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Despite the cool and cloudy morning, the orphans padded happily out of their stockades at first light. They stood quietly in small groups and then walked up the path past Maxwell’s stockade and out to the forest.

It has poured with rain in the past few days and the forest was awash with water. After browsing for a time on clumps of soft green grass, some paddled while others splashed or drank from the pools of standing water. The herd stayed close together this morning, rather than spreading out with some heading off to explore and others staying by the Keepers.

Tytan and Notty followed the elephants out to the forest an hour or so later. They settled to graze together quite close to the stockades. When Tytan lay down for a nap, Notty rested on her feet next to him. Both animals are thriving – Tytan’s horn is becoming larger and Notty is becoming taller.

As usual, the elephants visited the mud bath in the afternoon for another milk feed. No one went swimming on a cloudy day and they soon headed back to the bush. While Pardamat and Olomunyak played yet another round of the pushing game, Talek and Wamata rubbed their sides against trees, and Mzinga, Nyambeni and Taroha rolled around in a patch of thick mud.

This morning in the forest, Talek was delighted to be left on her own with Kipekee! When Muridjo and Mzinga went off to explore, Kipekee made no move to follow them and neither did Talek. The two younger girls browsed calmly next to the Keepers until their big sisters returned. Talek has become a caring elephant but always defers to the older girls.

While the others continued to browse in small groups, Arthi sneaked back to the stockades. The naughty boy sprinted down the path and in and out of the stockades in search of leftover pellets (which he loves even more than lucerne). One Keeper was not enough to send him back to the herd – it took three of us to corner Arthi and shepherd him away from the tasty treats!

Later in the morning, the orphans visited the mud wallow. They padded down the path in groups of two or three, drank their milk and spread out around the wallow. With the older elephants watching on, Olomunyak and Kipekee paddled on the edge, slapping water along their sides. Little Kipekee feels safe with big brother Olomunyak. Afterwards the two orphans lay down on the mound of soil next to Taroha and Wamata for a soothing dust bath.

The sun was shining this morning and the elephants headed straight out to a forest full of lush green browse and rainwater puddles. Alia settled to browse with Daba and Taroha in a clearing while Arthi, Wamata and Kipekee splashed in a puddle and sucked up trunkfuls of water – there is no need to drink from water troughs at present as the forest is full of water.

As usual, Tytan and Notty visited the mud wallow before the elephants. They drank their milk, completed a lap around the wallow and stopped on the mound of dry soil. Tytan rubbed his horn on the ground and lay down for a dust bath while Notty stood next to him. When it was time to return to the forest, Notty led Tytan and their two Keepers back up the path.

The elephants took their place. They drank their milk and settled to browse on supplementary lucerne. No one went swimming today as many were already wet from playing in puddles in the forest. They hosed themselves with dry soil and ambled back to continue browsing in the forest.

Later in the afternoon, the orphans returned to the stockades and settled in their rooms for the night. Kipekee was in a playful mood and kept stretching her tiny trunk over her stable half-door!

This morning in the forest, Pardamat went exploring, leading Mzinga, Nyambeni and Muridjo deep into the woods (although they returned in good time for the next milk feed). While they were away, Taroha stayed close to Daba, Alia, Talek and Kipekee. He browsed within sight of the other four and wandered over to check on them regularly. Taroha is an unusual bull who likes to look after smaller, weaker elephants.

Not far away, several orphans were playing in a large patch of thick mud, rubbing faces and bellies and climbing on and off each other. Olomunyak rolled on his back and Wamata even allowed little Arthi to play mount her head!

When we whistled to the herd, indicating that it was time for another milk feed, they gathered quickly into a group and then Arthi (who loves to lead) led the others along a path in the forest to the mud bath. Just before we reached the wallow, we split them into groups, sending one group down and making the others wait until the Keepers were ready for the next group.  

In the afternoon, Mzinga and Nyambeni had fun chasing impalas. Every time the antelopes tried to graze alongside the orphans, the two girls trumpeted and gave chase. The impalas skipped a few steps away and returned a few minutes later - whereupon the game began again. 

