You never know what a new month will bring! For our Kaluku family, May brought the arrival of a tiny orphaned hippo — a living, breathing bundle of joy. Bumpy, as we named him, instantly captured everyone's hearts.
On 2nd May, an orphaned hippo was reported on the shores of Lake Oloiden in Naivasha. His mother died, likely in a territorial fight defending her baby's life, and he had spent at least a day huddled by her body. The Kenya Wildlife Service rescued him and brought him into our care.
Bumpy spent the night at our Nairobi Nursery before being flown to Kaluku, which is a more suitable environment in which to raise an orphaned hippo. He is the king of his little kingdom: he pads between his cosy stable, where he spends his nights, and his personal pool, where he spends his days.
True to hippo form, Bumpy adores water and takes any opportunity to showcase his water acrobatics. If he sees someone approach the pool, he immediately starts whirling and twirling, diving like a porpoise and barrel-rolling with his four little feet flapping above the surface. He loves attention — and there is no shortage of it! Everyone at Kaluku seems to find a reason to circle into the little hippo's orbit.
Bumpy is an outgoing chap, but he is absolutely hooked on his Keepers, Festus and Jackson. If he's in his pool, he peeks his little eyes and ears above water to closely monitor their movements; if he's outside, he can usually be found nestled between their feet or napping on one of their laps.
After having his evening milk bottle in his pool, Bumpy toddles back to his stable, where he flops onto the plush pillow that sits right next to his Keeper's bed. He shifts around a bit, getting comfortable, then drifts into a deep sleep until his next milk bottle.
Of course, Bumpy isn't the only orphaned hippo at Kaluku. Musumbi shows a polite interest in his younger counterpart. He is about 18 months older and has his own little aquatic kingdom to lord over. Wangalla's favourite dusting place is right next to Musumbi's area — the little elephant rolls in the soil or naps in the shade while the stout hippo observes her antics.
It's incredible to see how Korbessa has taken the reins at Kaluku. She is on the young side for a mini matriarch, but she unequivocally runs the show. Lamuu and Subi defer to her leadership and trust her judgement on all matters. The dynamic works for everyone.
Interestingly, because they are both older, neither Lamuu nor Subi shows any inclination to nanny Wangalla. Lamuu can even be a bit pushy, while Subi is simply disinterested. That's okay; Wangalla gets more than enough nurturing from Korbessa and Keepers Misheck and Sammy. She's turning into such a bright, confident little elephant.
Lamuu and Korbessa look and behave like sisters, but they have very different personalities. Korbessa is easygoing and friendly; Lamuu is much shier. This is understandable, given Lamuu's history. She spent a long time in terrible agony with a snare around her leg, and those memories are still quite raw. We know that she will continue to settle as time passes — and in the meantime, it's wonderful to see how fully her leg has healed. When she was rescued in January, her foot was fully encircled by a deep, bloody gash left by the snare. Now, you have to look hard to find the scar.
On the other side, little Kaikai is holding down the fort with her boyfriend, Bungalu. She is a bossy, spoiled girl — but delightfully so — and enjoys lording over everyone else. Bungalu is happy with the dynamic, but sometimes he decides enough is enough. One afternoon, for instance, Kaikai was being particularly high and mighty. Bungalu bided his time until midday, then had his revenge: he stood by a small log, and as Kaikai was trying to step over it, he pushed her over. The effect was fleeting, but victory was his!
Chamboi had a good month. He is getting bigger, stronger, and increasingly surly and independent — all natural, positive developments for a black rhino. Also true to form for his species, he is happiest doing his own thing, although he will make an exception for Gruff the buffalo. Both boys seem to operate on the same wavelength.
Our orphaned buffalo family got a bit bigger this month with the addition of Moshi, a tiny calf rescued from Tsavo West. Bibi and Gruff have been very welcoming. The same generosity of spirit cannot be said for Bombi the zebra — she is obsessed with Keeper Peter and is loath to let anyone else into his orbit.
Pips, our lovely, loving nanny giraffe, has taken a real shine to Bumpy. She often lingers around the stout hippo's pool, snacking on leaves from the nearby trees and keeping a general eye on things. From there, she might amble down to the mud bath to check in with the orphaned elephants, or else link up with her other favourite, Ginger the Grant's gazelle. Ginger no longer sleeps in the stable, but he still reappears most days to visit Peter and Pips.
Over at Rhino Base, Apollo is doing very well. For being such a large animal, he is a master of stealth. We were reminded of this one afternoon as we drove through his wandering grounds trying to find him. After an hour, there was still no sight of a rhino. We finally realised that he had been behind us all along, silently shadowing the vehicle from a distance! He only revealed himself when he felt well and ready.
Apollo is getting a lot more company — his zebra herd seems to be growing exponentially! News is obviously out that his grounds are a safe place to be. We're not sure how they manage to make their way through the lion-proof fence, but where there's a will, there's a way.
