March began with a big moment for our young bulls. 18-year-old ex-orphan Orok joined the orphans at dawn, then led Roho, Sattao, Ambo, Jotto, and Dololo down to the water troughs. The five boys were incredibly happy to be in the company of Orok and surrounded him adoringly. In fact, it looked as if they were asking him lots of questions. When Orok departed, the boys followed him a short distance and bid him farewell by raising their trunks up in his direction.
Ex-orphan Orok joined the orphans in the morning to share lucerne with them. Later he led Roho, Sattao, Ambo, Jotto and Dololo down to the water troughs. The five boys were incredibly happy to be in the company of Orok and surrounded him adoringly, and looked as though they were asking him lots of questions. Ten minutes later, Orok appeared to have answered all their questions as he slowly started walking off into the bush. The boys followed him a short distance then bid him farewell by raising their trunks up and directing them towards Orok. Kuishi and Musiara settled to drink water at the smaller water trough.
The sky was clear so we knew it would be a hot day ahead. The orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning. By the time they were heading to the mud bath it was so hot that all the orphans decided to swim after finishing their milk bottles. The intense heat continued into the afternoon and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under some shady trees. In an effort to cool down further, the orphans then decided to head to the roadside mud bath where they splashed about and cooled off. After getting out of the mud bath Malkia, Ndiwa and Sana Sana took Naboishu with soon after mud bathing and browsed a distance away from the rest. They later, re-joined their friends on the way back to the stockade.
Orok, Orwa and Bomani were waiting patiently outside the compound in the morning and were happy to share some lucerne with the orphans. Sattao and Ambo chose to stand close to the impressive 18-year-old bull Orok and had a lengthy conversation with him while they ate, which came to an end when Orok walked in between them and down to the water trough. The two boys had to quickly step aside to avoid being bowled over! As soon as the orphans had enough of lucerne, Naleku and Suguroi led the way out.
The orphans chose to browse in the Kone area this morning. It was a hot day and the orphans browsed under some trees as they tried to hide from the scorching sun. Kamok, Kauro, Rapa, Malkia, Ndiwa and Sana Sana, who have been weaned off their milk bottles, left with Naboishu and Musiara. They showed up later at the mud bath and joined their friends. Also present at the mud bath was the wild bull known as Dad and twenty-five other wild bulls. The orphans went to the smaller mud bath while the bulls occupied the large one. It honestly felt like the sun had dropped several inches closer to the earth. The heat was so much and the orphans decided to stay longer splashing about in the mud than they usually do. Finally when they decided they had cooled down enough, they walked off into the bush and browsed west of the Ithumba Hill. It was still hot though and the orphans spend a large majority of the afternoon relaxing under some trees. On the way back to the stockades in the late afternoon, the orphans passed by the roadside mud bath to cool off once more.
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.
For the first time in a while Ambo made a right turn soon after leaving his stockade. This right turn takes him towards the lucerne store where he might try his luck and find the store open! The Keepers spotted him however and told him to go and wait for the Keepers to share out the lucerne like the rest of his friends. Ambo followed their instructions and walked out where he met with Vuria, who he exchanged morning greetings with by entwining their trunks together. Ambo got down on the ground to enjoy a rolling game, but Vuria pushed him up to go and join his friends who were already enjoying some lucerne.
The ex-orphans arrived and joined the orphans and Vuria. When they felt they had had enough, the orphans withdrew from the ex-orphans and, led by Ndiwa, the team headed out towards the Kone area where they settled to browse. There was some quite nice cloud cover this morning which made it a much nicer temperature for the orphans to browse, without having to seek shade under trees.
Some chattering baboons passed by close to the orphans. Such noisy baboons always seem to irk the orphans and Sattao mobilised some of the other bulls to help him drive away these noisy neighbours! Jotto, Ambo, Dololo, Musiara and Roho charged and ran towards the baboons. Naleku and Suguroi were curious about what would happen next and so decided to follow the boys and see for themselves! The baboons, upon seeing the orphans charging towards them, decided to run away as fast as possible. Their sudden disappearance meant the orphans stamped about in the bushes for a while in a charging mood, before calming down and going back to browsing.