During the night there were thunderstorms and downpours of rain. Upset by the rain, Talek was walking around and pushing against the partitions separating her stockade from those of her neighbours, Pardamat and Mzinga. Daba was also not happy and was walking around, pushing at his door. We had a busy night keeping our herd calm. In the morning, we opened the doors as early as possible so the elephants could be out of their stockades and with each other.

They wandered out to the forest and settled to browse. Older elephants like Mzinga and Nyambeni stood tall and stretched their trunks up high to pull down branches from trees while younger ones like Alia and Arthi kept their heads down and twisted up clumps of grass.

While the others continued browsing, Olomunyak and Pardamat played the pushing game. The two boys pushed backwards and forwards in the mud in an evenly-matched contest of strength. Olomunyak may be a few months younger but he is very determined and has the advantage over Pardamat of a small pair of tusks.

The remainder of the day was uneventful. The herd visited the mud bath for milk feeds, explored the forest and returned to the stockades later in the afternoon.

Last night, there were more thunderstorms and more unhappy elephants. Most of the older ones were fine but not the three in the row of stables at the bottom. Wamata, Kipekee and Daba were trumpeting and pushing their doors and climbing their partitions. Mzinga and Muridjo responded to their distress by rumbling and rumbling to the three younger elephants - but they did not calm down until the rain stopped.

Amid a drizzle of rain, the herd walked out from the stockades in a long and straggly line. They settled to browse in the forest, remaining close together until the day became warmer. After filling their bellies, Nyambeni, Mzinga, Pardamat, Talek and Olomunyak began playing in the many pools of muddy rainwater. They splashed water with their trunks and Mzinga lay down in the mud and allowed the others to play all over her.

In the afternoon, while Tytan and Notty were grazing in the forest, a wild zebra approached the two friends. Tytan ignored her but Notty was very interested. Our little zebra began nudging and chasing the adult female. The two zebras played for a long time before the wild zebra disappeared and Notty settled down next to Tytan again.

Alia is well. This morning in the forest, she was browsing with the herd rather than on her own. Our new girl was in a relaxed mood, twisting up clumps of browse, playfully putting them on her head, and knocking them off again. She is also becoming more friendly towards the Keepers and is choosing to approach them with trunk aloft in greeting.

Our big boys and girls were sticking together this morning. Mzinga, Taroha, Pardamat and Talek were enjoying a laidback browsing session which involved rubbing their sides against trees between mouthfuls of branches pulled down from the trees. They are such good friends that that they were even putting their trunks into each other’s mouths to pinch tasty greens.

Tytan and Notty like to keep their distance from the herd of elephants. After filling their bellies today, they lay down in the dappled sunshine for a rest and then stood up to graze some more. Tytan kept rubbing his horn – which is growing quickly - against the ground.

In the afternoon, the herd stayed close to the stockades. They browsed in a large group with occasional breaks for games and soil dusting. A herd of impalas was grazing not far from them in the forest. In contrast to most days, when at least one orphan would give chase to the antelopes, today they co-existed peacefully. The impalas did not get close to the elephants - and the elephants ignored the impalas.

As the orphans were rumbling and entwining trunks outside the stockades, Pardamat and Olomunyak began an early morning wrestling match. The two bulls pushed heads backwards and forwards and then broke apart to catch up with the herd as they padded up the path.

Out in the forest, the herd settled to browse. Muridjo was looking after Kipekee while Nyambeni and Mzinga were with Daba and Arthi. While Daba twisted up greens next to Mzinga, Arthi was chucking clumps of grass onto his head and knocking them off again. After browsing for a time, Taroha enjoyed a lengthy face massage, rubbing the underside of his trunk back and forth against a dry patch of ground.

Later in the morning, the orphaned elephants drank their milk and spread out around the mud wallow. Only Taroha climbed into the pool, squatted on his backside and leant his fore legs against the edge, while Talek and Mzinga splashed water with their trunks and the others browsed on supplementary lucerne.

