01 March 2015

The partially independent group led by Suguta, reported at the stockade in the morning. Kalama and Melia walked up to the stockade fence with their trunks held up and communicated to the juniors, the dependent orphans still in their night stockades. Once the stockade gates were opened, Kalama, Suguta, Melia and Tumaren entered into the stockade to scrounge around to see whether the babies had left anything to eat like left over green, the grewia bark which they love so much, or perhaps some Lucerne. Kalama left the stockade with a branch in her mouth having found something to her liking. She then tried to block Orwa from leaving the stockade and the keepers were forced to intervene before the situation escalated as Orwa was eager to get out and face the day. On her way out, Kalama met with Sities. Sities tried to engage her and play but Kalama was not interested and so she pushed Sities out of the way. Again the keepers had to reprimand her. Clearly she was in a mischievous mood. Semi dependent Chemi chemi picked on Orwa to play which was a thrill but soon Orwa surrendered. Kanjoro rumbled as she walked east of the stockade. The juniors followed him. Orwa and Bongo decided to stick with the partially independent group for some time before the keepers called them. Kibo followed the two boys and joined the juniors. In the browsing fields little Vuria picked a fight with much bigger Kibo but clearly this was no even contest and very soon Vuria sidled away and pretended he had better things to do. The baby bulls love their interaction with the older boys as strength testing games is very much part of their daily routines, infact outside of feeding that is there most favourite pastime. At mud bath time, all except Orwa participated in wallowing. After the wallowing, the orphans went for their red soil dusting and later Shukuru, Teleki, Kanjoro, Bomani, Garzi, Turkwel and Narok scratched against the nearby trees. Laragai and Vuria had a brief strength testing exercise that ended soon when Vuria surrendered. In the afternoon the sun was extremely hot, sapping the energy out of the orphans and their keepers. Turkwel, Bongo and Sities sensibly stood under a tree waiting for temperatures to go down. Shukuru continued to feed but she continuously flapped her ears in an effort to keep her body temperature down. In the evening, Shukuru led the way back to the stockades, setting a steady pace. The cooler temperatures were welcomed as the long shadows fell and the sun became gentle as she slipped low on the horizon. The orphans fed on their milk, savouring every drop and set about eating their grewia branches that the Keepers had cut for their night time snacks. The water trough in each of their stockades was frequented a lot, not just to drink but to splash on their backs. Later once they had their fill one by one they lay down to sleep with their heads resting on the freshly dug earth in their stockades. They were lined up in a row sleeping extremely deeply relaxed and happy knowing they were safe for the night.

02 March 2015

Makireti, Kasigau, Kilabasi, Murka, Naisula, Kandecha, Chemi Chemi, Ishanga and Kamboyo joined the juniors in the morning. Vuria had a friendly pushing game with Kasigau and later moved to play with Kilabasi, with the older bulls being very patient and gentle with him, letting him feel he was getting the upper hand. This was very good for his confidence as afterwards it was clear he was feeling extremely good about himself. Garzi had a brief moment of scratching on rocks while Orwa and Sities shared the bush to browse. Garzi had an unusual thing going on this morning, sitting with his trunk stretched up and later rolled on the ground. Later he moved to where Turkwel was browsing and browsed close to her, communicating and hanging out together. The partially independent group of orphans walked to the trough to take their fill of drinking water, and later Chemi Chemi and Ishanga enjoyed a heated exchange, over what we are left pondering. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the temperatures where extremely high and the muddy water of the wallow did not come a moment too soon as all the orphans charged into the water and there they spent a good long time cooling down, wallowing, and generally having a very good time together. While still in water, Bongo and Vuria had a brief strength testing exercise that ended when Mutara called off the wallowing exercise through rumbling, and instantly all the orphans began to vacate the water. Mutara led the group for soil dusting and later Shukuru went to scratch against a nearby tree as Teleki and Bongo queued patiently waiting for Shukuru to finish before having their turn on the same scratching tree. Laragai picked a piece of stick that she used to scratch her neck and then used the stick to reach difficult places and spent a good long time relieving herself of any itches. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans spent much of their time relaxing under trees.

03 March 2015

Soon after receiving their morning milk, Sities tried to block Bongo from leaving the stockade. It took the intervention of the Keepers for Sities finally grant Bongo permissions to exit his night stockade. This was probably because she was hoping for his share of Lucerne this morning. The partially independent orphan group joined the juniors in the early morning, emerging from the east. Chaimu paid attention to Orwa, wrapping their trunks and pushing, with Orwa giving in quickly realising this was no even match. Kainuk picked a stick and carefully used it to scratch around her eyes. Teleki and Orwa entwined their trunks for few seconds and were about to have a good bout together but immediately disengaged when they saw Kandecha approaching. They did not want to take on independent Kandecha who is growing into a fine young bull, the offspring of those magnificent Dokota bulls with generous ivory, he has formidable genes. Another old bull called Kibo played with Vuria for some few minutes before Vuria ran to follow his colleagues who were on the way to the browsing field. Orwa, who loves to hang around with the ex orphans, remained with the partially independent group feeling good being around them. Its only after the keepers realized that Orwa was missing that they came back to the stockades looking for him. At mud bath time, only Teleki and Bongo participated fully in the wallowing exercise. Vuria tested his strength by pushing the acacia trees, but he was having little success so finally gave up the task. As the orphans moved off to browse, thirteen wild elephants showed up at mud bath. The wild bulls took water and wallowed with abandon, despite the fact that the Keepers were having their lunch under a shaded tree close by. The young dependent orphans looked on, with the young boys in awe of what they were witnessing. Eventually the wild bulls moved off disappearing into the dense bush. In the late evening when the dependent babies were safely in their night stockades, enjoying their cut greens and relaxing for the night the ex orphans appeared to report in, say hello and drink their fill of water. They stayed around, rubbing, pushing, communicating and generally relaxing, many sleeping on their feet for some down time with their human family and dependent friends.

