It is curious just how much of a routine baby elephants enjoy. We were reminded of this a few times this month by the 17 orphans we have presently ensconced in our Nairobi Nursery. When we closed our doors to the public for the first time since our inception this month due to public safety concerns and a desire to keep our staff safe, the orphans were mightily confused when they weren’t taken down to the mud bath areas in their normal groups at the predictable time.
In the morning Luggard and Ziwadi were not interested in keeping up with the rest of the orphan herd. They decided to stick together and browsed in some bushes close to the Keepers. The rest of the herd walked off together deep into the forest.
During the public visiting hour the orphans were relatively subdued and looked very calm feeding on all the green branches provided for them there. There weren’t any pushing games or wrestling matches, and all the orphans just went about their own thing.
At the 3pm feeding however, Kiasa sneaked in with the first group, which she graduated from a long time ago for being a little trouble maker, and caused a bit of a fracas around the milk wheelbarrow. She chased after Kiombo and the Keeper trying to feed him demanding for an extra bottle and wanting Kiombo’s. This was just how she used to behave and we thought she had grown out of such behaviour! The Keepers ended up having to push her away from the herd because she was being so naughty. At first she protested and yelled and begged the Keepers to let her back into the herd, but eventually she listened and walked off to browse on some bushes on her own.
It was a wet morning following a downpour we received overnight. Some of the orphans like Luggard, Ziwadi, Larro, Naleku, Roho, Musiara and Sattao were reluctant to come out of their rooms because they felt it was still cold and the ground was still wet. Tagwa, Kiombo, Maisha, Enkesha, Nabulu, Tamiyoi and Kiasa however were very happy to come out of their rooms and be the first to run out to the forest. Just like human babies when it is cold, some of the elephant babies do not mind it, and almost enjoy it, and others do not like the colder weather at all.
Musiara had a swollen leg but it was just a small boil and the swelling has gone right down now. Today he was very happy and playing around, even climbing on Tamiyoi and Nabulu who were rolling on the ground enjoying a dust bath. He was showing off and running around, so his leg is obviously feeling much better!
For the past three days Tamiyoi has been seen interested in welcoming Luggard and little Ziwadi as soon as they come out of their stockades in the morning. She has been seen greeting them and escorting them out to the forest, and spending time with them during the morning hours while they browse. Today all the orphans walked out of their stockades and out to the forest in a hurry, with only Luggard and Ziwadi lagging behind. Tamiyoi looked like she was stalling as well and didn’t walk out to the forest with the others, buying time so she could wait for Luggard and Ziwadi. When eventually Luggard and Ziwadi reached where she was waiting, she looked delighted and happy to walk out behind the two orphans, not wanting them to walk behind her and get left behind.
As all the orphans walked off deeper into the forest, Tamiyoi seemed very happy to be attached to Luggard and Ziwadi and stayed close to them. They browsed together until the 9am feed when they rejoined the rest of the herd for their milk bottles.
When the orphans settled to browse in the forest after the public visit, Sattao, Kiombo, Mukkoka and Dololo had a playful moment charging and chasing after a troop of baboons that were busy hopping from one tree to another above them, playfully chatting loudly as they enjoyed feeding on wild berries. The boys ran around the base of the trees stamping their feet and charging at the bushes in the excitement of the baboons making such a noise above them, and protesting against the fact they could not reach them. When the baboons saw one of the Keepers approaching the tree they were in, they all jumped down at once to run off, which unfortunately gave Sattao, Mukkoka, Dololo and Kiombo a real fright and they ran off to join the others orphans as fast as they could.
Today the presence of three lions nearby meant that Kiko didn’t have a very fun afternoon at all. This meant for his safety he couldn’t go out to the forest but had to stay in the boma next to Maxwell’s stockade for the afternoon, and browse on the trees there and those cut and brought for him by the Keepers for him to enjoy too.
These days Maktao has been throwing his weight around and testing his strength against the other bulls in the nursery like Musiara, Kiombo, Sattao and Dololo. This is so they can all know how strong they are and where they fit in the hierarchy of bulls in the Nursery. Today he spent most of the early morning hours testing his strength against one bull and then the next. He started with Musiara and then went to Dololo, then Kiombo and finally to Sattao. He won all the first wrestling matches and thought it would be the same with Sattao, but Sattao had been watching him with the others and was prepared for him. Sattao put up a real fight against Maktao and they had a lengthy wrestling match that seemed to go on forever, until Tamiyoi came over to separate them by standing in between them. She then engaged Sattao in her own wrestling match, pushing Maktao to the side, a tactic which worked in breaking up their ongoing fight!