In the afternoon, the herd stayed close rather than wandering off in groups. They clustered under the shade of trees quite close to the stockades before padding back for the night.

On their way out to the forest this morning, Mzinga and Talek stopped off to greet Maxwell. While the rhino stood very still on one side of the gate, the two elephants stretched their trunks through the gaps and laid them over his head. After a minute or two, they ran on to catch up with the herd and Maxwell went back to grazing on pellets with his warthog friends.

The sun was shining today as the herd wandered around browsing and playing in the forest. With Muridjo keeping an eye on them, Kipekee and Daba browsed next to each other and rubbed their backsides against trees. Meanwhile, Mzinga snuck off back to the stockades in search of leftover pellets. She only had time to nip in and out of two stables before we rounded up our headstrong girl and sent her back to join the herd.  

In the afternoon, the herd settled around a large pool of rainwater in the forest, interspersing bouts of browsing with paddling in or drinking from the pool. Wamata and Talek spent more time paddling than browsing, splashing water in every direction, while Pardamat and Nyambeni played several rounds of the pushing game.

Tytan and Notty were full of energy this morning. At first, they browsed quietly in the forest but then Notty became skittish and started running up and down and round and about. Tytan joined her game and soon both were careering through the bushes for no reason at all! The game carried on until Notty ran into Wamata and Talek behind some bushes. The little zebra got a fright but the elephants got a much bigger fright. They trumpeted and ran with trunks aloft, upsetting the rest of the herd. It took us a long time to calm down 12 elephants, one zebra and one rhino!

As usual the elephants visited the mud bath later in the morning for a milk feed. Each group of two or three drank their milk and moved on the wallow. Except for Arthi and Alia! They were in the third group and, instead of walking on, they went to the wheelbarrow in the hope of pinching an extra bottle. We were happy to see them both, but especially Alia, being naughty – as a confident elephant is generally a happy elephant.

Later in the afternoon, the orphans gathered around a pool of standing water in the forest. No one lay down in the enormous puddle but many paddled and splashed in the water. The older orphans stood in the middle with the younger ones around the edges.

This morning, Arthi led the herd through the forest with Taroha bringing up the rear. The dominant bull was guarding the herd and making sure that no one wandered away. Later in the morning, Taroha was being a discipline master. He is very caring to the others but he also tells them off when they misbehave. When Daba tried to push Kipekee for no reason, Taroha stepped in to protect the little girl. When Olomunyak tried exactly the same trick with Alia, Taroha came to the rescue of the weaker elephant again and pushed away the naughty bull.

The orphans soon reached a clearing in the forest and spread out to browse. Today, Pardamat was on his best behaviour. He was drinking from the puddles and hosing his body with dry soil and looking after the younger orphans. Rather than pushing Arthi or Daba, he was trunk touching them gently while they picked up pieces of browse.

In the afternoon, the elephants ran down the path back to the stockades as they knew that bottles of milk and warm dry stables were waiting. Talek is still a very careful drinker who rarely spills a drop whereas Daba is a messy drinker who dribbles and Arthi is a greedy boy who drinks so quickly! 

The herd stood in a cluster in the forest this morning, sheltering under the trees while it drizzled with rain. When the rain eased, the orphans spread out to browse and to play. Soon Taroha and Pardamat were playing the pushing game. Several rounds later, Nyambeni joined the game and Pardamat wandered away.

Meanwhile, mini matriarch Muridjo continued browsing close to Daba, Alia, Kipekee and Arthi. As the youngest orphans in the herd, Daba and Kipekee are becoming good friends but also have regular squabbles. When this happens, Muridjo intervenes immediately, usually to protect Kipekee.

Later in the morning, Mzinga and Arthi tried to sneak back to the stockades for whatever extra treats they could find. Today, however, they were not successful as we intercepted them before they padded down the path and sent back two disgruntled elephants to the forest. Arthi may be greedy but he is a calm obedient boy who does as he is told by the Keepers. Mzinga is greedy and not so obedient. She will happily ignore the Keepers and continue doing exactly what she wants!

