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Kenze and Oltaiyoni’s late-night gang, who have now fully immersed themselves in the wild, were the only ex-orphans present in the morning. Shortly later, a wild mother with two calves appeared and joined the orphans for some lucerne too. Suguroi and Naleku were overjoyed to have some young wild babies to play and interact with. When it came time for them to leave, the ever-jovial Naleku and Suguroi happily escorted the wild babies a short distance, before returning to join their friends.

Ndiwa led the way out to the bush where Mukkoka teamed up with Larro to browse. Mapia chose Dololo while Sagateisa settled to browse with Malima. It was another hot day and the orphans looked for some suitable trees to feed under because with each passing hour the sun was becoming more unbearable.

After their noon milk feed the orphans jumped into the water hole to cool off. As usual, Sagateisa, Ambo, Roho, Musiara and Mapia spent the longest frolicking in the mud bath. The orphans then settled for a soil dusting exercise to dry off and make a nice layer of cakey suncream on their bodies, before heading to drink water. The Keepers had to move some wild bulls out of the way to make some space for the orphans to have a drink.

The orphans took a break and divided themselves into two groups, seniors and juniors. The senior group consisting of Kamok, Kauro, Rapa, Ndiwa, Malkia and Sana Sana while the juniors made up the rest. The seniors stood under the shade of one tree while the juniors stood under another. Kauro felt tired and decided to take a rest and lie down rather than stand. The orphans only resumed about two hours later once it was a bit cooler and they had finished resting. Later Neshashi led the first group back to the stockades while Naleku led the second one.

Mutara, Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk and two wild bulls were present in the morning and joined the orphans for some lucerne. Malkia, who loves Mambo dearly, sandwiched the young bull between herself and Mutara. Mambo enjoyed Malkia’s company for quite some time, happy that his mother was nearby as well. When it was time to leave for the bush, Naleku led the way followed by Suguroi. The rest of the group followed in a line behind them.

Jotto teamed up with Mapia as they tried to settle their differences which leads them fight all the time. After a while the two boys seemed to come to come kind of truce, though we were not sure how long it would last! Naboishu settled to browse with Sana Sana while Malima teamed up with Sagateisa. Roho played with Mukkoka but ended up losing the game.

When the orphans arrived at the mud bath they found ten wild bulls had occupied the smaller mud bath that the orphans usually use for themselves. The orphans had their milk bottles then waited to see if the bulls would move so that they could enjoy a mud bath too. Slowly one by one the bulls started to leave, making way for the orphans who thoroughly enjoyed their wallowing session once the bulls had all left. After a quick soil dusting session to dry off, the orphans had some water before going back to browsing.

The afternoon was quiet as the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under some trees. Roho had some alone time and enjoyed a soil dusting exercise away from all the others. In the evening, Neshashi led the first group back to the stockades and Sattao led the next group.

A total of twenty wild bulls reported very early in the morning to the stockade compound to have some water. After having enough water, the bulls left, leaving behind only three of their friends who chose to join the dependent orphans and some ex-orphans for some lucerne. When they were done, Mapia, Kuishi, Jotto and Malima walked down to the water trough and joined Sapalan and Enkikwe to drink water. When they felt like it was time to go, Naleku and Suguroi created a scene by running up and down and trumpeting. Only Kuishi responded and ran to find out what the two girls were up to. The rest of the herd didn't bother because they have come to understand the young two girls’ theatrics.

Out in the bush, Naboishu, who is still trying to make himself relevant amongst the bulls, decided to tackle Ambo. Ambo defended himself for some time but then left because he didn’t want to waste too much time messing about. He knows it is still dry and he needs to concentrate on browsing to make sure he feeds enough during the day.

The orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning. At mud bath time, Neshashi led the first group while Musiara led the second one. The temperature was moderate and none of the orphans decided to step foot in the mud bath today. Dololo engaged Naboishu in a pushing game instead. Musiara passed by and helped Naboishu in defeating Dololo. Dololo couldn't withstand the strength from both boys, and so decided to surrender.

While the orphans browsed to the west of the hill for the rest of the afternoon, Naboishu chose to play with soft Malima, before later moving on to play with Mapia. Loving Malkia teamed up with Roho to browse while Ambo chose to relax and browse with his favourite older girl, Kamok. Sapalan and Enkikwe, who are now living wild, joined the dependent orphans for a little while, before walking off into the bush again on their own little mission.

