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Sadly we lost one of the little tiny babies today and somehow, Tamiyoi seemed to sense that. Even though the main herd was so far away from the baby group, she left the older herd and walked all the way over to be with the babies and pat them with her trunk. Despite her young age it is amazing to see how elephants know when others are in need and are so caring. Tamiyoi herself went through a very ill phase so she might only know too well how nice it is to have another elephant to comfort and console the other. When she arrived the keepers thought of taking her back to where the main herd were, but with the way in which she arrived the keepers decided to allow her to stay awhile. In the end she had a really wonderful time with the babies and her company seemed to lift the spirits of the little ones. She eventually left in her own time, back to the rest of the herd. Ndiwa is very fond of the milk formula but she has not quite got the right timing of the feeding hour and is often too early! She decided that the keepers were late in letting her go to the mud bath and went down to join Godoma’s group before it was her time. When she reached the mud bath area she went directly to the wheelbarrow and started to demand her milk bottle. After she finished her bottle she played with Godoma’s group and when their time was up there, she led them back to the forest. Later on just before 3pm, Ndiwa again but this time accompanied by Enkesha, snuck away but clever Ndotto must have spotted them from a distance and he went ahead of Ndiwa to blocked her path to the mud bath. Enkesha somehow managed to dodge Ndotto and went to the stockades calling for milk! She was heard by some keepers in the milk mixing area and was taken back to the forest to wait until the proper feeding time at 3pm.

As Ukame and Wanjala were moved back to stockades on the other side last night, Ambo and Malima also moved stables as well. Ambo is always an easy going boy and does not mind any change to his sleeping quarters so long as a keeper is around. Malima however was very upset with the change and she had rather a sleepless night, hitting at the wall that separated her and Ambo. She didn’t close her eyes all night and seemed very relieved in the morning when her door was opened. As a result she spent the rest of the day looking very tired and hardly playing with the others at all. Tamiyoi is very fond of the babies and is still very happy to have a young baby as her neighbour and she spent last night sleeping next to the wall to be close to the little one. She hung her trunk over the bar of her stockade into his when she went to sleep. Jotto and Tamiyoi has a good time this morning out in the forest and engaged each other in a pushing game that lasted until 9 o’clock in the morning! Enkesha seems to enjoy dipping her wounded trunk into the mud and it must be soothing for her. No matter how cold it is this girl will always get into the mud bath. Today she went into the water with her fellow mud-loving friend Malima and they submerged themselves deep under, swimming right up until the end of their visiting time.

It was a very wet beginning of the day for the orphans when going out to the forest today. It was already drizzling by the time they came out of their pens and the babies separated into two groups. Some decided to go deeper into the forest to find shelter under the trees as they browsed and another group, led by Mbegu and Ndotto, decided to keep themselves warm another way by climbing and rolling on top of the piles of soil and on each other. After awhile watching them, Tamiyoi and Kuishi decided to join them on the soil pile. They were very happy sliding down the backs of Mbegu and Ndotto who were the two biggest there. The rest of the smaller group were happy playing in their own pairs. Tagwa and Ambo were enjoying a pushing game whilst Esampu and Godoma were engaged in a game of ‘chase’. Godoma was chasing Esampu and trying to catch her hind legs and tail. Ngilai took on Luggard in a wrestling game but was very gentle with the boy with a bad leg and did not play too rough like he usually does. After a long time of playing, Mbegu led her small team under a big tree. On the ground beneath there were many wild fruits that had fallen and all the elephants were very busy trying to eat as many of them as they could. At the mud bath milk feeding today it was still chilly and none of the orphans wanted to go into the mud bath; that was of course except for Enkesha who can’t leave the mud bathing area without going in at least once! Kelelari was the only one that went in from the second group though and all the others just watched him from the edges. The lorry-training is still going on for those that are moving to Ithumba but only Wanjala, Dupotto and Kelelari are showing good signs and Galla, Ukame and Karisa need a bit more convincing, and still do not get very close to the lorry!

It was a very dull and cold day today which put all the orphans in a gloomy mood. Since his moving lorry training has begun, Karisa gets very nervous when the herd begins to separate so that he and his older friends can go and have their milk in the lorry, so they get used to it. He starts running all over the place and sometimes hides in the bushes before rejoining all the orphans when the others have returned. Today he vanished even before the others went to the lorry, along with Enkesha and Ndiwa. We knew this was because he knew the lorry training was coming and when the keepers went to look for him when that was done, they found the three happily browsing in the thick bushes.

Poor Enkesha’s healing trunk has been bothering her recently and with lots of puddles formed by the rain, she has been running from one to the other and dipping her trunk into the refreshing water. Other times she is shaking or rubbing it on the ground to itch her healing wound and sadly only with time will this improve. Maramoja, Ukame and Malkia seem as if to understand her situation and the three girls follow her whenever she is distracted by her itchy trunk just to keep her company. There was very funny entertainment during the public visit today from Jotto and Tamiyoi again as this duo continue to play their funny games. Right after finishing their milk they decided to have fun in front of the public, running and wrestling with each other as the visitors cheered them on; the others were just busy feeding on the greenery laid out for them! Today to lift the spirits of the babies Mbegu, Esampu and Jotto went to play with them with a football which is wonderful for their development and coordination. To begin with they ran away from the ball but we know that with time and practice they will catch up.