It was very hot during the 11am milk feed today which meant the orphans quickly had their milk feed before rushing into the mud bath to cool down. Little Naleku and Roho only had some of their milk bottles before rushing over to the mud bath to cool down by splashing mud behind their ears, before turning back to finish the rest of their bottles. Even Kiasa, who normally likes to bother the others for their milk bottles demanding more than her share, didn’t bother doing that today as she finished her bottle and rushed into the mud bath and playfully started rolling around in the muddy waters. Little Roho, who is fond of climbing on anyone down on the ground, enjoyed climbing on Kiasa who was posing and lying down in the water. Naleku came over and pushed Roho out of the way to make space for her to climb on Kiasa instead, and so a pushing game ensued as both babies challenged each other over who could climb on Kiasa. It was a very funny game to watch.
During the 3pm milk feed there was a slight drama as Luggard fought Kiombo for his milk bottle. The Keeper feeding Kiombo tried to warn Luggard away but Luggard turned a deaf ear and persisted to try and snatch the milk bottle from Kiombo’s mouth. Luggard was eventually successful in stealing the bottle right from Kiombo’s mouth and out of the Keepers hands, and happily walked away enjoying the rest of the bottle for himself. Kiombo had no choice but to carry on and enjoy his second bottle, but at least he could enjoy it in peace! Luggard is very clever and able to hold his own milk bottle all by himself – he can easily pick up a milk bottle straight from the wheelbarrow or directly from the ground and bottle feed himself.
When the orphans settled out in the forest soon after leaving their stockades in the morning, it was interesting to see them divide up into their little browsing groups. Luggard and Ziwadi remained browsing close to the Keepers, Tagwa, Roho, Maisha, Enkesha, Sattao, Nabulu and Kiombo went in their own direction while the others, led by Kiasa, including Larro, Tamiyoi, Mukkoka, Naleku, Musiara, Dololo and Maktao went down a different path. The group led by Kiasa browsed far off, deep in the forest, while Tagwa’s group browsed in between Kiasa’s and Luggard and Ziwadi who stayed close to the Keepers.
Maxwell is looking a lot better these days and very active. He loves feeding on his greens and is looking much better.
In the evening when the orphans come back for their bottle feed and settle down to eat their greens, it is always funny to watch them stealing each other’s green through their partitions, even when they have exactly the same kind of branches, and amount of branches too. They always seem to think the greens are better on the other side. Almost all the orphans do this but Larro, Maktao, Musiara, Sattao, Kiasa, Tamiyoi, Dololo and Mukkoka are some of the prime suspects that seem to do it the most! They spend most of the early evening busy stealing from each other – one will pull branches through from one side, and the other will pull them back again!
In the early morning, as the orphans walked out to the forest, Maktao, Larro, Mukkoka, Kiasa, Kiombo and Musiara were all busy chasing after a herd of impala. Maktao and Mukkoka, who are the bravest of the bunch, chased the impala deep into the forest whereas Kiasa, Larro, Kiombo and Musiara gave up and returned to the rest of the Nursery herd. The two courageous bulls could be heard trumpeting in the forest as they were charging after the impala, but as soon as the impala disappeared it became very quiet. As they realised their fun had come to an end and they were all alone, they came barrelling back to the Nursery herd rumbling and trumpeting as they got fright at suddenly being all alone. The older girls, namely Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Maisha and even Enkesha, went running over to see what was wrong with the boys and make sure everything was okay. As they met up with them they all began to rumble and trumpet together in excitement. This lasted a couple of minutes before the orphans calmed down and went back to browsing.
It seems that Roho is going to grow into a very strong bull. He is always eager to challenge the older orphans no matter their age or size. He is even ready to wrestle the big girls such as Tagwa, Maisha, and Kiasa which is very funny as he is half their size, and in the case of Tagwa Roho barely comes past her legs! This afternoon, once the orphans had returned from their midday mud bath, Roho had a lengthy wrestling match with Mukkoka. The two were having a great time pushing each other around and their game continued for quite some time before Maktao rudely interrupted them.
As soon as Maktao interrupted the duo, Roho began to charge at him and challenge him in a strength testing match. Maktao has also become one of Roho’s good friends, and the two could be seen charging around having a lot of fun.
