the larger herd near the Kenzili area.

Today at midday bottle-feeding time, Lima Lima and Zongoloni were leading, and little Zigi was seen competing with Lenny. However, Lenny won the race — being older and stronger than Zigi. It was a stiff race, with Lenny charging ahead as if he were going for his bottle, even though none were waiting for him.

After the race, Zongoloni and Lima Lima finished their bottles, and the babies turned to nursing from their mothers. Zigi went to Zongoloni, while Lenny moved to Lima Lima. But he left her side immediately after Murera arrived. Soon after, Sonje and Sulwe came in. Sulwe tried to hide behind the other babies as she made her way toward Zongoloni to nurse. However, Zongoloni spotted her — and Zigi also confronted Sulwe, fighting her off so she wouldn’t nurse from his mother. Each baby was expected to stick with their own mother, and Sulwe had to leave after being denied the chance by both Zongoloni and Zigi.

Everyone was now ready for the waterhole. All the babies began by drinking water, and Kapei and Amali led the herd to the larger waterhole, thinking the orphans would enjoy a mud bath. But when they arrived, Quanza, Alamaya, and Kiasa were the first to test the water with their trunks, checking if it was warm enough. After detecting that the water was still very cold, Murera and Sonje signalled for the group to avoid swimming. The little babies followed their mothers from behind, heading off towards the Chyulu Hills for their afternoon browsing session.

The morning was very cold for all the babies, which made Murera and Sonje much slower than usual due to their leg issues. But after walking for a while during the day, they warmed up and felt better, both resuming their matriarch duties as usual.

Later on, at the Chyulu Hills, the orphans were met with a big surprise — Alamaya appeared out of nowhere, and no one had expected him to join the herd today. As always, he was gentle and humble. Amali trotted off with Mwashoti, but Mwashoti returned alone a short while later. Then, to everyone's surprise, Alamaya came back again — this time accompanied by a huge wild bull elephant. Murera, ever cautious, immediately moved away with her baby Mwana. Lenny wasn’t left behind — he followed Murera closely, as if she were his own mother. Lenny has realised that Murera has very sweet milk and now prefers her, even over his own mother. Mwana didn’t seem to mind sharing Murera’s company, even when Lenny walked next to her or tried to nurse.

Some loud noises were then heard coming from deep within the thick Chyulu bushes — big elephants screaming, sounding as if bulls were fighting. Keepers kept their distance and watched from afar to see what was going on. It turned out that Jasiri had joined Ziwa’s wild herd, but he wasn’t welcomed. The older females were kicking him out and didn’t accept him into their group. For his peace of mind, Jasiri walked away on his own. Ziwa, however, was allowed to remain with the wild herd.

Sonje reported late this morning, arriving well after Lima Lima and Zongoloni, who had both already come in with their babies and were enjoying pellets together. The Keepers kept scanning every direction, hoping to spot Sonje, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Just as the orphans were getting ready to move into the bushes, Sonje and Sulwe were finally spotted joining the herd. They passed by two buffaloes as they made their way directly toward Zigi and Amali, who were waiting to receive them. A big and loud trumpeting erupted from the herd, accompanied by some charging — a grand, excited welcome for Sonje and Sulwe. There seemed to be many questions from the orphans, as if asking why she had come so late.

From the look of things, it seemed Sonje might be planning to slowly separate herself from Lima Lima’s group. She appeared to want to keep her baby Sulwe more to herself, away from the others.

When Zigi and Lenny spotted Sulwe, the three little babies went off to play on a dust hill together with Amali. Things escalated quickly when Zigi rolled over Lenny, causing him to let out a loud cry for help — Amali and Enkesha rushed over to assist, and Kiasa wasn’t far behind.

All three mothers — Zongoloni, Sonje, and Lima Lima — hurried over to the dust hill to help their little ones, but by the time they arrived, Kiasa, Amali, and Enkesha had already resolved the situation, separating the little angels and calming them down.

All the orphans came together into one large group this morning, uniting those who had spent the night in their stockade rooms with the night clubbers led by Lima Lima. She was accompanied by a male friend, something the Keepers have now come to recognise as a regular habit for Lima Lima, who often brings her suitors along. Unlike Lima Lima, however, Zongoloni and Sonje have never once brought a male elephant to the herd in such a manner. Zongoloni remains particularly honest and respectful of the herd’s family structure.

Mwana, assisted by Kiasa and Enkesha through Quanza, helped lead the youngest babies away from the crowded area after they heard Lenny and Zigi protesting. The wild bull that Lima Lima brought was trying to make his way into the herd, but the space was too tight, and the little ones were getting squeezed. Quanza took the initiative to move the youngest — Lenny, Zigi, and the rest — to safety, allowing the older elephants to manage any interactions with the wild male.