At mud bath time, not a single wild elephant showed up due to the more temperate weather. The orphans had their milk bottles then went for a drink of fresh water.
The clouds started clearing giving way to sun shine in the afternoon, which meant the orphans decided to take a break and relax under some trees for a while. In the evening they passed by the mud bath to cool off on their way home to the stockades.
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.
Ex-orphans Chyulu, Cheka, Taita, Melia, Milo, Kilabasi, Kofi, Makireti together with a wild bull we treated a week ago from an arrow wound, joined the orphans in the morning for some lucerne. Sattao, Mukkoka and Roho tried to bully Chyulu’s little calf Cheka. Cheka couldn't withstand the strength of three boys and so ran to his mother. Sattao, Roho and Mukkoka didn’t dare follow Cheka as they understood the consequences should Chyulu realise they were picking on her calf. Kofi was enjoying rolling on the ground, but Naleku cut his game short by coming over and pushing him to get up. Ambo held a brief meeting with Roho that saw the two boys decide to walk away from the others.
On the way out to the bush, Kamok, Rapa and Sagateisa came across some loose soil that they used to have fun by soil dusting themselves. It was another temperate morning and not too hot, so the orphans browsed peacefully right up until it was time to head to the mud bath. Ex-orphan Challa passed by and somehow managed to recruit some of our older boys and girls to go with him, namely Kamok, Kauro, Sana Sana, Ndiwa, Malkia and Rapa.
Larro tried her usual antics of attempting to get an extra bottle at the noon milk feed, but failed in her mission as the Keepers are wise to her ways and always on alert when Larro is around! Challa brought the little team he had picked up earlier on his daily wanderings to join their friends at the mud bath. After the orphans had taken enough water, Sana Sana led the group to relax under a nearby acacia tree where Taita was standing. As the orphans joined Taita, bulls Jotto, Musiara, Ambo and Mapia stood next to him as if measuring their height against him and wondering when they might reach the same height. As the orphans browsed west of the hill, Neshashi, Roho and Naboishu decided to split from the main herd and browsed a short distance away. In the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night.
Ambo scurried out of his night stockade in a hurry this morning, making a sharp right turn for the lucerne store. Ambo was in luck today and managed to grab a small bale of lucerne before the Keepers told him to walk down and wait with the rest of his friends. Tusuja, who had spent the night outside the stockades with his friends, was in a playful mood and tried to block Mapia from leaving the compound. The Keepers intervened however and told Tusuja to clear the way for his younger friend. Tusuja walked away from the gate reluctantly and walked down to wait for Mapia. Musiara, Neshashi and Larro settled to share lucerne together. Half an hour later, the ex-orphans arrived. Suguroi, Naleku and Roho were happy to be able to interact and play with Njema, Kaia and Iman for a while, before leaving for browsing.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Kuishi and Naboishu found a suitable rock that they scratched against. It was a cloudy morning which the orphans love, and they browsed calmly and quietly right up to mud bath time when Nabulu led the way to the eleven o'clock milk feeding area. After finishing their milk, Ambo kept himself busy by playing with Naboishu while Nabulu settled to play with Sattao. It remained cloudy so the orphans preferred soil dusting instead of getting into the water to wallow. Mapia engaged Rapa in a pushing game while Nabulu and Dololo joined four wild bulls at the water trough for some water.
The orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area for the rest of the afternoon. Kauro, Rapa and Mapia split from the main herd and browsed separately for nearly two hours, before returning to join their friends once it was time to head home for the night.
It was a cloudy morning when the orphans left the stockades, where they met quite a number of ex-orphans who had come to join in for some lucerne, including Galana, Gawa, Tumaren, Nasalot and their children, plus Orwa, Bomani, Barsilinga, Tusuja, Mulika and her children too (Mkuu and Mwende). While they were all sharing lucerne, Mapia attempted to bully Noah, but his brother Nusu wouldn't allow that to happen. Nusu defended his brother Noah by driving Mapia away. Shortly later, Ambo decided to lead the way out to the bush. Naleku and Suguroi couldn't be left behind and so ran to overtake Ambo and take the lead.
