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Following the heavy rain that fell today, with lots of storms, the Keepers had a very difficult time following the babies. It was a big challenge, because strong winds were blowing down trees and the situation made the elephants run off, trying to find space under trees, but the wind was bringing trees down. Murera and Mwana lost direction and, even when the Keepers called, none could be heard. It took a long time before the rain could stop, and when it did, the Keepers were out in the bushes trying to call the babies to come back and be together.

Lima Lima and her team could not be traced or found, and the Keepers gave up on them then. The focus shifted to the Nairobi girls and Murera. Kerrio heard the Keepers calling her name and decided to come out and see what they were calling her for. She was with Kamili and Latika. Some minutes later, Amali, Mwana, and Murera arrived.

Kapei and his friend Maktao were left out with Sonje and Lima Lima. At the time Murera was almost at the gate in the evening, they arrived asking for their milk bottles, which had almost been given to Amali after the Keepers thought the two boys would not come home. The Keepers always give away bottles for those who do not come back, because milk bottles cannot be kept for long to avoid expiry. Luckily, they arrived in time. 

As we crossed into the new month of May, on its second day, every Keeper was surprised this morning to see two giant wild bulls making their entry into the herd while Murera was still inside, and the Keepers spotted Lima Lima being followed very closely by the bulls. It was something the Keepers thought would not happen for Lima Lima now with her young boy. She kept an eye on the giants, with her mother running into the bushes and the bulls following very closely. The Keepers tried to ignore their presence, but with wild animals being smarter than humans would know, one Keeper said Lima Lima loved boys and she could be the one who called and hosted them, but she could not take these bulls away with her and left Murera with the other head girls. Lenny kept following and watching every step these bulls made.

Murera distanced herself with Mwana so as not to be around the bulls, because Murera had experience, having once faced this when she was on a mating mission for her second pregnancy last year with Mwana. Now she gave Lima Lima her own space with her guests to do what was necessary and leave. From the Keepers’ observations of what was still happening with Lima Lima and her wild bull friends, they were still in negotiation before any actual activity could happen. Lima Lima had to bring her demands to the table for discussion, to agree or not to agree. She could get other handsome bulls, something Lima Lima is still good at, changing boyfriends before she would get one that suits her best. She would then get back to Sonje for much-needed advice on how to go about it.

Murera knew this and excused herself far away from the bulls. They called her baby Mwana. At the time for the midday bottle feeding, Murera did not come for her milk bottle; instead, the Keepers took the bottle to where she was with Mwana. After she saw the wild bulls had also come with Sonje, they then left the nearby waterhole. Sonje moved around the waterhole, trying to reach the other babies to listen to her, then Kerrio and Latika walked to follow Sonje. Kiasa and Enkesha went back to the Kibwezi forests, leaving the two bulls with Kapei and Maktao.

The struggle with the wild bulls continued this morning and many wild elephants came from different corners of Chyulu Hills to seduce the Umani girls again. When Murera saw this happening, she stayed far away so as not to repeat the experience, since after she was mated last time it was not easy for her and Mwana. The Keepers were still guessing who could be on the wild elephants’ radar this time. They thought it could be Kiasa, Quanza, Lima Lima, or Sonje, but many of the bulls followed Lima Lima and it appeared she was now the targeted one.

Lenny looked miserable when the bull tried to chase away his mother, and he had no idea why his mother was in trouble today. One bull after another went for Lima Lima.

Another huge bull arrived and scared away the other bulls that were already in courtship. They were surprised to see such a big wild bull approaching them and the four bulls ran away, leaving Lima Lima with the huge wild bull that had just arrived. There was no way they could stay around him beside Lima Lima. The Keepers had to call Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili aside to follow them into the bushes away from the area. The wild bull was with Lima Lima and looked threatening towards the Keepers, warning them not to stay around him.

Lima Lima would not step away and go with him, but she kept coming to where Kerrio and Murera were sitting with the Keepers. When the Keepers walked away with Murera and the Nairobi girls, the situation became better for them and for Murera, while Lenny and his mother remained in trouble, running all day with no good time to browse.

The orphans started their new day this morning with more wild bulls around the fence line, while Lima Lima and the other night clubbers were already by the gate. The big surprise was Murera getting her bottle and staying by the door without moving, while raising her ears, with Mwana going round side by side with her. Again, Amali and Kerrio finished their milk bottles and never seemed bothered the way Murera was. Immediately Amali stepped outside, followed by Kerrio, Murera came behind them but stopped at the gate waiting for the Keepers to bring pellets.

Ziwa came from the bushes while the Keepers were unaware of how he joined the orphans at the pellets area. A fight broke out between Ziwa and Jasiri, who did not recognise his presence. Jasiri chased him away and denied him entry to the pellets corner, while the Keepers laughed at how Ziwa had been chased away. Sonje, with Sulwe and Quanza, then arrived from the side of the Umani Springs.

All the babies were then called by their Keepers, and Murera with Sonje guided the orphans to Kenzili area for more fresh greens. Before Sonje joined the team, a bushbuck crossed the path and scared Sonje because she did not see what had passed by the area. She started charging at the tree shrubs in protest, but ended up not seeing anything that had crossed her path.

Before reaching Kenzili, Murera rumbled and caught the attention of many of the orphans. This made everyone stop and check on Murera and Mwana to see why she had rumbled as a way of signalling the other girls to stop and wait for her. Zongoloni came back in the company of Sonje and Latika and found Murera was simply tired and wanted everybody to wait for her under the big tree. Kapei with Maktao also went to Mwana, but Maktao mounted Mwana. Her mother Murera was not happy to see Maktao mounted on Mwana and chased him away from her baby for displaying bad manners under her watch.