After some brief dustbathing (as the orphans skipped the mud bath today), Enkesha and her group led the babies toward the shaded areas before eventually disappearing into the bush. Meanwhile, Lenny and Sulwe had a small disagreement over a stick. Lenny had it clenched in his mouth, and Sulwe admired it, trying to pull it away. But Lenny wasn’t ready to let go, turning the situation into a tug-of-war. Lenny's assertiveness escalated, and Sulwe began to feel overwhelmed. Kiasa, having observed the situation, intervened after seeing Lenny becoming increasingly aggressive. As a young bull, Lenny was trying to assert his dominance, showing Sulwe — despite being only twenty days apart in age — that he expected respect.

While the orphans were busy browsing along the Chyulu Hills, Mwashoti and Kiasa seemed unusually curious, constantly looking into the forest around them. The Keepers grew uneasy too, noticing that both orphans appeared alert and uneasy. Moments later, two zebras suddenly emerged from the thickets into an open space. On seeing the elephants, the zebras turned and went their own way — prompting Kiasa and Mwashoti to also go off in a different direction. With the moment of tension over, everyone — zebras, elephants, and even the Keepers — chose to part ways and clear the area.

By the afternoon, the atmosphere had calmed down again. Sonje and her baby Sulwe rejoined Murera and Mwana ahead of the evening walk back to the stockades. As usual, the Keepers began calling out names to gather the orphans in preparation for their return home. That’s when they noticed that Maktao and Kapei were missing. The Keepers called out repeatedly, hoping they might appear, but it was in vain — neither elephant rejoined the herd in time.

Eventually, the group set off for home with Murera bringing up the rear and Mwana and Quanza leading the front. Mwashoti and Alamaya were also absent and had not been with the main herd. When the orphans finally arrived home, the Keepers noticed that two milk bottles, meant for Maktao and Kapei, were leftover. Murera and Enkesha were given the extra bottles, and both looked surprised to be receiving a bonus serving — they had no idea they were drinking what was meant for the two missing boys.

Zigi couldn’t bear to watch Sulwe drink all the milk from his mother Zongoloni. He rushed over to chase Sulwe away, and when Zongoloni realised it was Sulwe suckling from her, she disciplined her as well. Zigi added a few kicks of his own, causing Sulwe to scream and run back to her mother, Sonje. Meanwhile, Lenny remained glued to his own mother, Lima Lima, and Zigi stayed close to Zongoloni. All the babies were clearly seen by the Keepers nursing from their mothers, each sticking close to their own. Mwana observed the scene from a distance, standing quietly with Amali, who kept a close eye on Sulwe. Amali seemed hopeful that Sulwe might leave Sonje and come to her — but that never happened.

At midday, as the Keepers and orphans made their way for the bottle feeding session, Lenny suddenly took off, racing ahead of the others who were due for bottles. Kiasa and Zigi followed closely behind him. Zongoloni couldn’t stay away from her baby boy and followed Zigi right away. Down at the waterhole, Murera surprised everyone by spraying mud at whoever was standing behind her. This sent the others scattering and kept both elephants and visitors at a distance. After witnessing Murera’s determination to clear her space, the Keepers and guests had no choice but to retreat and to go change into dry clothes.

Later in the day, Faraja and Mwashoti were spotted emerging from the bush, heading to the mud bath after most others had already left. The waterhole was now the domain of the boys. Meanwhile, the mothers and younger babies gathered at the dust pile. Amali and Lenny climbed to the top of the dust hill, looking down at the others as if admiring how big they’d become. Kapei became jealous and attempted to climb the hill too, but Quanza intercepted him, not wanting him to disturb the little ones. Seeing Kapei approaching the top, Amali quickly took Lenny and Enkesha into the nearby bushes to rest in the shade, as the day had grown much hotter and not ideal for the babies.

Very early this morning, Jasiri and Faraja again reported—just moments after Lima Lima and her team arrived with the little babies at the pellet feeding place. It had been a very long time since Jasiri visited the orphans, but today he came willingly to be with them. Later, Faraja was also spotted, though he had only been with the orphans a few weeks ago.

Jasiri then left together with the babies who were heading towards Kenzili, and when Murera realised Jasiri was about to reach her from behind, the Keepers saw her suddenly hurry away to give him space. Murera seemed to think Jasiri was about to mount or push her—she was clearly cautious of him—but Jasiri had no such intentions and simply moved along, leaving Murera alone.

