Following the graduation of Sileita last month, Kerrio is stepping into the role of mini matriarch, with Weka as her second-in-command. Although Latika and Kamili are older, neither has yet shown the aptitude or desire to become a leader: Latika is selective with her affections, and Kamili dances to her own tune.
The month began with an unusually peaceful day. In the morning, the orphans padded out of their stockades and stood waiting to head out to the forest. Kerrio led the herd out to browse with Weka bringing up the rear. Following the graduation of Sileita, Kerrio is stepping into the role of mini matriarch with Weka as her second-in-command. Although Latika and Kamili are older (they are five years old whereas Kerrio and Weka are four), neither has yet shown the potential to become a leader. Latika is selective with her affections and Kamili dances to her own tune.
The orphans visited the mud bath for a milk feed after three hours of browsing. (They are fed at intervals of three hours day and night – and everyone except for Wamata is given two large bottles at every feed.) After emptying their bottles, the orphans drank from the water troughs or picked up pieces of supplementary lucerne. It was a cool day and no one was tempted even to paddle in the wallow.
Later in the day, Kerrio led the herd deep into the forest. She knows every path around the stockades and is a teacher to the others. They settled to browse, moving from one friend or group of friends to the next. Kamili spent a long time standing close to Taroha while Wamata and Pardamat entwined trunks between mouthfuls. Nearby, Latika squatted on her backside before clambering to her feet and whisking Wamata away with her.
Translocation training for our three under-graduates is ongoing. So far, they are proving more biddable than the last cohort. Sileita, Sholumai and Mushuru were stubborn girls who were often reluctant to enter the truck. Kitich, Mageno and Muwingu are laidback in comparison, plodding quietly up the ramp and into their compartments on most days. For an unknown reason, Muwingu was not in the mood today. The bulls walked obediently into their compartments for milk and sugar cane treats but she went no further than the ramp, where she came to a halt, raised her head and trumpeted loudly. Happy to compromise, we fed her there whereupon she calmed down and walked happily back to the forest with Kitich and Mageno.
Our oldest bulls still play pushing games almost every day. Moments after joining the herd, Kitich and Mageno clashed tiny tusks, pushed heads and set to with another game. Not far away, Pardamat and Taroha played a quieter version of the same game.
In the afternoon, the orphans spent time around a patch of thick mud. Mzinga and Shujaa were the first to play in the sludge. Mzinga lay on her belly in the puddle, rubbing her sides and neck against the soothing mud. Ever quick to take advantage of an opportunity, Shujaa rested his bulk on his sister while trunk touching her head.
Weka may be mischievous and unpredictable, but she is also very caring towards little ones like Talek, Pardamat, Olomunyak, Taroha and Wamata. Whenever she hears one of them complaining, she runs to the rescue and generally deals with the problem. This morning in the forest, when Olomunyak began trumpeting for no apparent reason, Weka rushed over to the young bull, checked him with her trunk, and stood next to him protectively. The two elephants often browse together and Olomunyak feels very safe with Weka.
Latika was looking after Wamata today. The little girl is still her favourite baby and she takes every opportunity to be with her. Sometimes, her more assertive sisters get to Wamata first or push her away but not this morning. She browsed with Wamata for a long time, moving away only for a few minutes to massage her face in the mud.
Later in the morning, Weka was not being quite so caring. She was playing pushing and mounting games with Shujaa. The two friends pushed, chased and play mounted each other in the forest.
In the afternoon, while the rest of the herd browsed in the bush, Mzinga and Shujaa nipped back to the stockades. They were hoping to find extra milk or cubes or treats in the training truck! They arrived back just before milk feeding time and jogged around the corner to the truck, much to the surprise of the Keepers. We blocked their path and shepherded two disgruntled elephants back to the bush.
Muridjo loves Wamata and Wamata loves Muridjo. The two girls are like sisters and are spending more and more time together. Muridjo did not use to be caring but she has changed, especially where Wamata is concerned! This morning, the girls stood glued together while browsing. When some of the other orphans strolled over to join them, clever Muridjo had a cunning plan. She distracted her friends by trumpeting and running off into the bushes. Nyambeni and Mzinga followed her whereupon Muridjo turned back, scooped up Wamata, and walked away in a different direction.