The orphans had a very good mud bath joined by four wild bulls who are still pursuing Zongoloni and Lima Lima for courtship. Inside the waterhole, Murera did not feel safe in that big group and opted out, running away with her baby Mwana. Meanwhile, Lima Lima and Lenny stayed behind to enjoy the mud bath.

One of the wild bulls became agitated after seeing Zongoloni leaving with another bull. The bulls then turned to a big fight over the girls. One of the bulls felt Zongoloni was betraying him, while the other also felt he should be the bull marching in front of everybody. Swimming was stopped prematurely when the two bulls started fighting over Zongoloni. The Keepers had to move away with Murera and the Nairobi girls, Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili, so that they would not get lost.

When the bulls moved away chasing Zongoloni, all the Keepers sympathised with poor little Zigi, who did not know why his mother was having such big problems today. She spent the whole day running, without stopping to breastfeed him. Mwana had the experience to tell little Zigi what had happened. Now, it was Zigi’s turn to run around the bushes after his mother and feel what she felt when Murera was being pursued to be mated.

Zongoloni was already tired from the running battle with the bulls, but it was still not done and the deal with her wild bull friends would continue for many more days. The bulls had tried with Lima Lima but left her, and now both bulls turned to chase Zongoloni.

The orphans began their new day very well, with Mwana and Murera taking the lead back to the pellets store demanding to be given pellets as a morning starter after bottles. Because the Keepers had not yet brought the pellets to the gate side, Murera decided to show the Keepers what she wanted before leaving for the bushes. Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili didn’t mind what Murera was doing, but when Mwana saw Amali was not with them, she rumbled for Amali to join them.

When the Keepers arrived pushing the wheelbarrow with pellets, Murera and her baby Mwana were in a rush and stopped Kerrio and Kamili from being the first beneficiaries to eat pellets ahead of them. Murera scared Kerrio and pushed her far away before coming back close to Mwana, who was not fighting them. The Keepers had to stand between them for peace to prevail between Murera and the little babies. This cooled Murera’s temper down, as she can be rough when in a bad mood.

Mwashoti came but landed on the wrong side of Murera when he moved behind her. Murera did not want him at her back where she could not see properly. Murera and Mwashoti were once very good and close friends, but since Mwashoti followed Lima Lima and her team again during her pregnancy, Murera fought Mwashoti. Feeling overwhelmed, Mwashoti ran away quickly in order not to be pushed again.

Mwashoti then went off and took all his anger out on Maktao and Kapei. They were ready to play around with him, but found Mwashoti unhappy after being chased by Murera. His anger was then directed at the young boys who wanted to play with him.

It has been hard for the Keepers to know who will mate with Lima Lima, as she has been courting many different bulls. Lima Lima came this morning again with several new bulls. She was with her baby, Lenny, who did not know why so many strangers were following his mother today and why they were running so much with no time to eat or nurse.

At the waterhole, when the Keepers were getting ready to bottle feed the orphans, Murera kept a long distance away, with her ears twisting in all directions to hear the bulls with Lima Lima. The Keepers were very careful, listening to where the noises were coming from. The commotion from Lima Lima and the bulls even made the buffaloes sleeping close to the mud bath get up and run away.

Mwana wanted to be close to her mother, but found Latika blocking her path. She did not want to follow Amali, who was in front of Latika; she only wanted to be with Murera.

Ziwa also joined the orphans with his wild herd, which has now grown bigger with many young babies. Ziwa remains the only boy. He was adopted when the herd only had girls; now, they have become mothers, much like our orphan herd.

Many buffaloes blocked the Keepers’ and orphans’ way into the Kibwezi Forest as they headed to the hills to browse. Amali and Latika became very angry with them and they tried to clear the path. Amali let out a loud trumpet and Latika followed by charging at the buffaloes until they became frightened and scattered everywhere. This gave the orphans a good chance to make their way to the top of the hills.

Murera hid in the bushes away from the dangerous buffaloes. The Keepers called for Murera to come out after the path became safer for her to pass. While Murera and her Keepers were walking through the valleys, two hornbills shouted from the tops of the trees and caught Murera unaware. This caused Murera to run off at speed.

At the top of the hills, the Keepers sat watching elephants down below and hoped they were part of the orphans. The Keepers started calling to them, thinking they could be Lima Lima and her team, but they were wild elephants.

The time for the mud bath arrived quickly and the Keepers began calling the babies to assemble in readiness for the midday bottle feeding. The Keepers kept calling names loudly, “Kwata kwata, Murera,” and others like Kerrio, but none came out from the bushes. Then a welcome saviour came to their rescue when Amali and Mwana popped their heads out from far away. Again the Keepers called Amali and she came over with Mwana, then behind them Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili emerged, but there was still no Lima Lima and her team.

The Keepers had to proceed with the midday bottles and mud bath without Lima Lima and her team. Later, they were joined by Ziwa and Kapei, followed by buffaloes, which caused Murera to leave again with her team. Murera waited for her daughter Mwana while looking for safer areas away from the buffaloes.

This morning, Zongoloni arrived with five wild bulls just as everyone was about to leave. The Keepers had to change their plans to make a safe exit from the stockades for everyone.

The Keepers used their own tricks to allow the team to get out by taking a wheelbarrow full of pellets around the fence line. When Zongoloni followed the wheelbarrow around the fence line, it gave Murera and her Keepers a chance to come out. Kerrio, Kamili, and Latika tried to follow the wrong direction where the bulls and Zongoloni were, but the Keepers redirected them so that they moved to a safer side.