Amali walked back to be with Lenny, her close friend, while Sulwe stuck with her mother Sonje. Kapei joined Maktao in a pushing game, and later Mwashoti joined in when he thought Maktao was actually fighting with Kapei. Mwashoti turned back to help Kapei but quickly realised it wasn’t a real fight—it was just play. This made Maktao turn against Mwashoti for interfering, which caused Kapei to walk away.

When the babies reached Kenzili, everyone relaxed to browse and play around the anthills that some of the elephants had discovered nearby.

The elephants overstayed at the mud bath today, making up for the two days they had skipped visiting the waterhole. Those previous days had been cold and uninviting, with no real urge to swim. But today was different — it wasn’t too cold, and there was no wind. The orphans arrived for their bottles, and Sonje and Lima Lima led them to the drinking waterhole. From there, the babies followed Sonje, Lima Lima, and Quanza, who took charge of leading everyone to the larger mud bath.

As soon as they arrived, Sonje tested the water with her trunk. Meanwhile, Amali, Enkesha, and Kiasa encouraged the littlest babies — Sulwe, Lenny, and Zigi — to join them. After the nannies confirmed the water was good for swimming, Lenny and Sulwe were the first to get in. Zongoloni took Zigi to a quieter side, and soon all the elephants were fully engaged in a swimming session that lasted nearly an hour.

After their extended swim, the Keepers began calling the babies by name, hoping to guide them toward the dust bath to dry off. But Lenny and Amali didn’t respond. Lenny didn’t feel it was warm enough yet for a dust bath and preferred to retreat into the bush with Amali for shade. The rest of the herd followed them and found the little ones already relaxing beneath the shrubs.

Murera was nursing both Lenny and Sulwe, while Zigi was fast asleep next to his mother Zongoloni. Kiasa remained nearby, keeping a close eye on Zigi as he finished his midday nap, before the herd moved off again to continue browsing.

Zigi and Lenny are mostly seen as growing little brothers who like sharing things together when they come close to one another. Today, Amali, Kiasa, and Zigi moved close to where Lenny was playing around with a long stick in his mouth. Then Zigi spotted the stick and moved to Lenny and begged Lenny to give him the stick, and Lenny did just as Zigi asked. Zigi put the stick in his mouth and left with Amali and Kiasa to walk him to his mother, but Lenny had to accompany him until Zigi found his mother. He then dropped the stick to the ground for Lenny to pick it back up, in a rotational basis.

Enkesha got some good branches to eat, but the branches were taller than she could reach. When Quanza saw Enkesha struggling to pull down the big branch and she was not able, this made Quanza go and help Enkesha get what she was looking for. Then Quanza also joined Enkesha, so they ate together. At some point, all the orphans came to share with them what they were eating together with Enkesha. Little Amali and Kapei screamed loudly to express their anger at Makato, who was fighting Kapei and Amali to leave, but the two were not ready to leave the branches. The Keepers shouted at Maktao until Maktao stopped fighting Kapei and Amali.

A running buffalo could have separated Murera and her baby Mwana, as he rushed through and crossed in the middle of them. However, when Murera sensed the buffalo was trying to separate them, she moved quickly to Mwana, and Mwana also joined her very fast, leaving the buffalo to go his way alone, without confusing even the little babies. Lima Lima, with Zongoloni, also spotted the buffalo before reaching the place they were. Lima Lima raised her ears up, and Zongoloni charged and moved towards him. When Zongoloni kicked up a big cloud of dust, the buffalo could not see in the dust and left to go into the Chyulu Hills, as he was escaping from the charging elephants.

Lenny and Zigi also blew out their little trumpets, trying to charge the buffalo after seeing what Lima Lima and Zongoloni were doing. Even if the trumpeting was not very loud, just little sounds, it showed that Lenny was also good at trumpeting as a way of boosting the morale of the elephant group, helping them stay united in chasing away the buffalo so it would not come into the herd again.

In the afternoon, the elephants arrived ready to have their midday bottle, which today was delayed by a few minutes after the Keepers and orphans were blocked by wild elephants who came into the herd with Alamaya and Mwashoti. One bull was very rogue — he kept looking in the direction the Keepers were shouting from.

The situation made Murera uneasy, but Lima Lima and the others had a good solution for Murera and Mwana. Sonje and Quanza created a path, while Kapei walked over to greet and distract the bull. Eventually, everybody arrived for their bottles, though it took more time and they were late. But all the orphans arrived safely, leaving the wild bulls back in the Kibwezi Forest with Kapei, who did not come for his bottle.

Amali, with her friend Mwashoti, came to the waterhole, then left to go look for Kapei. Kapei came when all the babies had now gone back for more shade. When Kapei saw the truck that always carried their bottles, he moved and placed his trunk into the truck, picking up some empty bottles as he was demanding his share, which had been given to Murera after he failed to arrive on time.