After browsing for a time in the forest, we sent the orphans down to the mud wallow in two groups for a milk feed. The younger ones headed down first as usual with Nyambeni, Mzinga and Talek leading the group. Nyambeni and Mzinga have been friends since they were first rescued in 2022 and put in neighbouring stables (which often leads to close friendships). Talek was rescued over a year later in June 2023 but, in recent months, she has become close to the other two girls. We often find her browsing or playing with them.
After the younger ones returned to the forest with their Keepers, the second group of older elephants took their place. Kitich, Mageno and Muwingu led the group down the path. We are encouraging the three elephants to be with each other because of their upcoming graduation. They need little encouragement as they are already good friends. Mageno and Kitich are best friends and play pushing games every day. Tomboy Muwingu often plays with her agemates.
On most days, the orphans spread out in the forest while staying quite close together. Today was different. They split into two groups with Mageno - who is known for being an explorer - leading Talek, Latika, Pardamat, Muwingu, Kamili and Shujaa deep into the bush. Meanwhile, Kerrio – our new mini matriarch – led Muridjo, Taroha, Olomunyak, Nyambeni, Mzinga, Wamata, Kitich and Weka to a clearing closer to the stockades where they spread out to browse. The explorers were late for the next milk feed despite our calls and whistles. This is unusual as elephants have a good sense of time and know what happens when!
Tali still has a very painful leg so he is staying at the stockades. We take him from his night-time stockade to an outside enclosed area so he can browse in the sunshine – but he does not have the strength to walk to the forest.
It was a mud bathing afternoon with many of the herd having fun in a patch of very thick mud. Kitich rubbed his backside in the sludge while Muwingu rolled around next to him, twirling a branch with her trunk. Mzinga and Weka climbed on and off each other. When Mzinga walked away to dip her face in a puddle, Nyambeni took her place and happily rested her bulk on top of Weka.
Translocation training is going well. Kitich, Mageno and Muwingu are used to the new routine and walk into the truck every three hours for a milk feed and sometimes a treat of sugar cane. The truck is divided into three compartments and each elephant chooses the same one each day. After drinking their milk, they reverse down the ramp and return to the herd.
June is a cold month in Nairobi. This morning, Raha had two blankets tied around her tummy before she walked out of her stable. She is no longer reluctant to leave her warm bedroom and happily trots up the path behind her Keeper almost every day. The small rhino is growing and her horn has become quite prominent. Raha walked a long way in the forest, with her Keeper waiting patiently every time she paused to browse on soft greens.
In the afternoon, Olomunyak was playing one of his favourite games – the face-mud-rub game! The stout little bull knelt down to cover his face and lay on his back with legs aloft. Moments later, Mzinga was lying next to him, also covering herself with mud. Kamili then joined in the fun, chucking mud in every direction with little sister Mzinga leaning against her.
Kerrio has always been a caring elephant, looking after the younger ones and teaching females like Mzinga, Muridjo and Nyambeni. She is also a very playful elephant – our resident jungle gym allows her friends to clamber all over her in the forest. With the departure of Sileita last month, Kerrio has become the mini matriarch with Latika and Weka as her seconds-in-command.
This morning, Kerrio led the herd out to the forest where they settled to browse. Mzinga and Taroha stopped off along the way to say good morning to Maxwell. The big blind rhino was standing at his gate as they wandered past. The two elephants stretched their trunks through the gaps, curled them around his head and horn, rumbled, and continued up the path to join the herd.
Out in the forest, Weka was browsing with Wamata, laying her trunk along the younger girl’s back at regular intervals. Wamata stayed with Weka for a time and then walked away to hang out with Talek. Our independent girl is becoming more caring, and she welcomed Wamata with a rumble and a touch.
In the midst of the herd, Kitich and Mageno were playing the pushing game. The two growing bulls clinked tusks, entwined trunks and pushed backwards and forwards in an evenly matched contest.
This morning, on his last day with the herd, Mageno led some of the younger ones deep into the forest. The adventurous bull set off with Muwingu, Talek, Olomunyak and Muridjo following in his wake. They disappeared into the bush for an hour but returned in good time for the next milk feed.
Raha the rhino also has a sense of the time. She knows the time for going out to the forest and the time for returning to the stockades. In the afternoons, she heads home at just the right time with no encouragement from her Keeper! Even on days when she is napping, Raha stands up and walks towards her stable.
