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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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.