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Ambo was unlucky with his interaction with Maxwell this morning. It is usual for the orphans to spend a bit of time playing with Maxwell through the bars of his stockade before they head out to the forest for the day. This morning there were many of the crowded around his gate and sharing his lucerne. This spot has almost become the orphans’ meeting point when they come out of their stockades. Ambo was very close to the gate and stretching his trunk inside to reach the lucerne. Esampu, Malima, Tagwa, Kuishi and Maramoja were all feeding on the lucerne behind Ambo. By then Maxwell was happy and running around his stockade and pushing on his gate to scare the orphans away, as he could hear them eating his beloved food. At this point Ambo’s trunk accidentally got stuck between Max’s gate and the frame as Max was pushing it. Ambo started screaming and trying to free his trunk and Max got scared and ran away to his bedroom! The other babies present got a fright as well and started running away leaving only Maramoja who was behind Ambo and unsure what to do. Mbegu had gone ahead leading some of the orphans into the forest but when she heard the little boy shouting she came charging back to find out what was wrong with him. Before she got there the keepers were already at the scene to help him and by the time she reached him he was free. Together with Maramoja they hugged him and as Mbegu confirmed that all was well with him they walked out to the forest together. Today Mundusi remembered the days he was brought back to the stockades before the 5pm visit and decided to return back early to have his milk! Ukame and Wanjala were also moved back to the other side of the stockades where the other orphans spent the night which they were very happy with too.

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!

When the whole herd of orphans are together Ambo often does not give room for any other baby to come close to Mbegu. Anyone else that approaches her he will be pushed away by him. Today Malima and Tamiyoi wanted Mbegu’s company but every time they approached her they were wrestled away by Ambo. Rapa has always not been very nice to the new arrivals and today he was picking on Mundusi whenever he came close to him! The keepers always reprimand him for his bad behaviour however. The orphans really love the lucerne pellets and it has become their number two favourite food after the milk formula. During a visit today we wanted to keep all the orphans together and as calm as possible and they were given some of the lucerne pellets in small heaps on the ground. The greedy ones like Ukame, Rapa, Mteto and Esampu went on fighting and pushing each other, wanting a whole pile to themselves. Surprisingly even Ndotto did not want to share with his best friend Lasayen! When he approached to share from the same pile as Ndotto, Ndotto chased him away – the lucerne pellets really are a favourite food amongst all the babies!

Mundusi and Ndiwa are getting on so well with each other, which is very nice to see since Mundusi took a long time to settle down. Often at some stage in the day, they will take a break from the others and go off to browse on their own. Today they did the same thing but the nice thing about these two is that the keepers do not need to go and look for them, they will always find the herd and come back! Today Mbegu, Esampu, Malkia and Tamiyoi went to find the baby herd and it was a wonderful reunion for them all. The little babies only left them when it was 16.30 and their time to return home to their night pens. Finally this evening, with the guidance and company of Mbegu, Karisa entered the truck. Even if it was only half of his body it is a very good step for him! It has taken him a long time to get used to the lorry, perhaps because he arrived at the nursery at an older age and just a few months ago, compared to the others in the group who are completely at ease with their surroundings and with their keepers. Kelelari is in the same boat though and accepted the lorry much better than we thought; it just goes to show all of our orphans are very different.

With the recent rain the warthogs have been grazing alongside the orphans all day, delighted with the grass that is beginning to shoot everywhere. They are very confident they will be safe in the company of the orphans throughout the day. Today Esampu didn’t leave them alone or give them even a minute of peace as some of the babies were with the herd and she did not want to tolerate the warthogs near them too. She charged and trumpeted and followed them into the bushes until she was sure they were gone, only to have the return a few minutes later. Malkia would take advantage of Esampu’s absence when she was chasing the warthogs and get as close to the babies as she could, only to be wrestled away from them when Esampu returned. Ambo gets very jealous when any other babies are around his adopted mother Mbegu. This morning he had gone for a short walk with Ukame, Kelelari, Ndotto, Pare and Lasayen and when he returned he found Mbegu surrounded by the babies. He started trying to push the babies away but Jotto did not like his jealous behaviour. He stood up for the little ones and charged at Ambo, pushing him away from Mbegu. Mbegu intervened and separated the little boys to try and instill some calm to the rest of the afternoon!

Tagwa is such a polite and quiet girl and is not often involved in very boisterous or active games within the family. Compared to the other babies she is the quietest but this morning she was in a very different mood! She engaged Ngilai, Rapa and Murit in a pushing and climbing game and in fact she was the one trying to climb on Murit’s back! Jotto and Tamiyoi are very good friends and in fact they are neighbours back in the stockades too. No matter the mood or the situation they will always try and change the mood of the herd to a happy one. They had such a good time this morning as they engaged in other in a game which lasted for such a long time, right up until they were intercepted by Kuishi who wanted to play with Jotto as well. During the public visit today Esampu was in a very mischievous mood and was fighting and pushing everyone around. Sana Sana, who has always kept an eye on Esampu and her behaviour, was present as well. Esampu was misbehaving near the milk wheelbarrow and was fighting for Malima’s bottle, trying to snatch it from her. Sana Sana saw this and left her own bottle and went to go and sort Esampu out. She grabbed Esampu’s tail from behind and started pushing her in the hind, away from the wheelbarrow and poor Malima. Esampu shouted as she was pushed away but she was put in her place by the older Sana Sana once again! Today’s transportation lorry training went very well and even Karisa accepted his milk bottle inside the lorry at both feeding times, without any difficulty. He seems to be ready along with Dupotto and Kelelari.