Raha has also learnt to mark her territory just like a wild rhino. We take her to different places in the forest so that she learns about her territory and she stops to urinate at regular intervals along the way. Today, she was grazing on different kinds of greens, rather than just soft grass. We are happy to see her putting on weight.
The herd visited the mud bath as usual in the afternoon for another milk feed. Everyone was behaving well today and no one tried to pinch an extra bottle. Even Pardamat drank his milk and walked on to browse on greens without trying to grab a bottle from a friend or push someone as he walked past!
Today was graduation day for Muwingu, Kitich and Mageno. We began loading them into the truck at 2am, tempting them in with bottles of milk and sugar cane. Muwingu reached the ramp, turned tail but was encouraged in without much persuasion. Once she was in her compartment, one Keeper kept feeding her while the rest of us closed her gate. Kitich walked in reasonably easily which was a relief. Mageno was more challenging. He drank his milk on the ramp but refused to put more than two forelegs in the truck. One of us fed him sugar cane while the others pushed his rump as hard as we could!
Once the three four-year-olds were safely inside, we loaded piles of greens into the truck for the journey and bid them farewell. The journey to Ithumba, by the light of a full moon, was uneventful. Mageno, Kitich and Muwingu stood calmly in their compartments with Keepers Peter and Harrison for company. Along the way, the two bulls were pinching greens from each other! One picked up a bunch and then the other stretched his trunk around to grab the tasty treat! The truck arrived at Ithumba soon after dawn and our elephants walked out to begin the next stage of their lives back to the wild.
Back at the stockades, the herd was less upset than when Sileita left last month. Of course, they were awake in the night but most of the herd stayed quiet and calm. Mzinga and Taroha were the exceptions. They knew that more friends were leaving and were not happy. Taroha paced around his room, trumpeting loudly. Mzinga pushed so hard against her door that it broke. It took us a long time to calm the two elephants.
After an eventful night, the day passed off peacefully. The herd seemed to accept the change, browsing quietly in the morning and enjoying a group dust bath in the afternoon.
Following the graduation of Kitich, Mageno and Muwingu yesterday, we have only 14 orphaned elephants in our herd. We have combined the two groups (older and younger) visiting the mud bath in the morning as there is no need to split them up. The orphans were pleased to stay together this morning and we were too – as we did not have to shepherd Kerrio and Latika away from the younger ones!
We have moved three elephants to new rooms. Mzinga has left her baby stable for a big girl stockade next to good friend Muridjo. She accepted her new bedroom with minimal fuss. We have also moved Olomunyak and Taroha. Olomunyak is in Mzinga’s old room next to Wamata and Taroha is on the other side of Mzinga’s new room!
In the afternoon, the sun was shining and many orphans paddled or wallowed in the mud bath. Water baby Kerrio was the first in and immediately lay on her belly to splash water in every direction. She was soon joined by Olomunyak, Weka, Shujaa, Taroha, Wamata and Latika. After cooling off in the mud, Weka and Shujaa played a pushing game while the other four covered themselves with soothing soil. Taroha and Kerrio remained on their feet and hosed their bodies - but Wamata and Latika rubbed bellies and necks against the ground.
Since Sileita moved to the Voi Reintegration Unit and Muwingu to the Ithumba unit, Kerrio, Weka, Muridjo, Mzinga and Nyambeni have been stepping into their shoes! In the mornings, as soon as we open their doors, they have a habit of heading straight for the babies’ stables and standing outside the gates of either Wamata or Olomunyak or Taroha. There are rather a lot of nannies for the number of babies and so our big girls have to take turns. Today, Kerrio went to check on next door neighbour Taroha while Mzinga, Muridjo and Weka made beelines for Wamata’s and Olomunyak’s stables. When the two young ones walked out, Mzinga whisked away Wamata, Weka took charge of Olomunyak, and Muridjo was left with no one. Cheeky Weka had tried for both babies - but there is no messing with Mzinga!
The orphans set out to the forest and settled to browse. This morning, Muridjo, Latika and Weka tolerated the company of a family of warthogs that were grazing beside them. On some days, our elephants chase them away but today they were in mellow moods!
Today, little Raha had a coconut oil session. Her skin was rubbed with oil all over by her Keepers with the assistance of Nyambeni! Our stubborn little rhino stood very still while we massaged her body with oil and rather large helper Nyambeni rubbed her trunk over Raha’s back. Nyambeni was happy smearing and Raha enjoyed her trunk touches.
