Incredibly, Ithumba still hasn’t received rain. Every morning they awoke to a clear, blue sky, the orphans and Keepers knew that it was going to be another hot day ahead. At this point, it would take a miracle to receive any rain before the long rains in November, so we are bracing ourselves for long, difficult months ahead.
The sky was clear and blue this morning so we knew it was going to be a hot day ahead. The orphans settled for their morning lucerne grass soon after finishing their bottles. Ndiwa, Malkia, Kuishi, Esampu, Mapia and Pare walked down to the water trough and helped themselves to enough water that would take them through the entire morning. Karisa, the ‘street wise’ boy led the way and decided which direction the orphans should take this morning.
It was a quiet morning as the orphans concentrated on finding enough food before the end of the day. Mother nature has still not yielded any rain in the area, and the drought continues.
Ambo led the first group to the mud bath while Nabulu led the second one. After finishing their noon milk bottles, Kuishi, Mukkoka, Dololo, Musiara and Maramoja settled for soil a dusting exercise. The afternoon was quiet and hot too. This prompted the orphans to head to the roadside mud bath to cool down. Later the orphans took a break and relaxed under a tree for some time before resuming their browsing activities. In the evening, Larro led the way back to the stockades for the night. Malima and Mteto made a brief stop as they walked in to interact with some wild babies who were in the company of their mothers.
Six wild elephant bulls, who were drinking water at the stockade water troughs in the morning, left immediately after the orphans were let out. The orphans settled for lucerne as usual soon after coming out of their stockades. Naboishu decided to walk down to the water trough to enjoy a cool drink of water. Shortly later he was joined by Karisa, Olsekki, Mutara, Sities and Ambo. A thirsty wild bull arrived and drank a bit of water then joined the orphans to feast one some lucerne. The bull was peaceful and didn't bully the orphans. He didn’t stay long. Sana Sana and her favourite Naboishu led the way out to browse for the morning.
Mukkoka, who is now very familiar with all the bulls in the dependent herd, decided to challenge Sattao. Sattao didn't play rough with him, and they had a friendly game that lasted for quite sometime. Musiara was enjoying a solitary game of rolling on the ground and when Sattao saw him, he quit playing with Mukkoka and walked over to roll on Musiara. Musiara was annoyed by Sattao coming to roll over him. Once Musiara was on his feet, he tried fighting Sattao. Malkia, who was playing on a heap of soil close by, stopped her game and came over to separate the two boys. Karisa, Rapa and Dololo grouped together as they planned their escape to join the late-night gang. The Keepers spotted their meeting however and warned them not to even consider it, and that they were watching them very closely!
Nabulu led the first group for the noon milk feed while Larro led the second group. The orphans had their milk bottles and some water from the trough, then headed to the small roadside mud bath. It was a quiet afternoon. The orphans took a break from feeding to relax under a tree to escape from the heat of the day, and resumed browsing later when the temperature dropped a little.
Naboishu led the way out of Class One’s stockade this morning. Ambo turned right as soon as he came out of his room and headed to the lucerne store. What he didn’t know is that the Keepers were ready for his antics and that there was a wire put across the lucerne store. Upon seeing the wire, Ambo turned around and walked back to join his friends. Sana Sana and Kuishi walked straight down to the water trough, but they got a fright from two Egyptian geese when they made a funny loud noise. Sana Sana, with her ears raised, retreated whilst trying to find out where the strange noise had come from. As Naboishu was heading down to the water trough as well he was held back by Sana Sana as she made sure the area was safe for everyone. The Egyptian geese then flew away, giving Sana Sana the confidence to continue walking down to the water trough, followed by Naboishu and Kuishi. Mutara, baby Mambo, Sities, Turkwel, Suguta, Kainuk, Kalama, Kilaguni, Kandecha and Chaimu joined the orphans and shortly later they all left together to browse, except for Kilaguni and Kandecha who had a brief strength testing exercise before disappearing off in a different direction.
The orphans settled to browse at in the Kone area. Rapa and Karisa decided to sneak off without Dololo this time. The two boys understood that if they took Dololo with them, then they would be tracked down by the Keepers and made to come back to join the others. As the orphans headed to the mud bath, Rapa and Karisa, who looks like twins, were on their way back to the stockades. Mutara and her herd escorted the rest of the dependent orphans to the mud bath. Malkia had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with little Mambo, much to her delight. The orphans had their milk bottles and some water before heading straight back out to continue browsing. Though it was dry it wasn’t very sunny, so it wasn’t enough to convince the orphans to use the big mud bath to cool off. Instead, together with Mutaras’s herd, the orphans walked to the smaller roadside mud bath where they just splashed themselves. The rest of the afternoon was quiet. Mteto, Esampu, Malkia and Malima stayed close to baby Mambo and in the evening, as Mutara’s herd escorted the orphans back to the stockades for the night.
Mutara and her team reported early again, before dawn. It seems they didn’t want to miss out on anything happening at the stockades this morning. Mutara understands that she has a small baby who needs milk and so she needs to eat enough food to produce enough milk for the little one, and she is enjoying the supplement lucerne. Soon after the orphans came out of their stockades, Malkia went straight over to say hi to little Mambo. Loijuk, Lili, Tumaren, Kithaka, Barsilinga and Lemoyian arrived later. Mambo brought the whole lucerne feeding exercise to an abrupt end when he charged and ran off to the west of the stockades. Suguta, the main nanny, ran to catch up with the baby and the entire group followed.