Zigi kept looking miserably at the bulls. He looked tired from the wild bulls constantly chasing his mother, while he kept running with her in every direction. He seemed to want the bulls to leave his mother alone. Enkesha and Kiasa tried to come for the baby, but they were denied access by the wild bulls, forcing them back towards Lima Lima and her team. Zigi wanted to go with Kiasa and Enkesha, but getting him away safely was not possible. Kiasa looked very upset to see Zigi wanting her but being blocked. If Kiasa or Enkesha had been older and bigger, they might have tried to fight for Zigi to gain his freedom from the situation around his mother.

Murera and her baby Mwana were nowhere to be seen because Murera saw how big and rough the bulls were and did not want to be around them with her baby. It was an experience she had already gone through twice before while being mated, and now she was playing her cards very wisely.

Today was another busy day for the orphans walking in the bushes. All pathways were full and blocked by wild elephants, who were spread everywhere as they courted Zongoloni. For now, it seems like Lima Lima’s courtship time has concluded.

Zongoloni looked tiny beside the bulls. Zigi and Zongoloni both appeared exhausted from the long days that did not seem to end soon, but due to nature Zongoloni had to keep up her spirit to the very end.

One giant bull arrived again looking for Zongoloni. He went to fight the other bulls, but he was overwhelmed by the dominant bull who would not allow anyone near Zongoloni under his watch. He had to fight hard to keep the title of being the bull of the match until the end.

In the afternoon, the Keepers got a very big worry when they saw Zongoloni with five huge bulls, but Zigi was missing. Everyone panicked, wondering where Zigi was. An hour later, Lima Lima and her team arrived, then Kiasa, Enkesha, and Quanza were spotted with the three little babies, Lenny, Zigi, and Sulwe. The Keepers felt relieved to see that Zigi had been left with the nannies while they waited for Zongoloni to come and breastfeed him before leaving again with the bulls.

Zongoloni was very smart. She knew her baby was tired and, because the bulls could not give her time to nurse him, the best idea was to leave Zigi with the nannies. The nannies would then bring him for breastfeeding before taking him back again. In all the years, the Keepers had never seen such a brilliant idea from elephants in making sure they never lost their babies while mating with bulls.

Zongoloni and her fiancés arrived in large numbers, with six bulls competing for a mating chance. Zigi kept wondering how many fathers he had as he ran around with his mother without a break or enough time to eat. Murera was worried about the bulls and could not come into the open where she might be seen by them, as they seemed to be everywhere.

Some bulls were simply escorting Zongoloni; they had no chance of being the successful mates, because the huge dominant bull took control and behaved as though Zongoloni belonged only to him. None of the other bulls were allowed near her, leaving them watching helplessly and feeling frustrated at being denied the opportunity.

The Keepers found a slim chance when Zongoloni and her boyfriend disappeared into the forest. During that moment, Murera, the Keepers, and the other babies moved to the hills to browse. Lima Lima and her team kept together, but everyone was surprised to see Zigi with the herd and without his mother, as Zongoloni had gone away with the bulls.

Kiasa, Quanza, and Enkesha quietly sneaked Zigi away from his mother so that they could keep him safe until Zongoloni returned to breastfeed him. They did this after seeing how unhappy and tired Zigi was from running with the bulls pursuing his mother. Kiasa and Quanza proved to be very good and smart nannies, not wanting Zigi to witness what his mother was going through.

At the midday waterhole, when all the elephants arrived for their bottle feeding and mud bath, the Keepers found more buffaloes sleeping at the dust pile and refusing to move away. Amali, Kapei, and Maktao became the saviours when they spotted the buffaloes sleeping. The three walked towards them, blowing loud trumpets and charging, forcing the buffaloes to run away and leaving the area safe for everybody. Murera was then much happier around the area.

The orphans split into two groups, with Lima Lima and her team failing to show up and leaving Murera with her small team of girls. Jasiri came for them last night and carried all the nightclubbers towards Chyulu for a big night party. Indeed, the party was likely very entertaining, which made Lima Lima and her team fail to report today, leaving Murera with Kerrio, Latika, Amali, and Mwana.

Warthogs crossed in front of Kerrio and caught her by surprise. She raised her ears and started chasing them from behind, leaving the warthogs running for safety into the holes they called home. When Kerrio and Latika, who had accompanied her, saw the warthogs disappear into the holes, they returned to where Mwana and Amali were playing in the dust bath.

Later, Amali and Mwana moved to where Murera was trying to pull down heavy branches to eat. Kamili arrived some time later, but Mwana was not happy seeing Kamili next to her mother. Mwana tried to scare Kamili away but was overpowered by Kamili due to her greater strength.

Mwana then returned to her mother for breastfeeding, but again found Murera not in the mood to feed her. Instead, Murera denied her access by closing her front legs, preventing Mwana from feeding. This left Mwana screaming loudly like a small baby. Murera did not seem to care; depending on her mood swings, she has little patience or sympathy for Mwana when she demands too much.

The orphans had a very good time out in the bushes early this morning. After coming out, the babies approached the Umani water springs to clean their trunks after pellets, while some drank water before crossing over to the dry land. There, they found sweet branches that had been pulled down by wild elephants the previous night. The elephants stopped and fought over the branches, and the disagreement escalated until even the little boys started engaging each other in the fight.