On another cloudy afternoon, the orphans visited the mud wallow for a milk feed. After emptying their bottles, they drank from the troughs or dusted themselves or browsed on supplementary greens. Tali is still not with the herd – his left hind leg is very swollen so walking is difficult. He stays at the stockades with everything he needs within reach.
After the orphans walked out of their stockades in the early morning, there was no playing or showing off. They stood around quietly and padded up the path when we whistled. Out in the forest, Latika was making the most of her turn on Wamata duty. She browsed next to Wamata, touching her regularly and pushing away Kerrio and then Weka and then Muridjo when they walked over to join them!
When the orphans visited the mud bath for another milk feed, Latika went one step further in her protective nanny role. She pushed other elephants out of the way so Wamata could pad down the path like a princess. Walking close behind her, she did not let any of the others overtake the little girl!
Later in the morning back in the forest, best friends Mzinga and Nyambeni began playing. They rubbed faces and rolled on a patch of dry ground, climbing on and off each other. Cheeky Shujaa spoilt the game by trying to play mount Mzinga. After she shoved him away, the two girls stood up and walked off, leaving him on his own.
Not far away, Weka was also in a playful mood. She lay on her side with trunk twirling, allowing Olomunyak and Taroha to climb all over her. Our naughty girl is showing much love to the young ones
Since Mageno and Kitich graduated from the Nursery, Shujaa has been asserting his dominance. We think of Shujaa as a gentle boy, but he has been throwing his weight around and not behaving as well towards other orphans, including Mzinga, Nyambeni, Muridjo, Taroha, Olomunyak and Kamili. Mageno and Kitich kept him in check but, with their departure, he has become the only big boy in the herd.
In the morning after the orphans settled out in the field, Shujaa was chasing Nyambeni and Mzinga and trying to play mount them. When they resisted his advances, he was quite rough towards his sisters, behaving out of character. Not long after, he challenged Kamili to a wrestling match. The game began in a good-humoured way but then Shujaa became rough.
Later in the morning, we gathered the herd in preparation for sending them down to the mud wallow for another milk feed. As they were waiting, Pardamat and Olomunyak began a wrestling match. Both boys wanted to go down the path first. Muridjo took control of the situation. Our no-nonsense girl strode between them, pushing Pardamat away and allowing Olomunyak to lead his group down to the wallow.
It was a cool afternoon and none of the elephants wallowed in the mud pool. Water babies Talek and Taroha paddled in the pool for a minute and then browsed on lucerne with the others.
The departure of Sileita, Mushuru, Sholumai, Mageno, Kitich and Mushuru means that life is not quite the same for Weka, Muridjo, Kamili, Pardamat, Taroha, Shujaa and the rest of the herd. In the early mornings, one of the six older elephants often used to lead a mini herd deep into the forest. After exploring and browsing, they would return in time for the next milk feed. At present our orphans are staying close to the Keepers – no one is interested in leading an exploration party.
After another milk feed at the mud wallow later in the morning, the herd headed back to the forest. As the others browsed in small groups, Mzinga walked over to where some Keepers were resting. She lay down next to them to play a rolling-on-the-ground game, looking so funny and mischievous!
In the afternoon, a family of warthogs was grazing next to the elephants. Talek, Olomunyak, Wamata and Nyambeni charged and chased away the pigs – who nipped away but trotted back a few minutes later.
Maxwell, the blind black rhino, is well. During the colder weather, he likes to lie on a bed of hay in the covered part of his enclosure, sometimes not emerging until close to noon. Then, we often find him grazing on pellets with several warthogs. On most days, he is happy to share his pellets.
It was a quiet morning. In contrast to most mornings, the big girls did not check on the young ones as soon as they emerged from their stockades. Instead, everyone seemed in a hurry to head out to the forest - so we shepherded them out and they settled to browse.
Latika and Muridjo were tussling over Wamata as both girls were determined to look after her. When Latika took Wamata away to browse, Muridjo followed, intercepted the little girl, and took her away. Latika followed them and whisked away Wamata. The tussle over nanny duties continued for a time until Latika had had enough. She shoved Muridjo, making it clear that the game was over and she was not sharing Wamata. Respecting her older sister, Muridjo accepted the situation and the consolation prize of Olomunyak!
