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The sky was clear in the morning which most likely meant a hot day a head. Karisa, Mundusi and Sapalan headed straight to the water trough soon after leaving the stockade. Kamok and Kauro had a brief strength testing exercise as Tusuja tackled Naseku. The orphans settled to browse just close by, as this was the day Sattao, Dololo and Musiara were to arrive from Nairobi.  

At eight thirty in the morning, the lorry carrying the three new babies arrived at Ithumba. As the new arrivals walked out of the lorry to have a milk bottle and assimilate with their new surroundings, they were welcomed by Jotto, Ambo, Kuishi, Malima and Mapia. Mapia tried to show the three new boys that now he was senior to them and attempted to bully them. The Keepers cautioned him not to try his naughty games with the new babies. Maramoja, Kuishi, Malkia and Sana Sana spent more time with the babies as they tried to make them comfortable and show them their new environment. 

At mud bath time the sun was shining. At first the orphans were hesitant to go in the water, and made sure to test the temperature first. Karisa and Tusuja decided to take the first step and were the first two to jump in, while their friends still took their time deliberating. Some decided to join Karisa and Tusuja, while the others decided not to even step foot into the mud bath water. The new arrivals were very hesitant due to the sheer size of the water hole at Ithumba! With time, the new babies will get used to everything here. 

Tusuja and Olsekki had a soil bathing game that later turned into a pushing game. Shortly later, Tusuja quit the game and went to play with Mundusi. In the afternoon, Kauro had his own game of rolling on the ground. Malkia played a nanny to Musiara for quite some time. In the evening, the new babies were escorted back to stockade by Jotto, Ambo and Malima who will be their roommates. Ex-orphans Zurura and Challa showed up at the stockade compound and left later after spending time in a pushing game. 

It was the first morning at Ithumba for Dololo, Musiara and Sattao. The three boys followed their friends out for their new day at Ithumba to begin their new routine and discover their new browsing areas. 

Barsilinga woke up feeling pain in his sore foot again. We had a close up look at the sore foot and removed some pus before cleaning it and applying green clay. Barsilinga decided to feed close to stockade the entire day. 

Ndiwa assigned herself the role of taking care of Dololo, Musiara and Sattao. At mud bath time, Challa and Zurura showed up first and went straight into the water hole for a swim. Soon after the dependent orphans had their milk, Dololo and Musiara felt the heat of the day and decided to cool themselves down by getting into the water to wallow as well. They were joined later by few of their friends. Dololo and Musiara had so much fun in the water it was hard to get them to leave! This was amazing to see considering the way in which Dololo was found when we had to rescue him – stuck fast in a mud hole. The orphans then had a soil bath before heading back out to browse. 

Olsekki tried to challenge Zurura but found out that obviously Zurura was too big and strong for him. In the evening it was still quite hot, and the orphans decided to pass by the mud bath again where all of them enjoyed an evening cooling-off exercise before proceeding back to the stockades for the night. 

It was a tense morning and the orphans appeared very unsettled due to something they could apparently hear or smell that must have passed by close to the stockade compound at night. Luckily, the ex-orphans Zurura, Orwa, Bomani, Chemi Chemi, Kibo and Chaimu arrived and this helped reduce the tension among the orphans. Barsilinga woke up feeling better and decided to accompany his friends out to browse. 

The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and didn't move far away from their Keepers. The three new boys are fitting in well with the group. At mud bath time Ambo led Sattao, Musiara and Dololo, who he remembers from the Nursery, for the midday milk feed. The day was hot and all orphans decided to wallow in the main mud bath. 

In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse along the western slopes of Ithumba Hill. In the evening, Musiara led the way back to the stockades. 