As the orphans made their way down to the mud bath for their afternoon bottles of milk, Maisha suddenly stopped dead in her tracks blocking the path for the rest of the Nursery herd. This appeared to annoy Tagwa who came charging to the front and pushed Maisha out of the way, allowing the rest of the orphans to pass. Tagwa then happily led the orphans down the rocks to the mud bath and Maisha was last to follow.
Unlike Roho, who will stick by his friends, Naleku will try and be close to all the orphans in the Nursery herd. When some of the older boys are pushing their weight around and start to push at her, instead of crying out or running to the older girls, Naleku will find her own way out and either back off or push back at them. The Keepers are amazed to watch her growing into such as confident and assertive young calf.
Most of the time Naleku can be seen following Larro and Mukkoka, and both of them are not the best caretakers as of yet. Mukkoka can often be seen getting annoyed with the young little girl and pushing her away. This, however, does not deter little Naleku as she either ignores him or is happy to move away and walk with one of the other orphans; sometimes she will even challenge him when he starts pushing her.
Today, however, Naleku had a very relaxing day in the company of Enkesha. The two could be seen browsing and having their milk near one another, until it was time for little Naleku to head back to her stable for the evening.
Roho was full of energy at the midday mud bath. He decided to challenge Larro in a wrestling match and they began to push each other all round the mud bath area. Naleku appeared to get jealous and came charging over to disrupt their game and challenge Roho herself. The Keepers were surprised to see Naleku so annoyed by their game, and wondered if maybe she was getting jealous because he was playing with Larro, her old neighbour, specifically. Roho and Naleku were getting so agitated with each other that Kiasa had to rush over and intervene, separating them. Larro simply stood back watching all the commotion. Once they had all calmed they all moved off in their separate ways.
This afternoon, whilst the orphans were browsing in the forest, Enkesha got hold of Sattao and Kiombo and the three went off in their own direction. They moved so far away that the Keepers had a hard time keeping an eye on them and had to walk quite some distance to usher them back to the rest of the Nursery herd.
Elephants have a very intricate and intelligent way of communicating, and it is sometimes difficult for the Keepers to follow what they are saying to one another. It is always evident amazing to see how the older orphans react when another orphan is in distress or complaining. Some evenings the younger orphans such as Roho and Naleku can be a little restless and if one of the older girls, such as Maisha, hears them fussing about she can be overheard making a very low rumble as if to alert the other girls such as Tagwa, Tamiyoi and Kiasa. As soon as all the older girls are alerted, they all begin to deeply rumble as if to let the little ones know that everything is okay and they are nearby.
As soon as the younger orphans hear the older girls they immediately calm down and eventually fall back to sleep.
To do our part in battling the coronavirus pandemic, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust decided to close the 11am public visit until further notice. This seemed to confuse the elephant orphans at first who were all getting ready to head down to the mud bath area for their midday bottles of milk. The orphans even began to group themselves with their normal age groups, which were Kiasa with Maktao, Larro, Ziwadi, Roho, Naleku and then Tagwa and Tamiyoi with the rest of the Nursery herd.
The Keepers, however, walked them down in a whole mix of ages, and this confused some of them so much so that they tried to turn around and go back to the forest. Tagwa, Dololo, Roho, and Ziwadi were definitely the most confused, all trying to head back up the pathway, and they all protested to their Keepers with loud rumbles as they were directed back down to the mud bath.
Luggard was even more surprised to be directed down to the mud bath by the Keepers as he does not normally join the other orphans for that feeding time. He was more than happy to finish his bottle there and then join the others near the muddy waters to play for a little while.
Tagwa can sometimes be a harsh matriarch and she seems to be picky about whom she shares her fresh greens with; she seems to change her mind day by day. Being the tallest in the Nursery herd, Tagwa can reach the very fresh branches higher in the trees but not just any of the other orphans are able to share the branches with her.
This morning, as Tagwa was preparing her feast and gathering her branches together, Larro, Roho, Naleku, and Ziwadi were already gathering at her feet and were busy enjoying the leaves that fell, but when Kiombo and Sattao game over to join them they were quickly chased away. Tagwa immediately stopped what she was doing and chased after the two boys, poking them in their backs with her tusks. She was so stroppy that the Keepers had to intervene and stop her from harassing the two bulls. Tamiyoi, on the other hand, is a much gentler and calmer matriarch, who is always happy to share her food with any of the orphans.