On another cool and cloudy afternoon, none of the orphans put even a toe in the mud wallow. Instead, they browsed on greens or covered themselves in dry soil. Shujaa was showboating. He rubbed his face on the soil and struck a dramatic pose that was almost a headstand, with head down and backside in the air. Climbing to his feet, he hosed himself with dust before catching up with the rest of the herd as they ambled back to the forest.
Usually, when the elephants go bush bashing, we know the reason. Generally, another animal has given them a fright. This morning, as the others browsed on tasty greens, Talek, Pardamat, Olomunyak and Taroha began scampering around, charging through bushes while trumpeting. We could not find a cause for their behaviour and decided that they were probably just running around for fun!
Later in the morning, the herd visited the mud wallow for another milk feed. We sent our 13 elephants (as Tali is still confined to the stockades) down the path in groups of three or four. They drank their milk and wandered over to feed calmly on greens. No one was showing off or soil bathing today.
In the afternoon, Kerrio was leading the herd. She has taken over the role of mini matriarch from Sileita. Kerrio wandered in the forest with the others following in a straggly line and Muridjo bringing up the rear.
Shujaa was stamping his dominance against big girls Kamili and Weka today. While the three friends were playing the pushing game, he was trying to play mount both of them. Although he respects Kerrio’s authority and does not stand up to feisty Muridjo, Shujaa is being assertive towards many of the others. He is the only big boy in the Nursery and so there are no older bulls to put him in his place.
Shujaa and Kamili have become playmates. This morning, soon after the orphans settled to browse in the forest, the two elephants began playing the pushing game. Weka tried to join the game but without success. Whenever she approached them, they stopped playing, moved a short distance away, and started the game again. Shujaa and Kamili were determined to leave out Weka!
Meanwhile, three of our youngest babies were playing an elephant version of hide and seek. Talek, Wamata and Olomunyak were trundling in and out of bushes. They ran into a thicket, out at different points, and into another bush. We were happy to see Wamata playing with two friends rather than being fussed over by nannies.
Poor Tali is still nursing a swollen hind leg and remains close to the stockades during the day, as we don't want to over-tax him.
In the afternoon, a rescued elephant was flown in from the Mara. The little girl is just a month old and arrived in a very precarious state. When the herd arrived back at the stockades from the forest, many were rumbling in their rooms – as they could sense the presence of a new elephant.
Our new girl slept well last night in the stable next to Wamata and Olomunyak. She is drinking milk and eating lots of greens which are encouraging signs. In the morning, she stood calmly in her stable, stretching her hairy trunk over the half door to greet the Keepers. She has very long eyelashes and very thin legs but is already comfortable with human beings. We took her up to spend the morning in a stockade which is a larger space with an uncovered area, so she could stand in the sun.
Aware of her presence, when Kerrio got up in the morning, she ambled down to check on Olomunyak and Wamata after greeting Taroha who is now in her old room. Although one stable door was still closed, Kerrio could tell that there was someone inside. She entered Wamata’s next door stable, saw the little one sleeping, and rumbled and stretched her trunk through the gaps in the partition.
Before she could attract the attention of the herd, we ushered Kerrio her out to join Weka who was strolling around the stockades, trumpeting and waking up the others. Kerrio and Weka stood close with heads facing each other – perhaps Kerrio was telling Weka about the new girl.
A few days ago, we moved Taroha and Mzinga from their baby stables to larger big boy and girl stockades. Some orphans resist any change but these two are easy-going and have not complained at all. When they pad back in the afternoons, they head happily for their new rooms rather than trying to get to their old stables. They are similar to Kerrio in this way - as she will also accept a change of room so long as she has a Keeper close by.
The orphans were full of energy and excitement this morning. Shujaa has always been the playmaker of the herd. He was a polite and gentle boy wanting to keep everyone happy in the family but recently has become a bit rough.
In the forest this morning, Shujaa moved from Kamili to Weka to Taroha to Kerrio and back to Kamili and so on in turn. He would not leave his friends alone and kept pestering them to play pushing and wrestling games rather than leaving them to browse in peace. Shujaa would pull a trunk or grab an ear or push a rump, inviting each one to play.
