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Ngasha was the first nightclubber to appear this morning, in the company of a large wild bull that the Keepers did not recognize. As the Umani herd were already settled within the Kibwezi Forest, the Keepers immediately started to look around for an exit in case this new visitor decided to charge. The bull kept his distance, but he had this suspicious look as though he did not quite understand the orphans’ relationship with their Keepers.

Murera was also a bit nervous so she, with the help of Kiasa and Enkesha, ushered Mwana away, deeper into the forest. Lima Lima, Sonje and Quanza all walked over to greet the bull, and he was particularly interested in Quanza whom he kept trying to wrap his trunk around. Quanza was confused by his actions, and she eventually ran off to find Murera and the others, but this caused the bull to follow all the girls. Once further in the forest the Keepers could hear all the girls rumbling and trumpeting, and they spotted them dashing off to the open field, so the Keepers followed. Once out in the open field, Ngasha decided to follow the Umani herd and eventually his new friend went off on his way.

This afternoon, Kiasa once again took Mwana away from the older nannies as she wanted Mwana to be escorted by herself and Enkesha. From being one of the naughtiest members of the Nursery herd, Kiasa has turned into such a caring and doting nanny. They were both trying to escort Mwana to the mud bath, but that little charger was sprinting ahead of them both and she made it to the pool well before them. After a wonderful wallow, the Umani herd began to make their way back to the stockades for the evening.

The orphans made their way to the Kenzili today, leaving the Umani hills behind them and enjoying the abundance of vegetation up ahead. As they were all browsing, a wild bull came over to greet the Umani herd. He comfortably approached Quanza and Alamaya, and Mwashoti wasn’t too far away. As the bull was browsing with Quanza and Alamaya, he suddenly spotted the Keepers amongst the orphans and this gave him a fright. He suddenly flared his ears and began rumbling at the Keepers, the Keepers moved cautiously and tried to call Quanza and Alamaya back to the herd.

As they called out, the bull suddenly charged the Keepers who all dashed off into the thicker bushes. As they ran off, Murera went running to move Mwana away, but the two avid nannies Kiasa and Enkesha had already scuttled her away. Kapei and Amali sprinted off, overtaking everyone including their Keepers and they both disappeared into the bushes. Quanza, Alamaya and Mwashoti then followed suit. With everyone disappearing, the bull lost interest and went off on his way.

Once he had disappeared, the Keepers appeared from the bushes and called out to the herd who all showed up apart from Amali. Amali is still very nervous around bulls and as soon as she gets a fright, she charges off without looking back. After a couple of minutes of looking, the Keepers managed to find her deep within the bushes. She was happy to see the herd and they all made their way back to the Umani hills.

As the orphans were browsing in the fields of the Chyulu Hills, they spotted Jasiri with a couple of his wild friends. The Keepers were amazed to see him and realised that he had made some new friends which is perhaps why they hadn’t seen him for some time. Sonje and Lima Lima were so excited to see him that they hurriedly walked over to him and as they greeted him, Faraja suddenly appeared in the distance. The older orphans and Keepers were overjoyed to see them both, and many a rumble were shared. Kapei on the other hand was too busy browsing and filling his belly to pay attention to them.

After a couple of minutes Jasiri and Faraja went back to their friends and Sonje and Lima Lima made their way back to the Keepers, Murera, and Mwana.

This afternoon, as the orphans were headed down the hills Murera was a bit a bit annoyed with Mwashoti. Although they are normally very close, Mwashoti upset Murerea this afternoon when he refused to let Mwana approach her one nanny, Enkesha. As Enkesha was browsing, Mwana tried to come running over but as soon as she did, he would stand in front of her. Mwana grew restless and rumbled at Mwashoti causing Murera and all the nannies to come running over. Mwashoti spent all afternoon trying to earn Murera’s forgiveness, and eventually when it was time for the orphans to head home, was he finally forgiven.

With the recent rains, the Chyulu Hills are once again full of life and all the animals have returned from their different migratory routes. With such lush green vegetation all around the Umani Reintegration Unit, the Keepers are not surprised that they have not seen Zongoloni, Ziwa, Jasiri, and Faraja for quite some time as they have plenty to eat and so many wild friends to interact with. Being older, they are also not so dependent on their former herd. Now that Murera has little Mwana, all the nannies are so focused on this little bundle of joy, along with the orphan babies Kapei and Amali.