As Kiko has been spending his afternoons browsing in the forest he has become more and more eager to follow the orphans wherever they go. Despite some of the older orphans trying to chase him away and keep him at a distance, Kiko remains confident that he will be able to browse with them and keeps coming back. Nabulu, Maisha, and Kiasa were sure to keep an eye on him this afternoon, and if he got too close, they would chase him away. This was all fun and games for the young giraffe, who was soon to be taking the next step in his journey back to the wild.
It was a bittersweet morning for the Nursery as the Keepers were up early to get Kiko ready for his move to the Sirikoi in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Around 6:15am the Keepers walked Kiko out his stable and towards the translocation lorry. Kiko was more than happy to follow his Keeper and milk bottle straight onto the lorry and whilst he was busy drinking, some of the other Keepers locked up the back door and made sure Kiko was nice and secure in the lorry. Once he was securely inside, the Keepers waited a couple of minutes to see how he would behave, making sure he didn’t begin to panic. As per usual Kiko was very calm and happy to munch away on the greens that were hung up in the truck for him, and as everyone could see he was comfortable the truck was started up and he was on his way.
Throughout the afternoon Ziwadi and Luggard kept each other company, some distance from the rest of the Nursery herd where they could browse in peace. Dololo, who has a small boil on the front of his foot, has been walking with a slight limp and has not been in the best of moods. He tried his best to keep up with the rest of the orphans but eventually gave up and decided to join Ziwadi and Luggard who were walking at a much slower pace.
This evening, as Luggard got back to his stable, he seemed to notice that his tall neighbour was not there. He kept peering through the window looking for Kiko and smelling around Kiko’s stable. It will be strange for Luggard for a few nights, until he becomes used to Kiko not being around anymore.
It was a very chilly morning as the orphans made their way out to the forest. The older boys seem to know just how to warm up as they can often be seen charging around the forest, playing games, and engaging in their wrestling matches. Musiara and Maktao seemed to be the most energetic in the herd, as they often charge about through the thick bush pushing each other or another friend around.
Today it was Musiara who started up the activities by pushing against Kiombo, challenging him to a strength testing match. When he was bored of that game, Musiara went charging off into the bushes trumpeting and rumbling away. By the time he came back to wrestle again, Kiombo and Maktao were already too busy wrestling each other. Sattao, Mukkoka, and Luggard later decided to join in the fun, and also challenge Maktao and Kiombo to a lengthy strength-testing game.
Tagwa has become quite stern with the older bulls of the Nursery herd, and she has even at times started to bully and charge them for no reason. This afternoon, whilst the orphans were busy browsing in the forest, Tagwa walked straight up to Dololo and began to push him. Dololo, who had been minding his own business, was so surprised when he suddenly got pushed by her. Dololo was quick to move out of her way, but as soon as he did, she went after poor Sattao who was browsing just some distance from the two. Sattao all quickly ran away and Tagwa was left to browse all alone.
It has been quite a few days since Maxwell was playful in the morning, charging after the orphans and waiting for them at any one of his gates. He hasn’t been feeling well and he has been going to bed early and waking up later, once the orphans are already out in the forest. This morning, however, he was up before the orphans. As they were making their way out their stables, Maxwell could be seen waiting for them at his lower gate. Maktao and Dololo headed straight over to his gate to greet him and the three could be seen enjoying a fun game of charging between the gates. Dololo and Maktao continued this game for some time before continuing on their way to the forest. As Dololo and Maktao headed off, Maxwell began to playfully charge after the warthogs that were already enjoying his morning pellets.
Mukkoka, who is now coming back with the rest of the Nursery herd and not with the first set of youngsters, has gone back to his old ways of racing for his bottle and trumpeting very loudly if he is not first. He and Dololo have always been neighbours and Dololo is always so happy to get back to his stable and find speedy Mukkoka already next door. This evening, however, Dololo was brought back early because of his sore foot and he was very unhappy to not see his neighbour. He was so unhappy in fact that he began to ram at his door, as if insisting he be let out again. The Keepers tried to calm him down, but to no avail, and eventually decided to walk him back to his friend Mukkoka and the rest of the Nursery herd.