Eventually, Weka interrupted his game. She began charging at several giraffes who were feeding on the upper leaves of trees a few metres away. After Weka attempted to chase them away a couple of times without success, despite loud trumpeting, Mzinga, Nyambeni, Shujaa, Pardamat and Kerrio joined the chase. With five elephants running towards them, the giraffes had no option but to canter away into the bush.
Pardamat is going through a phase of doing his own thing in the forest. We often find him by himself, browsing or rolling in the mud or chasing wagtails. The birds like to fly around elephants as they feed on flies on their dung.
The new rescue visited the forest for the first time this morning. An hour or so after the herd headed out, she walked slowly up the path behind Keeper Peter, occasionally putting her trunk in his pocket or around his leg. She will not meet the others today but is going out for exercise and to get used to her new world.
Wamata, her neighbour, was friendly to her during the night, rumbling and stretching her trunk through the gaps in greeting. Throughout the night, whenever the little one complained, Wamata reached with her trunk through the bars and rumbled to calm the newbie down. Our spoilt baby is growing up!
When Taroha emerged from his stockade this morning, he headed down to his old bedroom where he has spent every night since he was rescued. After wandering around his former stable, Taroha headed for Maxwell’s gate. Our friendly boy greeted the blind rhino, draping his trunk over his head while Maxwell stood still. They stood together for a minute or two and then Taroha carried on up the path to join the herd.
Before walking out of her room, Talek always greets Tali who is her neighbour. She greets him with a trunk touch and a rumble in the mornings and then again in the evenings when she returns to her room. After drinking her milk, she checks on Tali.
Latika was being possessive of favourite baby Wamata in the forest today. When Olomunyak ambled over to play with the little girl, Latika gave him a firm shove – for no reason at all! Even Mzinga was not spared Latika treatment today. When Wamata walked over to see Mzinga, Latika was in hot pursuit. She drove her away, poking her sharp tusks in Mzinga’s back, and went back to browsing with Wamata.
When Raha was heading out to the forest this morning, Maxwell was standing by the gate on the upper side of his enclosure. She paused for a while, looking at him through the gate. She started squealing whereupon Max came right up to his gate and pushed against it. Possibly overawed by the very large rhino, Raha decided to walk on up the path while Max jogged along the side of his enclosure trying to follow her. She carried on into the bush with her Keeper. Max seemed unsettled for a time until the warthogs arrived. After chasing them around his enclosure, he shared his pellets with them.
It rained last night and the forest was full of muddy puddles in the morning. As soon as they got to the forest, Pardamat, Olomunyak, Muridjo and Taroha, rather than browsing, began playing in the puddles. They had a great time wallowing in the mud and happily mounting and sliding over each other.
Latika was behaving strangely to everyone, including Wamata, on the path to the mud wallow later in the morning. We sent her down for a milk feed in a group with Mzinga, Wamata, Nyambeni and Shujaa. Leading the group, she took a few steps and then blocked the path. Whenever one of the four attempted to overtake her, she charged and drove them back. We had to intervene and remove a very large obstacle from the path!
The large number of nannies in the herd means that the little ones have had so much attention! Not only Wamata is spoilt but also Olomunyak! The young bull has had so many girls taking care of him and protecting him. Sileita, Mushuru, Muwingu and Sholumai all looked after him until they graduated and left the Nursery a few weeks ago. But Olomunyak still gets lots of attention from Kerrio, Muridjo, Latika, Mzinga and Nyambeni, making him a very confident boy.
His friends react in different ways when challenged by feisty Olomunyak. When he pushes Talek, she usually gives him space and backs down. When he does the same to Taroha or Pardamat, they retaliate and push back. Taroha, who is older and stronger, usually gets the upper hand but Pardamat, who is older but not stronger, generally gives up.
This morning, it was Nyambeni’s turn to keep an eye on Olomunyak at the mud wallow. He was in a jovial mood and was rolling around in the loose soil, showing off to everyone on the edge of the pool. Nyambeni was standing next to him, making sure that he didn't fall into the cold wallow.
When Shujaa went to mount Weka while she was also rolling around on the pile of loose soil, he was firmly put in his place. Weka pushed him off, stood up and chased the forceful bull away. We were pleased to see her discipline Shujaa as he has become very full of himself.
Mzinga loves looking after babies and leading the others and is very attentive towards the Keepers. Whenever we call the orphans, she is the first to respond. She also likes staying close to the Keepers, often choosing to browse near us. Maybe one day, Mzinga will be the mini matriarch of the Nursery herd!
