Because of the dry weather we have enjoyed a lot of wild elephants in the area, congregating around water points and almost every day the orphans have ended up interacting with wild elephant herds. For the most part these interactions were very amicable and extremely good for the orphans. They stretch their trunks towards their wild friends and welcome them to join them, sometimes even initiating playful pushing games with them.
The day started with the milk dependent orphans running out of the stockades to gulp down their milk feed before joining their older friends for the supplement feeding. Arruba stretched her trunk to harvest green leaves from one of the trees in the stockade compound while Suswa waited to see if any more Lucerne pellets would be brought out, but had to give up her quest and follow her friends to the browsing fields as she did not want to fall behind.
The morning browsing session took place from the western to the northern side of Msinga Hill before the orphans made their way to the baobab tree waterhole. Many wild elephant herds had visited the baobab tree water hole prior to their arrival. Nelion made his way to the water trough, where the cleanest water could be found, for a drink.
Panda plunged into the centre of the water for a bath, with Mudanda and Tundani following suit.
Rorogoi had a wonderful dust bathing session after mud bathing. Araba chose a small tree to have a scratching session against leaving the other big trees for her senior friends. Naipoki enjoyed a game of lying and rolling on the mud bath walls. The afternoons browsing activities took place close to the water hole.
It was another wonderful beginning to the day with the orphans engaging in all the usual morning activities. They came out of their stockades for their milk and supplement feeding after which they played some games around the stockade compound before heading to the browsing grounds.
Today Kihari, who was waiting in a queue for a scratching session, pushed Panda aside to take her place in the line and then proceeded to push Mashariki away from the rock she was scratching on, as she felt Mashariki was taking too long. Ndii had a peaceful scratching session against a tree in the stockade, while Nguvu took up position on a small rock.
The orphans browsed their way in single file to the field before visiting the baobab tree water hole in the afternoon for their milk feed. Panda sat on the edge of the water trough and had a scratching session. After a brief bath, Tundani and Lentili enjoyed scratching against the big baobab tree. Ishaq-B came up and pushed the baobab tree, as if wanting to push it over which would be an impossible thing to do.
The stockade dependent orphans spent the afternoon browsing on the northern foot of Msinga Hill.
This morning the orphans exited the stockades in a happy mood, eager to begin their day. After the milk and supplement feeding was over they teamed up to play on the red earth piles in the stockade compound. Nelion and Ndotto separated themselves from their soil bathing friends and engaged in a wonderful play fighting game. When all the fun and games were over the orphans followed Mbegu and Godoma to the browsing fields.
The orphans began their browsing activities on the eastern side of Msinga Hill with the milk dependent orphans later making their way to browse on the northern side of Msinga Hill. Their browsing pace was slow today. As it was a cold and cloudy day the orphans didn’t visit the waterhole, choosing instead to concentrate on browsing and eating as much vegetation as they could.
Today the orphans spent as much time as possible feeding on Lucerne pellets making sure there wasn’t even a single bit left. Fun and games followed around the stockade compound. Ndii, who has been trying to take over Mbegu’s herd recently, competing for this position from Ishaq-B, went over to them as they were playing and picked up a trunkful of red soil, spraying it onto Ngilai and Lasayen who were standing watching the fun and games. Ndii then moved Mbegu from her playing spot while Ndotto and Kihari enjoyed a strength testing pushing.
The journey towards the browsing grounds took place under Lentili’s leadership. As the day progressed it got warmer with Mbegu and Ndotto finding themselves squeezing up together under a small tree to seek shelter from the scorching sun.
After the noon milk feed and mud bath the reset of the day was spent browsing peacefully with Mbirikani browsing alone on the northern side of Msinga Hill while the rest of the stockade dependent orphan elephants returned to the safety of the stockades for the night.
The orphans were greeted with birdsong as they exited their stockade this morning, running for their milk bottles to begin their daily routine. Mudanda and Ndotto were busy having fun playing, with Mudanda rubbing her head against Ndotto’s bottom as she tried to engage him in a play fighting game.
The orphans left the stockade under Tundani, Nguvu and Kihari’s leadership. The three tried to lead their friends uphill to browse but the group chose to settle halfway up Msinga Hill for the morning browsing session; the three decided to venture further uphill on their own. When they saw that none of their friends had followed them Kihari, Nguvu and Tundani came running down again to join the rest of the group with Godoma sidling up to Mbegu and rubbing her head against her.
