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Faraja and Jasiri came to visit the orphans today before noon. When the Keepers spotted them, everyone was on high alert about seeing wild bulls. But today we never saw any of the wild friends. Faraja and Jasiri just spent their day with us in a very peaceful environment without seeing what the Keepers thought would be seen today. Later we realised the two orphans just wanted to be part of the orphans herd today without their wild friends.

Kamili joined Kapei and Amali some distance away from the other babies. Kapei bullied Kamili, which made her return back to where Quanza and Enkesha were standing. Quanza saved Kamili from Kapei, then Zongoloni warned him for good measure. Kapei felt threatened and had to leave the place for his own safety. The older orphans wanted everyone to be at peace with each other and had no time for his nonsense.

Rain that started in the middle of the night and continued into this morning was a big challenge for the Keepers and the orphans as they wondered how they would get out in the rain. It was time for the Keepers to start cleaning the elephants’ rooms after all had got their milk bottles. By the time Murera finished her milk bottle, Mwana was trying to get back into the bedroom under the roof so as not to go out in the rain. Amali also refused to come out.

But greedy Kapei and Makatao, together with the Nairobi girls, Kerrio and her team, walked out and took different directions while the Keepers and Murera were still locked inside the stockade not ready to go out. Kerrio and her team tricked the Keepers to see if they would follow them so that they could walk into Kibwezi Forest together. The trick yielded results, as the Keepers came out and joined Kamili and Latika, then all returned to where Murera and the Keepers wanted them. Everyone then walked out with the orphans all the way to the Kenzili area for the morning browse.

Mwashoti brought Quanza to Lenny because Lenny was not ready to be with his older brother Mwashoti, and Mwashoti was also getting tired of taking care of little Lenny. Mwashoti just wanted a way of leaving Lenny with the nannies to take care of the little babies. Then Mwashoti left to be with Kapei and the other boys.

At the mud bath point, none of the babies went swimming and none wanted to be close to the waterhole because of the rain that made it not possible for the orphans to play in the waterhole. Enkesha joined Kerrio for some consultation, then all the elephants took off back to the forest together with the little babies, and the Keepers had to go after them.

Mwana could not agree with Kapei today on many occasions when Kapei kept trying to mount on her, something he sometimes likes doing to her. Today it was very different and she kept being very defensive, trying to stop Kapei from mounting her. This kind of play continued for a while and Mwana kept resisting, until Enkesha and Kamili decided to join and help save her from the naughty Kapei.

Maktao watched and didn’t stopped Kapei until Enkesha and Kamili came and rescued Mwana from him. When Kapei saw these girls coming to face him for disturbing Mwana, he sensed danger and had to go away and hide in the shrubs around him. Murera just kept quietly watching, because she knew that Enkesha and Kamili would handle the situation.

The elephants went into Kibwezi Forest along the Chyulu Hillsi. While still browsing around the Kenzili area, some elephants came out and from a far distance Ziwa was spotted with his wild family. The Keepers called him and Ziwa just acknowledged the greetings, then left and joined his herd. They were waiting for him very patiently, not leaving him until he was satisfied greeting his former Keepers. His Keepers just waved him goodbye as he was leaving with his friends.

Enkesha and Kamili became close friends and sometimes not friends. Kamili was going for some twig sticks to brush her teeth and Enkesha was also targeting the same stick. When Kamili picked it to her mouth, Enkesha was upset and left for the bushes after Kamili saw it and picked it before Enkesha could have it first.

Amali walked to be with Mwana as her older sister, but Mwana was not in the mood and ignored Amali while she was still waiting at the dust bath to play together. Amali went to the top of the hill, dusting and rubbing her belly.

Latika went to the hill trying to join the other babies on the top, but immediately Kerrio spotted her going to her side. Kerrio then stepped out and took both Latika and Kamili to the bushes for a day break under the shade, following the strong sunshine which had turned the day too hot.

Zongoloni came out today and had issues with Enkesha. She didn’t want to see Enkesha with Zigi. The moment she saw Enkesha trying to get close to her baby Zigi, she would go and chase Enkesha away. When Kiasa got close to Zigi, Zongoloni had no issues and allowed Kiasa to keep on with Zigi. The Keepers watched how Zigi interacted with Kiasa compared to Enkesha, and Zigi looked too happy when he was around Kiasa. He loves Kiasa so much.

Kapei took on his buddy Maktao and a pushing game started. Kapei then turned to pulling Maktao’s tail, but this made Maktao unhappy with Kapei for turning on his tail. This was one of the biggest mistakes Kapei made and it brought a real fight between the two buddies. Mwashoti joined to help by separating Maktao from fighting Kapei.

Lima Lima and her team’s arrival was much welcomed by the Nairobi girls immediately when they spotted them joining the herd. Kerrio and Latika rushed to the babies and welcomed Zigi, Lenny and Sulwe into the herd after spending the night away from home. Kerrio walked the little babies to Mwana and Amali, and Amali was happy to reunite with the little babies whom she loves a lot.

Mwana also left her mother Murera and went to play with Lenny, who climbed onto the dust hill to play. Mwana and Amali joined him. Lenny was excited and mounted on Mwana, then Zigi joined, but he was not welcomed by Lenny to share the dust pile. Zigi opened up to fight for space, but Lenny defeated him, then forced Amali to go for Zigi and took him to where Zongoloni was.