On their way out to the bush Mteto and Musiara found some nice rocks to scratch on. Kauro teamed up with Kuishi to browse with her. Enkikwe, Mundusi, Dololo and Mapia sneaked off early and went to the mud bath where they stayed until the milk vehicle arrived and they managed to get their bottles early. After having their milk, Mukkoka and Malima settled for a soil dusting exercise as the rest of their friends joined the only wild bull present who was drinking water.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled west of the Ithumba Hill. It was very hot and the sun was beating down, so the orphans took a break from feeding to relax under some trees. In the evening, Larro led the first group back while Nabulu led the second one.
Four wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water troughs when the orphans were let out. As soon as the four wild bulls saw the orphans pouring out of their night stockades, they turned to face them. It seemed as if the bulls were new to the area and they couldn’t understand where all these elephants of nearly of the same age and size were heading to. The bulls watched as the orphans turned right outside of the compound and settled for the lucerne grass where the Keepers were distributing it. Unable to fathom what was going on, with people and elephant babies together, the bulls decided to leave in a slow measured walk, heading west. Sattao, Nabulu, Dololo, Mteto and Naboishu started their day with some scratching exercises against the nearby rocks. Later, it was the ‘street wise’ boy Karisa who led the way out to the bush.
Pare, Kuishi and Mteto teamed up together to browse. Musiara took a break to enjoy a soil dusting exercise in a hole with some loose that he came across. Maramoja, Naseku and Ndiwa joined him later and they all had fun together in the small pit in the ground. Kuishi joined Naboishu to browse as Ambo teamed up with his favoruite, Kamok.
Shortly before mud bath time, Kauro the ‘stick carrier’, Enkikwe, Mundusi, Rapa and Karisa sneaked off and went to the mud bath early. Ten Wild Dogs were cooling off there as well and Kauro got irritated when he saw them, thinking the elephants should have the mud bath area to themselves. Kauro charged and ran towards the Wild Dogs, but they didn’t budge, making Kauro panic and started retreating. Mundusi saw what was happening and decided to support Kauro in driving the dogs away – so they charged at them together!
As the milk feed was taking place, Roi placed herself strategically in anticipation of stealing a bottle of milk if the Keepers weren’t paying full attention. The Keepers saw Roi however and knew what she had in mind, so they kept a keen eye on her as the milk feeding went on! Roi stood no chance once she had been spotted, so she gave up and left, hoping to try again another time. The orphans decided to go to the smaller roadside mud bath after their milk feed, and then carried on walking out to the bush to continue browsing. It was all quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing for the rest of the afternoon.
Naboishu led the way out of the stockades this the morning but midway, he was overtaken by Nabulu who was in a hurry to get to the water trough for some water before turning back for some lucerne. The orphans settled for their breakfast lucerne without any interruptions today. It is so dry at the moment but less wild elephants are showing up these days, indicating that most of them might have moved to areas further away that were lucky enough to receive more rain recently. Nabulu settled to browse close to the unfriendly Kamok and Kamok pushed her hard, so poor Nabulu shouted out. Her age mates turned to check what had happened but when they saw Kamok, they knew that she was the cause and dared not assist Nabulu in case they suffered the same treatment! Kuishi fed close to Sapalan who at one point tried to see what Kuishi was eating by putting his trunk in her mouth. This prompted Kuishi to walk away from Sapalan. After they were done with lucerne, the orphans passed by the water troughs to get enough water to see them through the morning.
The dependent Ithumba orphans browsed calmly throughout the entire morning. When it was time for them to go for their noon milk bottles at the mud bath, they were joined by ex-orphan Taita, who enjoyed a soil dust bath nearby. In the afternoon, the orphans headed west of Ithumba Hill where they settled to browse for the rest of the day. Sapalan, Mundusi, Mapia and Kauro separated from the rest of the group and browsed a little distance away. Sapalan later led the boys to rejoin their friends in preparation to return home for the night.
The orphans left their stockades early as usual. They settled for lucerne and shortly later they were joined by Mutara’s group and the late-night gang. Soon after having enough lucerne, Karisa once again led the way out to the bush for the day. Musiara and Roi found some loose soil that they used to dust themselves with. Sana Sana and her favourite Naboishu walked together as Dololo had his own game of charging and running around. Mutara and her group lagged behind as they tried to wash down the lucerne that they had eaten with some nice cool water. Sities, in Mutara’s herd, decided to walk into the compound to find out if there had been any changes since she left. She found that everything was pretty much the same and it was easy for her to find a water trough in one of the stockades. After having enough water, Sities left to join her friends. Mutara and her baby Mambo came face to face with a buffalo who was also coming for water. Mambo charged at it, not knowing what kind of an animal they were facing. The nannies acted quickly by running to surround Mambo and block him from moving any further towards the buffalo – he is such a little daring and mischievous baby!