The orphan elephants visited the baobab tree water hole where they had a brief mud bath following their milk feed. Later in the afternoon it became very hot with Embu and Suswa seeking shelter from the sun’s rays under a small tree.
Tahri and Godoma ran out of their stockade, rumbling over who would be the first to get their morning milk bottle from the Keepers. The two quickly downed their share before settling to feed on Lucerne pellets with their friends. Lentili became a little naughty and tried to pick a fight with Suswa over the Lucerne pellets, but Suswa refused to be engaged by her.
The orphan elephants left the stockade for the browsing fields under Ndoria and Nguvu’s leadership. They scattered and spread out across the grassy plains, grabbing as much of the browse around them as they could. There was a thick dark cloud covering the sun making for a cold day and as such the orphan herd did not visit the waterhole, choosing instead to continue browsing on the northern foot of Msinga Hill following their noon milk feed. The thick clouds building overhead are making us grow increasingly excited for rain - but we hope it will fall soon!
Later in the afternoon, Ndotto engaged Murit in a serious play fighting game which ended when it was time for the orphans to return to the stockades for the night.
Mwanda, the orphan baby buffalo is doing well. Oltukai has not yet come into contact with her, though they have greeted one another from their separate stockades. Oltukai can get jealous of anyone, Keepers included, approaching his best friend Tawi the eland, which is why Mwanda has been kept separate from them.
It was a perfect beginning to the day with Mbirikani, who usually spends the night out of the stockade, joining the stockade dependent orphan elephants in the morning for the Lucerne pellet feeding before taking off to the browsing grounds. There was no playing around the stockade compound as the orphans were focused on making their way to the browsing grounds as early as they could.
The orphan herd browsed in single file, with Mudanda pushing Arruba as the two ran for their noon milk bottle. After milk feeding the orphans ran to the waterhole as it was a hot day and they wanted to cool down, and managing to scare away an approaching wild elephant in the process. Ndotto showed off playing in the water with Arruba, Nelion and Ndoria watching his rolling games closely. Kihari sat on the mud bath walls to play before scrambling to get her baby Tahri, who had been taken away by Panda. Arruba and Bada patted one another on the back with their trunks, as if congratulating themselves on the mud bath they had just completed. The afternoon was spent browsing close to the waterhole.
At 6am in the morning, the sun was already up and shining brightly as the orphans walked out of their stockades to begin their day of browsing. This morning Mbirikani came and joined them for the days browsing activities. After browsing for more than four hours, Kihari went tried to woo Ndotto and Ngilai into playing with her. The two ignored her request and continued with their browsing activities. When Kihari saw that none of her friends were interested in playing she resumed browsing with them.
Later in the day, Naipoki, Mashariki and Arruba took a break from browsing to play on a rock. Naipoki had a wonderful time enjoying a play fight with Araba before the two spent some time browsing side by side.
When it was time for the afternoon milk bottle, Mudanda, who was kept back to wait her turn, picked up a dry stick and chewed on it. When she was called for her milk she dropped the stick and ran with her trunk outstretched for her milk bottle. Nelion and Arruba, who had already had their share, were busy interacting with a wild elephant herd. The two teamed up and to block Tahri from joining and interacting with the wild herd but were unsuccessful in doing so as Tahri was thirsty and ended up joining the wild elephants at the water trough. Once the wild herd had finished a quick drink and mud bath, they left, leaving the orphans browsing close to the waterhole.
After the morning milk feed, the stockade dependent elephants hung around the stockade compound playing and coming to the supplement feeding area for some Lucerne pellets before heading out for the day. Mbirikani caught up with the orphan herd and joined them for the day.
During the noon milk feeding session, Ndotto grabbed his milk bottle from the Keeper’s hand, holding it himself as he gulped down his milk. Godoma, who had already finished her share, went and stood by him as if wanting to steal his share but decided against it, as it would have resulted in a fight.