When the gates of the stockades were opened this morning, Musiara and Dololo walked out as they knew exactly where they were going. One would have thought that the two boys have been here for a long time. Upon getting close to the water troughs outside the compound, Musiara and Dololo appeared to have come to the end of the road and they didn't know which direction to go in, so they stopped and rumbled asking their more senior friends which direction they would prefer to take. Karisa the street-wise boy overtook them, and led the way out to browse. Musiara and Dololo might be feeling confident, but they don’t quite yet have the knowledge it takes to lead the herd! 

Later out in the bush, the dependent-orphans were joined by Orwa, Bomani, Chemi Chemi, Chaimu, Challa and Zurura again. Challa and Zurura didn't stay for long but left a few minutes later. Orwa and Chemi Chemi had a strength testing exercise that didn't last for long. Later, Orwa tackled Olsekki who surrendered soon when the going got too tough for him. 

Mapia teamed up with Ukame to browse while Dololo teamed with Sattao as Orwa moved to join Siangiki to feed. At mud bath time, Kuishi led the first group to the mud bath. Soon after having their milk bottles, half of the group decided to wallow in the main water hole. Karisa and Tusuja emerged as the stars of the day as they had a prolonged swimming session, even after the rest of the herd had left the water. The orphans finalized their mud bath activities by participating in a soil bathing exercise. 

In the afternoon, the orphans settled on the western side of Ithumba Hill. Kamok, who didn't go swimming at noon, began to feel the heat of the day and so decided to take a break from feeding and relaxed under a tree until the temperature dropped, and only then did she resume browsing.

Soon after walking out to the bush to browse, the dependent orphans were joined by Kibo and later his friends Orwa, Bomani, Chemi Chemi and Chaimu. Sattao led the way deeper into the bush where the orphans had a quiet morning as they browsed calmly without any major distractions. 

At mud bath time, though the sun was hot, none of the orphans dared to step into the mud bathing water. Sattao led Dololo and Musiara back into the bush where all the other orphans followed. At the moment the three new boys appear to be controlling the group because whatever direction they take, all the other orphans follow suit. 

In the afternoon Bomani climbed on Tusuja while Kuishi teamed up with Mapia to browse. Later Mapia moved to join Kibo who was feeding. In the evening, ex-orphan Rapsu showed up at the stockade compound and teamed up with Orwa, Bomani, Chaimu, Chemi Chemi and Kibo.

The orphans left the stockades immediately after getting their morning milk bottles. Karisa led the way to the browsing field where Oltaiyoni teamed up with Naseku to browse while Ambo settled for soil dusting. Dololo walked up to Musiara who was standing still and Dololo kept on pushing him from behind if he wanted them to move forward. Kamok settled with Kauro and had a brief chat before parting ways. Orwa, Bomani, Chaimu, Chemi Chemi and Kibo joined the dependent orphans with Kibo appearing to have woken up in a bad mood, since he was charging around everywhere and even at the Keepers!

At mud bath time, the sun was hot but the orphans refused to take a bath. Ambo rumbled and this drew the attention of Kamok who came rushing over to find out what the problem was. Siangiki also heard from a distance and came to join Kamok in attending to Ambo's rumbles. Sapalan played with Namalok while Olsekki tackled Tusuja. 

In the afternoon the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under some trees. The orphans resumed browsing when the temperature dropped later in the afternoon. In the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath for an evening cooling-off exercise before proceeding back to the stockades. Zurura, Challa and Rapsu showed up in the evening in the company of four wild bulls.

Karisa led the way out in the morning and was followed by Dololo, Sattao and Musiara. Out in the bush the orphans were joined by Chaimu, Kibo and Chemi Chemi. Tusuja had a game of rolling on ground where Olsekki came to have a pushing game with him. Chaimu had a brief close conversation with Namalok, who perhaps wanted to know where the group goes every evening and comes back in the morning. The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area and had a quiet morning.

 At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Challa and a wild elephant. Only the wild elephant decided to go into the water to wallow. The orphans participated in soil bathing and shortly later walked to relax under a tree. Olsekki played with Bomani while Jotto had a brief chat with Dololo. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill until evening, when it was time to return back to the stockades. 