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.

The young babies are happy spending their time in the company of the older orphans who are all too happy to have the young babies with them. It is nice but also funny to watch the young females like Godoma, Malkia, Esampu, Sana Sana and tiny Tamiyoi all struggling to baby sit the little ones. We watched on as Godoma seemed to show all the females how to mother the babies and where to stand to protect them. One of the babies, Musiara, does not mind being mollycoddled by the older females and the way they pat him all over, but the other baby does not like it as much and sometimes moves away to stand near the keeper. We saw Tamiyoi and Esampu rolling on the ground in the soil near the two little babies as a way of drawing them closer to play and imploring them to love them. Musiara decided to join and enjoyed clambering all over Tamiyoi as the other little baby enjoyed rolling on the ground next to Esampu. These two babies seem to be doing well at the moment!

Little Mteto is becoming quite a naughty young girl due to the fact she seems to be copying naughty Esampu’s behaviour! She watches her particularly during bottle feeding times out in the forest and during the public visit as well and today when she finished her bottle she started trouble-making, chasing after Sana Sana and Esampu for their share of bottles too. She made a mistake however by going after Esampu’s milk because when she tried to stretch for her bottle the second time, Esampu jumped at her and head butted her giving her no chance to try to get the milk bottle again. She ended up near the rope cordon which saved her from falling into the public and the keepers came to save her from being chased by Esampu any further.

Soon after the orphans settled out in the forest the young babies came to join them including Musiara. It was fun to watch Malkia, Sana Sana, Esampu and tiny Tamiyoi all come running over at once struggling to be the first ones to welcome the little ones. Tamiyoi wasn’t able to push through Malkia, Sana Sana or Esampu so she lagged behind and watched as the three other girls jostled, pushed and shoved to get closer to the babies. Tamiyoi was upset with their pushy behaviour and started protesting and yelling at not being able to approach the babies at all. Ngilai was in a playful mood as was rolling around on the ground having a great time in his own game.

During the public visit today the first group of orphans were all very happily playing in the mud bath and bumping and sliding against one another. This happy time took a turn however when Esampu and Sana Sana were enjoying rolling around and pushing one another, when Esampu rolled over Sana Sana and got stuck in a ditch in the middle of the mud wallow. This caused her to yell out for help which frightened the rest of the group who ran out of the mud bath towards the rope cordon and then towards their keepers. Esampu couldn’t right herself so the keepers ran to her aid. When she got up it was very funny as she ran straight towards the rope cordon and started bumping into the visitors there. When the first group were back in the forest after their milk and mud bath, Ngilai, Tagwa, Mteto, and Godoma busied themselves chasing after warthogs who were hanging around next to them and the keepers. Tagwa and her group wanted to drive the warthogs deeper into the bushes, but they came across a troop of baboons out on their daily patrols! Their sudden encounter caused the baboons to start chattering and run up into the trees, which gave Tagwa and her group a fright and they abandoned their chase after the warthogs and ran back to their keepers.

During the public visit today all the orphans rushed into the mud bath again as it was another very hot day. There was quite a struggle to find enough space in the mud pool for all the orphans to wallow nicely. Esampu, Mteto, Ngilai and Sana Sana did not want any others to bath next to them. Because it was so hot Ukame ran down to the mud area before it was even time for the second group to come down! Before she had her milk bottle she apparently first wanted to splash some mud behind her ears to cool down. The rest of the second group then came down in a hurry as well; they drank their milk very fast before running into the mud pool. Mbegu, Maramoja and Galla were reluctant to leave the mud pool when it was time for them to return to the forest again!

When the orphans first went out to the forest this morning, most of them were busy browsing but Lasayen and Pare were seen enjoying a pushing game which went on for some time before attracting the attention of Galla and Kauro. These two boys approached them but when Kauro raised his trunk up in the air Lasayen ran off yelling at the sight of his big tusks! This left Pare to play with Galla and Kauro but the game did not last long as Kauro started to try and climb on the other two and they are no match for him! Again it was too cold to mud bath at the public visit today however Murit kept busy with a chasing game against Esampu and Mteto. He was running and trying to climb on them, a game which attracted the attention of Ngilai who then chased after Murit. Murit turned against him though and they started a tough pushing game but it came to an end when Murit accidentally pricked the inside of Ngilai’s ear with his tusk, prompting him to walk away and settle by the water trough instead as he has no tusks to compete with! He started a new game of drawing water with his trunk and spraying the visiting school children who were delighted with this unique and wonderful encounter.