After a wonderful mud bath it was soil bathing time, with Tahri taking center stage and Kihari and Naipoki scrambling to get her back from Ndii with whom she had been playing. Bada was busy enjoying a wonderful scratching session against the baobab tree while Mudanda rolled around on the ground, but was interrupted when Arruba came and interfered by pushing Mudanda away from the area.
Today the stockade dependent orphans left the compound for the field as soon as the milk and Lucerne pellet feeding was done. They decided not to play around today. Mudanda and Bada took the lead of their friends with the two exploring further uphill to browse. Ndotto and Godoma stayed at the base of the hill to browse, and were later joined by the rest of their friends as they came down to make their way to the noon milk feeding area and waterhole.
After drinking clean water from the water trough, Ngilai went into the middle of the water hole to wallow. He sucked water into his trunk tossing it skyward so it would fall down like rain. Suswa stood watching him, confused as to what it was he was doing.
Mashariki counted herself luck today, as she had Ndoria standing guard over her as she lay in the water to play and roll around. Ndoria made sure that none of the other orphans came to bother Mashariki or try to ride on her back.
Ndotto chose to have a scratching session against a small bush while Mbirikani separated from the orphan herd and browsed her way towards the Mzima-Mombasa water pipe line area where there were many wild elephant herds browsing.
The stockade dependent orphan elephants were in a jovial mood as they exited their stockades with the milk dependent ones gulping down their milk bottle before joining Kenia, Kihari, Ndii, Panda, Ishaq-B and Ndoria for the supplement feeding. There were brief games around the stockade compound before Lentili led the group to the browsing fields.
Kenia browsed side by side with Araba for a while before joining the rest of the orphan herd. Tahri was busy browsing at the bushy area at the foot of Msinga Hill and was left behind by her friends as they moved further afield, which had her running to catch up with them. Mbirikani joined the orphans and spent the morning with them. The group was also joined by a wild bull. Suswa came to welcome the wild elephant to the orphan herd with Ishaq-B and Panda stretching their trunks towards him in greeting.
After a wonderful noon mud bath, Naipoki tried to steal Tahri away from Ndii, but was unsuccessful in doing so as Ndii did not leave Tahri’s side the entire day. Naipoki chose instead to join them and the three of them spent the afternoon browsing together.
It was a bright morning as the orphans came running out of their night quarters to drink their morning milk bottle before settling to enjoy the Lucerne pellets that had been put out for them. There were some brief games at the red earth piles at the stockade compound before the orphans left for the browsing grounds.
At the noon mud bath session the orphans had a wonderful time playing in the water with Arruba and Ishaq-B playing a game of sitting on the waterhole walls while their friends enjoyed swimming in the center of the mud bath. Ndoria brought a quick end to the bathing games when she plunged into the water causing a mass exodus by the rest of the group. Ndoria enjoyed having the waterhole to herself and had fun sliding down the sides of the waterhole into the water. The afternoons browsing session began as soon as the mud bathing games ended.
A female orphan baby buffalo seen following a herd of the cattle calves in Dakota Ranch and was reported to the Voi team. A Kenya Wildlife Service ranger called the stockade and the orphan calf was rescued and brought to the Voi stockade to join Mwanda, the other orphan buffalo already there. The new arrival was named Dakotta and the fate of its mother was unknown.
The morning was good with Ngilai having fun playing atop of one of the stockade terraces before the orphans made their way to the fields with Tundani and Ndoria lagging behind the rest of the group. Kenia stopped and waited for them, stretching her trunk and rumbling as if urging them to move faster which they did.
When the orphans left the browsing grounds for the water hole Araba was mistakenly left behind and came running up to the rest of the group. After a drink of water Panda held Tahri tight by her side with her trunk and waited to be able to get into the waterhole for a mud bath. Ndoria enjoyed a rolling around on the ground, which Mbegu watched from her position in the water. Bada and Mudanda enjoyed a scratching session against the big baobab tree before joining their friends for the afternoon browsing session.
The morning was cool with the orphan elephants concentrating on their milk and supplement feeding before heading to the feeding grounds. They spent the morning browsing in Mbirikani’s company before visiting the baobab tree water hole in the afternoon.