04 March 2015

Garzi and Kainuk left the stockade with branches in their mouths that they continued to feed on while outside. Mutara went straight to Narok's stockade to check whether there was any coconut left but left disappointed. The orphans relaxed at the stockade compound reluctant to head out to the bush and content to start the day slowly. A junior wild bull came to where the juniors were to drink. Garzi and Vuria raised their trunks up sniffing the air at the passing wild junior bull, and later at the water trough the bull was joined by bold Kanjoro and Teleki. Eventually they ambled into the bush, choosing their direction for the day with the Keepers trailing behind. The morning was filled with feeding, rubbing on fallen branches and trees, and strength testing trying to push down trees with their strong foreheads. Mud bath today was some extraordinary with eighteen wild bulls checking in. Laragai amazed us all as she walked into the gathering of wild bulls clustered around the water trough and shared water with them. They were all very polite and tolerant of the little girl. Bongo, Teleki, Garzi and Narok emerged as the stars of the day in wallowing, and we think this exhibition was due to the fact that today they had an audience as the wild bulls were by this time having a mud bath at the opposite side of the mudbath, keeping a little bit of distance between them and the Keepers, but not overly concerned about our presence. Later the other dependent babies taking Laragai’s lead went to take water with the wild bulls. One of the bulls could not understand where all these juniors of the same size were coming from and why they could not wait for the seniors to drink first. The bull tried to scare the babies away but the keepers were quick to shout at the bull so as to let the babies have their water. The orphans left after having their fill of milk, water and mud bathing, all but Bongo who remained behind just so that he could hang out with the big wild bulls. Later in the day Sities and Laragai shared the same hole, dug soil with their tusks and dusted themselves with soil from the hole. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. In the evening, the temperatures were still high making the orphans to pass by the water hole once again to enjoy a splash and cool down, and in Bongo’s case a full blown mudbath. Laragai and Sities rolled on the red soil and later they were all lead back to the stockades by Shukuru with the Keepers bringing up the rear.

05 March 2015

Soon after leaving the stockade, the orphans relaxed in the compound with Narok and Garzi opting for a scratching exercise as Vuria invited Bongo into a strength testing exercise. Kainuk disrupted their pushing game by pushing Bongo from behind. The orphans settled to browse in rocky terrain where Garzi showed his rock climbing skills by carefully going up on the rocks to access delicious green shrubs he had spotted. Sities had a disagreement with Bomani and opted to sort it out through pushing. Bomani didn't wait for Sities to start pushing him for he knew what Sities would do to him. Bomani hurriedly walked away. At mud bath time, it was all quiet with no outsiders showing up. Shukuru, Laragai and Teleki had trunks in their mouths sucking and relaxing soon after finishing their milk. Teleki peeled away and headed to the mud bath and later he was joined by Bongo and Laragai who had by given up on trunk sucking. Mutara led the rest of the group to the water trough. The afternoon was hot and best friends Kainuk and Turkwel browsed with their ears spread out trying to trap the air to cool off. Kanjoro separated from the rest of the group and browsed a distance away only to rejoin them shortly before returning back to the stockade. In the evening, the ex orphaned group reported for water at the stockade water trough and stayed for a short time before leaving before dark. Today was a short visit by our older orphans.

06 March 2015

Today Sities left the stockade in a charging mood. She trumpeted as she ran towards the water trough, and carried on beyond, circling with her head held high and her tail aloft. Her charging and trumpeting attracted Laragai who then joined in kicking up dust and charging in circles. Laragai pushed Bomani unsuspectingly as he was standing in her way. Bomani didn't react in any way but just accepted what had befallen him since by attempting to revenge would land him into trouble with Laragai who has been known to pack a mean punch. Kainuk participated in soil dusting and later scratched her buttocks on a nearby rock dislodging any unwanted ticks. The dependent herd then sped off in a jovial mood to their browsing fields with the keepers following closely behind. While in the bush two running dik diks sped nearby the orphans causing Kanjoro, Narok, Vuria and Teleki to charge after them. The dependent babies like to show off with anything smaller than them and can never resist the temptation to charge and trumpet with ears out in these situations. Led by Kanjoro, the juniors pursued the dik diks but the dik diks sensibly soon disappeared leaving the juniors charging and knocking thickets in search of them. Once the excitement was over the orphans resumed the serious business of finding good food in the dry season. At Ithumba the browse is plentiful, but finding tasty soft greens and delicious things still takes time and concentration. In the afternoon semi-dependent orphans Kilaguni and Chaimu came for water at the stockade water trough. It was lovely to see them both looking well. Both had spent a long time away from home this year, returning late in January having been away for nearly a month and a half. Soon after these two left, the ex orphans group came to the stockades to drink and rest under their familiar trees. This is home base for them. They did not linger too long and after all of them had their fill of water they headed off into the bush. Today Orwa spent almost twenty minutes dusting himself with soil. Turkwel and Sities decided to separate themselves from the rest of the group and moved further away where they settled to browse uninterrupted. Garzi kept on following his best friend Vuria wherever he went and in the evening Kanjoro led the way back to the stockade.

07 March 2015

Mutara left the stockade with a branch in her mouth in the morning, and this branch dangled from her mouth for a good long time. Tail-less Kanjoro headed straight to the water trough and spent a good long time having his fill. When Mutara finally dropped the branch Teleki picked it up and continued to strip the remaining bark. Bongo stood at the main exit spring gate and tried to block Vuria from getting out. Its only when Bongo saw Turkwel approaching that he walked away. Vuria then walked to the water trough to join Orwa, Kanjoro, Narok, Bomani and Kainuk who were all having their fill of water before heading off for the day. Today appeared to be another scorching hot day, March being the hottest month of the year here at Ithumba. For the keepers keeping up with the elephants is hot work. At mud bath time, the juniors were joined by ex orphans Wendi and Rapsu which was enjoyable for the little ones. Orwa was pierced by a thorn from and acacia branch that had fallen on the path where he was walking but he carefully with his trunk fingers pulled the thorn out without needing the assistance of his keepers. He immediately then found a big tree to give himself a good scratch against. Teleki, Laragai and Shukuru had a very prolonged wallowing session today, sensibly preferring to be in the water than out; Teleki the last to finally come out. Rapsu who has grown into a very handsome big boy led the juniors to the big red soil mound and began to dust, with the little ones following his example and copying what he was doing. Sities was standing close to Wendi and opted to scratch herself against Wendi who obliged. Shukuru muddy and now dusted red went to finalize the ritual with a good scratch against a tree close to the soil dusting venue and Teleki, Bongo and Turkwel queued to do the same once she had finished. The scratching exercise was cut short when Wendi sidled up to use the same tree, and then out of respect for their elders the little ones gave way. Once the orphans had filed their way home the ex orphans arrived at the stockades to catch up with everyone, and to take a good long drink. Shortly before dark Suguta brought her whole group to drink so it was a full compliment of Ithumba orphans, dependent, semi dependent and ex orphans with the exception of Nasalot who remains on a walkabout.