It was all quiet out in the bush as the dependent orphans browsed calmly throughout the morning. At the noon milk feeding time, Maramoja decided to pull the teat off from her bottle and leave with it in her mouth. A Keeper had to run after her to retrieve it! Mutara and her small herd decided to participate in a soil dusting exercise while the dependent orphans shared the water trough with some wild bulls. Shortly later, both Mutara’s herd and the orphans headed back out to browse. Mutara and the late-night gang managed to lead the dependent orphans all the way to the airstrip while the Keepers were having their lunch! The Keepers thought that the orphans were feeding just close by but they were surprised to find the that they had walked all that way! They soon found the orphans close to the airstrip where they were busy browsing, not concerned in the slightest that it was nearly time to start heading back towards the stockades. The Keepers whistled for the orphans and called for them and soon they realised that it must be time to start walking back for the day, and all the orphans including Mutara’s herd decided to walk slowly back with the Keepers.
A gentle wild bull joined the orphans in the morning to share lucerne grass with them. Mutara and her herd were also present. Ex-orphan Tomboi showed up a bit later too. Ambo and Musiara had a light strength testing exercise, while we watched as Kuishi put some lucerne on her head after she had finished feasting on it and started playing about with it. Malkia, as usual, stayed as close to Mambo as possible. So far, only Malkia has shown the most interest in Mambo out of the dependent orphans, and she strived to get to that position due to the very vigilant nannies in Mutara’s herd! Finally, her patience paid off as the nannies are comfortable walking a slight distance away form Mambo and leaving him in Malkia’s hands. Mambo briefly walked over to Kauro where he touched his trunk then turned and then he walked back to his mother. Moments later, Malkia managed to convince Mambo to walk away with her again. Ndiwa, Maramoja and Musiara were happy to see Mambo walking with Malkia, and they decided to take the opportunity to get involved and follow Mambo too. The nannies Chaimu, Suguta, Kainuk and Kalama understood that the orphans just wanted to spend sometime with Mambo and so they decided to pretend that they couldn’t see what the orphans were doing. Malkia makes Mambo feel comfortable around her and he likes spending time with her, but their fun came to an end when Mutara, Mambo's mother, arrived. She rumbled to her son and Mambo heeded her call. The main nannies followed too, and Malkia and her small team turned to rejoin their friends, hoping to meet up again with Mambo later in the day.
Larro led the way out to browse where Ndiwa decided to soil dust. Sapalan teamed up with Jotto while Sana Sana stayed with her favourite Naboishu. Shortly before mud bath time, the late-night gang joined the orphans. The Keepers find it funny how they just arrive with no explanation of where they have been or what they have been up to!
Despite it being quite hot at the mud bath, most of the orphans only washed their feet before coming out the water. Only Larro, Mukkoka, Naboishu and Esampu fully participated in a wallowing exercise. Forty wild bulls were present at the mud bath today – both drinking water and swimming in the waterhole. Turkwel, leading Mutara’s group, arrived at the mud bath where they joined the dependent orphans too. Moments later, the entire team headed west of the Ithumba Hill where they settled to browse for the rest of the afternoon.
The temperature was still high and at one point the orphans converged under a tree to escape the scorching sun. Later, they passed by the roadside mud bath to cool off. Enkikwe teamed up with the late-night gang and ended up reporting back to the stockades late in the evening.
A wild herd and Mutara’s group joined the orphans in the morning to feed on lucerne. Ambo once more took a right turn straight to the lucerne store but unfortunately the gates to the lucerne store were locked. Ambo walked down reluctantly to join his friends to wait for it to be distributed as normal. Half an hour later, the wild herd left. Mteto, who adores babies, decided to follow the some of the wild babies in the herd along with Esampu and Kuishi. They followed the herd for about 50 meters before they decided to turn back and rejoin their friends.
Karisa led the way out to browse today. Rapa tried to grab hold of and bite Sattao’s tail when Sattao tried to overtake him. Sattao quickly turned to the left to avoid being bullied by Rapa. Karisa teamed up with Pare to browse together.
Today the orphans arrived at the noon milk feeding area early, before the vehicle bearing their bottles had even arrived. Once the vehicle arrived they had their bottles and then walked to have some fresh water. Only one wild bull showed up to share water with the orphans.
In the afternoon the orphans attended a roadside mud bath then headed towards the airstrip in search of nice vegetation in a different area to where they usually walk, before turning back and making their way home just before 5pm.
Chyulu, Cheka, Wendi, Wema, Galana, Lenana, Lapa, Naserian, Njema, Loijuk, Lili, Kitirua and Naisula arrived early before dawn and decided to wait for the orphans to come out so as to share the morning lucerne with them. Galana and Wendi appeared to have separated with their first-born daughters Wiva and Gawa, as it has been a while now since we have seen them. We are sure that they are happily linked up with Yatta’s herd or others, as females sometimes form splinter groups and then later reunite.
The late-night gang arrived at the stockades early before dawn after spending the night out. Mutara and her small herd, who had not been seen the previous day, arrived shortly after the orphans had settled for lucerne. One wild bull briefly visited for some water. Sapalan joined the bull and seemed to be asking some questions from him – perhaps he was wondering why there aren’t as many wild bulls turning up. It's not clear what response Sapalan got from the wild bull as he turned and returned to join his friends feeding on lucerne. When they were finished eating the different groups parted ways; Mutara’s herd headed north while the late-night gang headed west. The dependent orphans, led by Larro, headed towards the Kone area. Mundusi and Kauro had a brief strength testing exercise that ended when Mundusi surrendered.
The orphans had a quiet morning as they concentrated mostly on browsing. Siangiki, Olsekki, Oltaiyoni, Roi, Naseku and Wanjala decided to walk to the mud bath early and wait for the juniors to arrive. It was hot and after their bottles all of the orphans got in the mud bath to swim! Ex-orphan Kilaguni joined the orphans later for a soil dusting exercise.