We have noticed that Amali is very smart in smelling and knowing the right direction to find her friends. She moved into the deepest part of the forest and came back again with Jasiri, whom no one thought would come today. Some time later, Faraja also joined the herd. 

After a long day, the Keepers led the orphan home, with Lenny and Zigi together with Enkesha in the lead. Lenny was holding a stick and rubbing it around his mouth, which seemed to be itchy.

Today marked Alamaya’s big day to bring himself to the orphans alone, without friends — even wild friends, like those he sometimes comes together with, were not seen. He came alone from a side no one expected, where usually wild herds or buffaloes come through. Before the Keepers could identify him, we thought he was a wild bull because of his big tusks and torn ears. Only when the Keepers spotted that he had no tail did we all trust that it was indeed Alamaya — but the boy has really grown, with huge tusks. We then called his name, and Alamaya gently came along to acknowledge greetings from his Keepers before going to Mwashoti.

Amali headed to Zigi and Lenny, leaving Sulwe to her mother Sonje, because Sulwe did not want to leave her mother to go and play away. Amali and Kiasa were taking the little boys, Zigi and Lenny, to go and play away from their mothers to give the mothers a free moment — but later, Zigi defied this and returned back to his mother Zongoloni, accompanied by Kiasa and Amali.

Maktao got to Kapei and went into the waterhole to swim, while Kapei tried to hold Maktao’s tail as they went to the waterhole. Kapei found himself in trouble when Maktao turned and hit him into the waterhole to swim and leave his tail alone.

At the moment when it was time for the orphans to head back home, some of the elephants followed Sonje to drink water and then headed home after drinking. While some elephants were busy drinking, Quanza and Limalima only washed out their mouths and spat the water out. All later lined up in a row going back to the stockades, after a very long day with the babies — and the Keepers could see how tired Zigi looked from the journey home.

Faraja and his wild friends — about four females with babies — joined the orphans and overtook the herd by big surprise, making Murera and Mwana, who did not see the big wild group joining them, leave with Maktao. Later, Kapei walked to be with Maktao, but was returned by Faraja, who did not want him and Maktao to be part of them. Kapei had to accept and returned into the herd to be with Quanza and Kiasa.

Then again, Kiasa felt Zigi would not be safe with Kapei around him, so Kiasa moved away with Zigi and Zongoloni, just to leave Kapei out from being around Zigi. Kapei was sometimes spotted by Kiasa when he was trying to put his heavy feet on little Zigi, and this was a testament to Kiasa that she would not one day leave Kapei near little babies again because his character was not very good around little babies.

Mwashoti left with Faraja after the long day’s visit. Sonje stayed with her baby Sulwe, away from the other babies. Sonje did not want her baby Sulwe to be part of Mwana and Amali, after she saw Amali struggling to pull the stick that Sulwe was holding in her mouth — and Amali also wanted the same stick. She used her strength to deny Sulwe the stick, and this is why Sonje decided to separate herself from the herd, to be with her baby alone and far from the other herd.

This morning, a herd of wild family joined the orphans before the orphans walked out to the bushes. Kapei and Maktao were happy to join them. One of the females had some boys and little babies, who stood firmly, trying to stop Kapei and Maktao from joining them. When Murera saw the wild herd, she was curious and walked away. The Keepers called her back, but she only rumbled and kept going. She didn’t want to join them with her baby, Mwana. Mwana was also not happy with them — she kept raising her ears above her head, showing that none of them was happy to join the wild herd.

Later, around midday, the Keepers turned the elephants to get ready for their midday bottles, which everyone was happy about. However, when the elephants arrived, Maktao and Kapei were missing and could not be seen anywhere, forcing the Keepers to give Murera and Amali the extra bottles. This made Amali look very surprised, as she was not expecting an extra bottle. She thought it was just one bottle and done, but when a Keeper again called Amali back for the second bottle, Amali was not very sure why she was being called back.

A very big group of wild elephants assembled close to the orphans today. This made Murera and her baby Mwana leave the herd, heading off with the Keepers, who were trying to keep a safe distance for security reasons. They left Zongoloni and Sonje behind, still deciding whether or not to join the wild herd.

When Lima Lima and Sonje realised that the big group was on a mating mission, Sonje decided it wasn’t worth staying with them. She led Sulwe and the other orphans away to keep their distance. All the orphans followed Sonje to where Murera and Mwana were, as it was needless to remain with such a large group that was focused on mating.

Maktao and Kapei were still unsure and wanted to know more about what the group was doing. When Maktao got into the big wild group, he got his own lesson — he was pushed back strongly by a bull with long tusks. He and Kapei had to run away for safety and return to the orphans.

