At the Nursery, Weka was a notorious troublemaker — but since graduating to Ithumba, she has become so even-keeled. We were reminded of this one morning, when Weka passed behind Kinyei as she walked towards Shujaa. Kinyei threw a back kick that landed on Weka, but Weka didn’t react in any way and simply continued to where she was going.
It was a quiet morning. The orphans left the stockade immediately after taking their morning milk and settled for lucerne. Choka was the first one to have enough lucerne and so walked down to the water trough to enjoy drinking water. Shortly later, he was joined by Mukutan and Kinyei. Shujaa and Kinyei used a nearby rock for scratching.
Muwingu led the way to the browsing field, where Bondeni and Loldaiga started their day activities by engaging in a strength testing exercise. Kitich settled to browse with Mageno, as Lodo played Mukutan. As the day progressed, Lodo, Choka, Esoit, Mayan, and Vaarti came across stagnated water that they used in kicking and splashing onto themselves.
At around ten o’clock in the morning, the orphans visited the Kone Dam and had water before resuming their browsing exercise. At eleven o’clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The temperatures were moderate and, soon after the orphans had their milk, Kindani led the way back to the browsing field.
Vaarti settled to browse with Mayan, while Kitich teamed up with Muwingu. Kindani and Lodo came across a water pan and decided to have fun in it. Esoit came across an anthill under a tree and decided to relax by lying on it.
Later in the day, Kinyei, Muwingu, Weka, and Olorien decided to take a break from feeding when the temperatures skyrocketed. They stood under a tree with good shade for some time until the temperatures dropped to a favourable level.
In the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne immediately after leaving the stockade. Esoit settled on a nearby rock for a scratching exercise while Kinyei walked down to the water trough, where she was joined by Muwingu moments later. Roho settled to share his pile of lucerne with Olorien as Mayan held a brief meeting with Kitich.
On the way to the browsing field, Mukutan engaged Roho in a pushing game that ended soon when Mukutan decided to surrender. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Lodo, Kitich, Mageno, Muwingu, and Weka took a break from browsing to participate in a moist soil bathing exercise.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, the orphans walked through the mud bathing water before returning to the browsing field. Mukutan tried to block Roho from coming out by pushing him back into the water. After some time, Roho overpowered Mukutan and was able to come out.
In the afternoon, Esoit had a game of rolling on the ground while Mayan, Bondeni, and Kinyei settled at different trees for a scratching exercise. Later in the day, Choka engaged Mayan in a pushing game while Mageno played with Kitich. In the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. No outsider was present during the lucerne feeding time and the orphans enjoyed a peaceful moment. Weka passed behind Kinyei as she walked towards Shujaa. Kinyei threw a back kick that landed on Weka. Weka didn’t react in any way but continued to where she was going.
Vaarti and Muwingu walked down to the water trough to take water and thereafter returned back to join their colleagues. Loldaiga engaged Bondeni in a morning strength testing exercise, while Mukutan tackled Roho.
When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. At the browsing field, Kindani, Olorien, Lodo, Esoit, Bondeni, Choka, and Mayan decided to have fun by rolling on the ground, since their stomachs were still full after having a heavy breakfast of lucerne.
At eleven o’clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After having their milk, Lodo led the team into wallowing and later Weka led the team into a soil bathing exercise.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kone area and later visited the Kone Dam for drinking water and a cooling off exercise. At five o’clock in the evening, Loldaiga led the way back to the stockade.
Nasalot, Noah, Nala, Naleku, and Suguroi arrived at the stockade compound early before dawn and waited for the orphans to be let out. At six o'clock in the morning, the orphans had their milk and thereafter joined Nasalot and her team outside.
Roho, Lodo, Olorien, Kindani, and Kinyei greeted Suguroi and held a brief meeting as they wanted to find out how she was feeling now she has started life in the wild. Suguroi appeared to be happy and not regretting that she left her colleagues to be part of Nasalot’s team, and seemed more fulfilled spending all her time with Nala.
Kitich shared his pile of lucerne with Choka while Roho challenged Noah. Lodo walked down to the water trough to drink water while Kindani settled to scratch on a nearby rock. An hour later, Nasalot and her team parted ways with the orphans and headed west of the stockade. The orphans headed north-east.
At the browsing field, Mageno settled to browse with Esoit and thereafter they engaged one another in a pushing game that ended in a draw. Loldaiga had a game of rolling on the ground while Weka found a suitable tree that she used to scratch her belly. Later, Mageno and Mayan came across a water pan and took water first before using the rest to splash behind their ears.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk, then walked through the mud bathing water and thereafter settled for a soil dusting exercise.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Lodo developed an itchy ear and decided to scratch it against a nearby baobab tree. Muwingu picked a stick from the ground and used it to scratch her chest.
In the evening, the weather changed. The cloudy sky gave way to rain that lasted for fifteen minutes. The rain activated the orphans’ playing moods. Weka, Mukutan, Muwingu, Kindani, Bondeni, Lodo, and Olorien had fun playing on the wet ground. When the rain stopped, Loldaiga led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Bondeni tried to create trouble by pushing Shujaa but was told off by the Keepers. Weka engaged Loldaiga in a light strength testing exercise while Kitich settled to scratch on a nearby rock. Shortly later, Loldaiga and Kinyei walked down to the water trough to drink water.