In the afternoon, Wamata and Alia were browsing in a clearing when a group of impalas emerged from the bushes. The two elephants lifted their heads but made no move to chase the antelopes – in contrast to most days when the orphans love chasing away impalas.

It rained again in the night. Even though the morning was cool and overcast, Notty was in a hurry to get out of her stable. She ran out and straight to Tytan’s stable to touch his head with her head through the gaps in the gate. Tytan marched out of his room and ran at the Keepers in a mock charge. Then Tytan and Notty led their Keepers out to the forest. When they were younger, the Keepers often led them but nowadays the rhino and the zebra usually lead their Keepers wherever they want to go in the forest. On some days, the animals run ahead and then come back to check on the human beings.

In the afternoon, the elephants visited the mud bath for a milk feed and returned to the forest to continue browsing and playing. Mzinga, Nyambeni and Kipekee were playing on a patch of dry soil, rubbing their sides against the ground and each other. The two older girls lay on their sides while Kipekee thought about climbing on to their torsos. Not far away, tolerant Taroha was allowing Talek to rest her bulk on him. She straddled the older bull and twisted up a couple of mouthfuls of browse while relaxing on his belly.

On their way back to the forest in the morning, the elephants walked into several male impalas who were fighting. When a defeated male ran at the elephants, they got a big surprise and ran in all directions. Some ran for the stockades, others ran for the Keepers and a couple disappeared into the bushes. It took some time to calm the trumpeting elephants and gather them into a herd again.

Even when the forest floor is covered with lush grasses and plants, elephants also like to browse on tasty branches. They will twist up clumps of grasses for a time but soon the taller ones will be stretching up to yank branches off trees. In the afternoon, Muridjo, Nyambeni, Mzinga and Wamata were browsing tall, standing on tiptoes with their trunks sticking straight up. Wamata is not quite as tall as the others and so could not reach the top branches – so she came up with an ingenious solution of putting her trunk into their mouths while they were stretching up high!

The remainder of the day was peaceful. The orphans browsed and soil dusted until it was time to return to the stockades for the night. Arthi led the first group down the path and Taroha tagged along at the end of the last group.

When Daba was first rescued, he was a quiet boy but, as he becomes stronger, he is changing. This morning in the forest, he was so playful, reminding us of Muridjo when she was younger. The little bull ran through the bushes with ears flapping and head shaking. He was mock charging the bushes while trumpeting in excitement. After lots of playing, Daba went back to browsing with Mzinga, Alia and Wamata.

Muridjo is harder on Arthi than on Daba or Kipekee. The young bull gets told off even for minor misdemeanours. Today, when Arthi and Wamata were playing at the mud bath, she told off Arthi when he play mounted Wamata! If it had been Daba or Kipekee, the mini matriarch would probably have let Wamata sort out the situation rather than being so protective!

In the afternoon, it began raining while the herd was browsing in the forest. Although some sheltered under the trees, several elephants had fun playing on a large patch of mud. Olomunyak, Mzinga and Talek lay on their bellies and rolled around in the mud together while Kipekee massaged her bottom against them. After rubbing her backside against Mzinga’s head, she decided to massage herself against a tree. Kipekee loves massages!

This morning in the forest, as the others browed around them, Arthi and Olomunyak began trumpeting and charging with ears flared. They had spotted a lioness lying in the bushes watching a group of impalas. Their reaction spread among the herd and soon all the elephants were upset. Quickly, we shepherded them away from the lioness to a different area of the forest where they soon calmed down.

Alia is less shy and becoming stronger, but she still likes to wander away by herself. In the afternoon, she walked off and we found her browsing happily in a clearing some time later. When we whistled, Alia quietly followed us back to join the herd. Mzinga was being very protective of Alia again today. When Nyambeni tried to pinch her bottle of milk, Mzinga stuck up for Alia and put her best friend in her place.