Lima Lima and Murera stood firm and warned the fighting elephants to stop. This was when Maktao and Kapei intervened to calm the situation before moving on with the journey to the Kenzili area. Murera stayed at the back with Mwana, who stopped her mother for breastfeeding as they continued walking.

Immediately after the orphans reached their destination, the Keepers were surprised to see Mwashoti, who had been away after leaving with Alamaya. Today, Alamaya escorted Mwashoti back to the herd. Lenny and Maktao went to receive Mwashoti as the young boys approached him, but when Alamaya came too close to Lenny, he became frightened by Alamaya’s large tusks.

Alamaya was not very accommodating towards little babies like Zigi and Lenny, while Mwashoti was loved by everyone. Mwashoti was calm and friendly, allowing the little babies to play around him, with some touching his tail as they admired its length. Zigi came over briefly before returning to his close nanny Kiasa and Amali, leaving Lenny with Mwashoti.

The elephant family continues to be very sharp in their thinking. When Zongoloni was in season, bulls of all sizes visited her. When the courtships began, Zigi did not know what was happening with his mother. As the days passed, more bulls kept joining and the number increased from two to six. Zigi slowly realised that the intentions of the bulls towards his mother were not good once the chasing began, which continued nonstop for two days. On the third day, mating began. Kiasa, Quanza, and Enkesha were unhappy seeing Zigi constantly running behind his mother without enough time to breastfeed.

Quanza and Kiasa put their heads together and decided it was wrong to leave Zigi alone with his mother while he could neither eat properly nor breastfeed. Quanza and Kiasa brought Zigi into the herd, shielding him from wandering away. With them, he was safe and able to feed on greens. Whenever Zongoloni returned to the herd, Quanza and Kiasa would take Zigi to breastfeed before bringing him back again and leaving Zongoloni to continue with her male friends. The nannies then kept Zigi with them and the baby was very safe under the care of Quanza and Kiasa.

Murera, together with Kerrio and the others, arrived for the midday bottle feeding and mud bath. Murera was very reluctant to join the mud bath and instead stood nearby watching the little babies before eventually joining them. Murera allowed them to finish first before taking her own quiet time and space alone in the mud after the others were done.

Kapei and Maktao arrived from the Kenzili area while trying to join the herd. Mwana was ready to receive them and immediately lifted her trunk for hugs, but Kapei did not welcome her and instead pushed her back towards her mother, who was not far away. Amali moved with speed after seeing Kapei pulling Mwana back by her tail. This behaviour was not welcomed by Kiasa and Quanza and, when Quanza saw Mwana being pulled back, she joined Murera and Enkesha to help her. Murera rumbled and signalled Mwana to leave the boys and come closer to her, as she was not far away.

Murera stood for a long time at the dust pile as she tried to give her baby Mwana a chance to feed, but Mwana did not show up. Murera continued waiting at the dust pile thinking Mwana would come to her; she was busy with her friends.

Jasiri arrived and later Faraja also showed up. The moment Murera spotted Jasiri joining them, she completely disagreed with his presence and wanted him to leave.

The waterhole today was not a safe place. Many buffaloes, more than the Keepers had ever witnessed before, arrived and blocked the waterhole. This forced all the Keepers to move away and vacate the place. Murera, however, did not move and instead kept raising her ears as she tried her best to scare the buffaloes away, though it was not possible.

Eventually, after the Keepers called everyone, Murera followed the orphans into the bushes within the Chyulu Hills for more browsing. Later, Mwashoti and Alamaya joined them with a wild bull that had been hanging around with the two boys.

Alamaya, together with his now best and close orphan friend Mwashoti, arrived very early and waited at the gate for Murera and her team to come out for the new day. The moment Murera and her baby Mwana arrived at the gate and found Alamaya and Mwashoti there, Murera raised her ears and appeared to ask Alamaya what he was doing blocking her way.

Before Alamaya could gather the courage to respond, Murera had already charged out chasing him away. When Mwashoti saw Alamaya being chased and understood Murera’s moods during times like these, especially while pregnant, he did not wait for Murera to return for him. Instead, he quietly moved away and hid in the bushes so Murera would leave him alone. Both of them understood Murera’s temper whenever she was in a bad mood like today.

Lima Lima and her team arrived separately. Maktao and Quanza reported first, followed by Lima Lima and Lenny, after which Kiasa and Enkesha arrived. Zongoloni appeared frightened of Alamaya today, something the Keepers had never witnessed before. The Keepers thought Zongoloni feared Alamaya because of his long tusks and the way he smelled between her legs, making her think Alamaya might also start chasing her after the recent stress she had experienced from the bulls during mating. This was why Zongoloni stayed far away from Alamaya and his long tusks.

Lenny tried his luck with Murera to see if she would allow him to nurse, but Mwana was watching closely and denied him the chance, leaving Lenny with no choice but to give up and instead follow Zigi to play.

At the waterhole, Kerrio and Latika entered first and began the mud bath session, after which everyone followed Kerrio into the water. Amali and Enkesha displayed very good swimming styles, which impressed the little babies so much that they climbed onto their backs as they swam and rolled around enjoying the mud bath.

At midday, while the orphans were still browsing inside the bushes within the Chyulu Hills area, and before the Keepers could even know what was going on between them and the orphans, smart girl Lima Lima and her baby boy Lenny came out to where the Keepers were seated to report the invasion of a big herd of wild elephants coming to join the orphans.