Later when the orphans were back out in the bush, Kauro and Rapa continued to soil bath in some small holes that had been dug out by other grown elephants. The rest of the afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing again, trying to fill up their tummies before their return home.
It was a quiet morning with a clear sky which meant it would be a hot day ahead. The orphans settled to have their lucerne supplement breakfast in the usual place, with Sapalan opting to share his small pile with Sana Sana too. Half an hour later, Mutara and her team emerged from the east and quenched their thirst before joining the dependent orphans for some lucerne too. The late-night gang arrived much later, and found their friends preparing to leave already.
Today we noticed, as Ambo and Jotto were browsing together, that there is a considerable size difference between them. When the two boys arrived at Ithumba on 30th May 2019, they were about the same size and were great friends. Now Jotto has overtaken Ambo in size considerably, and they are not as close as when they first arrived at Ithumba. Perhaps the size difference has brought about or contributed in some way to them not being as close anymore, although they are not enemies either! They just don’t spend as much time with each other.
At mud bath time the orphans had their milk bottles then jumped into the water to cool off before heading to drink some water. No other wild elephants visited the mud bath today while the orphans were there, despite the fact that it was a hot day. The Ithumba dependent orphans enjoyed the mud bath to themselves. Naboishu led the way back to the bush for the orphans to continue browsing for the rest of the afternoon. Slightly later the orphans took a break to relax under a tree. The orphans resumed browsing when it became a bit cooler and then later returned to the stockades on time.
Six wild bulls arrived early before dawn and found that the water troughs were empty as elephants had visited throughout the night and finished all the water. The bulls waited patiently until daybreak because they knew that the water troughs would be refilled! At six o'clock in the morning the water bowser arrived and refilled the troughs so the wild bulls had their fill of water before walking off into the bush. A wild herd and Mutara’s herd joined the orphans in the morning for lucerne again. The girls, Mteto, Esampu, Malima and Nabulu, occupied themselves by taking care of the babies within the wild herd. When all the elephants finished the lucerne, the different herds parted ways. Mundusi and Sapalan led the dependent orphans out to browse today.
It was cloudy morning which was perfect weather . The orphans browsed quietly up to mud bath time when pare led the first group to the mud bath. Larro and Naboishu tried to snatch two bottles left on the ground for Kauro and Enkikwe who had lagged behind. The keepers were alert and managed to spoil their attempt of running away with the milk bottles. Only Jotto, Ambo, Dololo and Maramoja that participated in wallowing. The rest led by Musiara and Mukkoka participated in a soil dusting exercise. Kauro led the way to the browsing field. The rest of the afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated more on browsing.
The orphans settled for lucerne as usual soon after leaving the stockade. One wild bull showed up at the water trough. Upon seeing the wild bull, Sapalan once again walked down to have a friendly talk with the new wild friend. The bull wasn’t the unfriendly type and allowed Sapalan to share water with him, as it looked once again as if Sapalan was asking the wild bull many questions! Jotto started throwing lucerne up in the air the moment he felt that he had enough. Sana Sana, who doesn’t always get on with Jotto, used his actions as an excuse to push him away. Jotto walked away as he didn't want further embarrassment, and hoped there might come a time when Sana Sana will respect him and not attempt to bully him.
Out in the bush Kauro played with Mundusi while Naboishu and Mukkoka took a break from feeding to participate in a scratching exercise. Mundusi lost to Kauro and decided to take on Enkikwe instead, but he lost that match too so he gave up. Mundusi decided to settle on browsing instead of wasting time in games that proved so difficult to win.
It was cool while the orphans were at the mud bath and the orphans only had their milk bottles and some water before Kuishi led the way out to the bush again. Rapa, Sapalan and Maramoja sneaked away from their friends just as it was time to return to the stockades, and they couldn’t be found. The two boys and girl arrived back later shortly after six o'clock in the evening.
Chyulu, Cheka, Narok, Wendi, Wema, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Kibo, Lenana, Lapa, Olare and Mutara’s herd joined the dependent orphans in the morning. Lexi ran into trouble with our unfriendly Kamok when she tried to walk over to her to say hi. Instead of Kamok acknowledging the baby's greetings, she pushed her out of the way. Lexi cried as she looked for her mother who had walked down to the water trough to have some water. Mteto and Esampu stepped in and guided Lexi to her mother as they looked disappointed in Kamok for being so ruthless towards Lexi. Kamok didn’t seem bothered by her friends angry glances. The ex-orphans left immediately after they had finished their share of lucerne.
The dependent orphans settled to browse in Kone area, coming to terms with the idea that the rains have failed and that they should brace themselves for an imminent drought, with no idea of when it might end. At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate and only Pare, Naboishu, Larro and Esampu participated in wallowing. The rest of their friends decided to soil dust instead. In the afternoon, the orphans settled north of Kalovoto seasonal river where they browsed calmly for the rest of the day.
It was a quiet morning. No single wild elephant or ex-orphan showed up for lucerne today, so the dependent Ithumba orphans enjoyed moving freely around between the water trough and back to the lucerne feeding area without any disturbance or having to worry about their manners and so forth. Kauro and Mundusi were at their old wrestling games again and their game lasted for quite sometime, until Olsekki ended it when he passed by and pushed the two boys away. Kauro and Mundusi just walked away from Olsekki and continued with their pushing game until Mundusi surrendered. Kauro climbed on Mundusi to show that he had emerged as the winner. Sapalan played with Jotto as Musiara tried to challenge Rapa. Rapa understood that Musiara was young and that he should only engage him in a light pushing game rather than with his full might.