Musiara seems to have joined Enkesha and Ziwadi in their efforts to wander off and browse on their own. This morning the Keepers noticed him looking around, as if he was looking for a way to break away from the Nursery herd without being noticed. However, as he saw the Keepers watching him he quickly return to focusing on the Nursery herd. He eventually appeared to come up with a plan which involved pushing Kiombo off into the bushes and when the Keepers went looking for him, to quietly sneak off. His plan would have been successful if it weren’t for Kiombo - who began to rumble and trumpet at Musiara pushing him. As Musiara was heading off, Kiombo quickly ran back to the rest of the Nursery herd, trumpeting and rumbling as if telling them what Musiara was up to. The Keepers were quick to figure out that Musiara had wandered off, and they quickly went running after the naughty bull, ushering him back to the herd.
Ziwadi appeared to be a little uneasy today and didn’t seem too happy to be browsing near the others and she decided to move away slightly. Naleku seemed to realize Ziwadi was not feeling her greatest today, and the little girl decided to keep her company and follow her wherever she went. The two spent the most part of today with each other and away from the Nursery herd.
At the 3pm milk feeding time greedy Larro and Kiasa were causing a lot of trouble. The two were trying to wrestle Mukkoka and Sattao in order to get more milk and steal their bottles. This really upset the two bulls as they began to angrily rumble at the girls and push back. Eventually the Keepers had to intervene and chase the naughty girls away. The orphans then had a pleasant remainder of the afternoon browsing in the forest.
This morning, as all the orphans made their way out their stables, it was evident that Larro was not in a very good mood. From morning she didn’t want to walk or browse near any of the orphans, and she maintained this mood for most of the morning. As the orphans got to the forest, Larro was quick to walk off and start browsing on her own.
Tagwa, the matriarch of the Nursery herd, appeared to notice Larro’s absence and went looking for her. Roho, who really dislikes being far away from Tagwa, was quick to follow Tagwa in her search for Larro. It didn’t take them long to find her as she was not too far away. As soon as Tagwa and Roho found her they were quick to walk up to her and rumble at her in greeting. As soon as she saw her two friends approaching, she was quick to relax, and she seemed excited to be in their company. The three continued to browse near one another for the remainder of the afternoon.
Mukkoka continues to shout and rumble when one of the other orphans overtake him as they run down for their milk and he is always sure to rumble loudly at his Keepers when they are a little slow at giving him his bottle. This morning when it was time for the orphans to come down for their 9am milk bottles, Mukkoka began to race Kiasa, Larro and Maktao. The four could be seen excitedly racing one another all as eager as ever to get their milk first. When the others started to slightly overtake Mukkoka, he could be seen picking up the pace a bit to ensure he would come in first. He came barreling into the milk feeding point and his Keeper was quick to give him his bottle, making way for the other three and the rest of the Nursery herd that were quite far behind them.
Once all the orphans finished having their milk, the Keepers directed them back to the forest where they continued with their morning browsing activities.
It was a beautiful sunny morning as the orphans were let out their stables. Tagwa, who is often looking after little Roho, walked straight out her stockade and may her way down to Roho’s stable, looking for the little bull and his younger friends. Tagwa found Roho in the company of Kiasa, Larro and Kiombo, and she joined them as they all made their way out to the forest. Kiasa and Tagwa are part of the group of older females that have taken on the role of caring for and protecting the little orphans.
Once the orphans were out in the forest, Kiasa seemed as though she was worried to browse and leave the younger orphans unattended but when she realised that Roho and Naleku were safely amongst some of the older girls she relaxed a little. She could be seen happily moving around browsing on different branches, making sure to find the freshest greens. The orphans had a very relaxed day out in the forest.
This morning as Ziwadi came out her stable she walked straight over to one of the water troughs and began to drink some water. As it was still early and the other orphans were coming out their rooms, she spent the rest of her time just wandering around the stockade compound, until all the orphans and Keepers were ready to make their way out to the forest. The Keepers were very surprised that she wasn’t trying to sneak off to the bushes around the stockade or to the forest. As the orphans were heading out to the forest, Dololo and Tamiyoi were seen walking closely behind Ziwadi.
Dololo has recently been spending more time with little Ziwadi and the two seem to be forming quite a sweet friendship. Dololo stuck by her side and when it was time for the orphans to have their morning bottles of milk, Ziwadi was the first to get her bottle and then the others followed.