Lima Lima thought very wisely that it was necessary for her to come out and save her Keepers from danger they were not aware of. When Lima Lima was seen and welcomed by the Keepers, they immediately became alert and ready to move away, as seeing Lima Lima return from the thickets was never without reason. Lenny stopped briefly to mingle with the Keepers before Amali came for him together with Kerrio.

The Keepers moved away to safety and silently thanked Lima Lima for her kindness and care towards them, as she always checked on the safety of her Keepers whenever wild elephants came near the herd.

Later, Sonje teamed up with Latika and Enkesha and returned to the hills for some good branches. Kapei and Maktao found branches that had been brought down by wild friends and blocked Enkesha from joining them to feed together. Enkesha then moved aside for her own good because the boys did not mean well towards her, and she returned to stay close to Quanza and Kiasa. Sulwe later joined them together with Sonje, and browsing continued peacefully until it was time to return home.

The night clubbers then decided to separate and not return home in one big group, leaving Murera and her Keepers to return with Murera and her own group.

Alamaya and Mwashoti once again arrived, this time accompanied by a strange wild bull who appeared to be their friend. The Keepers wondered where this bull had come from, as only a few weeks ago they had experienced a similar situation with Zongoloni. Now again, Alamaya and Mwashoti had arrived with another bull trying to smell around the girls. In particular, the bull walked towards Lima Lima, and it appeared she could once again be entering a courtship period.

Lima Lima was driven away by the bull and, as she ran off, Kerrio, Latika, and Kamili followed her after becoming separated from Murera and her team.

When the Keepers arrived for the midday mud bath and feeding time, they could not see Kerrio, Kapei, Latika, or Kamili. It was then that the Keepers realised the bull and Lima Lima had taken the babies with them. The Keepers called for Lima Lima and her friends for quite some time and, luckily, Kapei finally appeared.

Upon arriving, Kapei found his bottle waiting for him. Kerrio and the rest of the babies also received their bottles, while Amali waited nearby hoping she might receive an extra bottle, but she was unsuccessful.

Later on, the elephants moved to the dust pile after finding the waterhole was still not warm enough for mud bathing. Murera tested the water using her trunk and then rumbled, signalling to the others, and all the elephants left for a dust bath instead.

The wild bull then appeared again, trying to approach his target, Lima Lima, and everyone had to move away. This situation was not good for Murera and the little babies, especially because Zigi had only recently experienced the same difficulties when his mother was mating with bulls. Zigi already understood how difficult such times could be.

Seeing the wild bull join them again caused the Keepers to move the little babies away quickly. Even Murera did not stop or wait behind, but moved together with the rest of the herd, leaving the bull with Lima Lima. In the end, however, Lima Lima also decided to abandon him and moved far away.

Enkesha arrived ahead of the other nightclubbers. Everyone was amazed to see her coming alone and very silently standing at the gate, dusting herself in the darkness. When the Keepers opened the gate, Enkesha walked straight to her former room, which she found still empty.

The Keepers took some greens from Murera and Amali’s rooms, which left Enkesha with enough to feed on for the remaining hours of the night.

Early in the morning, all the babies were fed, including Enkesha. At the pellets feeding, however, Enkesha showed no interest in eating and instead walked into the bushes, where she waited for her friends to finish. Amali and Kiasa later joined her and the young nannies left together with Zigi and Sulwe.

Lenny remained beside Mwana as the two chased baboons that were blocking their path. One male baboon blocked Lenny from reaching his mother, causing him to rumble and scream loudly. His cries immediately attracted the attention of the nannies and his mother, who rushed over to rescue him from danger. Sonje also came all the way from where she had been with Kerrio to help the screaming baby.

Both mothers made great efforts to chase away the baboon, which ended up trapped high in a tree surrounded by elephants. The boys — Kapei, Mwashoti, and Maktao — did not join in helping the girls and instead continued playing amongst themselves.

That afternoon, two wild bulls joined the orphans while they were browsing inside the Kibwezi Forest. One of the bulls immediately approached Murera, causing her to back away and avoid him. Later, the bull turned his attention to Lima Lima, who entertained him happily, as Lima Lima enjoys the company of bulls very much. She continued changing companions, never remaining with only one bull, always preferring to spend time with different handsome bulls.

This morning, many of the nightclubbers did not report back together in one big group as they usually do when led by Lima Lima and Sonje. Since Alamaya and Mwashoti returned, the Keepers have noticed that Alamaya has become a very changed boy.

Ever since their return, Alamaya has shown little respect towards the older girls and has become troublesome towards Lima Lima, Quanza, and Zongoloni. Because of this, he is no longer welcome amongst the girls.

Only Lima Lima arrived in the morning with her baby, Lenny. After some time, Enkesha, Quanza, and Zongoloni arrived together, while Sonje and Sulwe were nowhere to be seen. This was something very unusual for Lima Lima’s team, as the girls and their little ones normally move together as one group. Sonje only appeared later when everyone was already deep in the hills enjoying browsing time.

When Alamaya arrived together with Mwashoti, the Keepers immediately noticed how uncomfortable Zongoloni, Lima Lima, and Murera became in his presence. Matters worsened when Alamaya pushed Lenny with his tusks, causing the little baby to scream loudly for help. The nannies rushed forward to assist Lenny, only to find Alamaya blocking their path.

It was then that Murera appeared to call for a meeting with the other girls to decide how they would deal with Alamaya’s behaviour around them. Alamaya had become a real nuisance to the girls and their little babies.

The Keepers reflected sadly on how a once well-behaved boy had now become troublesome towards his own herd and the girls he had grown up alongside. They believed this change came after Alamaya spent a long time away in the company of wild bulls, where he copied their rough behaviour towards females instead of keeping the gentle character he once had.