Later in the afternoon, Kipekee led the others into a pool of standing water in the forest. The little girl walked in first with Talek, Muridjo, Daba, Mzinga and Wamata following her into the muddy puddle. Mzinga and Kipekee lay in the mud while the others splashed around them. 

Independent Alia sneaked away from the herd again this morning. Today, however, rather than heading into the bush, she went to the mud wallow where she browsed on supplementary greens while waiting for the rest of the herd to arrive. As soon as Alia heard the first group padding down the path, she ran to the wheelbarrow and demanded her bottles. After drinking her milk, she went back to enjoying lucerne.

Mzinga is a very influential female within the herd. Whatever she is doing, many of her peers always want to join. Mzinga starts activities and brings them to an end. In the afternoon, she led the team for a lengthy mud bath in the forest. When the elephants arrived at the mud wallow for the next milk feed, they were all covered in thick dark mud. None of them paddled in the wallow as they had already wallowed in the forest. Mzinga is definitely a leader!

Later in the day, Taroha, Pardamat and Olomunyak played a pushing and wrestling game in the forest. Pardamat and Olomunyak paired up to challenge Taroha who stood his ground very well. The dominant bull would not back down, so eventually the two challengers gave up and went back to browsing.

At first light on a cool wet morning, we opened the doors and the orphans wandered out of their stockades. Mzinga, Muridjo, Nyambeni, Taroha and Talek were already out when Kipekee wandered out of her stable. The naughty girl began trumpeting for no reason and the five elephants gathered around her.

Muridjo, the mini matriarch, asserted her authority and shepherded the baby up the path with the other four following in her wake. She led the herd far into the forest this morning with Taroha and Alia bringing up the rear.

Later in the morning, after browsing in the bush, the orphans visited the mud bath for a milk feed. No one paddled in the pool as it was an overcast day but many played on the mound of muddy soil. Olomunyak and Taroha rolled around, covering every part of themselves with mud. When the boys walked away, Muridjo, Talek and Wamata took their place.

In the afternoon, besties Nyambeni and Mzinga were being assertive in different ways. Nyambeni was trying (unsuccessfully) to grab a bottle from Olomunyak while Mzinga was defending Alia from Arthi. She stood next to Alia until the younger girl had finished both bottles so the naughty boy could not spoil her peace.

This morning, the orphans were in a hurry to head out to the lush green forest. Just after dawn, we remove the poles from the barrier on the way out from the stockades. The poles are in place from dusk to prevent wild animals like buffaloes from wandering into the stockades during the night. Today, before we had a chance to pull away the poles, Muridjo was there at the gate. She kept pushing and pulling the poles in an effort to move them so that she could lead the others to the forest.

Muridjo is strong and clever but even she had to give up after a long struggle and wait for the Keepers. By the time the Keepers arrived at the gate, almost everyone was there, apart from Arthi who was hiding behind the store looking for extra pellets!

We rounded up Arthi and opened the gate and all the elephants ran out led by Muridjo and Mzinga amid lots of trumpeting. Even Alia was full of energy this morning. When several impalas approached the herd as they browsed, it was Alia who chased them away.

After filling their bellies, the herd gathered around a pile of dry soil in the bush. Some were hosing themselves with dust while others play mounted each other. Pardamat, Nyambeni, Taroha and Olomunyak engaged in a wrestling game until it was time for another milk feed.

It is very common for young bull elephants to mimic older bulls. In the past few days, Pardamat has not allowed Alia to settle to browse in peace. The pushy bull keeps chasing the shy girl around and trying to mount her. This morning, younger bulls Arthi and Olomunyak were copying Pardamat’s bad behaviour.

Early in the morning, Pardamat started chasing Alia. We intervened immediately to protect the younger elephant and see off the older one. But Pardamat is determined and he did not stop pestering her until Nyambeni took charge and drove him away into the bushes. Alia browsed peacefully for just a short time and then Arthi and Olomunyak started taking in in turns to approach her. Having had enough, Alia stood her ground with Arthi, fought back and got rid of him. When Olomunyak then tried again, Mzinga came running over followed by Muridjo. To protect Alia, the two females pushed and kicked Olomunyak and forced him away into the bushes to join Pardamat.