08 March 2015

Kilaguni and Chaimu were at the stockade water trough again early in the morning as the junior orphans were let out. The two arrived at dawn and found out that the water trough was empty having been heavily used overnight by the orphans and their wild friends. They patiently waited until morning when the keepers hastily refilled it for them and the juniors as they came out from their night stockades. Kanjoro headed straight to the water trough and found Chaimu standing there and hesitated in moving closer as clearly Chaimu had made her feeling known that she was having her fill first with no interruptions. Kanjoro went round behind Chaimu and this didn't please her at all and she threw a back kick and lucky enough, it didn't connect with Kanjoro. It did send a strong message and he waited until his turn came. Kilaguni and Chaimu casually ambled back into the bush dissolving into the dry landscape. In the field Sities tried to pull a certain shrub down using her trunk but she could not break it and finally she resorted to desperate tactics and bent down and used her mouth to cut and pull at it. Bomani developed an itchy ear and used some grass he was holding with his trunk to scratch his ear. He was doing this vigorously as clearly something was bothering him. The keepers looked closer to be sure there was nothing they could do to help proceedings. Later, Bongo invited Garzi to play but the calm and cool Garzi avoids trouble under all costs and he didn't honour the invitation. Bongo then just put his trunk in Garzi's mouth then passed to go and try his luck on Vuria his favourite playmate. At ten o'clock in the morning, the juniors were joined by ex orphans Lualeni and later they were escorted by Lualeni to the mud bath. Though the sun was hot, only Shukuru, Teleki, Lualeni, Bongo did proper wallowing. Later, the orphans did soil bathing and thereafter Shukuru, Lualeni, Teleki and Turkwel occupied different trees in a scratching exercise. Mutara and Sities got into the water trough and instead of drinking water, they started splashing and wasting water. The keepers shouted at them and they quickly came out and headed into the bush. Lualeni followed the juniors into the bush and spent the remaining part of the day with them. It appears that Lualeni the kidnapper was coming for a survey and recruitment drive to check which of the juniors can be part of her small group in the near future. Only time will tell if she will be able to succeed in her recruitment manipulation. The keepers have to keep a sharp eye on Lualeni as she can sometimes whisk the milk dependent orphans away.

09 March 2015

Kanjoro led they way out from the stockade and his colleagues streamed behind him as he headed to the water trough. At the water trough Bongo and Teleki saw each other and remembered that they had not said good morning and so they entwined their trunks for their morning greetings all of which took a good long time. Shortly later, Bongo and Vuria started the day's activities in a strength testing exercise as Sities, Garzi and Mutara started their day by scratching on rocks dislodging all the unwanted ticks. Later out in the bush, Kainuk and Vuria came across a fallen log and opted to contort their bodies reaching all the creases and hidden corners of their under bellies. Turkwel had a soil bathing exercise while Kanjoro pushed Bomani out of his way as he moved from one shrub to another. Later, Mutara and Kainuk browsed together before Kainuk headed to where Turkwel was feeding. The ex orphans in the company of one of their wild friends one who has spent many years with them, coming and going on his own accord, Kijana, and two other wild elephants checked in at the stockade and had their fill, greeted the babies, and then left immediately having taken enough water and headed deep into the bush. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans participated in wallowing but instead headed straight to drink water immediately after they had finished their milk feeds. Garzi scratched against an acacia tree close to the water trough. he picked a stick on the ground and rotated it in the air using his trunk then dropped it down before heading off to the bush. Narok tested her strength by trying to push one of the acacia trees as Turkwel came behind her and placed her trunk on Narok's back. Later, Narok led her colleagues back to the browsing field. In the afternoon, the clouds cleared and this gave way to sun shine. When the heat became unbearable for Garzi, he went and relaxed under a tree and waited until the temperatures cooled down. In the evening, the juniors passed the mud bath where they wallowed and soil bathed before heading back to the stockade for the night.

10 March 2015

Lualeni and Ololoo were at the stockade water trough early in the morning. As the gates were opened for the juniors to leave the stockade, Lualeni met with them while going in to inspect whether there was anything left for her to feed on. Mutara left with a branch in her mouth as she walked to go and wait for lucerne. When Lualeni found out that there was nothing special for her to enjoy in the stockade, she turned and followed the juniors. Shortly later, Kilabasi, Makireti and Kasigau checked in at the water trough and joined Ololoo who was drinking water. Kasigau and Ololoo engaged in a strength testing exercise as Garzi stood behind Ololoo to spectate him. Ololoo didn't like it and as he was being pushed by Kasigau, Ololoo threw back kicks to Garzi. One kick landed on Garzi who left cursing Ololoo hoping that Kasigau would revenge on his behalf. Makireti and her group left an hour later to an undisclosed location. Ishanga, who previously had joined Makireti’s group appears to have shifted to another group since she didn't show up with Makireti. Kilaguni, Chaimu and Tomboi reported at the stockade shortly before eleven o'clock in the morning and left immediately after getting enough water. Lualeni always causes a stir whenever she shows up at mud bath, she tried to pick a bottle but she wasn't lucky as the keepers stood on guard until she passed. Lualeni headed straight to wallowing where she was joined by Bongo, Vuria, Teleki, Ololoo and Laragai. Orwa opted to keep himself busy by pushing an acacia tree as he waited for his colleagues to finish mud bathing. After bathing, Bongo went to scratch on a broken tree but later pushed away by Turkwel that wanted to use the same tree for the same purpose. In the afternoon, a wild herd consisting a family of six, came for water at the stockade. Lualeni and Ololoo spent the rest of the remaining part of the day with the orphans. Shortly before dark, six wild dogs that appeared to be in a hurry and came for water at the stockade. They took water quickly and then disappeared.