Down at the mud bath, the orphans were not interested in having a mud bath as the water was still quite cold amongst all the longer grass and under the shades of the trees. Sonje immediately walked back into the forest as she had no interest in having a mud bath. After a couple of minutes, Quanza led the orphans to another smaller and warmer mud bath. Kiasa was the first to approach the side of the mud bath and she started splashing water on her back. Once she felt it was warm enough, Kiasa went straight into the mud bath, and Mwana was quick to follow, closely watched by Enkesha and Murera, who didn’t want to get in the water.

After a short mud bath, the orphans moved over the dust mound, and began rolling about. Amali had a quick roll around before moving away to where Kapei was browsing. She briefly greeted Kapei before heading over to her close friend Mwashoti and they headed off back into the forest. Slowly, the whole herd joined them for a peaceful afternoon of browsing.

The orphans were led up the hills today by little Mwana, closely followed by her nannies. Sonje and Murera were following from behind, going at their own pace and slowly coming up the hill. Murera fully trusts the nannies to take care of her little girl and keep her company as she catches up. Mwana was happily walking with Kiasa, Enkesha,, Quanza and Lima Lima. When they got to the top, she could be seen rolling around in the middle of them, and as soon as Murera caught up she went running over to breastfeed.

As they were all busy browsing, the Keepers suddenly heard one of the older orphans yell out. They and Murera quickly went to have a look when they noticed Mwana, Kapei and Kiasa all playfully rolling around in the long grass. They were being closely watched by Enkesha and Quanza, who were making sure that Kapei played gently with little Mwana.

After a wonderful morning, browsing and playing, the orphans made their way down to the mud bath areas for their midday bottles of milk. Once they had finished their milk bottles, Sonje and Murera walked straight over to the muddy pool to cool off. They were soon joined by Quanza and Kiasa and the rest of the Umani herd. Mwana watched on the side for a few minutes before she joined her mum and all her nannies.

After a long wallow and dust bath, the orphans had a peaceful afternoon browsing in the forest.

As the Keepers were opening the orphans’ stockades this morning, Kiasa and Enkesha both came out in such a hurry that they almost knocked their heads together, and they both had to quickly catch themselves before they ran off to the lucerne feeding points. They were both rushing to where Mwana was already standing at her gate with Murera closely behind. Kiasa immediately began greeting little Mwana and giving her trunk hugs.

When Enkesha arrived at the stockade, Kiasa didn’t want to let her have any time with Mwana and this started to aggravate Enkesha, who started to push back at Kiasa. The two were getting so annoyed with each other that Quanza, Lima Lima and the Keepers had to come over and separate them.

Once Enkesha and Kiasa had been separated, Murera and the others went over to Sonje, who was still enjoying the morning lucerne pellets with Kapei Maktao and Kiombo. Maktao and Kiombo were both quite relaxed this morning and neither of them were trying to start up any wrestling matches.

Amali and Mwashoti remain very close friends, and he behaves very much like her older brother, constantly watching over her and keeping her company throughout the day. Today, he spent most of his day right by her side. As a result, this gave Lima Lima, who also watches over her, some time to go and hang out with the other nannies. Kiasa, Enkesha, Quanza, and Lima Lima had a busy day fighting over Mwana’s attention.

With all the rainfall, there are quite a few ticks reappearing within the forest, which is of course normal in the wild. As a result, the Keepers do have to treat the orphans every so often to keep the ticks off them. With the new addition of little Mwana, the Keepers are trying different treatments that aren’t as strong as what the bigger orphans get with their tougher skin. Today, the Keepers tried coconut oil on Mwana, which made her feel very itchy. As Murera was walking around the forest with her, she could be seen charging around and scratching on tree trunks and rolling in the dirt. She eventually settled when she charged straight into the mud bath, during the orphans’ midday bottles of milk.

Kiasa and Enkesha, whom have both always love their mud baths, quickly entered the muddy water and began to roll about. Murera, Amali, and Mwashoti were next to join on the fun, splashing muddy water around and covering their bodies. Lima Lima, Sonje and Quanza all joined in too, but they stayed closer to the edge watching over everyone having a wonderful time. Maktao and Kiombo had to find their own little corner to roll around in as Sonje was being protective and keeping them away from little Mwana.