After a brief mud bath, Bada enjoyed a scratching and rubbing session against the nearby baobab tree. Ndii went to the big baobab tree where many of the orphans were already enjoying a scratching session and managed to force Embu to relinquish her spot to her. Rorogoi lay in the centre of the water for a cooling wallow while Bada enjoyed a dust bath. Mashariki remained in the water enjoying it and staying for a while after the rest of the orphans had exited.
Mbirikani, who had joined the juniors in the morning, left for the Voi River after all the wallowing activities were over, leaving the orphan herd browsing close to the baobab tree waterhole.
It was a happy beginning to the day as the milk dependent orphans came running out of their stockades for their morning milk bottle. Ngilai and Godoma were in a race to see who would arrive first with the result being a tie. The group then enjoyed playing around the stockade compound for a while before heading out for the day. They made their way straight up the western side of Msinga Hill and remained there until it was time for the afternoon milk bottle. As they descended, Araba stayed close to Kenia to ensure that she came down safely as some of the rocks are quite slippery.
After having a drink from the water trough the orphans made their way to the mud bath. A wild elephant herd approached the waterhole for a drink but stopped a short distance away so as to allow the orphan herd to enjoy their mud bath. Embu, Naipoki and Nelion came out of the water to welcome the wild group to join them. Embu went straight up to a big wild elephant cow and escorted her into the water, while Naipoki and Nelion enjoyed a play fight with a wild friend. Panda also enjoyed playing a pushing game with a wild elephant that was about three years older than her. Mbegu and Murit were engaged in a strength testing game in the middle of the waterhole. The two groups parted ways when the orphans left the mud bathing area for the far northern side of Msinga Hill where they spent the rest of the afternoon browsing.
It was an early morning start today as the stockade dependent orphans left the stockades as soon as the milk and the supplement feeding was over. After arriving at the eastern foot of Msinga Hill, Bada settled to browse there as the rest of the group moved further uphill. Naipoki and Rorogoi stopped and waited for Bada to come and catch up with he later did, so the three spent the morning browsing together as did Godoma and Lasayen who browsed a short distance away from their friends.
At the noon mud bath Araba had a wonderful time lying in the middle of the waterhole while Suswa played at its edge. Suswa would occasionally lift her head to see what Araba was doing with Ndii becoming suspicious of Suswa, and coming to stand guard over Araba to ensure that Suswa wouldn’t steal her away.
Lasayen and Godoma are good friends from the Nursery and enjoyed a dust bathing game together as the rolled around on the ground close the waterhole. The afternoons browsing activities took place close the waterhole and noon milk feed area.
This morning the orphans followed their usual routine of exiting their stockade, having their milk bottle and settling to enjoy Lucerne pellets that had been put out for them by the Keepers. Kenia stood guard over Araba while they enjoyed the supplement foods with Nguvu coming up behind them looking for a space to join the rest of the group and enjoy the treats.
Mudanda trumpeted loudly signaling that it was time to head out for the day. The orphan herd was still busy feeding on the last of the Lucerne pellets and she had to wait until they were done. The morning was spent browsing on the northern foot of Msinga Hill.
On the way to the waterhole the orphans joined up with a wild elephant herd and when the two groups arrived at the waterhole they found a big herd of wild buffalo already there. The wild buffaloes had finished the water in the water trough and were busy wallowing. The orphan herd had a quick bath with the wild herd before returning to the browsing fields.
There were lots of fun and fun and games around the stockade compound following the milk and supplement feeding. The orphans enjoyed chasing one another around the stockade until it was time to head to the browsing fields.
The orphans spent the morning browsing close to the middle waterhole before making their way to the baobab tree waterhole where they enjoyed their noon milk feed before joining a wild elephant herd in the mud bath. The orphans were very excited to be able to spend some time with wild herd and kept running in and out of the water playing until the wild elephant herd left, leaving the orphans to enjoy some alone time around the waterhole area. Ndotto sat on the water trough for a bottom scratching session while Mbegu scratched her head against a tree stump.
In the evening Kore, the orphan eland that had gone wild, was seen close to the baobab tree water hole in the company of some wild zebra. Kore, who went wild about four months ago, has lost some weight. The Keepers tried to call her back to the stockade for some supplement food but she chose to stay with the zebra herd.
A single teenage wild elephant bull came to drink water from the stockade water trough at 5.30pm, once the orphan elephants were already in their stockades. He left soon after quenching his thirst.