Sana Sana teamed up with Naboishu and Kuishi to browse, as Kamok took her favourite Ambo, the only young elephant she shows any care towards, off to a different area. When the orphans arrived at the noon milk feeding area they found six wild bulls already there. Pare led his friends to the waterhole for a swim, while Mteto led the soil dusting exercise for others. Later, Karisa led the way back out to browse. The late-night gang joined the dependent orphans in the afternoon but parted ways with them later in the evening, before they returned home. Larro, Mukkoka, Naboishu, Kuishi and Malkia decided to wallow in the roadside mud bath on the way back to the stockades.
Wendi, Wema, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Narok, Olare, Mutara’s herd and an aggressive wild bull that was coming into musth were present at the lucerne feeding time this morning. The aggressive wild bull was making it very difficult for the orphans to enjoy their lucerne. The orphans trumpeted and bellowed as they disappeared off into the bush to begin their day instead, leaving the ex-orphans with the aggressive wild bull.
The orphans walked off and settled to browse north of the Kalovoto seasonal river. They browsed calmly without any major distractions. At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by the ex-orphans and the aggressive wild bull again, who kept charging at everybody in sight. Pare, Sapalan, Larro, Naboishu and Malkia managed to have a brief swim before joining their friends in a soil dusting exercise.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of the Ithumba Hill . The ex-orphans joined the orphans briefly before parting aways again. Jotto teamed up with Dololo, Mapia and Mukkoka to browse while Esampu teamed up with Kuishi, Mteto, Maramoja and Musiara. In the evening Larro led the way back to the stockades but was overtaken by Nabulu as they got closer, but Larro didn’t seem to mind.
Sana Sana, who was moved to Class Five recently due to persistently bullying Mapia in Class Three, left her new stockade this morning. Her bullying behaviour earned herself an express ticket to the next class for discipline! Sana Sana spotted a buffalo drinking water at the stockade water trough and decided to vent her anger at being moved up a class on the unsuspecting buffalo. The buffalo stood its ground and continued to drink water as if nothing was happening. This prompted Sana Sana to retreat and plan her next move, which only she knew.
The orphans settled to browse in the Kone area again where Maramoja teamed up with Mteto as Sana Sana teamed up with Naboishu, Jotto, Kuishi, Rapa and Ndiwa. It wasn’t clear why Sana Sana decided to include Kuishi, Jotto Rapa and Ndiwa in her team. Although the Keepers suspected she was up to something they didn't take it seriously.
At mud bath time the orphans had their milk bottles then shortly afterwards Pare, Karisa, Rapa, Malkia, Musiara, Dololo, Mteto and Kamok participated fully in a wallowing exercise. The rest of the herd opted for a soil dusting exercise. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse west of Ithumba Hill. This is where Sana Sana decided was the perfect place to execute her plan, and punish the Keepers for moving her up a class! Sana Sana sneaked past the Keepers and left with Naboishu, Rapa, Ndiwa, Kuishi and Jotto. In the evening, the Keepers realised that five orphans were missing and they had no other option than to search for them because young Naboishu was with them. Sana Sana was clever since she knew that by taking Naboishu with her, the Keepers would have to look for them.
Back at the stockade compound Mutara’s herd, Wendi, Wema, Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Nasalot, Nusu, Noah, Ithumbah and Narok arrived at the stockade shortly before five o'clock. Wendi can sometimes be very badly behaved and this afternoon was the perfect example of her occasional uncouth behaviour, and she very nearly indirectly hurt Mambo today as a result. This happened when Wendi pushed Turkwel for no apparent reason, and Turkwel fell on Mambo, as Wendi walked away as if she had done nothing wrong; or perhaps she was embarrassed about what she had done. Our quick intervention saved Mambo's life as we had to lift Turkwel’s both front and back legs to pull Mambo out who was underneath her. When Mambo was on his feet, we turned to Turkwel and supported her head so that she could stand up. The whole experience was very distressing for Turkwel and the rest of Mutara’s herd and they were clearly very unhappy with Wendi.
Sana Sana and her small group were finally located just after six o'clock in the evening, and escorted back to the stockades. Sana Sana looked pretty happy with herself to have punished the Keepers by making them walk for longer and further to look for them!
The orphans settled for lucerne soon after leaving their stockades. Musiara briefly tackled Ambo in a strength testing exercise that didn't last for long. Shortly later, Dololo led the way out to browse.
Musiara teamed up with Malkia and Sana Sana to browse. With no hope of rain anytime soon, the orphans decided to concentrate mostly on browsing since they didn't want the day to end without getting enough food. Rapa and Ambo climbed up the hill behind the stockades to enjoy the vegetation available and later came down to rejoin their friends. Mundusi, Sapalan, Mapia and Jotto teamed up and moved away from their friends as they browsed and had boy talk from time to time.
Karisa left with the late-night gang and missed the eleven o'clock milk feed. Four wild bulls joined the orphans at the mud bath where they were having their milk bottles. Once they had finished wallowing in the main waterhole, they decided to give space to the wild bulls and walked to the water trough to drink water before leaving.