Mwashoti, however, remains calm, gentle, and well behaved. Unlike Alamaya, he has not copied the bad behaviour of the wild bulls and instead chosen to remain the good boy he has always been.

Most of the nightclubbers did not come on time today. Since Kapei and Maktao joined the growing team, the two boys arrived first, while the older girls with the little babies were delayed. The first to arrive were Lima Lima and Quanza, followed later by Mwashoti with Kiasa and Zongoloni emerging from the shrubs.

Mwana and Amali moved towards where Zigi and Zongoloni were drinking water from the trough. Kapei walked to the trough and blocked Zigi from drinking using his short little trunk. Murera then called an end to the pellets feeding session and rumbled for Mwana to come close before leading the group away for morning browsing in the Chyulu Hills. A potential drama between Kapei and Zigi was averted.

Kamili followed closely behind Kerrio, who carefully controlled the two girls, Latika and Kamili. Mwashoti again blocked the pathway, causing little Lenny and Zigi to retreat back to their mothers for direction. Enkesha went for them, leaving Zigi with Kiasa, whom he listened to very well compared with the others.

Later, male bushbucks were seen fighting with locked horns over a female. The fight caused commotion among the elephants as the bushbucks battled nearby. Amali and Kapei charged at them and successfully separated them, which turned out to be a wise decision. The bushbucks ran off to the sides but soon resumed fighting again, while the elephants safely continued with their daily activities up to mud bath time. Because of the cold weather, none of the elephants entered the waterhole, and Sonje instead guided everyone to the dust pile.

Enkesha moved around little Sulwe and Zigi helping to break up mineral-rich soil using her tusks, since the two babies still do not have tusks of their own.

Later, Latika quietly guided Lenny towards the bushes. After several elephants moved with them, the group left for the shade of the trees where the babies could rest away from the heat. The Keepers could see that Zigi looked tired, and this was what Latika seemed to notice as well.

Mwashoti then caught Maktao by surprise after finding him standing in the way towards the hills. He pinched Maktao sharply on the backside with his tusks, causing him to scream loudly like little Lenny.

Kerrio and her small team, Latika and Kamili, came out running to get to the pellets corner so that they could eat early enough before Murera and Mwana came out. Immediately Kerrio stepped into the pellets corner, Murera arrived a few minutes later and Mwana bullied Kamili, though the action did not please Kerrio. She stepped in to shield Kamili, the sweet girl who never pushed anyone but treated everybody equally.

When Mwana tried to push Kamili again, Kerrio guarded and shielded Kamili from her. Lima Lima then arrived with Lenny blowing trumpets, making the Keepers careful as they tried to identify who was trumpeting. They soon realised it was Lenny alerting everyone to his arrival and asking for some peaceful space to eat pellets. The loud trumpeting alerted the older babies to keep watch over the little ones, and both babies were carefully escorted. Enkesha and Amali stayed close to Zigi and would not leave his side as he was escorted to the pellets. After a short interaction with both mothers, they left and followed Murera and Sonje into the Kibwezi forest for more food.

Mwashoti and Lima Lima moved towards the left side after catching a sweet smell of food. They discovered some good branches that had been pulled down during the night. After finding plenty of branches still good for feeding, Lima Lima went to Sonje, followed by Murera, seemingly wanting to show them the morning’s discovery. When the babies arrived, Murera became too possessive and did not want some of her friends getting pieces of the branches, wanting only her baby Mwana to feed. This was unusual behaviour for a leader like Murera. The Keepers watched closely but later realised it was not Murera’s fault, but rather due to the mood swings brought on by her pregnancy as the days drew closer.

At the midday waterhole today, all the elephants came only for their bottles and skipped mud bathing because it was windy and the cold weather was not good for the babies to swim in. Instead, Amali, Kapei, and Enkesha walked straight to the dust pile where everyone participated in a dust bath. Sonje later moved away with Sulwe into the bushes when the weather became too hot for the little babies, while Lenny, Zigi, Amali, and the other nannies guided the babies into the shade for shelter.

The late arrival of Lima Lima and her team continued again today. Murera and her team came out and enjoyed their morning pellets, then Kerrio and Latika took off, leaving Mwana and Murera behind. Before Murera could join them, she rumbled for Mwana so that she could bring order to the group and lead Kerrio, Latika, and Amali into the Chyulu Hills, while Murera continued walking through the bushes.

The orphans met Mwashoti and Alamaya as they tried to join them, though Murera and the other girls are no longer very welcoming to Alamaya since his character changed. He remained a nuisance, pushing everybody around and not caring about the little babies. He fought everyone, bullying little Lenny and making him scream loudly for help. When the nannies went to help, they found Alamaya standing around him. Both babies stopped at a far distance, watching Alamaya, and could do nothing. Instead, Enkesha rumbled, and soon afterwards we saw Lenny walking out from the hiding bushes and joining Kiasa after she helped him come away from where Alamaya was.

All the orphans then decided to move away from Alamaya, while the Keepers also tried to keep him away from the herd so that the babies could remain at peace. Mwashoti did not behave badly and knew how to play around with the babies. Kapei, Maktao, and even little Lenny respected Mwashoti as their older brother, and they all loved him because he sometimes tried to coach them about tactical defence in the bushes when they met wild bully friends and how to defend themselves.

