In Nairobi, the month began with rainy nights and a stable block of protesting elephants. Although most of the elephants did not mind the clattering of rain on tin roofs, Daba, Wamata, Kipekee, and Arthi were not happy. They trumpeted and shouted, as if the Keepers had an off switch for the storm that they were not employing. Calm was only restored when the rain stopped falling.
Every day is a good day at the Nursery, but some days are wonderful. On one such afternoon, the herd had a spectacular mid-afternoon soil bathing session — and every elephant was involved. Older ones like Muridjo, Nyambeni, Mzinga, Talek, Taroha, Olomunyak and Pardamat did most of the rolling and tumbling while little ones like Arthi, Daba, Kipekee, Wamata and shy Alia bumped against and climbed on them. Pardamat was on his best behaviour, allowing both Daba and Arthi to play-climb on him. Alia enjoyed climbing on Olomunyak, Wamata clambered onto Taroha and Muridjo, and Kipekee tried to climb on Mzinga but could hardly make it. Little Zuri was happy to toddle around, scratching her bottom against every elephant she came across!
Our gentle uncle, Taroha, is such a kind elephant. He has a very special bond with Maxwell, our resident blind black rhino. While the others headed up the path to the forest, Taroha stayed behind, laying his trunk over Max's head. He soon followed the other orphans into the forest — but a few minutes later, with Pardamat in tow, Taroha sneaked back to spend more time with Max! The two bulls trunk-touched the rhino and knocked their heads against his gate.
Taroha wasn't Max's only unexpected caller this month. One afternoon, mischievous Mzinga sneaked away from the others in the forest and went back to the stockades to hang out with her rhino friend. As soon as she saw a Keeper walking towards her, Mzinga sprinted back to the forest, trumpeting along the way. The clever girl knew she was not supposed to be at the stockades. Elephants are smart and can anticipate what is going to happen!
Sweet, shy Alia was only rescued eight months ago, and she's still settling in. While she still keeps herself to herself, she is increasingly jumping into the fray when the mood suits her. One afternoon, she challenged Olomunyak to a sizing-up game! The most playful orphan in the herd never turns down an invitation to play, and the two orphans playfully pushed one way and another around the mud bath.
Arthi is a confident young boy who doesn't keep himself tucked in between the big girls, in contrast to Daba and Kipekee, who love being pampered by Muridjo, Mzinga, Nyambeni and Talek. Although he is not yet two years old, he is a boy who loves to be in front of all the others, whether out in the forest in the morning, running for a milk feed, or returning to the stockades in the evening.
We think of Muridjo as a rather laissez-faire nanny, but she does muscle in when the occasion calls for it. One afternoon, when little Zuri moved towards the puddle of elephants in the mud bath, sensible Muridjo swooped her trunk under Zuri's neck and tugged her away. The mini matriarch had decided that it was not safe for her in the wallow — she might be squeezed or squashed by the others, or she might not be able to climb out.
We don't usually think of Talek as a harbinger of drama — but elephants always keep us on our toes! One morning, she was inexplicably bursting with excitement. As soon as we opened her door, she ran out and went from one stockade to the next, trumpeting to the rest of the herd. Her energy spread to Muridjo, who balanced on her hind legs as she tried to climb out, and also to Mzinga, who tried to climb over the wall into Alia's stockade.
The arrival of Zuri has upset the apple cart of herd dynamics! Kipekee and Daba are no longer the newest and littlest babies. They like Zuri, but the adjustment hasn't been without its bumps. One morning in the forest, Zuri was firmly sandwiched by Nyambeni and Muridjo. Kipekee attempted to push Zuri out from her spot but was unsuccessful — although the big girls did not react, they blocked her way. Daba followed suit with the same result. And then Zuri popped out from between Muridjo's legs, headbutted Kipekee and stepped back quickly to her safe hiding place.
The oldest three females in the herd are Muridjo, Nyambeni and Mzinga. Muridjo and Mzinga rarely clash, but there is a rivalry between Muridjo and Nyambeni for control of the little babies. Mzinga accepts Muridjo's authority as the mini matriarch, but Nyambeni sometimes does not. When she does charge at Muridjo, the matriarch puts her firmly in her place. Edwin calls Nyambeni a 'nanny by force' — she happily muscles her way into the role!
Pardamat and Olomunyak remain our most playful, fun-loving bulls. One morning, Olomunyak pulled a branch down from a tree and stood trunk-twirling his branch, showing off his prize to the others while making it clear that he was not sharing. Pardamat could not resist the challenge. When he saw Olomunyak waving the branch, he casually ambled over, browsing along the way. Sensing the older bull's cunning plan, Olomunyak ran away, clutching the branch with his trunk. Pardamat gave chase but could not catch him as Olomunyak found refuge with the big girls.
Notty can be very protective of Tytan. One day, when one of the Keepers approached the pair as they were grazing and caught her unawares, she turned to face her rhino friend and kicked out with her hind legs. Tytan ignored her and, eventually, Notty went back to grazing alongside him.
Tytan is less protective (as he is a rhino), but prefers to keep Notty close. One afternoon, Notty began running among a large herd of impalas with several small babies. She was running with them and also chasing them. Tytan did not like the situation, and so he charged at the herd. We calmed him down with calls, and Notty headed back to join Tytan.
On the evening of 26th June, a new rescue arrived from Laikipia. Maisor, as we named her, was put in the stable next to Wamata and spent a good first night with Keeper Peter. By the next day, she was friendly to the Keepers and was feeding well on milk and soft greens. She is not yet strong enough to join the herd, but does spend several hours a day padding around in the sunshine.
The month ended with what is becoming a lovely routine: in the evening, Mzinga puts little Zuri to bed. The pair run home last, with the big nanny striding in step with the very small girl. Only once she's tucked Zuri into her room — sometimes taking a well-earned mouthful of lucerne for the trouble — does Mzinga pad to her own stockade.