Mutara and her herd were once again present in the morning for the lucerne feeding. As soon as the orphans were let out, Malkia headed straight over to Mambo and exchanged morning greetings with her favourite little boy. As the orphans were busy feeding on lucerne, a buffalo emerged from the west and walked to the water trough to have a drink. Sattao spotted the buffalo and bolshily decided to go down to block him from having any water. The buffalo was so thirsty though, that it really didn’t pay much attention to the little elephant and all his threats! Sattao rumbled as he tried to call for reinforcements from his friends to help him drive the buffalo away. Malima, Nabulu and Kuishi walked down to find out how they could help Sattao, but in the meantime the buffalo quickly drank his fill before the elephants could decide what to do, and disappeared off into the bush.

Shortly later, the senior ex-orphans arrived. The dependent orphans started leaving one by one as they headed out to browse. Suguroi remained behind for a while to play with Noah, before running to catch up with her friends.

Malkia was in a playful mood and decided to pick on her friend Ndiwa for a light pushing game, before leaving to join Mutara’s herd and her little baby Mambo. Rapa played with Mapia but the game ended when Rapa attempted to climb on Mapia’s back, which is a very rude manoeuvre amongst elephants, and very domineering, and ultimately a sure-fire way to bring about the end of a game! Ambo settled to browse with Dololo and at one stage they were helping one another to peel some bark from trees using their tusks.

At midday the orphans had their milk then waded through the mud bath water just to wash their feet, as the water was too cold for them to have a proper swim. Only Roho and Mapia were brave enough today to have a proper wallow despite the temperature! Ambo and Sattao locked trunks in a pushing game. Kamok, who was passing by, decided to separate the two boys as she didn’t want her favourite Ambo coming to any harm.

In the afternoon the clouds cleared giving way to sunshine. This prompted the orphans to relax under some trees for a while before resuming browsing and later, they all returned safely to the compound for the night.  

The ex-orphans reported early to the stockade compound and waited for the orphans to come out to share lucerne with them. Once he finished his milk bottles it was Ambo who led the orphans out, where they joined up with the ex-orphans. The little rascal, Noah, attempted to attack Suguroi. Suguroi wouldn’t take such rudeness from a young boy and fought to defend herself. She managed to overpower Noah who ran away. Malkia joined her favourite baby Mambo who was having a nice time with Kainuk. Neshashi is showing slight character traits similar to Kamok as far as her treatment of babies is concerned, which isn’t very nice sometimes! Njema is Naserian's daughter, and she approached Neshashi while politely extending her trunk. Neshashi responded rudely by grabbing Njema's trunk and pulling it! Poor Njema cried out and only then did Neshashi let her go, while warning the young baby to stay away from her. Njema left to look for her mother.

As soon as the orphans had enough lucerne, Malima led the way out to the browsing field, where everyone settled to browse in the area known as Kone. Given the dry conditions at the moment, the orphans took their time and concentrated mostly on browsing this morning.

It was a lot hotter today compared to previous days, which meant that all the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath today. We were happy to see Barsilinga, who joined the orphans to wallow as well. Ambo and Mapia were the last ones to leave the mud bath. Twenty-five wild bulls were present, with ‘Dad’ amongst them. The Keepers had to move them back a few steps so the orphans could have some water before heading back out to browse. Neshashi teamed up with Roho and Naboishu, while Malkia teamed up with Sagateisa to browse for the rest of the day. In the evening, Roho led the way back to the stockades. 

Just as the dependent orphans were coming out of their night stockades, the ex-orphans started trickling in in large numbers to share lucerne with their younger counterparts. Rapa took Sagateisa aside and had a brief conversation with her, and we couldn’t help but wonder what they might be talking about. Noah pounced on Mukkoka, believing Mukkoka was similar to Suguroi, but he couldn’t believe it when Mukkoka turned and whipped him with his trunk. The playful Noah moved away to find a friendlier orphan, who might be more accommodating of his roguish behaviour! Noah ended up with Malima who was the perfect choice, and she handled him very gently. Naleku settled to play with Saba and later, with Lexi. After having enough of lucerne, the orphans, led by Kuishi, headed out to browse.