The boys had got the message loud and clear and stayed away from the others until it was time for another milk feed. They played a wrestling game and then rolled over and around each other in the long grass. Taroha and Talek joined in their dusting game and the four orphans had lots of fun.

What a night of pouring rain. It started early before the 9AM milk feed and the rain was so heavy that some of the orphans would not drink their milk. Arthi, Taroha, Alia and Olomunyak stood at the back of their stockades and would not venture into the open area for their bottles until the rain eased.

In the morning, it was still drizzling but the elephants were excited to get out of their rooms and go to the forest. Daba used to be a quiet boy but now is he is learning wrestling skills from cheeky boy Pardamat. Today, the two bulls had some good times together. Pardamat was teaching Daba well, being careful not to knock him over, and Daba was happy to play with the older bull. When some impalas and baboons came close, the boys had fun chasing them away.

There was a drama today when two hyenas walked past the herd as they were browsing. Muridjo, Taroha, Mzinga, Nyambeni and Talek went wild. The five elephants were trumpeting and running after the hyenas, who disappeared into the bushes and probably regretted getting close to the orphans! 

Arthi took his time this morning before heading out to the forest. On the way up the path, he stopped off at Maxwell’s gate. Max was with the warthogs who had arrived very early before the babies came out of their stockades. The rhino was chasing the pigs around his enclosure – until Arthi interrupted the game by head butting his gate. Max stopped running and walked over to greet Arthi. The elephant pushed and pulled the gate while laying his trunk over the blind rhino’s head. After a few minutes, Arthi ran on to catch up with the herd and Max settled to graze on pellets with the warthogs.

For a change the sun was shining today and the orphans were in playful moods. After browsing for a short time, Pardamat and Olomunyak began a wrestling match that carried on until it was time to visit the mud wallow for a milk feed.

At the wallow, Wamata was being such a show off. She was rolling around on the loose soil spraying clouds of dust into the air. Olomunyak soon joined her and the two friends tumbled together on the ground until Mzinga spoiled the game by lying down between them – sometimes three elephants is a crowd!

Taroha has visited Maxwell in the mornings since he was a small boy living in a stable. While the others wandered straight out to the forest, he liked to stop off at Max’s gate to greet the rhino. He still stops off on his way out. This morning, while Daba, Kipekee, Nyambeni, Wamata and Mzinga gathered at Tytan’s gate, Taroha and Talek went to see Max. Talek did not stay long as Max was giving attention to Taroha rather than to her. But Taroha stayed for a long time and, when he finally left, Max ran up and down the edge of his enclosure as he did not want the elephant to go.

We are happy when Kipekee is busy at the mud wallow, either in the muddy pool or on the pile of dry soil. This is because her behaviour is unpredictable with strangers and so we have to watch her carefully if she is not busy playing. This morning, Wamata, Talek and Kipekee were soil dusting together when Wamata made the mistake of play mounting the baby. Kipekee screamed and Mzinga and Nyambeni came running over. Poor old Talek got told off by Nyambeni for not looking after Kipekee properly while Mzinga checked on the little girl.

Later in the afternoon, we sent Arthi, Kipekee, Wamata and Alia back to the stockades in one group. Kipekee and Arthi were racing but Kipekee was not playing fair. When Arthi tried to overtake her, she screamed so loudly that he held back and she arrived at the stockades first!

It was a happy morning for the elephants were full of excitement. While we were opening the gates and the elephants were ambling out of their rooms soon after dawn, Pardamat and Wamata were playing a lengthy pushing game. The naughty boy was being very gentle with Wamata, treating her like his younger sister. The game continued all the way out to the forest.