In the afternoon the orphans settled to browse along the upper Kalovoto River. It was a quiet afternoon. Karisa returned to the stockades early before five and demanded his share of milk. The Keeper on duty quickly prepared milk for Karisa and he soon relaxed and waited patiently outside for his friends to return too.
Mutara and her group decided to spend the night outside the stockades. The team was sleeping soundly on the ground, secure in the knowledge they were safe next to the stockades, and they only woke when they heard the gates being opened for the orphans to come out. As with most mornings, Ambo made a right turn soon after leaving his stockade. Lucky enough for him, the lucerne store was open! His persistence finally paid off! Ambo helped himself to some lucerne before the Keepers came over to let him know that he wasn’t welcome in the store and he should leave to join his friends. Ambo didn't leave empty handed though and left with a small bale of lucerne wrapped in his trunk, but he met with Jotto who tried to grab the lucerne from him! Ambo thought of turning back for more lucerne but realised that the Keepers were in the store now and they wouldn’t let him back in. Ambo shook his head and walked down to join his friends in waiting for the Keepers to distribute the lucerne for them as usual.
After all the elephants were done, Malima led the way to the browsing field. As they were walking along an aggressive wild bull met with the orphans and their Keepers and they all scattered in different directions, but they regrouped and moved far away from the aggressive wild bull.
At mud bath time several wild bulls joined the orphans to wallow in the waterhole. Lualeni, Lulu, Lexi, Wendi, Wema, Chyulu, Cheka, Lenana, Lapa, Ithumbah, Teleki and Galana also joined them. When they were finished swimming, the orphans, led by Larro, headed north of the mud bath while the ex-orphans headed towards the stockades. Malkia and Musiara lagged behind hoping to get an extra bottle of milk for some reason, but unfortunately there was none left.
The orphans browsed along the upper Kalovoto seasonal river. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. In the evening everyone returned to the stockades without giving the Keepers the runaround, with the exception of the late-night gang who are choosing to spend most of their nights out with the ex-orphans these days.
The orphans left their stockades early as usual. Naboishu, closely followed by Nabulu, were the first ones to come out and the others soon followed. The compound looked deserted simply because there were no ex-orphans or wild elephants around. The orphans settled for their lucerne and later, Ndiwa, Malkia, Esampu, Mteto, Jotto, Sattao and Musiara passed by the water trough to drink enough water to see them through the entire morning. Karisa decided which direction the orphans would take and led the herd out to browse.
The sky was clear which indicated a hot day ahead. The orphans settled to browse in the Kanziku area where Kauro took a break from feeding to participate in a soil dusting exercise. On the way to the mud bath the orphans were joined by Tomboi. Mundusi, Sapalan and Jotto raised their trunks up waving a greeting to Tomboi. Tomboi didn't respond but overtook the orphans as he hurriedly walked to the mud bath.
After finishing their milk Pare led his friends to wallow as Musiara and Kuishi led in the soil bathing exercise. Shortly later, the orphans walked to the water trough and joined Tomboi to drink water. Shortly before walking back out to browse, Naboishu engaged Malima in a light strength testing exercise. Malima made sure to play with Naboishu gently, before they followed their friends. The orphans settled west of Ithumba Hill and they had a quiet afternoon.
In the evening, Sapalan, Nabulu and Mapia walked far away from their friends. The Keepers gathered the orphans together to prepare to take them back to the stockades. On the way, Kamok realised that Nabulu, Sapalan and Mapia had lagged behind but the Keepers, who were ahead, failed to notice the missing ones. Kamok turned and went back to call the three orphans to come home with them, but when she arrived where the missing orphans were, Kamok joined them to browse and forgot that she had come to call them back! Just before the Keepers reached the stockades they realised that the four orphans were missing, so half of them went back to search for the missing babies while the others continued ahead with the orphans. The Keepers in the search party found the orphans feeding peacefully, totally oblivious to the time! The Keepers called them and they all walked back to the stockades together.
It was a beautiful morning today as the orphans walked out of their stockades after their milk bottles, to feed on lucerne. A wild elephant was present, alongside a pack of wild dogs, who were all drinking from the water trough. The orphans had their lucerne and when they were done they walked out to the bush to browse. They all looked busy and active browsing because it is still very dry and they wanted to make sure they found enough food to eat. Malkia, Sana Sana, Mteto and Esampu all led the way to the mud bath for the noon milk feed.
The orphans all played at the mud bath peacefully after having their milk bottles. Some wild elephants were also present having some water, as well as ex-orphan Wendi the trouble-maker, and her baby Wema. Later Ndiwa led the way back out to the bush. It was a very hot afternoon and once again the orphans focused on their browsing activities and not playing any games. Sapalan and Jotto browsed side by side as Kamok took Ambo to some shade where they stood relaxing for some time. Musiara and Dololo looked as though they might start a wrestling match, but they thought better of it and continued browsing until all the orphans and Keepers started to make their way home for the night.
As usual on this beautiful morning, the orphans had finished their milk bottles by 6am and were ready to begin their day. They came out of their rooms and started feasting on the lucerne the Keepers had put out for them. At first it was just them but soon a group of ex-orphans led by the naughty Wendi arrived too, who joined the orphans for lucerne. Kibo was among them too and he went to scratch his bottom on a big rock. When they were done, the dependent babies walked out to the bush to begin their day of browsing, leaving the ex-orphans behind to finish the lucerne.