The afternoon was now getting even hotter, and both little babies, Lenny and Zigi, wanted more shade or hoped to be taken to the waterhole for wallowing. It forced the mothers to look for a waterhole. Slowly, we saw Sonje, Zongoloni, and Murera all going to the bigger waterhole so all the babies could cool down.

Sulwe and Zigi were the first to jump into the waterhole and began rolling their small heads into the mud, covering their whole bodies. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon mud bath before the babies returned back home to rest.

This morning, before the orphans were given the go-ahead to leave their rooms after their morning bottles, a group of wild elephants — two older females with many males — came and stopped at the stockades’ water trough, trying to find water to drink. Murera and her team were just getting outside the gate entrance when Maktao and Kapei jumped out and went straight into this wild herd. One of the females tried to scare everyone around, which made Murera and the Keepers very frightened. They didn’t want to come out and be with the group, as the wild female was very serious in her threats.

Kapei and Maktao then persuaded Enkesha to join them, because Enkesha saw a little baby in the wild herd and was keen to play with it. Eventually, Enkesha, Maktao, and Kapei wandered off with the wild herd into the Kibwezi Forest, heading towards Kenzili. Murera, Sonje, and the other orphans chose to stay with the Keepers and let the three go with the wild elephants, knowing they would return when they were ready.

However, Lima Lima and her team also didn’t want to be part of the wild group, and they left Kapei and Maktao behind before the mud bath. Enkesha and Kapei then began to miss the orphans and decided to look for a way back home or at least find their way back to Murera and her team. Everyone was now blowing trumpets, knowing the Keepers and Lima Lima’s team would hear and help guide them back.

The two boys, together with Enkesha, couldn’t stay with the wild herd any longer after the babies began fighting Kapei and Maktao to leave them alone. That was the moment they all began looking for a way back to the orphans’ team. The Keepers shouted Maktao’s name loudly until they arrived at the herd from the side where Kiasa and Zongoloni were. Both boys felt happy to see the orphans again, and they were warmly welcomed by Quanza, who went to receive them back into the herd.

Lenny, this midday, became very noisy and full of complaints as he made loud noise while standing near Murera. He was pleading with Murera to allow him to breastfeed, but Murera was not ready for him at the time Lenny wanted to nurse. He used all manner of tricks, making lots of noise to attract Murera’s attention and sympathy, but Murera stood firm in her decision not to allow it. She was busy browsing and pulling down some branches for Mwana, as she kept Lenny away.

After waiting for a long time, Lenny finally decided to go to his mother, Lima Lima, to breastfeed, after failing to persuade Murera — who didn’t allow him even a single minute. Only Mwana was given the chance. The Keepers said Murera stopped Lenny because she wanted every baby to go to his or her own mother and to leave Murera alone with her baby, Mwana.

When it was time to move to the waterhole, Sonje and Mwashoti stopped to drink some water before proceeding to the mud baths. Sulwe and Amali hurriedly moved to the swimming pool, and then Lenny came along with Zigi and Kiasa. The swimming competition began, with everyone showing his or her tactics in the water, while the little angels were learning how to swim close to their older brothers and sisters.

Lima Lima today — and for a few days now — has sometimes been forgetting her baby, Lenny. When Lenny walked off to be with Murera, his mother, Lima Lima, would go far off and forget about him, while Sonje, Zongoloni, and even Murera never let their babies wander even a metre away. It has become a trend that has made the Keepers wonder how lazy Lima Lima can be, as she leaves her baby with the nannies she trusts.

Today, after noticing his mother wasn’t around, Lenny walked to Sulwe and then proceeded to Murera for the comfort he wanted — since his own mother was absent. Murera stepped in as a generous mother who helped her neighbour by caring for her neighbour’s baby. Murera and her baby Mwana welcomed Lenny and didn’t chase him away. He had first gone to Sonje, but Sonje didn’t respond well and instead kicked him, telling him to go to his favourite mother, Murera.

Lima Lima arrived late, only realising that her baby Lenny had gone with the others and left her alone. She began screaming, trying to find her way back to the herd. On arrival, Lima Lima simply moved to be with Quanza — not her baby Lenny, who was still playing with Zigi. Zigi enjoys playing with Lenny, and the two have formed a close friendship. As boys, Lenny was now teaching Zigi the tactics of playing like a boy — because boys will always remain boys in their behaviour.

Later, Lenny returned to his mother, Lima Lima, to breastfeed.

