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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.