While walking out to find a good browsing spot, Suguroi, Naleku, Sagateisa, Malkia and Ndiwa came across some loose soil that they enjoyed playing with for a while. Naboishu, who is trying to establish his position amongst the boys in the Ithumba dependent herd, decided to tackle Sattao. After losing the pushing game to Sattao, Naboishu moved to try out Ambo. Again, Naboishu lost the game but lucky enough Kauro arrived and stopped Ambo from pursuing Naboishu. Mapia had been watching from a distance and came over to meet Ambo and engage him in a pushing game just to ascertain that Ambo had won fairly against Naboishu.
The orphans settled to browse east of Ithumba Hill until the next feeding time when the Keepers gathered their babies together and led them for their noon milk feed. On the way, Neshashi, Rapa, Ndiwa and Sana Sana chose to lag behind and not follow their friends. Upon arriving at the mud bath the Keepers realised that the four orphans were missing. In the missing group only one elephant was still milk dependent, Neshashi. The Keepers walked back to try and find Neshashi since the others are already weaned off milk and can take care of themselves, but they knew that Neshashi would end up wanting her milk bottle if she were to miss the midday feed. As they walked back to find the group, they bumped into them half way, with Neshashi leading the other three. Evidently, just as we suspected, she was eager to have her milk bottle! There was only one wild bull who showed up at the mud bath while the orphans were there, who shared water with them very patiently and showed no sign of aggression at all.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Roho chose to browse with Naleku and Suguroi while Naboishu engaged Sattao in a pushing game. In the evening, the orphans returned safely to the compound for the night.
Several wild bulls were present in the morning. They were concentrating on drinking water and didn’t seem interested in sharing lucerne with the orphans, so the orphans had a quiet morning. As soon as they were done with their lucerne breakfast, Sana Sana led the way out to the bush.
At around eight o'clock in the morning, two warthogs darted past through the bushes close to where Sattao was browsing. This gave Sattao a huge fright as he hadn’t seen what it was that ran past at such high speed. With his ears raised and head high, Sattao trumpeted, alerting his friends to a potential danger. Rapa, Dololo, Mukkoka, Roho and Mapia heeded Sattao's call and reported immediately to where Sattao was standing. Sattao led them in the direction taken by the warthogs and the boys searched the entire area, but they couldn't see what might have frightened Sattao. The warthogs were long gone because they understood the consequences if they were caught by the orphans, who would most likely charge after them to scare them away! In the end yielded no results, the boys resumed browsing.
Nabulu led the first group to the mud bath for the midday milk feed, while Kuishi led the second one. After their bottles, Suguroi, Naleku, Rapa, Jotto, Neshashi and Larro jumped into the mud bath to cool off, and later dried off on the pile of loose soil, rolling and dusting themselves.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse at in the Imenti area. Roho challenged Naboishu but ended up losing the challenge. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing without any other distractions.
Mutara and her team showed up at the stockade compound early before dawn. The dependent orphans had their milk at six o'clock in the morning and Mukkoka was the first to leave the night stockades. Malkia headed straight over to Mutara’s baby Mambo to find out how he was. An hour later, the rest of the ex-orphans reported at the stockade compound. The orphans, led by Kuishi, decided to make some space for their seniors and slowly left the compound to head out into the bush to begin their day of browsing. Only Malkia lagged to spend the day with baby Mambo, who she clearly adores.
Out in the bush, Ndiwa teamed up with Naboishu. Shortly after, Naboishu moved to join Roho. Roho seemed uninterested in feeding close to Naboishu however, because he understands Naboishu's sneaky tactics. He knows that Naboishu might act nicely towards him to begin with, before turning against him by starting a pushing game without his consent. Roho walked away and browsed close to Jotto instead, where he knew that Naboishu wouldn't follow him or start any of his sneaky pushing games for fear of being pushed by Jotto. Ambo was spotted rolling on the ground by himself, while being watched by Ndiwa and Nabulu.