Later in the morning, Jotto, Kuishi and Suguroi settled for a soil dusting exercise while Mapia and Sagateisa briefly scratched against a tree before going back to browsing. The orphans had decided to scatter all over, to make sure they all found ample vegetation and enough to fill their tummies before it was time to return home.

It was interesting that only Roho decided to wallow in the mud bath today. The rest of the orphans just had their milk and some water before enjoying a short dusting session.

Ambo chose to have a strength testing exercise with Mapia, but ended up losing the game. Ambo then turned to Sattao and the two boys managed to enjoy a pushing game for quite a while but in the end, their game ended in a draw. We could tell because both boys just quietly went their separate ways. It wasn’t long before the sun became unbearable, prompting the orphans to seek shelter under a tree. They resumed browsing a bit later and in the evening on their way back to the compound, the orphans passed by the small roadside mud bath where they cooled off before resuming their journey back to the stockades.

The orphans left the stockade early as usual and settled for lucerne. Two wild families in the company of some ex-orphans joined the orphans. One of the wild born babies ran into trouble with Sagateisa when it tried to push her out of the way. We all know Sagateisa to be a quiet and composed little girl, but suddenly it seemed as if she couldn’t take it anymore! She simply lost her temper and pushed the baby over, so it yelled out for help before running back to its mother crying. Sagateisa slowly left the feeding area, perhaps annoyed that she had lost her temper with a baby. After sharing lucerne with the ex-orphans and wild elephants, Malima led the rest of the orphans out to the bush.

As the orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba Hill, Suguroi browsed close to Naleku while Sana Sana teamed up with Naboishu. Malkia settled to browse with Musiara and Roho while Sattao browsed a distance away from all the others. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans went to the mud bath as usual, after finishing their milk bottles. It was so hot, and all the orphans decided to wallow. Sattao, Mapia, Naleku, Suguroi, Ambo and Kuishi went to roll around in the loose soil to dry off after they finished swimming. Musiara and Roho left immediately after wallowing and walked off to browse from the same shrub nearby.

Later, Mapia had a strength testing exercise with Ambo, while Neshashi teamed up with Naboishu to browse. In the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades.

Mutara and her herd spent the night outside the stockades and awoke as soon as the dependent orphans were let out. Malkia, as usual, went straight to say hi to Mambo. After sharing lucerne with Mutara’s group, the orphans, led by Sana Sana, left for browsing. They chose to browse in the Kanziku area and enjoyed a quiet morning.

Like the past few days it was another incredibly hot day, so upon arriving at the mud bath as soon as the orphans had their milk they jumped into the mud bath to cool off. After mud bathing, Neshashi, Nabulu, Suguroi, Malkia, Malima, Naboishu and Musiara headed for a soil dusting exercise. Mapia and Rapa were the last ones to leave the mud bath as they were busy challenging one another in a strength testing exercise.

In the afternoon the orphans took a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree since it was still very hot. They only resumed browsing once it got a bit cooler, and later Naleku led the way back to the stockades for the night.

It was lovely to see Rapsu this morning when he joined the orphans for some lucerne. Shortly later, Mutara and her herd arrived and joined in too. Naleku and Suguroi walked down to the water trough and had some water before walking off out into the bush on their own. Naboishu spotted them leaving and decided to leave the lucerne feeding area and follow the two girls. They are still too young and new to Ithumba to go wandering off on their own!

Jotto engaged Mapia in a pushing game while Ambo decided to tackle Sattao. Both games ended into a draw! After two hours of feeding in the Kone area, Mapia decided to have some fun and got down on the ground to roll around. Ambo came over and tried to interfere in his game, pushing Mapia up off the ground. Mapia continued with his game however and eventually Ambo gave up and went back to browsing.

At eleven o'clock in the morning, Sagateisa led the first group to the mud bath while Sattao led the second one. The orphans had their milk and then went for a swim which wasn’t very eventful, as all the orphans behaved. In the afternoon while the orphans were browsing west of Ithumba Hill, Malima, Larro, Neshashi, Musiara and Ndiwa split from the main herd and decided to go to the roadside mud bath. They returned to join their friends later to plan on their next move. Roho led the way back to the stockades in the evening.