After a couple of minutes, Ngasha decided to join the Umani orphans, but he didn’t stay very long as he quickly started to cause trouble. Not knowing his own size, Ngasha immediately tried to play climb on Amali but she is too small to play with him and quickly began to yell out under his weight. The Keepers and Mwashoti when running over to check on Amali and usher Ngasha away. However, it was as though the large boy knew he was being naughty, because he didn’t listen to the Keepers at first. Ngasha was also ushered to the naughty corner with Kiombo and Maktao.

This morning all the orphans came out of their stockades looking for their morning lucerne pellets. Kiasa was first to arrive, and when she realised that the Keepers hadn’t brought them out, she began to flap her ears and rumble in protest. The Keepers were busy getting things ready, and within a couple of minutes one of them was on their way with the pellets. As soon as the pellets hit the ground, Murera and all the orphans started digging in — even Mwana was trying to pick some up, but as she is still learning how to use her trunk, this was quite the effort.

Whilst the Umani herd were moving through the forest, there were some disagreements between Enkesha and Quanza and Sonje and Lima Lima as to which direction they should go. The Keepers weren’t happy with the direction Enkesha and Quanza were heading in, so they too ushered the orphans towards Sonje and Lima Lima, who led the orphans to Kenzili along the Umani Springs. As the orphans were walking, they once again came across the big wild bull with one broken tusk and one long one. The bull was on edge with the Keepers, and as he saw them near Sonje, he mocked charged them. Lima Lima, who is always so protective of the Keepers, was very quick to step in front of the bull and stop him from getting close to them, leading him away from the herd.

As the orphans were starting their day, Sonje walked around, greeting all the orphans as their gates were being opened and checking that everyone was okay. All the orphans were happy to see her, and they were all greeting each other with warm rumbles, including little Mwana. Once all the orphans were up and about, Enkesha and Kiasa led the Umani herd back to the Kenzili area, where they spotted Jasiri browsing on all the fresh grass and vegetation. The were lots of warm rumbles as they all greeted each other.

Murera and Quanza led the herd down to the mud bath area when it was time for the orphans to have their midday bottles of milk. As soon as the orphans finished their bottles, Mwashoti, Alamaya, and Lima Lima were the first to walk straight into the muddy water to roll around and cool off. Eventually the whole herd and Jasiri joined them as it was quite a hot day, and they were all cooling off. Mwana too was joining in and rolling about in the middle of the herd closely watched by Murera and ever doting nannies.

As the orphans were enjoying themselves around the mud and dust bath, Faraja and Ngasha appeared but neither of the bulls were feeling social as they disappeared as fast as they showed up. The two bulls didn’t even greet each other and were avoiding one another, perhaps because of the argument between Ngasha and Jasiri the other day. If Faraja would try to approach Ngasha, Ngasha would challenge him to a wrestling match and Faraja had no interest in this. They eventually both settled and browsed with the Umani herd.

Amali and Mwashoti continue to have the sweetest friendship. Mwashoti loves her so much and is continuously watching over her. The Keepers are always overjoyed to see how happy Amali is when she is spending time with him. Today, Mwashoti was being so caring that he was picking up delicious twigs and sharing them with her. Kiombo on the other hand was just picking up old twigs and throwing them about as a game.

As the herd was wandering through the Chyulu area, Murera was following them from the back, sticking to her own pace. Mwana was charging at the front with her nannies, Kiasa, Quanza, Lima Lima, and Enkesha. Murera is happy to be able to walk at her own space, whilst her little girl is kept safe by her nannies and the Keepers.

As the orphans were settling to browse, Kiombo and Maktao started a wrestling match and were chasing each other around the bushes, rumbling and trumpeting in excitement. Alamaya, who stood near them, was quick to move away, so he didn’t get caught up in their game. It is amazing to see how close these two bulls have stayed, even since their graduation from the Nursery.