Maisha, Enkesha, and Nabulu are all close neighbours in the stockade compound and they all seem to be quite close friends. They seemed to create this bond when they were all moved out of the smaller stables around the same time, into the open stockades. This morning, as soon as they came out of their rooms, they immediately started to wander off together and went to browse on the bushes behind the stockade compound. When it was time for the Keepers and orphans to head out to the forest, the Keepers had to head over and usher the three girls along. Tagwa and Tamiyoi also seemed to be waiting for the three girls to join them again and appeared much more comfortable once they were back with the Nursery herd.
The orphans had a nice browsing session this morning before making their way down to the mud bath for their midday bottles of milk. When all the orphans had finished their bottles and playing around in the soil, Ziwadi was the first to lead them out back to the forest. It was great to watch the other orphans respect this little girl taking the lead and all happily follow her
Maxwell woke up in a very good mood this morning. As he came out his room, he went barrelling over to his mud bath and could be seen excitedly rolling around. He rolled around for a good 30 minutes and covered his entire body in mud by the time he had finished. When he left his mud bath, he walked straight over to his feeding point and began munching away on his morning Lucerne pellets.
As Maxwell was eating his pellets, he appeared to notice that the orphans were browsing on some of the nearby bushes. As he heard pulling at the branches, he walked up to the fence to see what was going on. When he got to the fence, he seemed to realise that it was just the elephant orphans browsing and he went back to his pellets. Maktao, Larro, Ziwadi and Enkesha were all busy browsing right near his stockade, and none of them would budge until the Keepers came to call them and usher them back to the forest.
Mukkoka, who is the sprinter amongst the orphans, has been developing some new friendships within the Nursery herd. He has lately been spending quite a bit of time with Maktao and Tamiyoi. This afternoon around 2pm, the three were all browsing near each other and when it was time for them to head down for their afternoon bottles of milk, they started walking off together. They appeared to be confused as they were all walking down to the mud bath area as opposed to the milk feeding point in the forest.
The Keepers were quick to react and walked down to bring them back to the rest of the orphans. As some of the Keepers were walking in front of them, Mukkoka seemed to be getting a little bit antsy and began to speed up. He quickly overtook the Keepers and sprinted off to catch up to the other orphans already enjoying their milk bottles. When they had all finished their milk, they carried on with their browsing activities.
It was a cold morning as there had been heavy showers throughout the night, and the orphans seemed very reluctant to head out to the forest. As they came out of their stables, some of them tried to run straight back to their rooms and were very disappointed to see that their Keepers had already closed their doors.
Ziwadi, however, was oblivious to all of this as she was already busy splashing around in one of the water troughs. She seemed to be having so much fun that Maktao and Larro decided to join her. They had just arrived at the water troughs when the Keepers began to usher them all out to the forest, and they unfortunately didn’t have any time to splash around too.
In the morning it is very common for some of the orphans to become restless and eager to exit their rooms. They can be heard banging at their doors and rumbling away, all sounding eager to head out to the forest. Despite their eagerness they must remain patient as the Keepers get ready and let them all out so that they can all head off to the forest together. Dololo and Mukkoka and some of the other bulls can often be heard fiddling at their doors trying to move the bars across to unlock the door. Eventually when they are all let out, they charge off in excitement greeting one another and some are even seen chasing each other out to the forest.
Tagwa has recently been moved to a larger stockade, neighbouring Sattao and Musiara’s stockades. Sattao and Musiara, who have always been close friends, have been great neighbours to Tagwa and have made her feel part of their little group. This morning as Tagwa was let out her stockade, she was seen waiting for the two bulls to join her and when they joined her, she walked straight over to Roho’s stable with them.
Roho was already in the company of Enkesha and Maisha, and the three of them were happy to join Tagwa and the boys as they made their way out to the forest. The orphans were walking slowly this morning, grabbing and eating branches along their way. They were taking so long that the Keepers had to speed them up a little from behind.
Larro, Ziwadi, and Maktao are all neighbours and they all seem to enjoy each other’s company and are quite in tune with one another. This morning, as Ziwadi was let out her stable first, she decided to wait right outside the doors for Maktao and Larro to be let out. As they were both let out, Ziwadi was happily following them out to the forest, and didn’t even show a slight inkling of wanting to go off on her own adventure. They quickly joined the rest of the Nursery herd as they all headed out to the forest.
The three spent the remainder of their day together, browsing in each other’s company and heading down for their milk together. It has been nice to see Ziwadi interacting with the other orphans and not always wandering off on her own as often.