After the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area where Kinyei, Bondeni, and Esoit teamed up together in browsing. Choka settled to browse with Mukutan while Lodo, Roho, and Olorien split from the main herd and browsed a distance away.
At around ten o'clock in the morning, the cloudy sky opened up and gave way to rain. Mageno and Weka settled to drink water collected on a rock while Vaarti, Loldaiga, Lodo, Mayan, Kindani, and Esoit decided to have fun by rolling on the wet ground. Half an hour later, the rain stopped and Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds.
The orphans had their milk and thereafter, despite the cold weather, jumped into the water for wallowing. After wallowing, the orphans smeared themselves with red mud before returning to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, Choka settled to browse with Weka while Muwingu settled to browse with Lodo. Bondeni developed an itchy ear and found a suitable tree that he used to scratch the itching part. Shujaa settled to browse with Roho while Esoit teamed up with Mageno in browsing. Olorien, Kindani, Vaarti, Loldaiga, and Mayan took a break from browsing to have a game of rolling on the ground.
At five o'clock in the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockades.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Vaarti and Kitich settled to scratch on nearby rocks as Loldaiga and Choka exchanged morning greetings by entwining their trunks. Shortly later, Nasalot, Noah, Nala, Naleku, and Suguroi emerged from the western side and joined the orphans in feeding on lucerne.
Olorien, Kindani, Kinyei, and Weka welcomed Nala and held a brief meeting with the little girl before it ran back to its mother. An hour later, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Mukutan, Choka, and Muwingu came across water collected on a rock and enjoyed drinking it before being joined by Weka, Kitich, and Mageno.
As the day progressed, Weka came across a baobab tree and decided to use her small tusks in trying to get the bark off the tree. She later surrendered after attempting several times without success.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, the orphans jumped into the wallowing water. After wallowing, only Esoit settled for a soil dusting exercise; the rest of the group opted to return to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Muwingu settled to browse with Shujaa and Weka, while Mukutan teamed up with Kindani and Loldaiga. Mageno settled to browse with Bondeni, Vaarti, and Mayan as Olorien decided to have a lone game of rolling on the ground.
At around two o'clock in the afternoon, it started raining and this activated the orphans' playing moods. In the evening, Weka competed with Mageno over who would lead the group to the stockade. Loldaiga saw the competition and blocked the two from leading, then took the lead all the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Kitich and Mageno exchanged morning greetings by entwining their trunks. Olorien settled to share her pile of lucerne with Roho while Kindani shared hers with Bondeni and Kinyei. Shortly later, Muwingu walked down to the water trough. She was joined by Vaarti and Mayan in drinking water.
An hour later, Kinyei led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse north of the stockade. Bondeni settled to browse with Kitich but later had a disagreement. Kitich decided to surrender by walking away. Esoit, Mayan, and Loldaiga took a break from browsing to have a game of rolling on the ground.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, Lodo led the team into wallowing. Bondeni emerged as the star of the day by having a prolonged wallowing. He was the last one to quit wallowing.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill and browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day. In the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
The rain started at five o'clock in the morning and ended at six o'clock in the morning. The orphans had their milk, then Weka led the way out. The grounds were very wet and the orphans walked carefully to avoid slipping and falling. Olorien nearly fell down after slipping when she tried to hurry up to get to the lucerne feeding venue first.
The orphans settled for lucerne briefly as they wanted to go and have fun on the wet soil. Kinyei led the way to the browsing field. She was followed by Kitich and Mayan, then the rest of the group followed later. Esoit teamed up with Roho and Vaarti in browsing. Bondeni and Kindani took some time off from browsing to enjoy rolling on the wet soil while Kinyei teamed up with Loldaiga in browsing.
Shujaa came across a suitable tree that he used in scratching his buttocks. Later, Kinyei held a brief meeting with Olorien while Kindani, Roho, Vaarti, Choka, Mukutan, and Muwingu decided to have fun by rolling on the ground.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the midday bottle feeds. After getting their milk, the orphans jumped into the wallowing water briefly before getting out. Only Mukutan, Choka, and Loldaiga participated fully in the wallowing exercise.
Weka led the way back to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill where Mageno teamed up with Kitich and Loldaiga. The rest of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout without any major observation. In the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
Esoit settled for a scratching exercise soon after leaving the stockade as the rest of the group settled for lucerne. Vaarti exchanged morning greetings with Shujaa while Kindani, Bondeni, and Olorien settled to share a pile of lucerne.
After the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Loldaiga and Bondeni took a break from browsing to engage in a strength testing exercise that ended in a draw.
Lodo came across a water pan and settled to drink water and later did mud bathing in the same water pan. Mayan settled to play with Esoit while Lodo played with Roho soon after he had done enough mud bathing.