Mwashoti and Enkesha grouped together. Later, Kapei and Maktao planned to join them, but Mwashoti did not trust them to give Enkesha peace. This made Mwashoti push Kapei and Maktao aside to go and browse away and not stay too close with Enkesha. As they were leaving, Kapei picked a stick in his mouth, and a tug-of-war game came up between Kapei and Maktao over the stick.

Fighting broke out between Kapei and a young wild bull who crossed over to where Kapei was with his group. Kapei was not happy with him joining them and demanded to know who he was and why he was there. The young bull defended himself strongly, fighting back and refusing to give in to Kapei’s demands.

When Maktao and Mwashoti sensed that the young bull was not complying, they joined in to support Kapei. The three boys worked together and eventually overpowered the stranger, chasing him away. He retreated back to his group, which was not seen nearby, and left the orphans.

Kiasa and Enkesha then walked over to where Kamili was with Kerrio and appeared to communicate something to her. Shortly afterwards, the Keepers saw all the babies moving off one by one, leaving the open field. This was because a number of buffalos had moved into the area. Kerrio and her group led the others away, keeping a safe distance from the buffalos.

The orphans came out from the stockades early in the morning, with Kerrio and Murera leading them outside the gate in readiness for the new day. As they came out, Lima Lima and her team came running from the bushes, with everyone competing to get pellets on time.

Sonje and Enkesha did not arrive on time. They came later and found Murera and Lima Lima had already left with the group towards Kenzili area. Sonje and Enkesha followed their scent and successfully traced them, finding them having fun on an anthill. Mwashoti and Kiasa pulled down an acacia branch to feed on, and Lenny and Zigi took advantage by feeding on what the bigger elephants had pulled down.

A male bushbuck called, and the sound was like a dog barking nearby. This startled the elephants, who had been peacefully feeding. Lima Lima left, and Sonje ran away with her baby, Sulwe. Murera also became uneasy and left, and soon everyone was running towards the Keepers, who were unsure what had caused the panic.

The Keepers then guided the orphans away towards Chyulu to relocate to a safer area. Mwana and Amali gathered the little babies. Maktao tried to approach Mwana while she was with Sulwe, but Mwana ignored him and moved away with Sulwe towards Sonje, knowing Maktao might disturb their peace.

Two male bushbucks came running towards Kerrio and Kamili when the two babies were busy browsing inside the Kibwezi Forest. When Kerrio sensed the bushbucks running in their direction, she stopped and charged, trying to defend herself together with Kamili. Kamili rblew her trumpet as she prepared to charge at them. This made the male bushbucks divert to the other side of the forest, as everyone moved to a safer side. Kerrio took her position with Kamili, and the bushbucks also took different directions for everyone to remain safe.

The trumpeting by Kerrio and Kamili attracted Kapei and Enkesha, and they all headed to join the bigger orphan herd. Sonje rushed to where Kerrio was with the other babies and put her trunk around Kerrio as a way of calming her down and reassuring her not to worry about the bushbucks, who were only fighting over females.

The elephants took a walk towards Kenzili in the morning, with the Keepers following behind them. Amali became very playful, charging at shrubs and chasing butterflies that were flying around, although she could not catch any. Maktao and his friend Kapei joined Amali in loud trumpeting.

From behind the tall bushes, the Keepers heard other elephants responding with trumpets, as if answering Amali and her friends. Amali moved deeper into the bushes to check who they were. Before the Keepers could see them, Amali came back running, accompanied by Enkesha and Quanza, who had not been seen the previous day. Amali had found them and brought them back to the Keepers. Soon after, Zongoloni and Sonje also appeared, although the whole team was not yet together with Murera and her group.

Today the Umani orphans were a full house, and it was a very joyful day for all. Amali and Kerrio spent time playing with the little babies, including Lenny, Sulwe, and Zigi, who all looked healthy and happy.

A disagreement came up between Kapei and his ally, Maktao, over a tail-touching incident. Kapei was walking in a tight space between the elephants and did not want to get close to Murera out of fear. He turned back and grabbed Maktao’s tail. The moment Maktao felt his tail had been grabbed, he took it as a sign of disrespect and turned to push Kapei away in the direction where Sonje was with Quanza. The two females showed no mercy, and Kapei was chased away by Sonje, leaving him distressed. He later went to Lenny for comfort, as none of the girls wanted to accommodate him due to his behaviour towards Maktao, which had not pleased anyone.

At the Kenzili area, monkeys were on top of a tree making noise while Enkesha and Kiasa were relaxing underneath. When the noise intensified, Kiasa was the first to move away in a hurry, followed by Enkesha. The herd did not settle under that tree, and Zongoloni and Lima Lima ordered all the babies to leave the area.

This afternoon, Enkesha and Kiasa put their heads together as if in deep thought, which made the Keepers wonder what the two nannies were consulting about. After a few minutes, they were seen walking towards Zigi, leading us to think they were discussing their roles and how best to look after the little one, especially as Sulwe had followed her mother.

Kerrio and Kamili later joined them when Lima Lima and Sonje returned to the herd. Kiasa remained close to Zongoloni to continue caring for Zigi, while Zongoloni was busy pulling down a heavy branch to feed alongside her companions.

Nearby, Mwashoti had a disagreement with Maktao when Maktao followed him into the bushes. Mwashoti tried to stop him from coming along, and when Maktao resisted, he pulled Mwashoti’s tail. This angered Mwashoti, who reacted by forcing Maktao away. Maktao then went to join Kapei, who welcomed him as an ally.

Kapei later tried to play with Amali, but Murera did not approve. She chased him away, keeping Amali close to her and Mwana.