The orphans were very active out in the bush. Mapia and Ambo paused their feeding to begin a play fighting game, while Malkia stretched very high nearby to reach some fresh green leaves she had spotted. When it was time for the noon milk feed the orphans made their way towards the mud bath, browsing as they went.
A group of wild bulls who came to drink water were already at the mud bath, as the orphans arrived in groups of four for their milk feed. As it was a hot day, when they were done they walked over to the mud bath to cool down, except for Sattao and Mteto, who walked to the loose soil pile and started playing there instead. Kamok was there too, scooping and tossing soil in the air with her trunk, and some on her back.
Once they were done mud bathing and playing in the soil the orphans walked back out to the bush to continue browsing. Larro and Jotto were browsing together while the others were busy on their own. It was very hot and some were hiding under some shade. Later the orphans walked back home in the evening for their milk bottles and to go to bed for the night.
It was quiet today as the babies walked out of their stockades to feed on lucerne after finishing their milk bottles. Jotto scratched his bottom on the terrace wall while Nabulu was scratching hers on a rock. Some wild elephants and ex-orphans in Wendi’s herd arrive and started sharing lucerne with the Ithumba dependent orphans. Just as the dependent orphans were starting to leave the compound for the day, Musiara and Ambo started playfighting. Mapia still looked very sleepy, as if he had had a very active night and didn’t get any rest at all, and we found him with his head resting on a tree.
Later, while the others were concentrating on browsing Mundusi was spotted playfighting with Kauro. Ambo was watching their game as a spectator. Later Karisa, who likes to lead from time to time, took the orphans in the direction of the mud bath for their noon milk bottles. When they were done feeding the orphans decided to swim in the mud bath and they played there vigorously, all swimming and rolling and slapping their trunks in the water, having a great time. There were a few wild bulls around who were enjoying wallowing too. When the orphans came out they had a dust bath to dry off. Ex-orphan Kilaguni was around too, and he went for a long scratch on a tree stump. Sapalan, Kauro and Naboishu walked over to the water trough for a fresh drink of water. A wild bull came over and started sharing water with Kauro and Enkikwe.
Later on back out in the bush, the orphans concentrated on browsing despite how hot it was. Later, Karisa led everyone back home in the evening. Mutara's herd visited the stockades this evening as well, along with a big group of wild bulls who came to drink water.
It was such a nice morning with the orphans enjoying their milk bottles before walking out to the bush to enjoy feeding on lucerne. They joined Mutara's herd who was already waiting there and they interacted together, with the orphans particularly happy to find Mambo at the stockade compound this morning. Kalama was trying to block the dependent orphans from getting close to baby Mambo. Mambo is looking so well and is very fit and active at the moment! Some more wild elephants arrived with some babies of their own. They joined the ex-orphans and their young started playing with Mambo too. The Ithumba dependent orphans decided too much was going on and decided to walk out to the bush to begin their day of browsing, leaving the older elephants behind still feeding on lucerne.
Out in the bush Mapia and Jotto started playfighting. Jotto stepped up on a rock to gain a height advantage in his play fight with Mapia, who in turn used his long and strong tusks to win against Jotto. The two bulls started rolling down the ground while still playing. Eventually, Jotto stood up and went over to play with Kauro instead. He was still using the same tactics of stepping up on a rock to gain the advantage of height and strength and win the game. Just like Mapia however Kauro is strong and also used his long tusks to win over Jotto. Later all the orphans walked to the mud bath for their noon milk feed, where they were very active. They had their bottled and then walked to the mud bath for a cooling swim. They all really enjoyed wallowing with Rapa being the most active of the herd. When they came out they went over to dry off on the loose soil. Sana Sana scooped and threw soil in the air and on her back with her trunk.
It was a very hot and dry afternoon and when the orphans went back out to the bush many of them sought shade where they relaxed instead of browsing, only returning to that activity once it cooled down significantly. When it was time they slowly made their way back to the stockades for the night.
Some ex-orphans and wild bulls visited the stockades today for some water and lucerne. They stayed for some time with Noah, Nasalot’s baby, enjoying playing with two wild babies.
It was beautiful morning with a beautiful sunrise as the babies had their milk bottles and walked down to feed on lucerne as usual. There were just a few ex-orphans around from Wendi and Mutara’s herd and the young dependent orphans really enjoyed the lucerne without being disturbed too much. Kibo was among the few ex-orphans who were around, and later he went to share some water with a buffalo. Mambo, Mutara's baby, was even being protected by the young bull elephant Kibo today.
Out in the bush, Musiara was playing with Ambo as they greeted each other in a morning exercise. The others were very busy browsing in the bush. Naboishu was browsing on his own while Maramoja and Rapa were browsing together.
After the orphans had their milk bottles some decided to go to the mud bath to cool off. Pare was the most impressive wallower of the day, together with Larro and Dololo. Dololo had an impressive way of playing in the loose soil after the mud bath too and really enjoyed himself, throwing soil everywhere and rolling about. Some wild bulls were in the mud bath as well. One bull looked particularly beautiful, like he had painted himself, after his mud bath as he sprayed himself with red soil on top of the dark grey mud. Pare and Sattao decided to copy the bull and busied themselves playing and rolling in the loose soil after their mud bath as well, decorating their bodies. Later the juniors walked back to the bush for browsing.