It was quite cloudy when the orphans made their way to the mud bath so none of them opted to swim after having their milk bottles. Five wild bulls were present and just drank some water before leaving again. The orphans then got their opportunity to drink water from the water trough.
Later on, while browsing to the west of the hill, Kuishi enjoyed a brief strength testing exercise with Jotto while Larro settled to scratch an itchy ear against a tree. Sattao teamed up with Sana Sana to browse while Rapa teamed up with Kauro. Malkia arrived back at the stockade compound with Mutara’s herd shortly before five o'clock in the evening. Malkia then waited for her friends to return so she could go with them into the stockades together for the night.
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 sky was partly covered by clouds when the orphans were let out. As well as the ex-orphans, two breeding herds with young ones showed up at the stockade compound. One herd, who we refer to by the name ‘Queens family’, headed straight over to join the orphans and ex-orphans for lucerne. Nasalot and Sunyei decided to make some space for the revered female matriarch by the name Queen, for she can be quite confrontational and punishes anyone who gets too close to her family. Little Naleku and Suguroi had a good time with two babies belonging to Queen's family however, as she obviously doesn’t mind youngsters. When the competition for lucerne became stiff, the dependent orphans decided to leave for browsing. Many wild elephants continued to arrive at the compound throughout the morning to drink water.
The orphans chose to browse in Kone area. Neshashi settled to browse with Kauro while Sana Sana stepped on a rock to make herself taller in order to reach some leaves high in a tree. Despite the cloudy start it was swiftly turning into a hot day, so the orphans browsed under trees until mud bath time when Sattao led the way so that everyone could cool off. Thirty-five wild bulls were present at the mud bath which is considered quite a number, compared to recent days. Rapa enjoyed climbing on some of the other bulls while still in water. Roho managed to disengage himself from Rapa and turned to defend himself. A short wrestling match in the water ensued! Mapia and Rapa ended up being the last ones to leave the mud bath today. The two boys were left behind as they tried to resolve their differences through a pushing game.
It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the rest of the day.
We have become accustomed to seeing the ex-orphans in the morning as they remain in the area until more rain falls elsewhere, and today was no different; they reported early before six o'clock in the morning. Several wild bulls were accompanying them. They all waited patiently outside, as they understand that the lucerne is always distributed soon after the orphans are let out. The dependent orphans had their morning milk then Naleku was the first one to leave, followed by Suguroi. Sagateisa settled close to Melia. Her baby Milo jealously tried to push Sagateisa away from his mother, but Sagateisa remained unmoved and didn't retaliate. Perhaps Milo though that Sagateisa would try and nurse from his mother, so eventually Sagateisa decided to move away and give him some space.
Out in the bush Jotto had a disagreement with Mapia, when Mapia attempted to get some grass from Jotto's mouth. This resulted in a pushing game but it didn't go on for long as Kauro passed by and separated the two boys.
Poor Ambo slipped and fell as he tried to cross a small valley, but he stood up quickly and looked around, as if checking to see if anyone had seen him fall! He looked relieved that none of the other orphans were close by, for we often think elephants can feel a little embarrassed, like they ‘lose face’ if they take a tumble or something! Ambo is often trying to prove his strength so he was probably quite happy that none of the bulls were around.
Naboishu and Roho, who share a night-stockade, took a break from feeding to have a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw. Dololo enjoyed scratching his itchy bottom on some large boulders near where the orphans were browsing.
Although cloudy it felt quite hot and humid today, which meant all the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath to cool off after having their midday milk bottles. In the afternoon, Kauro, Roho and Larro settled to browse together while Mukkoka decided to test his strength by attempting to push a tree down. It was a big and strong tree however, and Mukkoka couldn't even move it an inch, and so he eventually gave up. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans concentrated on browsing.
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.