The orphans browsed for a time and then began playing when the sun came out. Olomunyak was being a show off - the most playful boy in the herd wanted to prove to the others that he was the star boy! As the others played in twos or threes, he strode around interrupting all the games.

First, he started a pushing game with Mzinga, showing her how good he was at wrestling. When Taroha came over to play with Mzinga, he refused to let them go and instead took on both at the same time. Olomunyak pushed one in one direction and then the other in another direction.

Watching on from a distance, Nyambeni abandoned Talek and Kipekee to join the three older ones. Still Olomunyak carried on and challenged all three orphans! Alia was the only one not playing, but she did stay with the herd rather than wander away by herself.

After the orphans walked out of their rooms and as many were busy greeting each other, Mzinga and Nyambeni headed down to Kipekee’s stable to wait for her. The little girl walked out and the two big girls began challenging each other about who would lead Kipekee out to the forest. Mzinga blocked Nyambeni from getting to Kipekee and then Nyambeni blocked Mzinga and so on. The tussle for the baby carried on up the path and out into the field.

When Muridjo saw what was going on, she took charge! She made the two protective and caring girls surrender the little spoiled naughty girl. Muridjo whisked Kipekee away and Mzinga and Nyambeni settled to browse.

Tytan and Notty followed the herd out from the stockades and settled in the field. Tytan was full of energy today. He had a moment of running playfully through the bushes and chasing his Keeper. After the play chase, Tytan lay down to rub his body against the ground while his Keeper covered him in soil.

Later in the morning at the mud wallow, all the orphans were calm. There was no mud bathing or soil bathing or dusting. All were busy feeding on greens. Kipekee and Daba – who have become good friends – had a tussle over a branch. Daba had picked out a tasty branch from the pile and was about to put it in his mouth when Kipekee grabbed it and ran for cover. She made a beeline for Muridjo, Mzinga and Nyambeni and stood between them with her prize, knowing that she was out of Daba’s reach!

This morning in the forest, polite Alia had the special company of Arthi and Pardamat. Bulls are less protective and caring than female elephants but today the two boys were being very kind to her. Rather than play mounting the gentle quiet girl who prefers to keep to herself and often walks behind the others, Arthi and Pardamat walked quietly next to Alia. Pardamat can be a bully but not today. Shy Alia is slowly making friends and learning to trust the other orphans.

Notty was being very funny today at the mud wallow. After she and Tytan had their milk feeds, Tytan went to stand between two Keepers. When Notty saw this, she walked away from the rope cordon and tried to block the Keepers from being close to the rhino. She even kicked with her back legs when a Keeper came close to Tytan. Notty was behaving as if she was a baby rhino too who did not want human beings getting close to her friend!

After the orphans had their mid-morning milk feed, Wamata, Kipekee, Daba, Arthi and Talek had fun climbing on the heap of soil and sliding down. Kipekee and Daba were play climbing on Talek’s belly and sliding off and climbing up again.

In the morning, the orphans settled to browse peacefully and calmly out in the field. None of them were showing off game plays. Individuals like Taroha, Pardamat and Olomunyak who are fond of engaging in wrestling games in the early mornings were busy browsing.

At milk feeding times at the mud wallow, Pardamat is often sent down last in the last group due to his bullying character. Today he was the only one in the last group and this made him annoyed. He ran down the path for his milk, headbutting whoever he met along the way to the wheelbarrow. When he found Arthi and Wamata posing next to the wheelbarrow, he pushed them out of the way and chased Wamata away before turning back for his milk.

Later in the day, back at the wallow, Muridjo, Taroha, Mzinga, Nyambeni, Pardamat, Talek and Olomunyak had no interest in feeding on the supplementary greens but were busy playing on the heap of soil. Taroha, Pardamat and Olomunyak were doing their best to play mount either Muridjo or Mzinga or Nyambeni every time one of them lay down. Olomunyak and Pardamat were competing for the prize of climbing on Mzinga and kept pushing each other off her back.