It was a very hot afternoon and some of the orphans took refuge under some shade. Dololo and Malkia were browsing on their own separately away from the others. For whatever reason, perhaps it was the heat, Rapa and Karisa strayed from their orphan herd and instead followed Mutara's herd who was passing by, and they stayed out with them for the entire night.
Rapa and Karisa returned to the stockades this morning with Oltaiyoni’s late-night gang. The other dependent orphans woke up as usual to find that their milk was already ready for them. They had their bottles and walked down to the lucerne feeding area. Musiara started scratching his bottom on the rock while Mteto and Kuishi patted one another affectionately. The babies ate their lucerne supplements in peace and walked down to have some water before walking out to the bush for the day.
No sooner at the orphans settled in a particular area to browse that Enkikwe and Mundusi started playing a pushing game that went on for quite some time. Their friends concentrated on browsing for the whole morning however, right up until it was time to go for the noon milk feed.
After having her noon milk bottles, Mteto stopped to scratch her bottom on one of the nearby trees. A few wild elephants also arrived at the mud bath to have some water and wallow in the cool mud bath.
It was a very hot and dry afternoon and the orphans busied themselves trying to look for enough food to eat. Larro and Kuishi browsed together and flapped their ears to keep cool. Ambo stretched his trunk high into the trees to reach some green leaves he found there. Esampu decided to copy him and do the same. Later the orphans made their way back to the Ithumba stockades for the night. Oltaiyoni’s late-night gang arrived later and stayed for the night too.
Some of the orphans walked to the water trough and shared water with a buffalo. Nasalot and her two babies Noah and Nusu were around too, with Noah playing and walking on top of one of the rock boulders. There was a wild female with her new-born baby here as well. The baby looked to be about only one week old. The mother used to accompany Narok's herd and later Mutara's herd sometimes as well. Eventually the wild female and her baby walked away and the orphans walked in their own direction to begin their day of browsing.
It is still very dry out in the bush but the orphans did their best to browse and they chose not to play many games this morning. None of the ex-orphans followed them today so they were on their own and browsed peacefully. Later they walk to the mud bath for their noon milk bottles.
There were some huge wild elephant bulls at the mud bath who had come to drink water. The orphans had their milk and walked straight back out to browse. As usual it was a very hot afternoon, but Esampu and Jotto decided to start a wrestling game while others were busy browsing despite the hot weather. Sana Sana was spotted breaking dead branches and peeling the bark, which is something the orphans do especially in the dry season. The babies later started walking back home in the evening for their milk bottles and to do to bed for the night.
A number of wild elephants and ex-orphans visited the stockades today with Wendi and Kibo among them. They drank water and walked off into the bush in the late evening.
This morning was slightly different in that it was cloudy and a bit colder. The orphans rushed down to the lucerne feeding area after having their milk bottles. A few ex-orphans visited this morning too from Wendi’s herd. As the orphans were walking out to browse Enkikwe stopped to scratch his belly on a rock.
The chilly morning continued and some of the orphans like Enkikwe and Mundusi warmed themselves up by playing as they stretched their trunks. The others focused on browsing. Jotto stretched his trunk high to reach some fresh leaves. Sana Sana chose to browse on her own away from the others.
On the way to the mud bath Malkia, Ndiwa, Sana Sana and Musiara started playing and rolling in some loose soil along the road. When they were done they got up and followed their friends to the mud bath. The orphans had their bottles as usual and went to stand under some shade as the sun had broken through the clouds and it was turning into a hot afternoon. There were some wild elephant bulls present drinking some fresh water.
The orphans concentrated on browsing for the rest of the afternoon. Malkia and Enkikwe were browsing together while Sattao was browsing off by himself. Just before 5pm the orphans started to make their way back home to the stockades for the night.
There were some wild bulls in the compound today who came for water but chose not to share the lucerne grass supplement with the orphans. They were busy sharing water with some buffaloes from the same trough.
The orphans looked very active this morning. Sattao and Musiara were the most active as they were playing and pushing each other for a long time. Jotto and Sattao were busy browsing together.
When the orphans arrived at the mud bath for their milk bottles it was quite cloudy and none of them wanted to get into the mud bath to swim. They had their milk and walked to drink some water and they walked straight back out to the bush to continue browsing. Not a single wild elephant or ex-orphan showed up at the mud bath today. Jotto and Sattao started playing and later Jotto went on to play with Esampu too.
The orphans continued their afternoon of browsing. Mukkoka and Larro were browsing together before joining their friends to head back home in the evening. Ndiwa led the way.
The orphans settled for lucerne in the morning soon after leaving the stockades. The drought continues to hit hard and the elephants certainly know the situation too. After feeding on lucerne, they passed by the water troughs and armed themselves with enough water that would see them through the entire morning, and it was Karisa who led the way out. The orphans then settled to browse north of the kalovoto area. Sana Sana settled to browse with her favourite Naboishu as Ambo and Mukkoka took sometime off from feeding to have a strength testing exercise.
Shortly before mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Mutara and her herd. Malkia and Mteto moved to spend time with their favourite little Mambo.
It was hot when the orphans arrived at the mud bath for their noon milk bottles, and the orphans chose to swim fully in the mud bath after their bottles. After wallowing, Malima led the group for a soil dusting exercise and after, Larro took the lead back to the browsing field. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing. In the evening, Kuishi led the way back to the stockades for the night.