11 March 2015

At six o'clock in the morning, when the milk dependent group were taking milk, Kanjoro was busy with a stick knocking the gate for some one to let him out. Soon after leaving the stockade, the juniors settled for lucerne. At the browsing fields Vuria and Bongo engaged each other in a strength testing exercise. The rest of the morning was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. At mud bath time, Kanjoro, Mutara and Kainuk headed straight to the water trough to drink before thinking about the wallowing. Garzi, Bongo and Vuria had a prolonged wallowing as the others headed for soil dusting. Shukuru scratched against a nearby tree as Vuria scratched against Garzi. After Shukuru finished scratching, Teleki and Turkwel occupied the same tree to scratch their buttocks. Later, Vuria picked a piece of stick that he used to scratch in between his front legs. As Narok led the way back to the browsing fields, Bongo opted to go back to the water trough for more water and hung around there browsing quite content on his own, and then began to catch up with his colleagues. Ex orphans Lualeni, with her favourite calf Ololoo and big boy Tomboi came for water at the stockade late in the evening after the orphans returned back into the stockade, and later they were joined by Chaimu and Kilaguni who showed up to hang around the dependent orphans for quite some time. Then they dissolved into the night leaving our little dependent babies settling down for the night lying on the soft earth that the Keepers dig up for them every evening so that they can lie down to sleep. All the orphans were flat out lying down and sleeping heavily by about nine pm, most of them in a long line.

12 March 2015

Kalama, Suguta, Melia, Naisula, Kitirua, Tumaren, Kibo, Chemi chemi, Ishanga, Kasigau, Kilabasi and Makireti reported at the stockade compound early before six o'clock in the morning. When the gates opened for the juniors to get out, Kalama stood at the spring gate and blocked the juniors from leaving. It took the intervention of the keepers for Kalama to clear the way. The partially independent group joined the juniors in feeding on lucerne. Orwa was pushed by Kasigau rudely while he was feeding on his Lucerne, which he was angered by, but instead of retaliating he showed his annoyance by leaving the scene and moving far away to browse alone and undisturbed. The orphans then headed out for the day walking deep into the bush, browsing at the foot of the granite Kopjes as they steadily made their way to the browsing fields. Kainuk and Vuria spent a long while scratching on some fallen trees they had stumbled upon, contorting their bodies to reach all their sensitive places, with much emphasis on scratching their tummies. Mutara broke a green branch which she shared with Sities and Vuria spoiled for a fight when he tried to forcefully take a branch from Bongo's mouth. Bongo resisted and this ended in a fight which the Keepers had to calm down. By eleven o'clock in the morning, the weather was chilly and only Bongo that wallowed. A Mount Kenya elephant, Bongo seems immune to cold temperatures, and not much daunts him or dissuades him from his favourite water games. The rest of the group headed for a soil bath soon after taking their milk and looked on at Bongo alone in the water. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Vuria fed close to Shukuru and Garzi while Bongo isolated himself from the others heading further a field alone, only to rejoin the others again later. The ex orphans in the company of three wild elephants all came to drink water at the stockade shortly after the juniors returned back to their night stockades. The ex orphan group remain close at hand, communicating with the dependent babies, and having their fill of water, then they slowly slipped into the darkness out of view, with only the sound of breaking branches giving their position away. Later that night the hyenas called and we could not help but remember that fateful early morning when Sabachi was badly attacked and despite the Keepers intervention and the company of the ex orphans we could not save him. We were happy to know our babies were safely sleeping sounding, completely unperturbed by the hyenas.

13 March 2015

Surprisingly for early March it was drizzling in the morning when the orphans left the stockade. Following the chilly weather, Shukuru, Narok, Bomani and Garzi decided to start the day by scratching on the rocks at the stockade compound while Kainuk moved down where she did soil dusting and shortly later was joined by Bongo. At the browsing field, it was still drizzling and this prompted Sities to engage in a lone soil dusting game. She later scratched her belly on a tree that had been knocked down by a wild elephant. The ex orphans passed at the stockade compound at eight o'clock in the morning as they headed towards kalovoto. Clearly they had not gone far overnight and remained close to the stockades. Later, the partially independent group led by Suguta reported at the stockade. Her herd were in good spirits and spent time with the dependent young. Only Kilaguni and Chaimu were missing but showed up two hours later. These two spend extended time together and are best friends. By the eleven o'clock milk feed time, the weather was still chilly and the orphans were not in a playful mood. After taking milk, the orphans headed to drink water and thereafter returned back to the browsing field. Later in the afternoon, it started to get warmer as the clouds obscuring the sky slowly cleared. This activated the mood of Bongo that was feeding close to Vuria and had a strength testing exercise with Vuria. When the sun got hotter, Shukuru went to stand under a tree as she continuously flapped her ears.

14 March 2015

The ex orphans reported at the stockade compound early before six o'clock in the morning and joined the juniors and left the stockade all together. Boldly Orwa had a strength testing exercise with Mwende but unfortunately their game ended prematurely when Sidai emerged from nowhere and pushed Orwa away with much force. She was determined that no harm came to Mwende who is much smaller that Orwa, who despite coming into our care emaciated and close to death has grown into a big strong bull. Due to competition and disturbances from the Seniors, the Juniors didn't stay for long and parted ways. On their way to they new browsing field, Bongo absent minded bumped into Narok's buttocks. This didn't go down well with Narok who turned ready to tackle Bongo. Bongo when seeing the aggressive way Narok turned, immediately retreated with his trunk on his head regretting his actions. Narok pointed her trunk for a long time in his direction to warm Bongo never to repeat such a thing again. Teleki picked a fight with Vuria over what we are not quite sure. The pushing and bashing went on for quite some time until both of them got tired and eventually resumed to browse. Shukuru took some time off from feeding to have her own quiet soil bath then later resumed to browse. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and only Bongo, Teleki and Laragai braved the mudbath. The rest took their drink of water, then Mutara led them back to the browsing field leaving the mud wallow rompers to themselves. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing. In the evening shortly before the return of the juniors back to the stockade, Chaimu and Kilaguni came to the stockade water trough to drink water. After drinking the two best friends left without delay.