Sonje teamed up with her daughter Sulwe, then Amali joined Sulwe to play around. Sulwe began mounting Amali on the back, which made Amali lie down on the dust pile so little Sulwe could enjoy climbing on her. Immediately Sulwe spotted Amali going down on her knees, she jumped on top and Lenny followed. As the game gained momentum, Amali became overwhelmed carrying the two babies on her back, and the weight became too much for her. This annoyed Amali and she got up and walked away, leaving the two babies to go back to their own mothers to play around with instead.

Alamaya arrived very early this morning with Maktao behind him, before 4 o’clock, waiting for the orphans inside the stockades to come out. They knew the pellets would only be served once Murera and her team emerged from their rooms, and so the two boys waited patiently nearby.

When the pellets were finally brought out, the Keepers remained very watchful of Alamaya to ensure he did not chase anyone away. As soon as Alamaya realised all eyes were on him, he gave up and walked away. His friend Maktao caused no trouble and remained calm. Kapei soon joined him together with little Lenny, who now considered himself one of the older boys and wanted to learn more from them. Lenny followed Maktao and Kapei around happily. He is growing into a friendly young boy, accepted by everyone.

However, when Lenny came across Zigi and Sulwe, Zigi enjoyed teasing him. Their teasing soon turned into fighting, which has become a habit between the two boys. Still, pushing Lenny around was not easy for Zigi. When Sulwe noticed the boys teasing and fighting each other, she stepped in between them and separated them, proving once again how the girls are very good peacemakers.

Later, in the Chyulu Hills, two elands were seen fighting and one became overpowered by the other. The defeated eland ran from the fight and stopped in the bushes close to where Mwashoti, Sonje, and Kapei were resting in the shade. The elephants immediately chased the eland away before Mwashoti could grab it with his trunk, and the frightened animal quickly escaped back in the direction it had come from.

This afternoon, the Keepers brought the babies for their midday bottle feeding and found buffaloes standing all around the place where the bottles are usually distributed. The Keepers found it difficult to chase them away. One buffalo stood up and stared directly at the Keepers. The Keepers had to move backwards, giving room for Lima Lima and her team to help save the situation.

Lima Lima and Sulwe became the heroes of the moment when they spotted the buffaloes and charged at them while blowing loud trumpets. Others joined in the chase, and together they drove the buffaloes away. Only then were the Keepers able to safely return with Murera for the bottle feeding. Clever Lima Lima helped protect the Keepers from what could have become a dangerous buffalo encounter. She is very protective of her long-time human family and always seems determined to do everything possible to protect and please her Keepers.

The waterhole was not very popular with the babies today. Whenever any of them tested the water with their trunks, they found it too cold and not warm enough for mud bathing. Instead, they moved to the dust pile before later heading back into the bushes.

Murera stayed for a long time watching as Amali and Mwana remained on top of the dust pile, where the two girls later became the queens of the hill.

Kiasa shielded Zigi away from Enkesha, who was trying to reach him, though Enkesha could not get close and eventually moved away to where Kerrio and Latika were playing and climbing on one another.

This morning the nightclubbers arrived in groups at different intervals. The first group arrived before Murera and her team could get out from their stockades, which was very early, and they had to wait at the gate for many hours. The first to arrive were Quanza and Maktao. By the time Murera and her team reached the pellets, Lima Lima was spotted emerging from the bushes with Lenny running behind her. Lenny was blowing trumpets as a way of alerting the others to spare some pellets for them. It was a good signal — Mwana received him and walked him towards the pellets.

Some baboons crossed Lenny’s path, and he could not wait for them to move away. The naughty baboons sat on the rocks watching as Lenny struggled to chase them off, but they were surprised when Sulwe arrived with Enkesha helping to push the baboons away. Before long, Sonje and Murera called everyone to leave the area and head towards Kenzili for the day’s browsing.

As the browsing journey got underway, Mwashoti found himself cornered by bushbucks that had blocked his path while he was trying to catch up with Sonje and the others, who were already far ahead. Mwashoti blew one loud trumpet and all the bushbucks scattered from his path, allowing him to continue after Sonje and Murera after delaying to chase them away.

When the orphans arrived at Kenzili, they found some elands grazing nearby. Amali and Kapei charged towards them, though most of the older girls were not bothered. When Kapei realised Lima Lima and Sonje were not interested in helping him chase the elands, he returned and joined Maktao for play. Kapei jumped on top of Maktao, but Maktao quickly pushed him down before climbing on top of Kapei himself as a form of discipline. Maktao did not like being mounted by another boy as though he were a girl, and he made it clear to Kapei not to repeat it again.

Sulwe and Zigi gave the Keepers a free show today that brought everything to a standstill when the two little babies disagreed badly over who was stronger. Zigi wanted to prove himself as a boy while Sulwe would not let him go unchallenged. Sulwe was proving a point to Zigi that she was older than him and, even though she was a girl, he should respect her as his elder sister. But Zigi would not listen until the two came out to test their strength and power.

Zigi was more powerful than Sulwe, but Sulwe proved to be wiser. She manoeuvred him towards a small rock and pushed him into the bushes, catching Zigi unprepared and forcing him to fall down. Kiasa and the other nannies immediately rushed out to rescue him, only to find Zigi had already run back to his mother Zongoloni. That marked the end of the fierce fight between Sulwe and Zigi as both mothers quickly reacted and each gathered up their babies.

Kamili later came back to Amali and the two walked through the bushes searching for special branches whose scent they had picked up nearby. When they reached the place, they found Kapei, Mwashoti, and Maktao already there enjoying the branches. Some warthogs trying to make their way through the thick bushes suddenly found themselves close to the elephants. Mwashoti became startled when he could smell the warthogs but could not see them hidden in the tall grass as they ran away.