As the orphans settled to feed on lucerne this morning, 18 African wild dogs emerged from the east, coming for water. Two wild elephant bulls who were taking water at the stockade water troughs tried to block the wild dogs. The orphans weren’t bothered by the dogs and continued feeding on lucerne. When they were done, it was Ambo for a change who led his friends out to the bush to begin their day. Kuishi, Naboishu, Malima, Jotto and Sagateisa passed by the water troughs to have some water before following Ambo.

After arriving in the Kone area, Ambo decided to have some fun rolling on the ground. Mapia came and tried to wake Ambo up, but when Ambo got to his feet, he turned and complained at Mapia for coming and disrupted his fun. Mapia didn't respond, prompting Ambo to push him in retaliation. Mapia, who loves pushing games, turned to defend himself, and the two boys enjoyed a pushing game that lasted for quite some time. We couldn’t help but think this is what Mapia had aimed for all along!

Kamok, Rapa, Malkia and Kauro walked to a nearby rocky area they knew to see if any water had collected there during the recent rainfall. Kamok, who was leading, found that the water had dried up already, and steered the group in a different direction to continue browsing. Mukkoka and Sattao had a disagreement which resulted in a fight. The disagreement started over a green shrub that they both came across simultaneously and both tried to claim ownership of, not wanting to share. Luckily Malkia was passing by and saw the two boys getting out of hand, so came over to separate them.

At mud bath time, Roho led the first group while Naleku led the second one. It was a hot afternoon, so all the orphans jumped into the water soon after finishing their milk. Ambo, Rapa and Mapia were the last ones to leave the water. The heat persisted into the afternoon and eventually Ndiwa, Malkia, Mapia and Larro went the roadside mud bath to cool off and relax under a tree. In the evening, Musiara led the herd back to the stockades for the night.

Naboishu woke up in a playful mood. As soon as the orphans were let out of their night stockades, he ran out trumpeting, heading east. What fuelled his excitement even more was then meeting with some guinea fowls! Naboishu tried to chase them but couldn’t catch any. The guinea fowls flew up as soon as they realised Naboishu was going to be persistent with his chase!

Sunyei, Siku and Saba were also present during lucerne feeding time this morning. Neshashi ran into trouble with Saba when she bumped into her. Saba tried to Neshashi simply because her mother and sister were close, but Neshashi didn't dare retaliate as she was aware of the consequences if she tried! Instead Neshashi just shook her head and walked away seething.

When the lucerne feeding time was up, Naleku led the way to the bush. Ambo and Roho decided to warm up their bodies in a pushing game. Naboishu, who felt quite exhausted already after chasing guinea fowls for so long, decided to relax and lie down for a few minutes. The orphans really enjoyed browsing this morning as it was quite cloudy and cool – their ideal conditions.

When the orphans arrived at the mud bath they were joined by several wild bulls and ex-orphans. The dependent orphans felt it was quite congested however, so after a brief wallow they headed back out to browse. In the afternoon, they settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. The clouds cleared, giving way to sunshine. Malkia, Nabulu, Malima, Musiara, Suguroi, Jotto and Kuishi decided to go to the small roadside mud bath to cool off. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any distractions. 

Wendi and her three children Wiva, Wema and Wimbi arrived very early in the morning, and were later joined by the rest of her herd. After the orphans were let out to begin their day, Malkia interacted briefly with Lili while Malima played with Njema. Later, Sana Sana rumbled, signalling to the dependent orphans that it was time to go. The always happy Naleku and Suguroi responded first. The two girls started walking towards the bush, swinging their trunks from side to side in an expression of happiness.

Jotto engaged Malkia in a strength testing match that didn't last for long as Malkia withdrew after deciding it was a waste of her time energy and time. Mukkoka teamed up with Dololo and Naboishu to browse, while Sagateisa settled to browse with Kuishi. At mud bath time, Suguroi led Naleku and Nabulu to the mud bath while Dololo led Musiara and Ambo in the second group, before the rest of the milk dependent herd followed. The sun was beating down and so after the orphans finished their milk, Roho and Dololo led their group into the water. After wallowing, Ambo played with Musiara. Musiara then quit playing with Ambo and moved on to play with Mapia. Larro, Neshashi, Ndiwa, Kamok and Rapa, who had lagged behind, arrived just as their friends were starting to walk back out to browse. Larro and Neshashi were given their milk and then ran to catch up with their friends. The orphans chose to browse in the Imenti area for the rest of the afternoon, which was quiet as all the orphans tried to fill their tummies before returning home for the night.