At around ten o'clock in the morning, Mageno, Kitich, and Mukutan came across four lesser kudus and charged at them. The lesser kudus jumped over a few bushes and disappeared out of sight, leaving the orphans charging at empty bushes.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk and thereafter jumped into the water for a cooling off exercise. After the orphans had enough of wallowing, Kinyei led the way back to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto River. Later in the day, the orphans visited the Kone Dam for water and at five o'clock in the evening Weka led the way back to the stockade. Olorien, Roho, and Bondeni were reluctant to follow their colleagues back into the stockade. The Keepers persuaded them for a long time before they finally and unwillingly followed their colleagues.
The sky was clear in the morning when the orphans left the stockade. Led by Muwingu, the orphans settled for lucerne outside the stockade. Weka visited a nearby rock for a scratching exercise. Moments later she was joined by her friend Shujaa.
An hour later, the orphans had enough of lucerne and so Kinyei led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Loldaiga took a break from browsing and looked for Mayan, whom he engaged in a pushing game. Their game attracted Lodo and Roho, who pushed one another for some time before parting ways.
Choka spotted two dik-diks ahead of him and scared them by trumpeting. Choka ran in the direction taken by the dik-diks while charging, but the dik-diks were long gone. Choka tried to knock down several bushes in search of the duo but nothing came out of it. Several minutes later, Choka calmed down and resumed browsing.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, the orphans jumped into the wallowing water. Loldaiga, Bondeni, Mayan, Roho, Mukutan, and Weka had a prolonged wallowing.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Kinyei found a suitable tree stump that she used to scratch her itching chin. Lodo, Olorien, and Roho, who think that now they are grown-ups, split from the main herd and browsed a distance away.
In the evening, at the time of going back to the stockade, the two boys and one girl didn't show any interest in returning with their colleagues. The Keepers walked to where they were browsing and pushed them to join their colleagues. On the way back to the stockade, Loldaiga overtook Mageno, who was leading the team, and led all the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. Mukutan, Esoit, and Shujaa settled to scratch on nearby rocks as Roho shared his pile of lucerne with Olorien. Shortly later, Kindani led the way to the browsing field.
Kitich settled to browse with Lodo while Vaarti teamed up with Bondeni in browsing. Later Vaarti engaged Esoit in a pushing game as Loldaiga settled on a strength testing exercise with Bondeni.
At around eight o'clock in the morning, the orphans were joined by Musiara, who had been away for some time. Musiara was welcomed by Lodo and they had a brief meeting and thereafter started walking as they enjoyed browsing on the green vegetation.
The orphans visited the Kone Dam and later came across a water pan where they had a mini mud bath before proceeding towards the mud bath. Shujaa, Choka, and Weka split from the main herd and browsed a distance away. The Keepers followed them closely as they didn't know what the three were planning. They later pushed them back to join their colleagues before they could slip away and disappear into the thick bushes.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Musiara escorted the orphans to the mud bath. The orphans had their milk, then jumped into the wallowing water for a cooling off exercise. Lodo engaged Roho in a pushing game while still in the water, but their game was ended by Musiara, who separated the two boys.
Esoit and Mayan participated in a soil bathing exercise before following their colleagues back to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area where Kinyei settled to browse with Olorien while Lodo and Roho tried to challenge Musiara.
In the evening, Lodo lagged behind with Musiara and showed up later back at the stockade after having enough fun outside. Lodo was allowed in while Musiara remained outside so as to join the juniors the following day in the morning.
Musiara spent the night outside the stockade and joined the orphans in the morning as soon as they were let out. Musiara shared the lucerne with the orphans and later walked with them to the browsing field.
The orphans settled to browse at Kone area where Weka and Kinyei started their day activities by scratching on rocks. Lodo settled to browse with Roho and Musiara while Mukutan teamed up with Kitich.
Later, Olorien took a break from browsing to have a game of rolling on the ground. Her game attracted Kindani, Muwingu, Mageno, Lodo, and Roho who joined her in playing on the ground. Roho attempted to get a free ride from Lodo. Lodo was not happy about it and so quit the game of rolling on the ground.
Kinyei held a brief meeting with Mayan while Roho tried challenging Musiara in a pushing game. Musiara ended up as the winner. Choka came across a water pan and decided to enjoy himself by rolling in it.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Musiara escorted the orphans to the mud bath. The orphans had their milk and thereafter jumped into the wallowing water.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Mayan developed an itchy front foot and looked for a nice tree stump that he used in scratching the itching part and later engaged Loldaiga in a pushing game. Vaarti played with Choka while Shujaa, Roho, Mukutan, Kitich, and Mageno came across a swampy area and decided to cool themselves down by splashing mud behind their ears.
At five o'clock in the evening, Musiara escorted the orphans back to the stockade.
Nasalot, Nala, Noah, Suguroi, Naleku, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Luki, and Ishanga reported at the stockade compound early before the orphans were let out. Soon after the orphans had their milk, Mageno led the way out. The orphans started interacting with the ex-orphans families.
Our attention was drawn by Ishanga when we saw no baby following her. We tried to check amongst the group but the only baby we could see was Nala. It was a shock and disheartening to see Ishanga without her adorable Imp. It's not clear what happened to the baby. Ishanga and Imp were last seen in the morning of 25th February and after sharing lucerne with the orphans headed towards Kalovoto. What followed from that day was rain every day. Only Lualeni and Nasalot’s families can explain what happened.