Malima woke up in a playful mood. Soon after leaving the stockade, she decided to roll down on the ground just close to the stockade, and quit when she felt she had done enough. Namalok, Ukame, Siangiki, Olsekki and Barsilinga passed by the compound water trough where they had some water before leaving for browsing. Barsilinga and Malkia found some suitable tree stumps that they used to scratch their bellies on. Later, Malkia teamed up with Chemi Chemi for a mud bath in a small water hole they had come across. Shortly before it was time to go for their noon milk bottles, Malkia spent some time with the three new boys. 

Later on at the mud bath, only some orphans participated in wallowing as the rest of the group settled for soil dusting. In the afternoon, Sapalan took some time to have a chat with Musiara. Later Malkia took Musiara, Sattao and Dololo to somewhere with mud and showed them how to cool themselves down by throwing mud on themselves since the sun was so hot. In the evening on the way back to the stockades, the orphans passed by the mud bath again where they had a prolonged wallowing session to cool down. 

Soon after taking their morning milk, the orphans passed by the water trough to have some water before proceeding out to the browsing field. On the way Galla, Siangiki, Esampu and Ndiwa came across some rocks that they used to scratch on. Later, Galla had a strength testing exercise with Karisa. The rest of the morning was quiet up to mud bath time when the orphans headed for their mid-day milk feeds and to wallow in the main waterhole. After wallowing, Naseku challenged Wanjala while Mundusi tackled Tusuja, a game that ended when Olsekki interrupted by pushing Mundusi away. 

In the afternoon, Maramoja took some time to take care of Dololo one of the boys that came from Nairobi one and half weeks ago. Maramoja, who initially did not show much interest in the new youngsters, suddenly had a change of heart and became very welcoming and loving towards the new babies. In the evening, the orphans passed by the mud bath to cool themselves down since it was still hot. Three bulls were enjoying a drink from the trough there but when they saw the Keepers they stepped back, and returned to drink again when the Keepers left with the orphans. 

Soon after leaving the stockades, the orphans headed to the water troughs and had some water before walking out to browse. Karisa was in a jovial mood as expressed by the swinging of his trunk and kicking of dusting as he was walking. 

Out in the bush, Karisa teamed up with Sapalan. Dololo teamed up with Mteto briefly, before proceeding to scratch against a log he had come across. Malkia had some time with Musiara, as Esampu settled for scratching. Orwa, Bomani, Chaimu, Chemi Chemi and Kibo joined the orphans mid-morning. Chemi Chemi played with Bomani while Jotto engaged Esampu in a light pushing game. Malima had an itchy neck and used a baobab tree to get rid of the itch. 

At mud bath time only Kibo, Namalok and Wanjala decided to go in the water. The rest opted for a soil bathing exercise. Olsekki tackled Bomani, a game that ended in a draw. In the afternoon, the sun was really hot and the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree. They resumed eating later on when it was cooler. In the evening on the way back to the stockades, the orphans passed by the mud bath for an evening cooling-off exercise. 

It was a quiet morning without much fun. The orphans strolled nonchalantly out from their stockades and headed out to browse. Oltaiyoni settled to feed with Rapa while Enkikwe teamed up with Kamok. Later in the day Mapia tried to challenge Galla but ended up losing the battle. Malkia came across a small muddy pool that she used to splash some cool mud behind her ears, as Dololo watched from a distance. The sun was hot and Sapalan with Orwa decided to take a break from feeding to relax under a tree. 

When it was time for their noon milk feed and mud bath, despite the hot sun, none of the orphans fancied going into the water. After having some milk and water, the orphans returned back to browsing. Dololo and Musiara relaxed under a tree for some time before following their friends. Sana Sana had a soil dusting exercise that didn't last for long. The orphans settled to browse along the western side of Ithumba Hill for the rest of the day.