15 March 2015

Narok and Vuria left the stockade with branches in their mouths and on their heads. Semi dependent Makireti, Kilabasi, Kasigau, Taita and a junior wild bull were taking water at the stockade water trough and looked on as the dependent orphans settled in for their supplement lucerne. Shortly later, Makireti’s group joined the juniors in feeding of lucerne. Turkwel shared her pile of lucerne with Sities. On the way into the bush further a field from the stockades as the orphans faced their day Bongo and Vuria did as little elephant bulls do and had a brief scuffle which ended with both of them entwining their trunk tips as a sign of making peace. Today towards 10 o'clock in the morning, the sun got hot forcing Bongo, Turkwel and Teleki to seek shade under a tree. Here they waited until 11 o'clock mud bath time. The ex orphans in the company of three wild bulls, were at mud bath prior to the arrival of the juniors. As the juniors were taking milk, Lualeni came to stand close with her trunk up and devising how she could grab one of the milk bottles. The security was tight and Lualeni on seeing this, gave up and returned to join her colleagues. The juniors joined their seniors in mud bathing and the shrinking water hole heaved with elephants of all different sizes. The Keepers looked on proudly at the results of the Trust’s hard work, giving life to so many elephants who would have died otherwise. Slowly individuals left the water and begun soil bathing. Shukuru visited her usual tree that she uses almost daily to scratch her belly. She did this and then stood in the shade sucking her trunk, a thing that Shukuru does a lot. The ex orphans parted with the Juniors after spending a fun time together and headed off in a different direction with their wild friends. In the afternoon Turkwel took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree while Laragai for the first time showed respect to Bongo by feeding from the same shrub. In the evening, Sities wasted much time trying to break the top part of an ant hill, but due to the packed parched red earth made little impact and the anthill remained regally intact, and Sities surrendered and found another distraction.

16 March 2015

The orphans settled for lucerne immediately after leaving the stockade. Shukuru scratched her belly on the rock while Bongo took a flake of lucerne and moved some metres away where he enjoyed feeding on it uninterupted. Orwa passed by and Bongo thought that Orwa was coming for his Lucerne so he positioned himself in an aggressive stance, with spread ears and head raised, only to see Orwa walk by. It might be that Orwa saw his stance and thought better of it and then pretended he never had any ill intent. Shukuru tried to steal some of Kainuks pile of Lucerne forcing her to pick her pile and move else where. Like yesterday at mudbath time the juniors were joined by their ex orphan friends and eight magnificent wild elephants. All the orphans had a wonderful time as they mud bathed together, shared the drinking water together and dust bathed together. The Keepers kept a distance under the trees watching this jovial scene of very happy elephants. Shukuru went to scratch against her usual tree but later was forced to leave when a wild elephant wandered in and wanted to use the same tree to scratch himself. Shukuru has learnt her elephant manners and knows that in elephant society the young always give way to their elders. The afternoon was hot and Shukuru found a suitable tree that she used to shelter herself and at the same time plucking some leaves to eat, and she remained undisturbed. In the evening, Makireti’s group of semi independent orphans reported for water at the stockade. It appeared that this group of orphans had recruited a new wild elephant, maybe just for the day. The wild elephant was nervous and was not use to the stockade set up and it left soon after taking water. Makireti, Kilabasi and Kasigau aware of their friends discomfort followed their wild elephant friend.

17 March 2015

Mist covered the top of the Ithumba Hill today and gave the day a cool beginning. While the orphans settled for lucerne, Mutara raised her trunk up which was an indication of something approaching. Within three minutes, the ex orphans appeared from the dry comiphera bush, and this disrupted the peace. The juniors hurriedly picked up their piles of lucerne and started leaving. Orwa remained behind and had a strength testing game with Ololoo. Later, Orwa surrendered and followed his colleagues. At the browsing fields the weather was cool and the sky was covered by rain clouds, an indication that the rainy season is just round the corner. At mud bath time it was quiet with only the dependent orphans in attendance. As all the other orphans headed straight to drink water at the water trough, Bongo did the opposite by starting with wallowing. Our little water baby was in there and soon when the orphans went down to have a mud bath, Bongo met with them as he moved up going for a drink. After bathing, Vuria and Garzi stood and started conversing in low tones as they inserted trunks in each others mouths. Later, the orphans headed for soil bath and Kanjoro was the last to quit the soil bathing, spending hours in the soft red powder. Vuria and Shukuru spend some time scratching against trees before resuming to browse. In the afternoon, the sun was hot and Bongo, Narok, Mutara and Orwa converged under the same tree to hide from the scorching sun. In the evening, the ex orphans were back at the stockade water trough and remained at home base for a good long time, resting, taking their fill of water and then silently moving off for the night, leaving their little dependent babies safely tucked up in their stockades.

18 March 2015

The orphans had a brief peaceful time at the stockade compound in the morning before the arrival of the ex orphans. Immediately the ex orphans appeared, Sities was the first one to see them. Sities hurriedly collected her pile of lucerne and left. Bomani did the same but the rest were caught unawares and they had no option other than sharing their Lucerne piles with the ex orphans who were eager for some of the supplements. Later Bomani and Garzi who haven't been seen playing a pushing game for a long time, had obviously woken up in a pushing mood. The two engaged each other in a light strength testing exercise until Kainuk interrupted their game by knocking both of them away. The baby herd moved away to browse and wander deep into the bush and Turkwel and Sities had a friends pushing time with Orwa and Teleki. Teleki lay down and Orwa took advantage of the situation by climbing on him. Later Vuria and his playmate Bongo were engaged with their usual strength testing game that ended when Teleki intervened. Towards eleven o'clock in the morning, Mutara isolated herself from the rest and went to feed under a tree some distance away. On the way to the mud bath, the Keepers counted the orphans and realized that one was missing. After cross checking, they found out that it was Bongo that had dodged them. Two Keepers went to look for Bongo while the rest took the present orphans to the mud bath. Bongo was located twenty minutes later and he was taken to the mud wallow to join his colleagues. Bomani and Garzi were still in playful mood and they started a pushing game that didn't please Laragai prompting Laragai to push Garzi away. In the afternoon the dependent herd moved to feed further up Ithumba Hill, and Orwa browsed with his hind legs crossed in a casual stance while Narok and Laragai came across loose soil which they then spent a good long time dusting themselves with. The babies then formed a line with Turkwel in the lead and headed back to their stockades, browsing along the way.