Luki was very playful in the morning. The little boy engaged Mukutan in a light pushing game and later played with Shujaa. Lulu, his elder sister, came and pushed Shujaa, then whisked away her little brother. An hour later, the orphans parted ways with the two families.
Muwingu led the orphans to Kone area where they settled to browse. Esoit started his day activities by engaging Choka in a pushing game. Lodo visited Kone Dam for water and later settled for a soil bathing exercise. Mukutan played with Kitich while Olorien, Kinyei, and Mayan visited the Kone Dam for a cooling off exercise. Kinyei developed an itchy ear and found a suitable tree to use in scratching the itching part. Vaarti settled to browse with Bondeni and Mukutan.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk then jumped into the wallowing water and thereafter settled for a fun exercise of rolling on the ground. The orphans were joined briefly by Nasalot, Noah, Nala, Naleku, Musiara, and Suguroi.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Roho teamed up with Vaarti, Kinyei, and Lodo in browsing. The orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day without any major observation. In the evening, Loldaiga led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans were joined once again by Nasalot, Noah, Nala, Naleku, Musiara, Suguroi, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Luki, and Ishanga in the morning. Luki picked on Shujaa for a pushing game. Shujaa played safely as he knew Luki was only a baby. Esoit shared his pile of lucerne with Kinyei while Mageno settled to scratch his belly on a nearby rock.
Nala tried to climb on a big rock but was prevented from doing so by Suguroi and Naleku, who happen to be her devoted nannies. Noah challenged Roho but couldn't withstand his strength and so at some point surrendered. Vaarti and Ishanga walked down to the water trough to drink water. They were later joined by Nasalot’s team.
When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. The two groups of Lualeni and Nasalot headed west of the stockade. Kinyei settled to browse with Bondeni and Roho while Mukutan teamed up with Mayan and Kitich.
Mageno came across a nice tree stump of the correct size that he used in scratching his belly. Later, Kitich got into a charging mood and started charging and knocking small bushes. It's not clear what might have got him into a charging mood, but probably he might have spotted dik-diks somewhere and he was looking for them. Mageno joined in the charging and trumpeting that lasted for quite some time. The two boys later engaged each other in a pushing game that ended when Mageno attempted to get a free ride from Kitich.
Shortly before mud bath time, Bondeni engaged Loldaiga in a pushing game that ended when Loldaiga surrendered. When Loldaiga surrendered, Bondeni headed to challenge Mukutan. Mukutan stood his ground and fought back. The pushing game ended in a draw.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. On the way, the orphans were joined by Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, and Luki. The mother with her three babies parted ways with the orphans at the mud bath and headed south. The orphans had their milk, then water before returning to the browsing field.
The orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Muwingu teamed up with Weka while Kinyei teamed up with Esoit in browsing. Mageno settled to browse with Vaarti and Mayan as Lodo, Olorien, and Roho split from the main herd and browsed a distance away.
At five o'clock in the evening, Loldaiga led the way back to the stockade.
Shujaa left the stockade with a leftover branch in his mouth soon after taking his milk. Once the orphans were out, Kitich settled to scratch on a nearby rock as he waited for the distribution of lucerne. Kitich was joined by Mageno and Shujaa in scratching. Mukutan had a brief meeting with Vaarti as they exchanged morning greetings before settling for lucerne.
When Muwingu and Weka had enough of lucerne, the two girls climbed up on a rocky area to enjoy feeding on green grass as they waited for their colleagues to get ready. Shujaa went up and joined the two girls. Later, everyone was ready and Mageno led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at the Kone area.
Lodo settled to browse with Esoit as Mageno teamed up with Weka. Mukutan took a break from browsing to engage Roho in a pushing game. Their game ended when Mukutan surrendered. Loldaiga settled for a strength testing exercise with Bondeni, a game that was later disrupted by Roho.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the first group to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk and thereafter skipped the wallowing exercise and returned to the browsing field. Roho, Kinyei, and Vaarti found some nice trees and decided to use them to scratch their side bellies. Weka settled to browse with her friend Shujaa while Kinyei teamed up with Bondeni.
Vaarti had a brief meeting with Mukutan that ended in a pushing game. Kitich and Choka tried to dodge their Keepers but were spotted before they could walk far. The Keepers shouted their names, and the two boys turned back after realising their mission had backfired. In the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
Lualeni, Lexi, and Luki were sleeping comfortably outside the stockade when the orphans were let out. As soon as the orphans were let out, Lualeni and her babies woke up and lined up, waiting for lucerne. Shortly later, Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Kito, Lulu, Yatta, Yara, Ishanga, Yogi, Yoyo, Nusu, Musiara, Nasalot, Noah, Nala, Suguroi, Naleku, and Sattao showed up and joined the orphans in feeding on lucerne.
Esoit and Shujaa settled to scratch their bellies on nearby rocks while Noah engaged Roho in a pushing game. Lodo and Kinyei walked down to the water trough to drink water as Yogi played with Sattao.
When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. The ex-orphans and their wild-born babies headed west of the stockade as the orphans settled to browse at Kone area. The orphans had a quiet morning and browsed calmly as they slowly headed towards the mud bath.