Mutara and her herd reported early in the morning again. Sattao engaged Jotto in a morning warm up exercise by requesting a pushing game. The orphans fed on lucerne peacefully with Mutara's herd and no other ex-orphans showed up this morning. As soon as they had enough, Neshashi led the way to the browsing field. Naleku and Suguroi wanted to lead as well apparently, and tried to run ahead of Neshashi while maintaining a safe distance in front because they were wary of Neshashi punishing them for being disrespectful!
Naboishu chose to browse with Dololo this morning but after a while they seemed to disagree about something, which resulted in a fight. Luckily Ndiwa was passing by and separated the two boys, and to make sure they didn’t just go back to fighting, she cunningly decided to browse in between them.
It was another hot day and after the midday feed the orphans enjoyed wallowing for a long time. While in the water, Mapia started a pushing game with Ambo, while Rapa enjoyed climbing on Naboishu’s back. Later, when Mapia left the water, Rapa turned to play with Ambo instead. Some of the orphans joined a few wild bulls drinking water and then they all continued with their afternoon of walking along while browsing. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans settled to browse in the Imenti area. Given the heat, they eventually had to take a break from feeding and relaxed under some trees for a while. Later the orphans passed by the mud bath once again to cool off on their way home 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.
The orphans were so happy when a herd with young babies joined them to feed on lucerne in the morning. Naleku Suguroi, Roho Naboishu and Neshashi were the first to play with the babies. Neshashi was slightly more rough with them, trying to push the young ones, while Roho was slightly more gentle and had light wrestling matches. Naleku and Suguroi were trying a different tactic and lay down on the ground, trying to entice the young ones to play on them. As soon as the adults had enough lucerne, the matriarch led her herd back out to the bush and her family duly followed. Naleku and Suguroi followed the wild herd for a short distance as if escorting their new wild friends, before running back to join the Ithumba herd. Kauro led the orphans to begin their day out in the bush.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area. It was a quiet morning as they concentrated mainly on browsing without any major distractions or pushing games from anyone.
By the time the orphans made their way to the mud bath it was very hot, so they all decided to get into the water to wallow.
Later, while they browsed in the Imenti area, Kauro, Kamok, Rapa, Malkia, Sana Sana and Ndiwa (who are all weaned off milk) decided to move deeper into the bush, leaving their young friends feeding close to the Keepers. Kuishi teamed up with Naboishu to browse as Musiara picked a fight with Dololo. Their fighting didn't last long as Mapia interrupted by walking in between the two boys. In the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night.
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.
The orphans left their stockades early as usual and settled for lucerne. Only Mutara’s herd, Challa and two wild elephants were also present during the lucerne feeding time. Kauro carried a whole bale of lucerne and ran off to his own little corner with it, where he could enjoy it at his own pace due to his slightly compromised trunk, without being disturbed.
Ambo walked to the gate to visit a new rescue, called Motomo. It was as if Ambo knew that Motomo would be joining the orphans that morning, and he had gone to tell him so he could prepare himself. Motomo is a young male aged between four and five years old, rescued from nearby Mutomo in the community area. No one knows how he was separated from his family and ended up fifty kilometres away from the park. At 7.30 in the morning, Motomo was let out and received by the orphans. He looked calm and composed. After interacting with the orphans briefly, Motomo walked to meet Challa and the two wild elephants. Nabulu followed him as she tried to get to know Motomo, but Motomo appeared more interested in interacting with the adult elephants. Malkia left with Mutara’s herd today, as always, she was most interested in baby Mambo, but she later returned to join her friends.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area where they browsed calmly throughout the morning.
When the orphans were at the mud bath for their noon milk feed, Naboishu was the only one who boycotted the wallowing exercise and instead just went to dust himself. Naboishu later engaged Roho in a pushing game that ended in a draw. In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse west of the hill. Sagateisa developed an itchy behind and looked for a suitable tree that she could scratch against. In the evening the orphans returned back safely to the compound, including Mutomo, who had thoroughly enjoyed his first day out with the orphans.