At mud bath time, all the babies lined up and got ready for their midday bottles. Amali and Quanza competed with each other, each running to be first to the bottle. After bottle feeding, both Sulwe and Kapei headed to the waterhole for a drink, then moved on to the big mud bath. It didn’t take them long to get into the water.

The older babies and their nannies soon followed little Sulwe and Lenny. Even Zigi was swimming very well, which encouraged all the nannies to join the babies in the swimming pool.

Mwashoti went over to where the little babies were having their own space, but immediately tried to squeeze himself into the small area. One baby screamed as Mwashoti was pushing too hard. This made Sonje and her team step in and remove Mwashoti from the baby space. Mwashoti was chased out of the swimming pool, which was now left for the babies — and he lost his spot.

The babies were very calm this morning. Immediately after the Keepers opened the gate, some minutes later, Lima Lima with her team — those who were out overnight — were seen arriving. But before they appeared, we heard the breaking of trees within the bushes, and it was thought to be wild elephants coming, but it turned out to be our orphans — Lima Lima and her team.

When Lenny arrived and spotted Murera, he jumped over to Murera, seeking permission to be allowed to breastfeed. It looks like Lenny loves Murera’s milk. When Murera tried to deny him the chance, Lenny was heard screaming as he pleaded with Murera to accept him. Eventually, Murera accepted the request and allowed him to nurse.

Meanwhile, Sulwe stuck close to Sonje — Sonje never gave her space. Amali and Zigi played, but Zigi was timing Amali to get down so he could climb on top. After managing to climb and roll over, this attracted Lenny to join the game, but when Lenny came, Amali felt the load was too much for her and she left Zigi and Lenny. But Zigi continued to follow her into the bushes.

Faraja and Mwashoti had some boys’ play tactics — pushing — and they pushed themselves towards Murera. When Faraja got too close to where Murera was, this made Murera run away from him, because it’s always hard for Murera to be close to Faraja and Jasiri. But she remained loyal and comfortable when Mwashoti and Alamaya got closer; she had no problems with the other young boys.

Kapei and his now very close and good friend Maktao — since Kiombo left the herd for the wild herd — have become great friends, playing a lot. In the afternoon, Kapei took on Maktao, pushing themselves into a corner. When Maktao sensed Kapei was about to defeat him, and that would embarrass him so much, he stood over a rock for Kapei to see him looking very big and with more power. This forced Kapei to stop pushing Maktao and escape, running away into the bushes to avoid punishment.

This morning, among the night-clubbers, only Mwashoti arrived and waited by the gate. Then he was joined by Murera and her team, which is not a big number these days, since Kiasa and Kiombo joined the babies to be with the little ones.

When the Keepers gave out the morning treats of pellets, Murera did not want Mwashoti or the other babies to be close by her side where she was with Mwana. She defended a bigger space only for her and Mwana to enjoy more pellets.

Mwana and Murera, some minutes later, were not lucky to celebrate the whole pellets alone this time. Now, Lima Lima and Sonje both came running and stopped to eat very fast, while Lenny spotted Murera for suckling, as the whole team were now celebrating more pellets to eat, rather than Murera and her baby alone.

When Lenny finished with Murera, Sonje walked to the water trough for a drink, before Kiasa, Enkesha, and Amali took off with the little babies to the bushes.

Big screaming was heard from the top of the hills, which stopped the elephants, and they rumbled to themselves, asking what the noise was about — but it was a male baboon shouting to his friends, giving warnings.

Zigi stopped fast with his little ears up, trying to locate what was wrong over the big sound, standing next to his mother Zongoloni and Kiasa. Kiasa patted Zigi with her trunk, then tried to hug Zigi, showing him to relax, that nothing was wrong, and there was no need to be worried — because the screaming was coming from baboons on the hills.

Kiasa had an issue with Kapei when she saw Kapei trying to go for Lenny. She was on high alert watching the babies, and she stopped Kapei from attempting to go near the little boy, Lenny.

None of the night-clubbers arrived this morning, which made Amali and Enkesha not very happy for failing to see the little babies. Amali tried to go round the bushes, then Enkesha followed her, helping Amali look for the babies.

When Amali and Enkesha failed to see the little babies, they felt unhappy and looked to be sad this morning. They tried to get them, but after a long search, they failed to find Lima Lima and her team. This was a prediction that last night they went very far and would take some time before they came to join the orphans.

The milk truck was passing by the road without knowing who was inside the bushes blowing trumpets — but it was Lima Lima, Sonje, and Zongoloni who spotted the milk truck and decided to run after the truck so they could get home or join the other babies. They followed the truck, thinking it was milk bottle time, but the truck was not carrying the bottles, which made them run after the truck like that.