Kerrio and Latika walked behind Mwana and a misunderstanding arose when Mwana tried to turn against Latika. She quickly realised it was not possible to bully or push Latika around. Latika responded with a warning gesture using her trunk, making it clear to Mwana that she should try someone else, but not her. Mwana understood the warning well and quietly walked back to her mother, Murera.

At the beginning of the day this morning, Quanza could be seen coming down from the hills towards the gate entrance where the other orphans were still enjoying their morning yoga, games, and treats of pellets. When Quanza arrived, Mwashoti moved to one side and kept her from reaching Lenny, who had been spending time close to him. The Keepers are now noticing how much Lenny is trying to bond with older boys like Kapei and Maktao, although the babies still run away whenever Alamaya is around.

A wild bull elephant then walked towards the orphans and, as soon as Kerrio and Latika picked up his scent, Kerrio signalled to Enkesha, who had not realised the bull was only a few metres away from her. The bull was also not far from the Keepers and Murera. Murera quickly moved back towards the Keepers with Mwana as everyone slowly backed away from the wild elephant, who had enormous tusks. The herd then moved up towards the hills where the Keepers could clearly see whether the bull remained nearby and posed any danger.

Lima Lima once again came to the Keepers’ rescue, carefully watching over everyone and giving her signals whenever she felt the situation was safe.

When all the babies arrived for the midday bottle feeding, Sonje and Kerrio were the first to be fed. Murera arrived slowly afterwards, showing no urgency for her bottles. As the leader of the group, she knew her place was secure and that there was no need to rush ahead of the others.

This morning at the pellets feeding area, it was only Murera and her team enjoying. Everyone waited for Lima Lima and her group to arrive, but they failed to appear. It seemed Lima Lima and her friends had travelled far away during the night. The Keepers, together with Murera, eventually decided to begin the journey back towards the Kibwezi forest for the new day.

Murera took over the leadership of the group as the elephants continued changing roles between herself and Kerrio, who now acted as Murera’s second-in-command. As the elephants progressed towards the hills, Murera rumbled loudly, signalling to the others not to move too fast and leave her behind. Kerrio immediately stopped after hearing the message from her leader and waited to see what Murera wanted. A few minutes later, Murera caught up together with Mwana and Amali, and the group continued all the way towards the Umani Hills.

While in the hills, many wild elephants appeared and joined Murera and her team. At first, the Keepers thought the approaching herd might be Lima Lima and her group, but it soon became clear these were wild elephants. Kerrio and Latika were suddenly charged by a protective wild mother who feared Kerrio might try to take her baby away. It was then the Keepers realised these were unfamiliar wild elephants and not their ex-orphan friends.

When it was time for the midday bottles, the babies began moving towards the feeding point. Along the way, the Keepers finally met Lima Lima and her team, who joined the rest of the herd. The wild elephants continued walking alongside the orphans for some distance, but as they neared the mud bath area they picked up the scent of humans. The moment they realised people were nearby, the wild herd quickly turned around and disappeared back into the bushes.

The orphan herd, now reunited with both Lima Lima’s team and Murera’s team together again, arrived for their bottles before heading to the waterhole for a wallowing session. Afterwards, the elephants moved to the dust pile where they enjoyed dust bathing while Amali and Mwana climbed to the top of the mound, each competing to become the queen of the hill.

It was a big day for Kamili. She was not feeling well and the vet was called shortly after the mud bath. The main group of orphans walked away, but her closest friend Kerrio did not leave her and chose to stay with her during the medical check-up, which did not take very long. Kerrio waited patiently, watching every step the vet took before administering the injection.

When the vet was ready, Kerrio moved a short distance to give Kamili space, but she stayed close. When Kamili was about to be injected, she stood firm on the ground with Kerrio still watching. After the vet finished, Kamili was unable to walk into the bushes immediately, so Kerrio stayed with her and supported her until she regained strength, then followed her into the Kibwezi forests to rejoin Murera and her team. Kerrio remained a concerned and loyal companion throughout.

The other orphans moved deeper into the Kibwezi forests and did not return to check on Kamili. It was only Kerrio who witnessed everything closely.

Kapei and his friends Maktao and Mwashoti came back to the dust pile. Maktao was misbehaving around Mwashoti by trying to hold his tail, which Mwashoti did not expect. Mwashoti turned to see who was bothering him and found it was Maktao. He pushed him aside as a warning, but Maktao and Kapei turned to challenge him back. Mwashoti did not accept this and showed his strength, pushing them away from him.

Kamili was now on full recovery after getting treatment the previous day. Kerrio played a crucial role when she was being attended by the vet, who had to administer injectable antibiotics. Kamili was worried on seeing a stranger standing and discussing her. Kerrio was also watching. She gave Kamili confidence by staying close while the keepers and vet prepared the medicine.

Today, the medication worked like a miracle. Kamili is strong again and can browse like the other orphans. Latika and Kerrio are still keeping an eye on her, but all is well.

Kamili came first at the bottle feeding point, closely followed by Kerrio. The whole group then arrived and everyone moved to the waterhole for mud bath. Sulwe, Lenny and Zigi teamed up and ran to swim, and Kiasa did not want to leave Zigi alone so she joined the little ones and swam together before all the orphans joined in. The babies were having fun swimming when a terrapin found itself in trouble inside the water, as elephants were kicking water and it had no clear way out. The Keepers came and rescued it by calling the elephants out of the waterhole so the terrapin could find its way out before the elephants moved to the dust bath.