19 March 2015

Lualeni, Ololoo, Tomboi, Chaimu, Kilaguni and a junior wild bull reported at the stockade early before the orphans were let out. The reason behind the early reporting of Lualeni was to make sure that they were included in the ration of lucerne. Yatta and her group reported when the orphans had already finished the lucerne and were preparing to leave for browsing. Kainuk and Orwa spent some time scratching on the nearby rocks. At the browsing field, Shukuru came across loose soil and spent much time dust bathing with Mutara joining in. They then resorted to lying in the soft cool dust for a short nap. Orwa who was feeding close by came forward and scratched his belly against Mutara. Mutara seemed to like the attention and remained lying down while Orwa enjoyed his scratch. Sities developed an itchy ear and since she wasn't close to any tree she used Garzi as a scratching post by scratching against him rigoriously. Garzi understood it was an emergency and let her continue understanding her predicament. Shortly after taking the the mid day milk, the juniors were joined by Suguta and her group. Suguta and her group have been spending time further a field and have not been arriving at the stockades predictably every day, but while together Kibo taught Orwa some pushing tactics while Murka threatened to push Laragai when Laragai happened to pass too close to her. In the afternoon, the temperatures were low and the orphans browsed calmly throughout enjoying the company of the semi independent orphans. Shortly before returning back to the stockade, Orwa knelt down with his front legs to try and pull a shrub out of the ground. He was unable to do it standing so resorted to another style. It was obviously something her really wanted, and finally he was successful. In the evening only Lualeni showed up at the stockades to take her fill of water, without Kilaguni or Ololoo. The Keepers are suspicious of her intentions. Lualeni likes to snatch our dependent babies and whisk them off for nights out.

20 March 2015

Lualeni had been joined by Ishanga and appeared to have spent the night just outside the stockade. This was unusual as Ololoo was not with Lualeni, and Ishanga is an elephant who bounces between groups. Their motives are suspicious and given that they two were just relaxing waiting for the juniors to come out of their night stockades and join them at the Lucerne area. We think she is looking to see who might be ready in the dependent group to transition. Lualeni led the way to the browsing field. It was a day without much activities as the orphans browsed calmly throughout up to mud bath time when Lualeni and Ishanga escorted the juniors to the mud bath. Lualeni was the first one to get into the mud followed by Teleki, Shukuru, Vuria, Narok, Bongo and Laragai. Orwa, Kainuk and Bomani boycotted the exercise. Mutara and Sities walked up to the water trough and got into the water trough to bath and soiled the water. In the afternoon, the sun was hot and Kanjoro, Vuria, Bomani and Laragai participated in a soil dusting exercise and thereafter went to relax under a tree. They resumed to browse later when the temperatures went down.

21 March 2015

Kanjoro was knocking the gate using a stick as his colleagues were taking the early morning milk. When the gates opened, Kanjoro headed straight to the water trough where he was joined by Turkwel. At Lucerne feeding time, the guest of honour was Kilaguni who arrived without his companion Chaimu. As the juniors were feeding on lucerne, Mutara pushed Laragai which impacted Orwa and made him mad. To display his anger, Orwa quit the feeding of the lucerne and went to relax at the water trough. The ex orphans arrived just as the dependent orphans were leaving. It was lovely to see them all looking so well. At the field, Garzi fed close to Mutara while Orwa isolated himself from the others and went to feed a few metres away. Bomani and Teleki shared the same shrub while feeding but Sities came and pushed both of them away so as to feast on the shrub. After getting their milk, Teleki, Vuria and Orwa headed straight to drink water while Shukuru, Narok and Laragai headed for mud bathing before joining Orwa, Vuria and Teleki in drinking water. After drinking water, Teleki headed for wallowing where he was joined by Bongo, the king of the wallow, and his friends Kanjoro and Mutara. Shukuru headed for soil dusting which she was extremely vigorous with today, and later peeled away for her usual tree scratching routine. Three warthogs that attended mud bath, faced it rough when they were spotted by Sities who spotted them and charged, trumpeting, ears out meaning business. The warthogs disappeared as fast as lightening extremely unnerved by it all. Shortly later, Vuria raised his trunk up and he was looking hard towards the Ithumba mountain. When he lowered his trunk Lualeni, Kenze and Orok emerged from the exact direction Vuria was pointing with his trunk. The three ex orphans greeted the others, but headed straight to drink water, they were obviously extremely thirsty. Having spent time together the dependent orphans slowly ambled back into the bush to browse, each on intent on feeding. It was an extremely hot day with temperatures getting even hotter in the afternoon, so much so that the juniors retreated to just waiting under trees with ears flapping. It was even too hot to feed, so instead they dozed off for a siesta. That evening Suguta’s group of partially independent orphans reported for water at the stockade but left immediately after having their fill, without too much time spent interaction with the juniors, who on their return home had an evening cool off at the waterhole, this is becoming more of their routine these days with the brutally hot days.

22 March 2015

Today the sky was obscured by heavy rain clouds as the orphans left the stockade. While out in the bush Sities browsed close to Mutara and the orphans were in high spirits, anticipating the rain. The weather kept on changing from cloudy to sunny. Shukuru took time off from feeding today to perform the soil dusting when she found a nice patch of bare earth. She later got back to her feet and joined Kanjoro to feed on the same bush. At mud bath time, the weather was cloudy. After taking water, Garzi moved up and kept himself busy by trying to push an acacia tree. Vuria came over to Garzi and placed his trunk on him giving him more momentum from behind. Bomani came up behind Vuria and attempted to mount Vuria. Laragai who was standing close by under the shade of an acacia tree was angered by this and came up and gave Bomani a good push which ended the antics immediately. Bongo led the herd for wallowing but once they reached at the venue, only Bongo went into the water. The orphans just stood at the edge of the mud bath and watched the water boy in action as he was savouring every minute. Only Bongo together with Kanjoro enjoyed the red earth pile before heading off to feed deep in the bush. In the afternoon, the partially independent group known as the Suguta group arrived in the company of a wild herd, and came for water at the stockade. In the evening, Turkwel and Garzi browsed together while Sities teamed up with Mutara. As the orphans were on their way back to the stockade, the cloudy sky opened up and gave way to showers. At the end of it we had 3mm of rain and this is an indication of the rainy season becoming imminent.