The driver also just drove the vehicle until the place where Murera and the other babies were browsing. Then Kapei and Maktao came from behind and joined before getting into the whole orphan herd.

Enkesha, Kapei, and Amali celebrated when they found Lima Lima and her team joining them along the Kibwezi Forest. They found lucerne dropped for them, then some warthogs also came for the lucerne — but the warning shout that the warthogs were given by Kapei and Maktao was enough, and the warthogs left in a hurry before Maktao and friends could get them into the herd.

This evening, it was time for Ziwa and his larger wild herd to visit the stockades before the orphans walked in from their long day of browsing and patrols. Ziwa and his group were at the stockade water trough drinking water, as they waited for the orphans to come so that Ziwa could have a little good time with them.

When the orphans began to arrive, the wild herd stood watching to see who was coming. One big female from the wild herd was very curious, carefully watching the keepers and orphans coming to the stockades. The moment she saw the keepers continue to get too close, she ran away in fear of the keepers. But Ziwa moved forward and welcomed Sonje back behind the stockades, where the wild herd and the night clubbers had a good evening eating lucerne together. Ziwa and Sonje hugged each other before one of the wild girls came and chased Sonje and her team away.

Mwana and her mother Murera got into their rooms and enjoyed the lucerne first that was given to them, while Lima Lima and Zongoloni were outside with their wild friends as the little babies played around their mothers. All the little babies were very smart—everyone knew his or her mother, and none walked away with the wild females when they left for the bushes. Both Lenny, Sulwe, and Zigi all went back to their mothers without going with strangers. Every baby recognised their mother.

After celebrating lucerne, the babies went to the water trough to drink water after feeling their throats were dry. From the water trough, all went away for their long nights away from the orphans.

Kapei and his friend and neighbour, Amali, came out, but they had their differences and some kind of argument was witnessed by Keepers. Enkesha, who was again watching them keenly, moved to where Kapei was, trying to stop him from fighting with Amali — it was as if she was reminding them that there was no need to fight because both are neighbours and one family. Murera saw Kapei was not ready to listen to what Enkesha was trying to tell him, so she stepped in. As Kapei knew that Murera meant business, he left Amali to go play with the little babies.

Little Lenny then spotted his favourite, Murera, and he rushed over to breastfeed — but this morning, he found Murera in a bad mood. She kicked him out, but Lenny was not ready to leave. Instead of running back to his mother, Lima Lima, he kept hanging around, hopeful. Murera would still not give into his demands, so a disappointed Lenny wen to play with other babies outside.

Sonje, Sulwe, and Mwashoti began walking towards the waterhole to drink some water. When they tested it and found it was too cold, they only washed their mouths and left. Then they communicated about the cold waterhole to the other babies, warning them not to go in. The Keepers, who were watching elephants’ movements from afar, just saw everyone walking back into Kibwezi Forest. They waited there until the Keepers had finished their lunch.

Zigi turned two months old a day ago. Today, he tested his energy by pushing Lenny, who was relaxed with a stick in his mouth — it was as if Lenny was brushing his teeth using the stick that he did not want to drop down. Zigi wanted to steal the stick, but was unable to. A push and pull broke out between the boys, and the stick was lost between them. Zigi could not see the stick after pushing Lenny, and Lenny again could not locate the stick to pick it up. This made the little boys lose the stick — both of them were now losers.

Zigi complained loudly, which caused Kiasa, Enkesha, and Amali to walk over. The girls took the baby into the bushes. Zongoloni slowly followed, and eventually took off with her baby, leaving the little nannies to look after Lenny.

Ziwa and his wild herd paid a surprise visit later in the day. They mingled with Mwana and Mwashoti, while Sonje pulled up roots nearby. After a good visit, Ziwa left when his adopted mother — an old matriarch — signalled that it was time to go. They both left at the same time to Chyulu Hills, leaving the orphans with their Keepers to continue.

At Umani, the orphans were reported full house today — only Ziwa missed. They began arriving one after another; it was Mwashoti early in the morning, then before midday bottle feeding came Faraja, and later this evening, Jasiri and Alamaya both arrived at the same time.

When Murera and her team witnessed the arrivals into the herd, Murera stayed away, not getting too close as Jasiri and Faraja were play-fighting, while Alamaya went to be with Quanza, greeting each other. Only Ziwa missed out. The Keepers felt so happy when they saw Jasiri, Faraja, and Alamaya return after a long break adventuring away from home for some time.

Later, Quanza returned to Kapei and Amali, who were fighting over a stick that was the centre of the fighting babies. Alamaya then saw two crane birds walking towards the place where he was enjoying some browse. He looked much scared and raised up his ears, trying to stop the cranes from a distance. The cranes too had to leave the place and flew to the tops of the trees around, leaving Alamaya now relaxed because he felt he had won the game after the cranes left and flew to the nearby tall trees.