When Tytan and Notty walked out of their stockades this morning, they found Maxwell posing at the gate of his enclosure. As soon as Tytan smelled and saw Max at his gate, he ran back to his stockade with Notty following him. Max sensed Tytan running back, spun around and sprayed urine through his gate and along the fence leading to the forest. He was sending a signal to Tytan (his urine has hormone levels that indicate the age and sex of the owner) to back off his territory. Only when the Keepers tempted Max away from his gate with sugar cane would Tytan and Notty walk up the path past his enclosure.

Later in the morning, many of the elephants enjoyed mud bathing with Muridjo, Kipekee, Daba, Mzinga and Nyambeni leading the rest into the pool. Mzinga, Nyambeni and Talek were being very caring and they secured some space for Kipekee and Daba to enjoy wallowing without being disturbed by boys like Pardamat and Olomunyak who cannot resist play climbing on wallowing elephants. Amazingly, the three girls watched over them until the two little ones had safely walked out of the mud pool. Female elephants are caring and protective of young ones even from a young age – as two of the girls are just four years old and the third is three.

After the orphans settled out into the field in the morning, Kipekee had a moment of play climbing on Muridjo and Talek when the big girls rolled around on the ground. The little girl climbed onto the mini matriarch and playfully slid down against her. Kipekee did this again and again while Muridjo lay patiently on her side.

During the next milk feed, Olomunyak held Pardamat hostage! Several Keepers send the elephants down in groups to other Keepers waiting with their bottles. The orphans run through the forest when they know it is time for milk. This morning, the Keepers with the milk soon realised that the two bulls had not arrived. When they walked along the route, they came across a stand-off with Olomunyak blocking Pardamat on the path!

Later in the day at the mud wallow, it was a two-elephant show! Only Mzinga and Taroha climbed into the wallow today. The two friends paddled and splashed and rolled in the mud. When Taroha submerged his body in the middle, cheeky Mzinga sat on top of him. Meanwhile, Talek, Nyambeni, Muridjo, Olomunyak and Pardamat stood in a line along the edge, spraying mud along their sides and over their feet.

Soon after the orphans settled to browse in the morning, Wamata gave the others a fright when she began running through the bushes trumpeting as if she was charging at something. When no one reacted, she carried on bush bashing. Arthi and Pardamat were the only ones who joined her game. The three chased each other in the forest until Pardamat made the mistake of play mounting Wamata. She came to a halt and walked over to stand next to Mzinga and Muridjo where she knew that Pardamat could not reach her.

Later in the morning, all the orphans enjoyed mud bathing and soil bathing. After drinking their milk, everyone except Alia paddled or splashed in the wallow. They covered themselves with mud and then added a layer of dry soil. As the elephants rolled on the ground, sliding against each other, Pardamat accidentally squeezed his body against little Kipekee. She trumpeted and Muridjo drove Pardamat away from the herd into the bushes. Our kali mama would not allow the naughty boy back until the end of the session. Muridjo is a mini matriarch who does not allow the bulls to misbehave!

In the morning, the orphans settled to browse peacefully in the forest. No one was showing off or playing games. Taroha, Pardamat and Olomunyak were not playing pushing and wrestling games. Although the bulls were not playing, Pardamat and Olomunyak were competing to see who could be first. One browsed ahead of the herd and then other overtook him and browsed ahead and so on.

Taroha has developed a funny habit during milk feeds. He drinks his first bottle and puts it down normally. But when he finishes his second bottle, he walks away with his trunk clasping the bottle and will not give it back to the Keeper! When the Keeper tries, Taroha likes to run away. Several orphans, including Mzinga, Nyambeni and Pardamat, can hold their own bottles but only Taroha runs off with them!

In the afternoon, the elephants had a joyful time mud bathing in a pool of standing rainwater in the forest. Under the watchful eyes of Nyambeni and Talek, Kipekee and Daba kicked off the mud bathing party. They walked into the large pool and everyone else followed except Alia. They rolled and splashed and climbed on and off each other. Only when the others had got out of the pool did timid Alia paddle in for a solitary wallow.