On the way, Kitich came across a tree he liked and spent some time trying to get its bark by using his tusks. Mukutan had some form of disagreement with Esoit that resulted in pushing each other. The Keepers intervened by warning Mukutan to stop his bullying behaviour.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans had their milk and thereafter returned to the browsing field. Choka settled to browse with Kinyei, Roho, and Mukutan while Vaarti settled to browse with Bondeni. Later, Mukutan engaged Roho in a pushing game while Weka, Kindani, and Shujaa took a break from feeding to relax under a tree with good shade.
Shortly before the time for heading back to the stockade, the orphans came across a swampy area and used the water in the swamp for cooling off by splashing it behind their ears. Muwingu held a brief meeting with Kinyei and later, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
Kilabasi, Kanika, Kofi, Makireti, Nusu, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Luki and Musiara joined the orphans in feeding of lucerne in the morning. Luki tried to push Weka. The no-nonsense Weka did not spare the rascal Luki. Weka pushed Luki continuously until Luki ran back to his mother and later looked for Shujaa, who plays with him nicely. Kinyei settled to babysit Kanika while Roho engaged Nusu in a pushing game.
When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Kindani led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Lodo started his day activities by scratching on a rock he had come across. Shujaa and Kitich spotted two lesser kudus ahead of them. The two boys charged and trumpeted while running towards the lesser kudus. Their trumpeting attracted Bondeni, Choka, Loldaiga and Esoit, who ran towards Shujaa and Kitich to offer any support the two boys might be requiring. The lesser kudus could not wait for the orphans to catch up with them, but instead jumped over several bushes while running away. The orphans lost sight of the kudus and thereafter had no option other than resuming browsing.
Shortly before mud bath time, Kinyei took a break from browsing to have fun by playing on the ground, while Loldaiga settled to browse with Mukutan. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the first group to the mud bath. The orphans had their milk, then Roho, Lodo, Loldaiga, Mayan and Kinyei settled for mud bathing.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. In the evening, Kindani, Mukutan, Shujaa and Bondeni came across a water pan and used the water to splash behind their ears to cool off. At five o'clock in the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockade.
Soon after the orphans settled for lucerne in the morning, Nasalot, Nala, Suguroi, Noah, Nusu, Ishanga, Naleku, Kanika, Kilabasi, Kofi, Makireti, Sattao and Mundusi arrived. The ex-orphans joined the orphans in feeding on lucerne. Naleku appears to have let Suguroi stay with Nala while she chose to babysit Kanika. It is not clear whether this is a temporary arrangement or if it will be permanent. Only time will tell. Kindani spent some time with Kanika as Naleku stood close by. Choka settled to scratch on a nearby rock as Roho attempted to challenge Mundusi in a pushing game. After some time, Roho surrendered and walked away.
After the orphans had enough of lucerne, Kinyei led the way to the browsing field. At the browsing field, Esoit, who had settled to browse with Mukutan, disagreed over something that was not clear to anyone. Their disagreement resulted in a pushing match that went on for some time before Lodo passed by and intervened by pushing the two boys out of his way. Roho settled to browse with Vaarti and Mayan as Shujaa and Weka took a break from feeding to relax before resuming browsing. Kindani came across a nice tree stump of the correct height, which she used to scratch her belly.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, Loldaiga and Weka settled for mud bathing. They were joined by Lodo and Mageno. Shortly later, the orphans were briefly joined by Kilabasi, Kanika and Kofi. It appears that Naleku, who was taking care of Kanika in the morning, decided to go back to her original group and continue taking care of Nala with Suguroi.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Kinyei teamed up with Bondeni in browsing as the rest of the group scattered across the area. In the evening, the Keepers gathered everyone and got ready to head back to the stockade. At five o'clock in the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
Kinna, Kama, Kaia, Kito, Wendi, Wema, Wimbi, Wiva, Ithumba, Iman, Iris, Yatta, Yetu, Yoyo, Yogi, Yara, Yasmin, Makena, Merri, Karisa, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Luki, and two wild elephants showed up in the morning and joined the orphans in feeding of lucerne. Roho exchanged morning greetings with Karisa as he tried to find out where he has been hiding for that long. Kindani assigned herself the role of taking care of Merri while Weka and Kinyei took care of Yara. At the time of heading to the browsing field, Kindani was reluctant as she didn't want to get separated from Merri. The Keepers kept on insisting that she should follow her colleagues. Finally, Kindani was upset and shook her head as she walked to team up with her colleagues.
The orphans settled to browse at Kone area and had a quiet morning. Lodo settled to browse with Kindani and Kinyei while Mageno found a suitable tree stump that he used in scratching his itching shoulder. Choka settled to browse with Esoit, Bondeni, and Kitich. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mayan led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk, then jumped into the wallowing water, and thereafter Muwingu led the way back to the browsing field.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Muwingu settled to browse with Mayan while Mageno teamed up with Roho and Loldaiga in browsing. Weka and Bondeni came across nice rocks that they used to scratch their body itching parts. The remaining part of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any major observation. In the evening, Shujaa came across a water pan and used the water in bathing while Choka settled for a soil dusting exercise. At five o'clock in the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Luki, Nasalot, Noah, Nala, Musiara, Mundusi, Nusu, Naleku and Suguroi showed up in the morning and joined the orphans in feeding on lucerne. Muwingu held a brief meeting with Esoit while Roho challenged Mundusi in a pushing game. Naleku had a game of rolling on the ground, which attracted Nala, who came to climb on her. Bondeni and Musiara settled to scratch their bellies on nearby rocks as Kinyei met with Shujaa and Weka for a discussion that was not revealed to anyone.