Sidai, Silas, Sita, Wendi, Wema, Wiva, Wimbi, Kilabasi, Lemoyian, Teleki, Kofi, Makireti, Nasalot, Noah, Mutara’s herd and three wild bulls joined the orphans in the morning. Some of the dependent orphans were excited to play with the wild born babies; Naleku played with Silas while Suguroi played with Kofi. Noah threatened to push Sana Sana when she stepped on the lucerne pile Noah was eating from. Sana sana wouldn’t take such threats lightly and so decided to teach Noah a lesson and that he is too young to threaten her. Sana Sana pushed Noah in a way that wouldn’t hurt him but that would teach him a lesson and that he has to respect his seniors. Noah walked back to his mother. Neshashi enjoyed sharing lucerne with Lemoyian. A buffalo walked to the water trough and shared water peacefully with Jotto, Ndiwa, Suguta and Sities. Shortly later, Mukkoka led the way out to browse.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Ambo engaged Sattao in a pushing game while Kuishi decided to have fun rolling on the ground. At eleven o’clock in the morning, Sattao led the first group to the mud bath. The temperature was moderate and only Roho and Musiara decided to wallow. The rest walked around the mud bath and disappeared into the thicket as Musiara and Naleku settled for soil a dusting exercise. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. In the evening, the weather changed as the clouds that had been gathering throughout the afternoon gave way to drizzle. The orphans returned safely to the stockades at the usual time of five o'clock in the evening.
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 a busy morning. Nearly all the ex-orphans showed up with a few wild elephants as well. Perhaps they were all coming to bid us farewell as they have foreseen rain on the way. Large black clouds have started building, and normally as soon as we receive good rains, filling up water pans across the landscape, the ex-orphans always disappear for a while. The Keepers distributed some lucerne which everyone shared peacefully as the seniors and wild born babies bid the orphans goodbye. Naleku, Suguroi, Roho and Neshashi won’t understand yet, but over the coming days we will start to see less of the ex-orphans, and then they will know perhaps why they came to say goodbye today.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Ambo engaged Sattao in a pushing game that lasted for quite a while before ending in a draw. It felt quite humid which prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree. Suguroi, Sagateisa and Musiara found their own tree while the rest of the herd converged under another one. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Neshashi led the first group to the mud bath. Soon after the orphans had their milk, Roho led the team into the mud bath. Suguroi, Naleku and Musiara settled for soil dusting soon after wallowing. The rest of the team headed to the water trough to drink water.
Clouds gathered very quickly in the afternoon and this time they gave way to an almighty thunderstorm. The orphans were so happy to have rain at last and were very playful, rolling about in joy on the wet soil. The rain lasted for about forty-five minutes, during which the orphans slowly made their way back to their stockades for their last milk bottle of the day and to go to bed.
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.
Ambo left the stockades this morning and turned right to go to the lucerne store to help himself. Unfortunately, he found the store locked and so he decided to wait outside. The Keepers came and informed Ambo to go and join his friends. so he reluctantly left and went to join the others.
Lucerne was distributed and the orphans enjoyed their morning breakfast, and still no ex-orphans arrived. Shortly afterwards, Kuishi led the way out.
It was a quiet morning as the orphans settled to browse in the Kone area. Jotto met with Mapia and broke the peace by starting a pushing game. Sattao teamed up with Musiara and Nabulu to browse. Rapa and Kauro parted ways with their friends, only to meet up with them again at mud bath time.
The orphans had their milk next to the mud bath, then Nabulu and Roho stepped into the water to splash water behind their ears and wash their feet, before walking out without properly swimming. In the afternoon the orphans were briefly joined by a lone wild bull who seemed like he was looking for his friends. Rapa, Dololo and Naboishu lifted their trunks up as they tried to communicate with the wild bull, but the big fellow just sauntered on by after briefly greeting the youngsters. Pare, Dololo and Kauro came across a pool of water that they splashed themselves with before going back to feeding from the same bush. Roho led the way back to the stockades in the evening, but was overtaken by Suguroi who managed to make it back to the stockades in the lead!
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.