The orphan baby buffalo Dakotta has not been doing too well and it was a sad day for us when she collapsed and died a few minutes after 2pm. We suspect that she may have had a lung problem which is also what prevented her from keeping up with her mother resulting in her being orphaned.
The orphan elephants settled for the Lucerne pellet feeding once they had finished their morning milk bottles. The pellets had been spread about to allow the orphans to have ample space in which to peacefully enjoy their supplements. Mbegu was happy to feed on the pellets together with Godoma as the two enjoy one another’s company.
Lentili and Ishaq-B enjoyed a refreshing drink of water from the stockade water trough occasionally touching one another with their trunks. Ndii went to a nearby rock boulder for a scratching session while Panda went to engage Mbegu in a pushing game. Mbegu, however was not interest in playing as she wanted to get her group together to prevent them from being taken by Kenia’s herd.
Mbirikani came and joined them at the stockades and followed everyone to the browsing fields. At the mud bath Naipoki lay down at the edge of the water and played a rolling-around game, which Bada came and joined. Arruba sat on the walls of the waterhole watching all the activities around her. Mbirikani returned to the stockade compound with the orphans and enjoyed some Lucerne pellet before returning to the Park.
Today a big wild elephant bull passed close to the stockades as the orphans were making their way to the browsing grounds. He didn’t join the orphan herd as he was headed towards the Voi River. At the browsing fields Nelion and Tundani seemed to have some sort of score to settle and became engaged in a tough strength testing competition.
Mbegu’s herd, who were the first to arrive at the noon milk feeding area, had the opportunity to interact with a wild elephant herd that were there having a drink and a wallow. Mbegu, Godoma, Ndotto, Murit, Lasayen and Ngilai kept their distance from the wild group while Tahri went to play with one of the tiny calves. Kenia’s herd came running in to join the group which gave the wild herd a fright and sent them running off.
Lasayen and Godoma had a wonderful game of rolling on the ground. They looked to be having so much fun that Mbegu came to join them. Embu came out of water and did her best to prevent Godoma from getting up by holding her down with her trunk and tusks. Once Godoma got free, Mbegu, Lasayen and Godoma sneaked away from the area in search of a different place to play but Embu pursued them, intent on spoiling Godoma’s fun.
Araba engaged Murit in a play fighting game with Murit picking a stick, holding it in his mouth and engaging Araba head on. Araba became uncomfortable, worried that the stick could poke her in the eye, and she decided to run off. She then employed Murit’s tactic and picked up a stick in her mouth as Ndotto came to engage her in a pushing game.
It was another wonderful beginning to the day with the orphan elephants leaving the stockade for the browsing fields after the milk and supplement feeding. They browsed their way from the southern foot of Msinga Hill, to the western side, arriving at the baobab tree water hole at noon.
Soon after the stockade dependent orphan elephants arrived at the waterhole, a big herd of zebra in the company of many eland came to drink water from the baobab tree water hole. Kore, the ex-orphan eland, was among them. The herd drank water and went to the northern side of that water hole where they briefly met up with the orphans.
Although we have been experiencing water shortages the last three days due to a broken pile along the main Mzima Springs-Mombasa pipe line, the Kanderi borehole, drilled by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, was a great help for the thirsty wild animals visiting the baobab tree water hole for a drink. After mud bathing, Tundani and Nelion took center stage as they became engaged in a play fighting game. Nelion later teamed up with Mbegu for a scratching session against a tree while Bada did the same with Mashariki.
Tahri came up to Kihari who was lying down and leant onto her stomach. Kenia wanted Tahri to play with her, and quickly came in to take Tahri away for a soil dusting game while Kihari did the same with Araba. Ndii ran in to take Tahri away from Kenia, wanting to play with her at the dust bath. Tahri is very popular among the older girls all of whom want Tahri to themselves.
The stockade dependent orphans came running out with Ngilai and Lasayen tying for first position at the milk feeding grounds. The juniors later joined their senior friends from Kenia’s herd at the Lucerne pellet feeding area before heading to the browsing fields. .
The orphans browsed in single file, with Mbegu taking up position at the front as leader of the group.