Mageno moved closer to where Musiara was scratching and engaged him in a light pushing game. Luckily, Musiara had woken up in a good mood and did not play rough with Mageno. As soon as the orphans had enough of lucerne, Kindani led the way to the browsing field.
At the browsing field, Kinyei, Esoit and Kindani took a break from browsing to have a game of rolling on the ground. Mayan settled to feed on the bark of a tree and later Loldaiga came to challenge him in a pushing game. Mayan stopped debarking the tree and defended himself against Loldaiga. The pushing game went on for quite some time. The two boys got tired of the pushing game and thereafter resumed browsing.
Shortly before mud bath time, Mukutan decided to take a break from browsing and have fun by rolling on the ground. His fun attracted Bondeni and Loldaiga, who came to join him. On the way to the mud bath, Lodo and Mayan came across a water pan and jumped into it for a cooling off exercise.
At eleven o’clock in the morning, the orphans had their milk, mud bath, then settled for a soil bathing exercise before returning back to the browsing field. Bondeni teamed up with Lodo in browsing while the rest of the team scattered, each enjoying the lush vegetation.
At around four o’clock in the evening, the weather changed abruptly and the cloudy sky gave way to heavy rains. At five o’clock in the evening, the ground became slippery and the orphans walked carefully on their way back home to avoid slipping and falling. Vaarti decided to have fun by rolling on the ground before catching up with his colleagues who had started the journey back to the stockade.
It was still wet in the morning following heavy rains received early before dawn. The orphans had their milk at six o’clock in the morning. Shujaa led the way out with a leftover branch in his mouth and only dropped it when lucerne was distributed. Loldaiga shared his pile of lucerne with Mayan, while Lodo shared his with Kinyei. Muwingu teamed up with Mukutan while Mageno settled to scratch on a nearby rock.
Esoit started tossing the lucerne up in the air when he had enough, with some landing on his head. Esoit moved to engage Mayan in a strength testing exercise, while Bondeni settled to play with Loldaiga. Shujaa and Weka found a suitable rock that they used to scratch their bellies.
At the browsing field, Mukutan took a break from browsing to have fun by rolling on the wet ground, while Kitich browsed close by to help in case Mukutan needed any support while getting up. Mukutan’s rolling game attracted Weka, Kindani, Mageno, Choka, Loldaiga, Kinyei and Bondeni, who joined in the fun. Kinyei was the last one to quit the exercise. Later, Muwingu teamed up with Mukutan and Loldaiga in browsing.
Shortly before mud bath time, Choka held a brief meeting with Weka and Vaarti. At eleven o’clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk, then waded through the wallowing water and settled for a soil bathing exercise.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Esoit browsed with Vaarti, while Choka teamed up with Mukutan. The remaining part of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any major observation. In the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockade.
Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi and Luki showed up at the stockade compound early before the orphans were let out and waited. As soon as the orphans were let out after taking their morning milk, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Nala, Naleku, Suguroi and Musiara emerged from the eastern side and joined the team. Lucerne was distributed and all settled to enjoy. Mundusi shared his pile of lucerne with Lodo. Luki looked for Shujaa and they had a good time together.
Weka, Esoit, Bondeni and Loldaiga settled to scratch on nearby rocks as Roho challenged Musiara in a pushing game. Musiara surrendered when the going got tough for him. He later moved to play with Mundusi.
An hour later, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. Kindani and Lodo took some time off from browsing to have a game of soil bathing. Later, Lodo and Kinyei visited the Kone Dam to drink water, while Mayan visited a nearby water pan that had warm water and enjoyed mud bathing before quitting to catch up with his colleagues, who had started making their way towards the mud bath.
On their way to the mud bath, Weka, Lodo and Olorien lagged behind, and when they delayed too much, the Keepers walked back to get them. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans had their milk and shortly later were joined by Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi and Luki. Roho tried to bully Lulu but was told off by Lualeni, who chased him away from her daughter.
The orphans settled for a soil dusting exercise and later Kindani led the way back to the browsing field. Lualeni and her family walked in the opposite direction and disappeared into the thickets. Weka and Shujaa walked to a nearby tree and scratched their ears before catching up with their colleagues.
At the browsing field, Esoit engaged Mukutan in a pushing game while Weka had a game of rolling on the ground. Vaarti settled to browse with Loldaiga, Mayan and Choka. In the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. The grounds were wet following rains received overnight. Kinyei settled to scratch her belly on a nearby rock and later led the way to the browsing field.