Enkesha and her friends had to look after the little angels with Kiasa and Amali. But Lenny again saw Murera walking by his side, and Lenny just rushed to Murera and crossed under Murera’s belly, demanding breastfeeding. Murera tried to ignore him, but this made Lenny scream. His mother, Lima Lima, never bothered about Lenny. Lima Lima knew Lenny is very stubborn and sometimes lacks discipline and needed to be disciplined by ignoring his numerous breastfeeding demands, which were sometimes very forceful.

Faraja, Jasiri, and Alamaya came along with their two wild bull friends, whom they mingled with around the entire Kibwezi Forest and Chyulu Game Reserve. The three boys had been away for some weeks and decided to bring along their wild friends also to visit their home.

Maktao and Mwashoti received the bulls with joy, but when Sonje and Murera saw them joining, Murera stepped back and looked to see which direction Jasiri and Faraja were taking them. This forced Mwashoti and Maktao to change direction after they saw Murera walking away with Mwana. The other young girls also followed what Murera instructed them to do — to leave the boys alone — because of the wild boys, Murera was not interested in interacting with them. She never has any interest in boys who would play rough and push her.

Enkesha rumbled and brought the babies together, as both Enkesha and Amali were walking little Lenny and Zigi to the place their mothers were waiting for them under the shades.

Kapei crossed in front of Zigi, trying to block his path. . Kiasa came to help, pushing Kapei away to give enough room for Zigi and Enkesha to keep going to where Zongoloni was still waiting for her baby. Then, mothers, babies, and nannies moved together as one team to the Chyulu Hills for more browsing, leaving the wild boys, who were with Faraja and Jasiri, to go their own direction and not follow them.

Lenny again spotted Murera and started to scream, begging Murera to stop for him and allow him to nurse, but Murera was not ready for Lenny. Instead, Murera rumbled for her baby Mwana to come along and locked Lenny out from breastfeeding. But Mwana did not stop Lenny and allowed Lenny to go for Murera and nurse. Lenny was satisfied.

Both orphans walked towards the Chyulu Hills for food.

Sometimes, the Keepers wonder how Lima Lima is related to her baby Lenny. Very often, Lima Lima is seen walking far away from Lenny, leaving him in the care of his nannies. She stands when Lenny wants to nurse, but is very happy for others to look after her baby. While Murera, Sonje, and Zongoloni always stay very close to their babies, Lima Lima takes a different approach. In fact, Lenny seems as comfortable to be with the nannies as he is with his mother.

Today, Lima Lima went to the water trough far away, while Lenny was breastfeeding from Murera and behaved like Murera’s baby. This doesn’t bother Murera’s actual baby, Mwana — she is comfortable with the situation and acts like a big sister to Lenny.

When Murera tried to move away, Lenny screamed and tried to stop Murera from moving. She listened and walked him to the waterhole, where all the babies had a very nice afternoon swimming session. Amali and Kiasa kept Zigi in the middle of the waterhole, shielding him from the other swimmers..

Kapei and Maktao found themselves in trouble when they tried to find their own swimming space, and in the process, mistakenly stepped on Sulwe. Sulwe accused them to the nannies, who took action and chased the young boys out of the waterhole.

A herd of wild elephants visited the stockades this evening with Jasiri. Today, the Keepers were able to see and get to know Jasiri’s adopted wild herd. This herd had six females with one little baby, just the same age as Lenny and Sulwe. They came purposely to celebrate the lucerne that the orphans were given to eat in the evening.

Two baboons lost direction when one was chasing his friend, and they both ended up running into the wild elephant herd. The elephants were surprised to see baboons among them, and it was a hard time for the baboons to explain themselves — they all were chased all the way out to the springs. Later, the elephants came back to browse with Sonje and friends.

The Keepers then thought Lenny and Zigi, who were also playing around with one of the little babies that came with the wild herd, would go with them — but when Lima Lima, Zongoloni, and Sonje moved away towards the stockade water trough, every baby followed his or her mother. Then the wild herd just remained at the lucerne with their own one baby, and the Keepers got a sigh of relief to see both Lenny and Zigi were closely with their mothers.

Amali tried to come out of her room when she heard Zigi and Lenny shouting — she wanted to help the little babies. When Amali could not get out, it was now Quanza with Kiasa who took up the work and calmed the little babies to stop their noises.

It turned out that the issue was Sulwe. She went to steal breastfeeding from Zongoloni. Zigi was trying to defend what was rightfully his and stop Sulwe from nursing from his mother.