It was a big month for Roho. After much consideration, our formerly spoiled, now increasingly independent young bull decided he was ready to join his colleagues in the wild. One morning, when Nasalot and her team linked up with the dependent herd, Roho took the opportunity to peel off with them. He did not return to the stockades that night.
Nasalot's team reported early the following morning and dropped off Roho. The orphans welcomed him with open arms — especially his bedmates, Lodo and Olorien, who had lots of questions as to where he had spent the night. Roho enjoyed spending the day with the dependents, but again peeled off at night to join the ex-orphans.
Rewilding is a gradual process, and one that always unfolds at an orphan's chosen pace. Roho clearly feels ready to take this step — but if he changes his mind, there will always be a bedroom ready and waiting for him.
Much like May in Umani, the month was dominated by our ex-orphan girls and their various romances. Naseku, Malkia, and Oltaiyoni were all in season and had a spate of bull suitors pursuing them. For all three, this was their first introduction to mating rituals, and they found things quite overwhelming. We must let nature take its course — and hopefully, in two years' time, the girls will have lovely little babies to show for it.
Our young bulls are full of bluster, but bravery can be harder to come by! One afternoon, two running dik-diks suddenly brought tension amongst the orphans. With ears raised and heads held high, everyone stopped feeding and closely watched the small antelope disappear into the thickets. Only after the dik-diks vanished did Mukutan, Lodo, Choka, Vaarti, and Bondeni gather the courage to begin charging and trumpeting in the direction the animals had taken.
Our new boys, Toto, Natibu, and Mwinzi, continue to do very well in their new home. They do have one funny quirk in that they don't like lucerne pellets. In the mornings, they busy themselves scratching on nearby rocks while their colleagues scoop up every last pellet. We wonder if this will last, or if they simply don't understand the ritual yet.
Now that they are fully settled in, Kinyei has moved back to her former bedroom. Kindani has taken over as the boys' primary nanny — but her devotion to Toto is on another level. She treats him like a full-time job, shadowing his every move throughout the day and constantly fussing and fawning over him. Elephants can always intuit when one of their own needs a bit of extra support, and Toto has always been a sensitive soul, so he is really thriving with this special attention from Kindani.
The month was punctuated by visits from lots of ex-orphans and their babies. One morning, the dependents were joined by Yatta, Yara, Yoyo, Yogi, and Ndiwa, Nasalot, Nala, Noah, Suguroi, Naleku, Sapalan, Loijuk, Lili, and Lisha. At one point, bold little Weka attempted to kidnap baby Yara, but Yatta came running over to collect her baby. Being a wise mother and ex-orphan herself, she didn't hold it against Weka and escorted the orphans to a soil-dusting exercise.
Suguta and Sullivan were also frequent faces throughout the month. Sullivan is a particularly active baby, always running here and there and everywhere. Naboishu has been adopted by Mutara's herd; he's a few years older than Mango, so perhaps he is acting as a big brother.
The weather was all over the place in May. Some days, temperatures were hot and the sky was sunny; other days, it was overcast and cool. Only Lodo, the water boy, participated fully in wallowing regardless of the conditions. The rest of the team simply walked through the water to wet their feet before heading for a soil-dusting exercise.
Toto continues to be very reluctant to wallow, even on hot days. He has never enjoyed the water. But Kindani is slowly trying to change his ways. One afternoon, she guided Toto through the entire wallowing process, staying with him until he safely reached the exit point.
Towards the end of the month, we were happy to have a visit from Namalok and Mundusi, who hadn't been seen since last November and January, respectively. The boys arrived at the stockade compound before dawn and relaxed outside until the orphans were let out. They interacted nicely with the youngsters and shared pellets with them. Shortly thereafter, they headed north to an undisclosed location.
Sattao linked up with the orphans several times throughout the month. While he seems to be thriving in his new wild life, he also still enjoys being part of the dependents' routines and often leads the herd to their activities. One morning, Sattao held a meeting with Lodo and Olorien, as he appeared keen to find out when they might join him in the wild. They did not give him a clear answer.