Lima Lima, however, always seems to be a bit concerned when the bulls start to play fight as she worries that their games may get a little rough. As soon as she saw Kiombo and Maktao playing, she walked over to Sonje with great concern, and then the two walked over to watch over the boys. Eventually, they both stood between the boys, effectively putting an end to their game. Kiombo and Maktao grew bored and walked off to where Jasiri and Faraja were browsing.

This morning all the night clubbers, apart from Zongoloni and Ziwa, were waiting outside the stockade gates for the Keepers and all the other orphans. Jasiri, Faraja, Alamaya, Mwashoti, Sonje, Lima Lima, and Quanza were all eagerly waiting for the others and their morning pellets. They all warmly greeted, Kiombo, Maktao, Kiasa, Enkesha, Kapei, Amali, Murera and Mwana when they walked out one by one. They all had a wonderful morning together.

As the orphans and Keepers were walking down the Kenzili road, they came across lots of wild herds around with young calves, some even younger than Mwana. As soon as the wild herd saw the Keepers and the orphans, they ushered their calves towards the forest and then disappeared within the bushes. Mwana was very enchanted by all the other babies and even tried to follow the herds wandering off. Kiasa immediately spotted Mwana and ran after her stopping her from wandering off. Kiasa then rumbled and all the other nannies came over, Enkesha, Kiasa and Quanza then all ushered Mwana back to Murera.

As the orphans were enjoying their midday mud bath, Kiombo and Maktao ended up in a tussle over the corner of the pool that they wanted. This wasn’t one of their usual disagreements, as they were both getting genuinely annoyed with each other. Kiombo started back-kicking Maktao, who then grew more incensed. Lima Lima and Enkesha tried to step in and stop them, but neither of the boys would back down. The Keepers eventually called all the orphans out of the mud bath, which put an end to the boys’ fight.

Sonje, Quanza, and Lima Lima led Amali and the boys to the dust bath, and Murera, Enkesha, Kiasa and Mwana all followed from behind. As the Umani herd arrived at the dust bath, they suddenly spotted four buffalo napping on the other side of the dust mound. Mwashoti and Alamaya stepped forward and challenged the buffalo, rumbling and flapping their ears at them. The buffalo stood up in a hurry and wandered back into the forest. Once the buffalo had cleared the area, Mwashoti and Alamaya trumpeted out of pride and excitement, and the orphans enjoyed a fun dust bath.

This morning, the orphans headed out along the Kenzili oad, led by none other that little Mwana. As the orphans made their way down the road, Kiasa, Enkesha, Quanza and some of the others kept rolling around on the dust mounds on the side of the road. Every time they did so Mwana would copy them. At some point, however, Kiombo and Kapei thought it would be fun to block Mwana from joining her nannies. This aggravated the nannies a lot and the boys were quickly chased away, leaving Mwana to have fun.

Once again, the orphans came across a large wild herd with lots of wild babies. Amongst this herd, the Keepers were amazed to spot Zongoloni walking amongst them. They quickly called out her name and she immediately responded with a rumble and turned to face them, but as she was amongst the herd, the Keepers didn’t approach her too quickly. She eventually came over and warmly greeted the Keepers and her orphan friends, before running off to catch up with the wild herd. The Keepers were happy to see her part of a new, big, wild family.

As soon as they woke up, Maktao and Kiombo immediately started wrestling each other. They were pushing each other around as they ran out to eat their morning pellets. They then settled to eat the lucerne, and as they were munching away Sonje appeared. Kiombo, who loves Sonje, went running over to greet her and welcome her back. As he did so, Maktao saw it as his opportunity to playfully charge at his friend. Kiombo was quick to react, and he skilfully turned to challenge Maktao and their games commenced once again. Enkesha first tried to intervene, but she failed, and then Quanza and Mwashoti came over and they managed to calm the boys down, especially as Mwashoti is so much bigger than them. The orphans then happily made their way up the hills. 

The orphans had a wonderful mud bath this afternoon before they all enjoyed a long dust bath. Dust baths are important for the orphans, as the dust protects them from bugs, flies and the sun and also helps them not itch from the muddy water and little Mwana is learning all of this from her herd.

