March was the month that Emoli decided to take the next step in his rewilding journey. Instead of returning to the stockades at night, the eight-year-old started peeling off with Ndotto, Ngilai, and Tagwa. The semi-independent quartet typically retire to the slopes of Mzinga Hill — still within sight of the stockades, but feeling very adult.
The Voi Kids — Akina, Ashanti, Baraka, Busara, Dabida, Epiya, Hildana, Itinyi, Juni, Kenderi, Kilulu, Losoito, Manda, Rokka, Seri, and Ushindi — certainly keep us on our toes. One morning, Ushindi, Itinyi, and Dabida snuck away to join a wild herd. When the trio did not respond to our whistles and calls, we drove south to round them up. They willingly returned to the orphan herd, looking sheepish yet satisfied with their disappearing act.
We have noticed that Rokka does not like crowds. When the orphans eat their pellets on the terrace, Rokka moves off to the side to enjoy a private feast with her good friend, Busara. At the mud bath, she also keeps her distance, opting for a solo dust bath instead of risking a swim with the rougher elephants like Hildana, Dabida, and Kenderi. However, she is always happy to have the company of her old friend, Manda. The pair often lead the orphans out to browse in the morning.
Rokka might be onto something — young elephants can be quite rough with each other! Poor Dabida found this out the hard way. In December, a skirmish with Kilulu left her with a broken left tusk. This month, a play-fight with Manda resulted in a broken right tusk, too. Fortunately, tusks grow quickly.
Mweya’s ex-orphan herd continued to be regular visitors throughout the month. They seem to have taken up residence around Voi, showing up to the stockades several times a week. Under the leadership of Mweya, Panda, Mbirikani, Kihari, Pika Pika, Arruba, Rorogoi, Sagala, Mudanda, Naipoki, and Ndii are all thriving in their wild lives. Mweya’s kids, Mwitu and baby Mwangaza, are happy and confident little girls. Both Arruba and Mbirikani are heavily pregnant, so we are hopeful of more wild-born babies later in the year!
The older elephant who we rescued last month is recovering well. He was treated by our SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Veterinary Unit for a spear wound and, given the extent of his injuries, Dr Limo advised that he was vulnerable to predators and should convalesce at our Voi stockades. His journey is far from over, but his wounds are healing and his condition is improving.
While he was checking on our new rescue, Dr Limo also took the opportunity to treat a minor wound on Tagwa’s foreleg. She was a model patient and didn’t put up a fuss. After her ‘appointment’, Tagwa slept in her old stockade with her friends. She knew that she needed a good night’s sleep and the creature comforts of home! Her girlfriends — Tamiyoi, Godoma, and Mbegu — were thrilled to have her back in the mix.
Little Ashanti is such a rogue. We can always count on her to cause a ruckus during feeding times. One afternoon, she finished her milk and then scampered to the water trough with her bottle in trunk. Realising that water was nowhere near as tasty as milk, she then circled back to the Keepers, hoping that they might give her an extra bottle. We thanked her for her offer and instead took the bottle and sent her down to the mud wallow.
Itinyi remains Voi’s starring water baby. Even when it is overcast, he cannot resist the opportunity to swim. One cloudy afternoon, his impressive splashing persuaded Ashanti to join him. When she lay down in the pool, Itinyi could not resist clambering atop her. Lemeki charged to the rescue, distracting Itinyi with a watery sparring match while Ashanti clambered to solid ground.
Far from being put out by the intervention, Itinyi was excited to make a new friend! The next day, he would not stay away from Lemeki. He shadowed her in the mud bath, followed her out of the water, and finally persuaded her to join him in another wrestling match, this time on dry land.
Lemeki is always open to new friendships, but she remains loyal to her adopted baby, Losoito, and her original ‘little brother,’ Thamana. We can usually find the trio browsing, exploring, or playing together.
The Voi Kids may put up an impressive front, but when push comes to shove, they are big babies. One afternoon, something spooked the orphans and they began charging all over the hill, trumpeting and bush-bashing. Kilulu, Hildana, Itinyi, Kenderi, Akina, Seri, Epiya, and Dabida made a run for it, leaving their friends in the dust and heading for the stockades.
Losoito is as stout as she is greedy. One rainy morning, the Keepers organised the orphans into groups for their milk bottles, as they always do. Apropos of nothing, Losoito suddenly started trumpeting at the top of her lungs. Baraka — who had been drinking quietly next to her — abandoned her bottle and moved along to the next Keeper, eager to put some distance between herself and the noise. Hearing the commotion, Mbegu and Godoma came running, only to find Losoito calmly gulping down her milk.
At the end of December, Murit and Lasayen wandered away with Mudanda’s ex-orphan herd and haven’t been seen since. We weren’t worried — at ten years old, both boys are more than old enough to embrace a wild life — but we have been thinking about them.
On 23rd March, we finally got the update we had been hoping for. Very early in the morning, before it was even light out, a group of wild elephants gathered outside the stockades. We were thrilled to find Murit in their midst. (We believe that Lasayen linked up with another herd, as there are lots of wild elephants in the area at the moment.)
When the wild herd left, Murit stayed behind with his old friends Ndotto, Ngilai, and Tagwa. Ndotto was visibly delighted to see him; the two bulls stood so close their heads were touching, trunks draped downward. When the dependent orphans emerged from their stockades, they all clustered around Murit. It was a special morning.
Murit remained in the area in the days that followed, before leading Ndotto and Ngilai on a wild safari. Their first evening away, we found Tagwa loitering outside the stockades on her own. We shepherded her into Mbegu’s room, so she did not have to spend the night by herself. She padded inside contentedly and settled down for a sleepover with her old friends.