On some days, Muridjo is the star of the mud wallow. As soon as she has finished her bottles, she makes a beeline for the pool, stands on the edge splashing herself, and plunges into the muddy water. Today, however, Olomunyak was the first water baby. Even though the weather was cool, he headed straight for the wallow. A minute later, Muridjo and Kerrio joined him. The three elephants played pushing and rolling games, slapping the water with their trunks. After climbing out, they rolled on the mound of dry soil, covering their bodies with dust.
Kamili usually does her own thing, sometimes choosing to play with the others and sometimes browsing on her own. She is not very affectionate to the younger ones but is rarely rough. Today, Pardamat must have done something to annoy her because, while browsing around the mud wallow, she gave him a firm shove. We were not sure why she was disciplining the young boy as, on this occasion, Pardamat did not seem to have misbehaved!
Kerrio is a wonderful generous matriarch. This morning in the forest, she stretched up tall to pull down a tasty soft branch but then allowed Mzinga to take it from her. Mzinga grabbed the branch from her trunk and ambled away to enjoy her treat, knowing that Kerrio would not mind. Weka, however, is a different elephant altogether. She is becoming more caring but will always be less tolerant than Kerrio. Spotting her little sister with a tasty branch, Weka chased after her, hoping to snatch the treat. We had to separate the girls!
Later in the morning at the mud bath, Olomunyak was given a telling off by Latika. As our stout boy walked around the wheelbarrow looking for extra drops of milk, she pressed down on his back with her growing tusks. He trumpeted in protest and we ushered Latika away.
In the afternoon, Shujaa was once again reminding everyone that he is now the dominant bull. His behaviour towards the younger bulls is interesting because neither Taroha or Olomuyak or Pardamat have made any attempt to challenge his dominance. They would not dare as the three boys are much younger. Shujaa pushed away Olomunyak and Taroha when they tried to browse next to him. Luckily, we have Murijdo to keep our big boy in line. When he tried to do the same thing to her, she pushed back hard and Shujaa backed down and walked away with his tail between his legs!
The new little girl has settled in very well and is already putting on weight. Although she does not yet visit the mud wallow, we are taking her out to browse with the herd in the forest. She stays close to the stockades and we bring her back if the weather is cold. The herd have been so welcoming – this morning, when a Keeper brought her out to join them, many of the older girls clustered around, rumbling and trunk touching her. She stayed calm, even daring to extend her tiny trunk in response.
Shujaa, as part of his new persona, is becoming the last to respond when we call the orphans for a milk feed. Mzinga and the babies arrive first with the rest close behind and Shujaa ambling in last. This morning in the forest, something spooked the herd, possibly a group of impalas. In reaction, they ran to the Keepers for safety and reassurance. Shujaa charged around in the bush looking for whatever had spooked the herd and then wandered towards us after everyone else.
In the afternoon, Olomunyak and Taroha were playing the pushing game at the mud bath. Their games are usually light-hearted and rarely turn into fights. But not today. Taroha was not in the mood to play but stubborn Olomunyak would not leave him in peace. Eventually, Taroha had had enough and pushed him over! We had to separate the two bulls and give naughty Olomunyak some time-out in the bush.
On an overcast morning in the forest, Pardamat browsed for a time and then played in a large puddle of rainwater. He stood on the edge splashing before climbing into the deep puddle and covering every part of his body with muddy water. The rest of the herd browsed around him but were not tempted to join him in the water.
Kerrio, Muridjo and Nyambeni are especially smitten with our new little girl. They are sort of managing to share her and, whenever a Keeper takes her out from the stockades, you can be sure that at least one of the three will soon be standing next to her. The newbie happily follows whichever nanny finds her first. As it was a cold morning today, her Keeper took her back to the stockades after a short outing. Later in the morning, Nyambeni arrived back at the stockades, after sneaking away from the herd to check on ‘her’ new baby!
Despite the drizzle, many orphans wallowed in the mud later in the morning. As they were already wet from the rain, they decided that it would be fun to get even wetter. While Talek, Taroha, Kerrio and Pardamat rolled around near the edge, Shujaa and Mzinga played a very splashy version of the pushing game in the middle of the wallow.
