June began with ex-orphans Mbegu, Ndotto, Ngilai, Murit, Tagwa, and Godoma padding up the path to join the dependent herd for breakfast, as has become their habit.
The return of the ex-orphans can leave our older dependent girls with bruised egos — they are the preferred nannies, until the old favourites come along! Such was the case when Busara moved away from big sister Rokka and attached herself to Mbegu, her original nanny. Feeling jealous, Rokka then attached herself to Lemeki and showed off by striding past Mbegu and Busara with the mini matriarch.
In fact, while Rokka is flourishing as a nanny, she also seems to be a bit nostalgic for younger years. She spent much of the month glued to Lemeki's side, soaking up attention from the mini matriarch. Serenget and Lumo watched jealously as Rokka was treated like a small baby.
Later in the month, the ex-orphans returned with Tamiyoi, who had been away for a few weeks. Busara and Baraka were very happy to see Tamiyoi and stuck close to her throughout the morning.
Ashanti, with her snare-shortened trunk, has a special way of eating lucerne. She manages to pick up a small bunch with her trunk, but uses her front foot to propel the lucerne from her short trunk into her mouth. It takes her a little longer than the other elephants, but her technique works well!
Losoito continues to be the shortest, stoutest, and most spoiled member of our Voi herd. The other orphans adhere to her wishes, because the alternative is more trouble for everyone! One afternoon, Hildana was having a wonderful wallow in a mini water hole. Losoito lay on top of him in a bid to force him out so that she could have the space to herself. Even though he is older and stronger, Hildana voluntarily ceded his spot to the indulged young girl.
Another Losoito observation: she is an accomplished but rather greedy browser of lucerne. In contrast to the others, who tend to twist up small mouthfuls, she prefers to stuff her mouth so full that lucerne bulges out of her cheeks! Unsurprisingly, her belly is equally bulging.
By contrast, Serenget has been a quiet, drama-free youngster until now — but Losoito may be corrupting her! As the herd patiently waited for their afternoon bottles one day, greedy Losoito broke away and bolted down to the feeding place — with Serenget hot on her heels! Finding no truck there, the girls were left to wait until feeding time.
Some days are businesslike browsing days; others are playing days. One memorable afternoon fell firmly in the latter category: after browsing for a time, the elephants played a hide-and-seek game, running here and there with flapping ears and trunks, and trumpeting in excitement. Lemeki tried to maintain her dignity as the mini matriarch, but soon joined the game of charging through the bushes. Rokka and Sileita were leading the charge, whirling around in the field and bush-bashing with their friends.
Ushindi has fully adopted Serenget, taking over responsibility from Rokka, who often chooses to be with Lemeki. Ushindi usually spends her mornings browsing with Serenget on the slopes of the hill, protecting her from bullies like Busara and Losoito, who are jealous of the youngest baby in the herd.
Juni, meanwhile, has been busy trying to look after Lumo — with mixed success! She trunk-touches him and follows him around, but Lumo is independent and likes to wander off to browse by himself. Juni is not having an easy time, but she is not giving up.
Epiya is very outgoing — sometimes to her detriment. One afternoon, she led Serenget, Lumo, and others over to greet a herd of wild elephants gathered around the baobab tree water trough. Cheeky Epiya then tried to kidnap a small wild calf, but was sternly chased away by the mother. Lumo and Serenget got a big fright and took refuge far from the wild herd under a tree, while Epiya lingered on the periphery, just in case another kidnapping opportunity arose.
Increasingly, the ‘Voi kids’ — Itinyi, Epiya, Busara, Ashanti, Baraka, Kilulu, Akina, Ushindi, Seri, Kenderi, Dabida, Hildana, Juni, Losoito, Rokka, Sholumai, Mushuru, Sileita, Serenget, and Lumo — are just becoming the dependent herd! They are anchored only by Lemeki, Thamana, and Rokka, our slightly older stalwarts.
Young Harea, who we rescued last month, continues to recover in his stockade. Although he is not with the other elephants, he is getting to know them and becoming part of the herd. Some stop off to greet him in the mornings and evenings. Harea is calmer when they are around.