At the browsing field, Esoit and Choka took a break from browsing to play with moist soil. Their game attracted Lodo, Vaarti, Mayan, Roho, Bondeni, Kindani, and Olorien, who joined in playing with the moist soil. Olorien took advantage of Roho, who was lying down, and used him as a scratching surface. After having enough fun, Roho tackled Kitich. Kitich could not withstand Roho's strength and so surrendered. Lodo developed an itchy belly and found a suitable tree that he used to scratch the itching area.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the first group to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, only Lodo, Roho, and Mayan participated in wallowing, while the rest settled for a soil bathing exercise.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Muwingu settled to browse with Shujaa while Loldaiga teamed up with Mageno. Shortly before four o'clock in the evening, the cloudy sky gave way to rain that lasted for half an hour. The orphans enjoyed the moment as the rain brought a cooling effect to their overheated bodies. At five o'clock in the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans had their milk at six o'clock in the morning. Soon after getting their milk, Mageno led the way out. The orphans settled for lucerne that had been distributed by the Keepers. Kitich engaged Weka in a light pushing game while Loldaiga settled on a nearby rock for a scratching exercise. Vaarti met with Bondeni and entwined their trunks in morning greetings.
When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. At the browsing field, Mageno settled to browse with Olorien while Shujaa teamed up with Kindani. At around nine thirty in the morning, Kinyei took a break from browsing to have fun by rolling on the ground. Her game attracted Esoit, Mukutan, Choka, Weka, Lodo, and Roho.
After the fun was over and it was approaching mud bath time, Loldaiga led the way. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans had their milk, then jumped into the wallowing water. Roho, Lodo, Mayan, Mukutan, and Choka emerged as the stars of the day by having prolonged wallowing.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. Esoit teamed up with Mayan in browsing while Mukutan found a suitable tree stump that he used to scratch his itching ear. At around four o'clock in the evening, the orphans came across a bush mud bath and had an evening cooling-off exercise before making their way slowly back to the stockade.
The orphans had their morning milk at six o'clock and thereafter Shujaa left with a leftover branch in his mouth. As he walked out to the lucerne feeding venue, Loldaiga met him and took away the branch. Shujaa didn't fight back but let it go to avoid any form of trouble from Loldaiga.
The orphans settled on lucerne briefly and thereafter Kinyei led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Kinyei, Lodo, Olorien, and Bondeni visited the Kone dam for water. Later, Bondeni teamed up with Roho in a soil bathing exercise.
As the day progressed, Esoit, Loldaiga, Kindani, Roho, and Lodo came across mud that they settled on by rolling in it. At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the group to the noon bottle feeds. After the orphans had their milk, Lodo and Roho led the team into wallowing. After wallowing, Kinyei, Olorien, Roho, Esoit, and Mayan settled for a soil dusting exercise.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse at Kanziku area. The sun was hot, which prompted the orphans to take a break from feeding and relax under a tree with good shade. The orphans resumed browsing later when the temperatures dropped to a favourable level. In the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
The sky was clear in the morning when the orphans left the stockade and settled for lucerne. Kinyei exchanged morning greetings with Roho by entwining their trunks. Weka, Bondeni, and Mayan settled on a nearby rock for a scratching exercise.
After the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Choka, Lodo, Loldaiga, and Mayan came across a bush mud bath and had a mini cooling-off exercise before heading for the main one. The orphans browsed calmly as they slowly headed towards the mud bath.
On the way to the mud bath, Bondeni, Kinyei, Vaarti, Shujaa, and Weka came across a steep area and decided to have fun by rolling on the ground. At eleven o'clock in the morning, the orphans had their milk, then skipped the wallowing exercise and settled for a soil dusting exercise.
In the afternoon, Lodo teamed up with Olorien and Choka in browsing while Mageno settled with Kindani and Bondeni. In the evening, Vaarti and Loldaiga wound up the day's activities by engaging in a pushing game. At five o'clock in the evening, Mageno led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving the stockade. The feeding of lucerne was brief as the orphans wanted the lush vegetation that has come about as a result of the March–April rains that started early towards the end of February.
Kindani led the team to Kone area where the orphans settled to browse. Kindani settled to browse with Lodo and Bondeni while Kitich teamed up with Loldaiga, Mayan, Vaarti, Shujaa, and Weka. Mukutan developed an itchy chin and looked for a nice tree that he used to scratch the itching part. Olorien, Mageno, Choka, Roho, and Kitich visited the Kone dam for water and thereafter resumed browsing.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. The orphans had their milk, then water, and thereafter returned to the browsing field. Mayan settled to browse with his friend Vaarti while Muwingu settled to browse with Esoit. Later, Muwingu and Kitich came across a water pan and used the water to splash behind their ears. Mageno took a break from browsing to have a lone soil dusting exercise, while Shujaa, who was feeding far from Weka, rumbled. Weka responded by running towards Shujaa to find out what was happening. Shujaa calmed down as he only wanted Weka close by for company.
In the evening at around four o'clock, the weather changed abruptly and the cloudy sky gave way to rain that lasted for nearly half an hour. After the rain stopped, Mageno, Loldaiga, Esoit, Lodo, Weka, Kindani, Kitich, and Mukutan decided to have fun by rolling on the wet soil. Shortly afterwards, the orphans returned to the stockade for yet another night.