After greeting their friends outside the stockades, the herd headed out to browse in the forest in the early morning. They settled to browse in small groups which changed throughout the morning. Kamili, Pardamat, Mzinga and Latika spent a long time together, twisting up clumps of grass or pulling down tasty branches. Latika is kneeling to browse less frequently than she used to – even though her trunk is still short for her body, she is finding it easier to pull up greens while standing.
Later in the morning, the orphans visited the mud wallow for another milk feed. As they were wandering back to the bush, a troop of monkeys gave Pardamat, Kamili and Nyambeni a big fright. They trumpeted in alarm and their reaction spread through the herd. Minutes later, almost every elephant was trumpeting while running in the direction of the stockades. It took some time before we could calm them down.
On another cold afternoon, to our surprise, several orphans went swimming in the wallow. Water baby Muridjo was first to pad into the pool with Shujaa following in her wake. They lay together, rubbing bodies and slapping trunks. When Shujaa climbed out, Mzinga and Nyambeni took his place. The three sisters paddled and splashed in the water together.
Shujaa loves chasing warthogs, perhaps because he knows they love eating leftover pellets at the stockades. This morning in the forest, he chased a family of pigs a long way into the forest. When he started trumpeting – possibly because he was not sure of his way back to the herd – Kerrio and Muridjo immediately headed in the direction of the noise. They found Shujaa quite deep in the bush and jogged back with him to the herd.
Pardamat is still sent down to the mud wallow in the last group of orphans. Until he learns not to pinch bottles from his friends, he will remain in this position. Whenever we relax our rule and send him down earlier, he misbehaves. Two weeks ago, we made this mistake and he pushed over Taroha in an effort to grab his bottle. Today, somehow, he sneaked into the first group again and pushed Olomunyak for his bottle. From tomorrow, we will make sure that Pardamat is last in the last group!
After visiting the mud wallow, the herd returned for a final browse of the day in the forest. There is still plenty of eat and the grass is long and lush. Weka browsed in a forested area while Talek ambled around in a clearing with grass so long that it reached her belly and Mzinga opted for a dust bath on a rocky area.
For some reason, Latika and Shujaa could not wait until they reached the forest for a face massage this morning. With the rest of the herd milling around, Muridjo squatted on her backside outside her big girl stockade while Latika rubbed her face and the underside of her trunk against the ground. Shujaa watched on for a minute before deciding to join Latika. He too bent over for a face rub. Meanwhile, sensible Kerrio padded down to check on Olomunyak and Wamata, greeting them both with trunk hugs as they emerged from their stables.
Our new girl has adapted well to life at the Nursery. She may be very small but she is learning the ropes quickly. To tempt her out of her warm stable in the mornings, a Keeper must be holding a bottle (either empty or full). If he is not holding a bottle, she will not follow him! Out in the bush, she chooses to stay close to her Keeper because she knows that they will cut soft tasty greens for her. During the nights, she wakes up without prompting every three hours for a milk feed and she does not like to sleep with the light on!
Her Keeper took the newbie out later in the morning to browse with the herd. To our surprise – as she has not been known to date for her maternal behaviour – Talek was the first to greet the little girl today. Over she came, rumbling along the way, to browse next to her.
The last day of the month was an especially cold day and the orphans were in subdued moods. They browsed quietly in the forest in the early morning, visited the mud bath for milk, and returned to the bush. As often happens on colder days, they remained in a cluster rather than spreading out to browse. The older girls were surrounding Wamata and Olomunyak.
In the afternoon, the temperature rose and the orphans were more playful. Kamili and Latika played several rounds of the pushing game in one clearing while Shujaa and Mzinga played chasing and mounting games in another. When Pardamat pushed over Wamata, the little girl trumpeted for help and Kerrio ran to the rescue. She chased away the naughty boy and stayed close to Wamata – just in case he was tempted to return.
Later in the afternoon, the herd padded back to the safety of the stockades for the night. Kerrio led the first group around the corner and down the path to Keepers waiting with bottles aloft in their stockades. Weka brought up the rear in the final group, on her best behaviour in her role of assistant mini matriarch! After drinking their milk, the elephants settled down to enjoy snacks of pellets and lucerne grass. While some orphans were lying down and going to sleep, neighbours Talek and Pardamat could not resist stretching their trunks through the gaps to pinch greens from each other’s rooms.