Naleku was so happy to have some wild born babies to play with in the morning. She engaged Noah, Njema and Silas in pushing games. Suguroi played with Njema while Roho tackled Wema. Shortly later, Rapa led the way out to browse.

Ndiwa, Sagateisa and Kamok teamed up to browse together while Kuishi chose to browse close to little bulls Dololo and Musiara. As they walked along browsing the orphans headed west towards Kanziku. It was quite hot, and they looked for trees with nice shade to feed under. All in all, it was a quiet morning and the orphans browsed calmly, looking forward to the mud bath when they could jump in the water to cool themselves down. At eleven o'clock they made their way for their milk bottles and just as we suspected, as soon as they were done, they immediately jumped into the water. After their mud bath, Suguroi, Roho and Neshashi settled for a soil dusting exercise to dry off. The wild bull known as Dad and three wild friends showed up briefly, before disappearing off into the bush. When they were done swimming, the orphans passed by the water trough and for some fresh water before Malima decided it was time to continue browsing, and led the herd back out into the bush.

In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. The weather changed and clouds started gathering which brought huge relief, as everyone felt a lot cooler. While it was unfortunate that no actual rain fell, this was a promising sign of rain to come!

It was very wet in the morning following the heavy rain we received overnight. The orphans walked out stepping very carefully as the ground was still wet and slippery! The whole compound was quiet today as no other elephants showed up to share lucerne. Ndiwa ate contentedly with Jotto and Roho while Malima shared a pile of lucerne with Mukkoka. Suguroi found a suitable rock that she used to scratch her belly on as Sana Sana rumbled a message that it was time for everyone to leave to begin their day in the bush and explore the area now wet with rain.

The orphans spent a very happy and content morning browsing in the Kone area as it was now a lot cooler and their ideal browsing conditions. Musiara settled to browse with Sattao as Jotto and Mapia walked to the Kone dam to enjoy drinking the rainwater which had collected there. Later Musiara teamed up with Nabulu as Kamok took her favourite Ambo away from the rest of the group to browse quietly on their own.

On the way to the mud bath, Suguroi and Naleku came across a small pool of water that they used to splash behind their ears. The orphans had their milk bottles then some water before going back out to browse without wallowing in this colder temperature. In the afternoon Malkia chose to browse with Musiara while Malima teamed up with Larro. Kuishi led the way back to the stockades for the night.

The orphans settled for lucerne peacefully in the morning and just as we suspected, now that it has rained, not a single wild elephant or ex-orphan has shown up. Ndiwa thought to look after some of the youngsters this morning so shared lucerne with Naboishu and later moved to spend time with Mukkoka. Sattao settled with Roho while Naleku chose to eat next to Suguroi. Rapa, Kauro and Kamok, who had spent the night outside, arrived and joined their younger friends. Rapa and Malima walked down to the water trough to drink water and shortly after, Sana Sana rumbled, signalling her friends that it was time to leave. It is clear that among the dependent orphans, she is one of the lead females in charge, and it is often she who decides when the day begins!

On the way out, the orphans met with Barsilinga and tried to find out where he was going. Barsilinga didn't respond but continued on with his journey, and we couldn’t be quite sure where he was going. It is still cool as we still have a bit of rain in the area, and the orphans enjoyed browsing in the cool weather.

Shortly before mud bath time it started to rain. The orphans slowly made their way to the mud bath for their midday milk feed. They were so wet from the rain there was no chance of them getting in the mud bath after having their milk bottles! There was a bit of a drama when Larro tried to steal the milk bottle from Neshashi's mouth. Neshashi wouldn't accept this daylight thuggery and so ran away only to drop the bottle when she had finished the contents! In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of the hill. Roho teamed up with Larro and Nabulu to browse while the boss, Sana Sana, chose Naboishu. Later the orphans came across a large rainwater puddle, so they decided to have a bush mud bath to cool off before heading back to the stockades for the night.