The orphans browsed their way through the grasslands, arriving at the baobab tree water hole. Mbegu and Ngilai stood biting their trunk tips following the milk feeding. Mbegu went to inspect a pile of red earth brought in by the stockade tractor, picking up a trunk full before joining her friends for the day’s mud bathing activity.
Mashariki took the lead of her friends, moving them from the water hole and leading them to the browsing fields for the afternoons browsing session.
This morning the stockade dependent orphans teamed up for the Lucerne pellet feeding after they had finished their milk feed. Rorogoi, Araba, Kenia, Tahri and Ndii assembled at the top of one of the stockade terraces to enjoy their supplement feeding. Tahri seems to have a soft spot for Kenia, standing by her side as they fed. Araba approached them but was prevented from getting close by Ndii who came between Araba, Kenia and Tahri.
The orphans were busy browsing when two teenage wild elephant bulls joined them. The two bulls then became engaged in a pushing game, showcasing their techniques to the orphans. The wild bulls separated from the orphan herd when the orphans left for the waterhole where they encountered another wild herd. Ndii, Tundani and Rorogoi went to greet a wild bull that was drinking from the water trough. A wild female had fun dust bathing atop the red earth piles. Ndotto greeted another wild bull that he then followed for a short distance before returning to rejoin the orphan herd.
It was a nice beginning to the day as the stockade dependent orphan elephants came out in happy mood, downing their morning milk bottles and settling to enjoy the Lucerne grass pellets. The orphans then left for the field to begin a busy day browsing.
Mbirikani arrived at the stockade half an hour after the herd had left and after having some Lucerne pellets, she headed off to catch up with them. After an hours browsing on the lower grounds of the northern side of Msinga Hill, a very big wild elephant bull with massive big tusks approached the stockade dependent orphan elephants to join them. Kihari, Kenia, Ndii, Arruba and Araba ran away from the big bull whenever he tried to greet them. Mbegu’s herd members kept completely away from the big bull, lifting their trunks to sniff him from a distance. After browsing together for more than ten minutes, Mbegu and Ndotto were comfortable enough to approach him but did so slowly. The bull then left the orphans as he headed towards the Mzima Spring-Mombasa water pipeline area.
The orphan elephants visited the baobab tree water hole in the afternoon, where they had a lot of fun playing mud bathing games after their noon milk feed. The afternoon was spent browsing close to the water hole.
It was a bright beginning to the day as the stockade dependent orphan elephants exited their stockade and headed to the milk and supplement feeding areas before leaving for the browsing fields. After browsing for three hours, a wild elephant herd approached the orphans with Ndotto and Ngilai coming forward to welcome them to join the orphans browsing activities. After a very brief greeting ceremony, Naipoki, Arruba, Nguvu, Mashariki and Mudanda teamed up to try and get a wild elephant calf to join the orphan herd. The calf’s mother was not very happy about this and charged the naughty orphans before running away with her calf. Nguvu ran away from the charging wild elephant cow while Naipoki and Arruba stayed put intent on their mission of playing with the baby.
Mbirikani, who had joined the stockade dependent orphan elephants in the morning, left with the wild herd after browsing with the orphans for about twenty minutes. Once at the baobab tree waterhole the orphans encountered another wild elephant herd and Nelion became engaged in a play fight with a wild friend while Nguvu stood nearby watching them. Kihari also took on a wild elephant for a pushing game while Mbegu and Panda enjoyed playing with a wild calf that they managed to get away from its mother.
It was a wonderful morning with all the orphans playfully charging around the stockade compound after their morning bottles and supplement feeding. Ndotto rushed off and started to climb onto the stockade terraces before joining Mashariki who had already begun dusting herself in the red dust piles. The pair were joined by Lentili, Arruba and Tahri, who all seemed so excited to roll around in the dust.
Nguvu wandered around the stockade terraces until he found the perfect rock to scratch on though his scratching session was cut short by Tundani who came over and stole his rock before making his way down to the dust piles with Nelion.
The orphans were peaceful whilst they were browsing, but when it was time for their midday bottle of milk, they came charging down to the waterhole. They ran so excitedly that they scared off a herd of wild elephants that had settled under a tree. The orphans had a brief bath today as they were quickly led back into the bush by Naipoki, Ndoria and Kihari. Once they were back in the bush, they resumed their browsing activities on the northern foot of Msinga Hill.