The orphans were once again surrounded by several wild herds. Kapei can sometimes be on edge with all the wild elephants around, especially when the matriarchs are protective and start to rumble and be defensive. The Keepers must keep a close eye on him, to make sure he doesn’t run off and hide. Luckily, he is a lot more relaxed within the herd now and will generally just hide amongst the boys. Mwana, on the other hand, is very curious and wants to make friends with all the babies and follow them around. This morning, she even approached one of the wild bulls, smelling him with her tiny trunk and trying to figure out who he was. The bull quickly lost interest and walked off, so Lima Lima walked straight over and comforted Mwana, who was very confused. Murera then rumbled and her little girl came running over.

It was such a hot afternoon that Mwashoti and Alamaya were constantly hiding in the shade of the trees. When the herd was moving around, they looked so uncomfortable walking in the direct sunlight. As the orphans were walking along the pipeline route, Alamaya and Mwashoti kept stopping at all the little drinking spots for a swig of water and to splash some over their bodies. Eventually, Quanza, Enkesha, and Kiombo all followed their lead as they too wanted to call down. Later, the orphans all made a bee line for the mud bath, where there was already a wild bull wallowing. All but Murera and Mwana went in the water as Murera waited for the bull to leave before going in with her little girl.

The weather took a drastic turn over night, and it was very cold in the morning as the orphans were starting their day. Even though it was cold, Murera was eager to get going. When they were all let out of their stockades, they made their way over to the lucerne feeding place, where Jasiri and Faraja were waiting with Quanza and Lima Lima. Ngasha showed up a little bit later, but once again Jasiri was being hostile towards him, which then led to Ngasha charging at Jasiri. The three, Jasiri, Faraja, and Ngasha, once again had a fight, but this time the Keepers stepped in to separate the bulls. All the bulls knew they were in trouble and walked away with their heads down.

In the afternoon, the orphans pulled a little disappearing act, and Murera, Mwana, Quanza, Enkesha, Kiasa and Lima Lima all disappeared. The Keepers quickly spotted them walking up the hills. As they were sticking to Murera’s pace, the Keepers were able to catch up and they enjoyed a wonderful afternoon on the hills.

Enkesha was having a lot of fun with a stick today, picking it up and throwing it stick around and then chewing it for a bit before throwing it around again. Mwana was watching her every move, eagerly waiting for Enkesha to pass her the stick. After a couple of minutes, Enkesha dropped the stick for Mwana to play with. The little girl is still learning to use her trunk, so she struggled to pick up the stick, as it was to long and difficult to balance with her little trunk. As she grows older, she will learn to use her trunk and pick up bigger and heavier objects.

Sonje arrived with one of her wild bull friends today, and they both headed to where Lima Lima was standing with Mwana and Kiasa. Murera let them spend some time with her little girl before calling her back so she could breastfeed and spend time with her.

Amazingly, Ziwa and his wild friends came to visit during the orphans’ midday milk feeds. This was very early in the day for Ziwa to show up, as the last couple of times he’s appeared have been when the orphans are heading home for the evening. The orphans were all so happy to see him and rumbled and trumpeted in excitement. Ngasha, who continues to have a chip on his shoulders about being the dominant bull, tried to charge Ziwa, but Ziwa stood his ground and pushed Ngasha away. Ngasha was surprised to see how strong Ziwa was and he quickly ran off. Ziwa then left with his wild friends.

None of the night clubbers turned up in the early hours of this morning. As Murera and Enkesha were making their way towards the forest, Alamaya and Lima Lima showed up from the other side and a couple of minutes later Sonje appeared. Later in the morning, Quanza arrived, but when she didn’t see all the orphans around, she yelled out with a massive trumpet and all the orphans stopped what they were doing to have a look around. She was clearly looking for little Mwana and Murera. As soon as she spotted them, she calmed down. Whilst they were walking off, Ngasha joined them.

In the afternoon, as the orphans were walking along the Umani hills they came across a herd of sleeping buffalo. The buffalo were uninterested in moving out of the orphans’ way. Some of the big bulls were standing their ground and protecting the herd. However, when Sonje and Ngasha trumpeted and challenged the buffalo, they also seemed to back down and eventually got up and walked off. With such a long stand-off between the buffalo and orphans, Kapei and Amali were frightened and ran off to hide. They hid right behind where all the Keepers were standing, as they knew it would be safe there, and just near them was Murera protecting little Mwana. Once they buffalo disappeared, the orphans settled to browse.