Sattao reported at the stockade compound early before dawn and relaxed outside while waiting for the orphans to be let out at six o'clock in the morning. The orphans walked out after getting their milk. Esoit settled to scratch on a nearby rock as Sattao exchanged morning greetings with Roho by entwining their trunks. Weka, Vaarti, and Shujaa joined Esoit in scratching.
On the way to the browsing field, Mageno came across a nice rock that he used to scratch his buttocks. At the browsing field, Bondeni, Kinyei, Olorien, and Mayan took a break from browsing to have a game of rolling on the ground. Loldaiga and Choka teamed up in browsing and later settled for a soil dusting exercise.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the first group to the noon bottle feeds while Weka led the second. After getting their milk, Loldaiga, Choka, Sattao, Roho, and Kitich participated in a mud bathing exercise. After mud bathing, Sattao headed west of the mud bath, probably to look for his friends.
Kindani led the orphans to Kanziku area where they settled for the remaining part of the day. Later in the evening, the orphans passed a swampy area where they decided to cool off by splashing mud water behind their ears. At five o'clock in the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockade.
Makireti, Kilabasi, Kofi, Kanika, Sattao, and Ishanga reported at the stockade compound early in the morning shortly before the orphans were let out. Soon after the orphans were let out, Roho engaged Sattao in a pushing game and ended up losing to him. Kitich took over and tackled Sattao for some time but finally surrendered when Sattao proved to be much stronger.
Kindani and Kinyei interacted briefly with Kanika before Kofi became chaotic and started chasing them away from his sister. When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Muwingu led the way to the browsing field. Mageno came across a nice tree that he used to scratch his itching head. As usual, Kitich settled on debarking a tree, as the bark appeared too tasty to him.
Later, Roho and Lodo settled into a soil dusting exercise while Mayan and Mageno shared a rock to scratch their buttocks. Muwingu settled to browse with Kinyei, while Loldaiga, Vaarti, Bondeni, Kindani, Mukutan, and Olorien took a break from browsing to have fun by rolling on the ground.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, the orphans jumped into the wallowing water for a cooling-off exercise. The orphans were joined by Sattao in wallowing. After wallowing, Roho engaged Sattao in another pushing game and ended up losing again. Shujaa, Esoit, Mayan, and Vaarti settled for a brief soil dusting exercise before walking on to catch up with their colleagues who had already started their journey back to the browsing field.
The afternoon was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly throughout the remaining part of the day without any major observation. In the evening, Loldaiga led the way back to the stockade.
Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Nala, Suguroi, Naleku, Chyulu, Cheka, Charli, Ishanga, Musiara, Karisa, Yatta, Yoyo, Yogi, Yara, Wiva, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Luki, and three wild elephants joined the orphans in feeding on lucerne in the morning. Our grown-up boy Roho challenged the wild-born boys, starting with Noah, then Yogi, and later ended up being chased away by Yoyo after he attacked his brother in a rough manner.
Bondeni settled to scratch on a nearby rock, and when he saw Kinyei approaching, he gave way to her. When the orphans had enough of lucerne, Kindani led the way to the browsing field. The orphans settled to browse at Kone area. Lodo and Olorien visited the Kone dam for water while Muwingu teamed up with Kitich in browsing. Mukutan settled to browse with Weka as Mayan teamed up with Choka and Vaarti.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Mageno led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After the orphans had their milk, Loldaiga led the team into wallowing and later they settled for a soil dusting exercise. Vaarti raised his trunk and headed west as if responding to a call. Upon following him, he led us to where Larro was mud bathing. After greeting Larro, Vaarti turned back and walked to join his colleagues.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. Muwingu settled to browse with Esoit while Lodo teamed up with Olorien and Roho. The remaining part of the day was quiet as the orphans browsed calmly without any major observation. In the evening, Weka led the way back to the stockade.
The orphans had their milk at six o'clock in the morning, and thereafter Mageno led the way out. The orphans settled for lucerne immediately after leaving the stockade. Kitich exchanged morning greetings with Choka, which later turned into a pushing game. Shujaa held a brief meeting with Esoit as Muwingu signalled everyone by rumbling that it was time to head for browsing.
At the browsing field, Lodo settled to browse with Mukutan and Kinyei while Bondeni teamed up with Olorien. Kitich took a break from browsing to participate in a soil dusting exercise. Later, Bondeni engaged Loldaiga in a pushing game that lasted for quite some time.
At eleven o'clock in the morning, Weka led the way to the noon bottle feeds. After getting their milk, the orphans attended a wallowing exercise where they were joined by Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, and Luki. Roho challenged Lulu to a pushing game. When the going got tough for Lulu, she opted out and ran back to her mother for protection. Roho did not follow, as he understood the consequences of approaching her mother.
Shortly later, the orphans parted ways with Lualeni’s family, heading north while Lualeni’s group went east. The orphans then settled to browse at Kanziku area. Weka settled to browse with Esoit while Lodo teamed up with Olorien and Roho, browsing a distance away from their colleagues.
Later in the evening, Roho, Lodo, and Olorien were reluctant to head back to the stockade. The Keepers managed to convince them to join their colleagues, who had already started the journey back.