It was another beautiful sunny morning as Rorogoi climbed up one of the stockade terraces on her knees. The orphans briefly played around the stockade compound before making their way out into the bush for another day of browsing. They chose to browse close to the middle waterhole, and later moved to the Baobab tree waterhole for their midday feeding time.
After their midday bottles, the orphans joined a herd of wild elephants that had come down to drink from the Baobab tree water trough. One of the teenage cows from the wild herd got very excited and started to run all about the waterhole and would playfully charge at the orphans. Kenia joined up with the wild herd that visited the waterhole, in the company of one wild bull and was temporarily separated from the rest of the orphans.
Panda went off to have a dust bath and was joined by Bada who went and lay at the top of the red dust pile. Bada was so relaxed he looked as though he was having an afternoon nap. Meanwhile, one of the wild elephant calves had jumped into the water trough and began to playfully splash around as Ndii, Kenia and Tahri watched from the side. Ndotto concluded the mud bath session by playfully teasing Ishaq-B in a strength testing game before all the orphans headed back into the field for their afternoon browsing activities.
We had a newly rescued baby buffalo brought in last night by the Kenya Wildlife Service rangers after it was found on its own. The one-week old orphaned baby buffalo, named Alia, was found in Alia Ranch near Mwatate. Alia seemed happy to join Mwanda as the two began to socialize nicely.
At first light this morning, the orphans headed out to the bush to commence their browsing activities. Mbegu and Ngilai rushed off ahead of their friends and they peacefully browsed on the northern side of Msinga Hill and headed down to the Baobab tree water hole in the afternoon.
After a brief bath, Arruba climbed onto the pile of red soil and started to roll around covering herself in dust. Ndotto who was first observing her then decided to join in on the fun. Kenia stayed close to Tahri, who was lying down playing, as if to make sure none of the other orphans disturbed her. On the other side of the waterhole, Panda was trying to get Nelion to play a fighting game with her while Kihari was trying to push down a big tree, and Ndoria was enjoying a long wallow in the waterhole.
It was another beautiful morning with the orphans browsing in single file once they had made their way out into the field and settled to feed on the lower flat lands of the northern side of Msinga Hill, visiting the Baobab tree for a brief bath, before resuming with their browsing activities.
In the afternoon, most of the orphans paired off whilst they were browsing. Kenia and Araba went off in one direction, and Nelion and Mudanda in another. Lasayen was with Tahri for a short while before Tahri went running off to browse close to Ndii. Lasayen, left alone, went off to join Mbegu, Lentili and Ndotto. Ndoria continued to browse on her own for the rest of the afternoon.
It was another playful morning with the orphans charging around the stockade compound after finishing their milk. Ngilai was busy play fighting with Murit whilst their friends were playing on top of the red earth piles. After all the games, Ishaq-B and Kihari were so relaxed that they did not notice the rest of the orphan herd heading off to the field. The two came charging out of the compound, running to catch up with their friends who had already reached the northern side of Msinga Hill.
In the afternoon, as the orphans came running down to the waterhole, they scared a wild elephant herd that was already there. The herd had a young calf with them, so they immediately moved away from the orphans with only one cow staying behind. The wild elephant cow became the center of attention as the all the orphans came over to greet her.
In the evening, Mbirikani was left outside the stockade compound enjoying her share of Lucerne grass pellets. She was briefly joined by a wild elephant herd that came to drink from the stockade water trough.
The orphans began their day by enjoying their milk and supplement feed before playing around the stockade compound. They browsed in single file before visiting the Baobab tree waterhole for their midday milk feeding time. After a long midday mud bath, the orphans went off to enjoy a long dust bath. Arruba climbed up to the top of the dust pile, while Embu was rolling around.
Kihari and Nelion began a game of strength testing which seemed to make Tahri uncomfortable as she wasn’t sure if they were fighting or not. As a result, Tahri slowly squeezed her way in between the two bringing an end to their game. Nelion moved away and began a pushing game with Ishaq-B which did not last for long as Ishaq-B kept accidentally hitting Nelion with her tusks which have grown quite significantly.
Panda went off on her own to scratch her back along the wall of the water trough before joining her friends for the afternoons browsing activities.