23 March 2015

The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Mutara took the biggest pile and moved away from her colleagues. Each time a colleague passed by she would throw her trunk in defence of her pile. Kanjoro who had also taken a pile, he used back kicks to defend his pile. First to be affected was Narok who while pressing behind Kanjoro and received a sharp kick to her belly. Narok didn't complain but passed hoping that one day she will be strong enough to revenge. Teleki was also kicked when he tried to snatch some lucerne from Kanjoro. As the orphans were preparing to leave, Yatta and Mulika herds of ex orphans reported and started picking the leftovers of Lucerne and the stockades were surrounded with over forty elephants. On the way to the browsing field, Bongo and Vuria engaged one another in a strength testing exercise. At the field, Garzi took some time to scratch his buttocks against a rock while Kanjoro resorted to some serious soil dusting. At mud bath time though the sun was hot, only Shukuru, Narok, Bongo and Kanjoro wallowed. After wallowing, Narok used one of his hind legs to scratch the other one. Bongo, Laragai, Shukuru and Sities did soil bathing before returning back to the browsing field. In the afternoon, the orphans browsed calmly taking their fill of food. In the evening, the ex orphans reported at the stockade for water again and hung around with their little friends for a good long time. A male lesser kudu who was ambling close by got into trouble with orok when orok charged but he stood his ground which rather unnerver Orok who was expecting more of a reaction. Orok kicked dust and decided to go for the kudu. Finally when the kudu saw Orok approaching even closer in threatening mood he ran away with his white tail flashing just as he melted into the grey bush beyond the stockades. Missing in the ex orphans group were bulls Napasha, Tomboi, Buchuma and Madiba.

24 March 2015

Makireti, Kilabasi, Kasigau, Chaimu and Ishanga were sleeping outside the stockade overnight and were there when the babies came out of their stockades. The noise made by the opening of the gates woke them up. It appears, the five arrived at night and opted to sleep and wait for the others until morning. This is a second time of Chaimu being seen without her friend Kilaguni. Only time will tell if they had a misunderstanding that made Chaimu to quit and join Makireti. It looks like she is taking her cue from Ishanga, she is always changing groups and only time will tell. As the orphans settled for lucerne, Narok, Teleki, Orwa, Bomani and Garzi kept themselves busy by scratching on the nearby rocks. Chaimu exerted her authority over the juniors as she moved around taking their lucerne by force. Shortly later, Makireti and her group left to drink water and thereafter disappeared heading towards east. At the browsing field, the quiet Garzi defended himself from Bomani when Bomani attacked him from the back. Garzi turned and faced Bomani. Their pushing went on for quite some time until Orwa intervened and separated the two boys. Suguta with a team of eleven members arrived at the stockade for water shortly before eleven o'clock in the morning. The group consisted of Suguta, Melia, Tumaren, Olare, Kibo, Kitirua, Murka, Naisula, Kandecha, Chemi chemi and Kalama. They took water, relaxed in the shade, dusted themselves and greeted their Keepers before heading back into the bush. Meanwhile at the midday mudbath site soon after eleven o'clock milk feeds, the orphans headed for wallowing with an exception of Orwa, Kainuk and Bomani who boycotted the exercise. Teleki and Narok were the last to leave the wallowing as they had been enjoying lying on top of each other. After wallowing, Shukuru, Bongo, Turkwel and Kanjoro spent some time scratching against the nearby acacia trees. In the afternoon, the sun was really hot causing Shukuru, Turkwel and Bongo to flap their ears continuously as they moved from one area to another in search of better pastures. In the evening, the weaver birds who are our signal for the start of the rainy season, arrived and perched in the acacia tree at the stockade compound. Shortly before dark, heavy clouds opened up and we received a welcome 4mm of rain. Nothing too dramatic but it was a welcome respite from the heat and settled the dust.

25 March 2015

Five junior wild bulls under the leadership of Kijana a wild bull who has spent so much time with our orphans that we have given him a name, were taking water at the stockade water trough when the dependent orphans left the stockade. As soon as the juniors settled for lucerne, Kijana joined his little friends with another wild friend, but the three elephants disappeared into the bush when they saw the Keepers. Vuria, Teleki and Garzi surrounded Kijana and shared lucerne with him as the other orphans tried to avoid him for fear of being pushed. Laragai that was feeding a few metres away, saw the three boys having a good time with Kijana and decided to come and join them. When she joined them, Laragai pushed Garzi away and to show dissatisfaction of Laragai's action, Teleki and Vuria took Garzi and left to drink water. Laragai was uncomfortable having been left with the two wild bulls and so she soon left to join her colleagues. Shortly after the orphans left for browsing, Mulika’s group arrived, consisting of Mulika, with her wild born baby Mwende, Kinna, Nasalot, Galana, Naserian, Galana, Meibai, Wendi, Makena, Loijuk, Lualeni, Ololoo, Rapsu, Orok and Lenana checked in at the stockade compound. It appears that Lualeni has dissolved her group. For the past few days she has been seen in Mulika and Yatta's groups but we will have to wait and see what happens in the next few months. Later at the browsing field, Sities took a break from feeding and performed a soil dusting exercise. She resumed to browse later when she had enough of her soil dusting. Mutara concentrated on the shrubs with green leaves while bongo fed on whichever good shrub and grass that happened to be on his way. At mud bath time, only Bongo the water boy and Teleki participated in wallowing. The rest went up to the water trough where they spent allot of time in drinking water. Bongo joined them and as if he had not taken enough bath, he started splashing water behind her ears. Sities wasn't happy about what Bongo was doing and so she pointed him with her trunk to stop him from wasting water. Sities forgot that she is the worst together with Mutara when it comes to wasting water. they sometimes even get into the water trough and start kicking the water using their dirty feet. Bongo didn't take her seriously and did two more splashes then went to scratch against the nearby acacia trees where Teleki was still doing the same exercise. In the afternoon, the sun was hot and Sities, Narok and Kanjoro converged under a tree while continuously flapping their ears. On the way back to the stockade, Shukuru led the first group, Narok led the second group while bongo led the last group. Inside the stockade, Orwa pushed Teleki when he stepped on the coconut Orwa was feeding on.

26 March 2015

The ex orphans reported early in the morning while the juniors were still in the stockade. Narok left the stockade with a branch in her mouth since she knew that it will be difficult for them to have the lucerne while the ex orphans were present. Laragai met with Mwende Mulika’s wild born baby and threatened Mwende with dire consequences if she blocked her way. Mwende stepped aside and let Laragai who appeared to be in a hurry to pass. Mwende who is now three years and four months headed to her mother to nurse and we think probably report to her mother how Laragai had threatened her. At the browsing field, Laragai browsed close to Kainuk and from time to time Kainuk relaxed her trunk on Laragai's back while Shukuru browsed with Mutara. Later, Sities, Garzi, Orwa and Teleki showed their road side antics when they came across loose soil. Laragai, Bongo and Vuria were pleased with what their colleagues were doing and so they joined in all having a fun dust filled time. Laragai mounted onto Teleki and Teleki rolled on the soil. At the end, Vuria and Bongo were locked into a fight because of reasons that only the two of them could explain. On the way to the mud wallow, the weather changed and clouds that had been gathering opened up and gave way to rain that poured down for almost half an hour. The orphans took their milk while it was still raining and thereafter returned to the browsing field enjoying how fresh everything seemed. In the evening, the juniors were joined by Nasalot and Naserian. Naserian went to feed close to Teleki while Nasalot showed her interest on Garzi spending much time with him. When the orphans headed towards their night stockades Naserian and Nasalot said their goodbyes and parted ways heading off to an undisclosed location.

27 March 2015

The orphans had a peaceful morning soon after leaving the stockade. They settled for lucerne without any interference from an outsider. Narok, Shukuru, Garzi, Orwa and Bongo went straight to scratch on the nearby rocks soon after finishing their lucerne. Later, Kanjoro led the juniors to the water trough to drink water. As the orphans were drinking water, Tomboi emerged from the eastern side of the water trough and headed straight to the venue where the orphans settles for lucerne. Mutara and Kanjoro escorted Tomboi to the venue as they touched and sniffed at him with their trunks. Tomboi was disappointed when he found out that at the venue there was nothing to eat. Tomboi turned and went to the water trough to help himself to a good waterfill. At the browsing field, Orwa and Bomani played with wet soil. Later, Sities, Mutara, Bongo and Kanjoro came across water that had collected on a rock and spent some time drinking the rain water. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and none of the orphans participated in wallowing. in the afternoon, Mutara, Shukuru and Sities teamed up and isolated themselves from their colleagues and browsed some metres away. The clouds cleared and gave way to sun shine and this prompted Bongo and Orwa to stand under a tree with shade. They resumed their feeding later when the temperatures dropped to a favourable level. The rest of the evening was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any major observation.

28 March 2015

It was a quiet and a cold morning as the orphans settled for lucerne. Mutara played with Shukuru along the road, and they were in high spirits. Mutara eventually lay down and Shukuru came over to scratch her belly against her. Vuria played with Laragai while Bomani played with Bongo. It seems with the rain the orphans know it need not be all about feeding and the challenge of finding browse because with the rain has come some delicious greens. At mud bath time, the weather was chilly and only Bongo that splashed water behind his ears while Narok scratched against the nearby acacia tree. The afternoon weather was appetizing, Shukuru and Turkwel browsed from the same shrub and later, it started to drizzle. The orphans were happy and all rolled on the wet soil. When the rain stopped, 5mm of rain had been received.

29 March 2015

It was a cold morning when the orphans left the stockade and settled for lucerne. Shukuru after taking enough lucerne, she started throwing the lucerne up and Kanjoro was happy to wait for it to fall so as to collect it. At the browsing field, Teleki came across a tree stump that he used to scratch his belly. Moments later, Kanjoro came and pushed Teleki away and used the tree stump to scratch his belly. With the rains have come more ticks. At mud bath time, the juniors were joined by Mulika, Mwende, Sidai and Lenana. They enjoyed the juniors company and later parted ways in the afternoon, when the juniors came across new water holes and started playing in them. Mutara, Laragai, Orwa, Narok, Vuria and Kanjoro were the most playful as the rest of the group watched on.

30 March 2015

Mulika and Yatta groups were at the stockade compound in the morning when the orphans were let out. Wendi, Loijuk, Kinna and Nasalot were facing the store where the lucerne is kept. Soon the juniors joined them and stood close to the fence eagerly waiting for the lucerne. When the lucerne was distributed to them, the juniors starting with Kanjoro picked piles of lucerne and started leaving with their piles knowing full well that the ex orphans will forcefully make their presence felt and muscle in on some of the delicious supplement. Shortly later, Mutara led the way to the browsing field. Vuria and Garzi had a great time today rolling on the loose soil they had come across. Mutara rumbled and all the orphans followed her up to the Kanziku area where they settled to browse. At mud bath time, the temperatures were high though the sky had been covered by heavy clouds. Only Bongo, Shukuru, Teleki and Laragai participated in wallowing. After wallowing, Bongo went to drink water, Shukuru headed for scratching while Laragai headed for soil dusting. Later, Orwa, Turkwel and Kainuk teamed up in soil bathing exercise. In the afternoon, the clouds cleared and this gave way to sunshine. Bongo and Kainuk sought shelter under the same tree as they continuously flapped their ears. Laragai, Garzi and Sities continued to browse normally without minding about the sun. In the evening, the juniors were joined by Rapsu. Kanjoro, Garzi, Vuria and Orwa came close to Rapsu and browsed as they trailed him. At five o’clock in the evening, Rapsu escorted the juniors back to the stockade and after putting them to bed he then wandered off to an undisclosed location. Shortly before dark, a wild herd consisting of eight elephants reported for water at the stockade. In the group there were two babies tiny babies and two one tusked elephants.

31 March 2015

Kanjoro was the first one to leave the stockade. Laragai waited until the keepers started distributing the lucerne, then instead of using the gate to access the place where they feed on lucerne, Laragai used a shortcut. she knelt down and went under the fence. The keepers only knew she had gone under the fence when they heard the wires clicking. Laragai then pretended to be busy going round picking the lucerne. Unfortunately she happened to bump on Kanjoro. Kanjoro was upset by Laragai and decided to teach her a lesson by turning to push her. Before he could turn, Laragai had sensed danger and she was long gone. As they wandered away from their night stockades to face the day Orwa knelt down with his fore legs and dug at the damp soil using his tusks. Vuria played with Teleki as Garzi stood aside and watched the two and their pushing game. After Shukuru and Teleki finished taking their milk, they resorted to sucking their trunks as they walked towards mud bath. This is when we are reminded that they are still just little babies. The weather was sunny but only the water baby bathed, Bongo. As the orphans walked back to the bush, two wild elephants emerged from the western side of the mud bath and headed straight to drink water. Sities and Garzi browsed together and then wandered closer to the big bulls and watched from a distance. When the sun got hotter, the pair moved to a shade where they relaxed for some time before resuming to browse. Turkwel paired with her best friend Kainuk while Mutara browsed a distance away from the rest of the dependent herd. In the evening, the orphans had mudbath and all had a cool down before proceeding to their night stockades to settle down and have a good rest and sleep safe from harms way.