The excitement around the arrival of the short rains this month was terrifically evident to see – as not only were our orphaned elephants thrilled but all species great and small celebrated the onset of the wet weather. Dung beetles were everywhere fashioning their perfectly round nests from elephant dung, while birds flitted around and chattered excitedly from dawn until dusk feasting on the insects which hatched with a flourish with the onset of the first rains. While we were overjoyed to wake up one morning and find ex-orphan Wendi with her two wild-born calves Wema and Wiva with the other ex-orphans at the Ithumba compound, having not been seen since March, their visit was only temporary and short-lived – for it is so interesting that the first rain showers also signal the dispersal our ex-orphans and other wild elephants, and after those first few showers around the middle of the month we didn’t see any other elephants as the herds boldly stepped out across the plains now with a renewed confidence in their water sources.
Karisa walked hand in hand with Ambo and settled for water before deciding which way to go. Soon after they had enough water, Mapia arrived and picked on Ambo for a pushing game. Ambo must have wondered why Mapia picked on him yet he was standing next to Karisa who was more his size and equal in strength. Ambo didn't retreat but tackled Mapia like a brave boy, knowing that he could send signals to the big boys for help if things turned nasty. As it turned out, Galla was standing close by and swiftly intervened to help Ambo before Mapia could go full force on the little boy. Ambo left happy that Galla came in to help him wrestle Mapia.
Out in the bush, the orphans were joined by Orwa and his friend Bomani. Bomani hugged Barsilinga and for some time they enjoyed a pushing game that reminded them of the good old days when Bomani was still stockade-dependent. Bomani must be wondering why it is taking Barsilinga so long to become independent and leave with them again, but it is Barsilinga’s sore foot that is preventing him from doing so, since their human family, the Keepers, are still tending to him and making sure he is alright before he leaves.
Rapa ran into trouble with Sapalan today for some unknown reason – and a wrestling fight ensued. Rapa, who is light, defended himself from the attack and when he realized that he was losing, he decided to run away.
At mud bath time the orphans had fun in the water and went for a mud bath. Kauro, as usual, and Galla didn't have a swim but had some drinking water, then waited for their friends to finish wallowing. Ambo came out of the mud and led the way back out to the bush to browse. The orphans settled to browse in the upper Kalovoto area for the rest of the day.
Wild elephant bull ‘Dad’ and his two friends were peacefully enjoying water at the stockade water troughs moments before the orphans were let out, and the environment turned very busy and noisy. Dad, who loves a quiet environment, started moving away from all the frivolous babies to a quieter place. His two friends slowly followed behind him. The orphans settled for their morning Lucerne and later passed by the water troughs to arm themselves with enough water that would see them through the entire morning.
Out in the bush, Mapia tried to challenge Galla but Galla wasn’t very interested in playing. After a lot of persuasion however from Mapia, Galla gave in and started a strength testing exercise that saw Mapia surrender after Galla turned rather ruthless. Karisa, who appeared to have woken up in a playful mood today, played with Esampu and later played with Sapalan.
At mud bath time, Mutara, Suguta, Sities, Turkwel, Kainuk, Kithaka, Garzi and Lemoyian, who had taken a holiday for one week away from the Ithumba stockade area, were back. Sities, Kainuk, Turkwel and Suguta had really missed their baby Dololo and decided to wait for him at mud bath. As soon as Dololo arrived, he was surrounded by these girls while taking his milk. Afterwards, Dololo left with the older girls as they wanted to know how he had been while they were away. After mud bath time, the ex-orphans joined the dependent orphans for the afternoon in trying to catch up with whatever they might have missed while they were on their holiday.
The wild elephant ‘Kijana’, who doesn’t have a family and who has joined up with the ex-orphans, has made it a routine to join the dependent orphans for Lucerne in the morning, and later in the evening, to come back to try his luck for some more Lucerne, reported early before the orphans were let out. The orphans were let out soon after their morning milk bottles and headed straight for Lucerne. Ambo remained behind to request for the pellets. Naseku tried to join Ambo but was told by the Keepers to go and join her friends who were feeding on the grass Lucerne. This made Naseku cross and shake her head in protest. The Keepers stood their ground leaving Naseku with no option other than moving to join her friends. Naseku decided to comfort herself by having a game of rolling on the ground in front of everyone. No one showed any interest in her game and shortly later she quit her game and joined her friends to eat.
Out in the bush, Dololo decided to have fun by soil dusting and rolling on the ground since his older nannies failed to show up this morning. Wanjala felt that he wanted to test his strength and to do so, he wanted someone strong to tackle. Wanjala settled for Tusuja and their game ended in a draw. Later, he moved to play with Kauro but unfortunately he lost the game to Kauro, leaving him embarrassed since he was aiming for a win or a draw.
At mud bath time, the temperature was moderate. Several wild bulls showed up and one among them appeared to be fearless and totally relaxed and unconcerned with what was happening around him regarding the orphans and their human family, behaving almost like an ex-orphan. Another wild bull stood at the edge of the mud bath and caught the attention of Naseku. Naseku decided to entertain and impress the wild bull by playing and dancing in the water, splashing and whipping the water using her trunk. The wild bull didn’t seem very interested in Naseku’s playful antics however. In the afternoon, Mapia, who loves scratching, settled to scratch against a tree as Siangiki led Ambo to an area where they could feed without any disturbance.
The stockade compound looked deserted before the orphans were let out today. No single animal could be seen anywhere close by. When the orphans were let out they headed straight for Lucerne. The orphans had the whole place for themselves; even Kijana who shows up nearly every morning was nowhere to be seen. Tusuja and Ambo settled to drink water at the water trough while Kauro carried a bundle of Lucerne and moved to feed far away from the others. Shortly later, Ambo led the way out for the day.
Roi had a game of scratching and lying on the ground and then called Dololo to come and play close to her. Dololo stepped forward and had a game of rolling on the ground while Roi scratched on a nearby rock watching over Dololo. Siangiki and her friend Enkikwe settled to browse together and had a general talk, while Naseku decided to keep Ambo company for the entire morning.
At mud bath time seven wild elephant bulls were present and enjoyed drinking water and wallowing with the orphans. Ex-orphan Challa showed up later and joined the orphans to cool-off in the mud bath. The wild bulls retreated to relax under a tree where Olsekki followed them to enquire why they had done so. One of the wild bulls threatened to push Olsekki if he continued to bother them and as a junior he was being very disrespectful. Olsekki realized his mistake and so moved away to avoid angering the bulls and hoped that one day he would be their size and just like them.
Sapalan decided to engage Jotto in a pushing game when Jotto tried to underestimate his strength capabilities. The pushing game lasted for quite some time before Ukame intervened and pushed the two boys away. Sapalan informed Jotto to count himself lucky because he wanted to teach him a lesson that he would never forget if it were not for Ukame. The afternoon was quiet as the orphans concentrated mostly on browsing.
It was another quiet morning without any outsiders joining the orphans. After feeding on Lucerne, Ambo, Malima and Sana Sana walked over to the water troughs where they had some water before Ambo led the way out. Siangiki had to run and manage Ambo because once Ambo leads, he can take any direction without thinking whether or not that direction is the best to take, if it has enough vegetation and so forth. Malima had a game of rolling on the ground and it so happened that Sapalan passed by and thought Malima was unable to stand up. Sapalan offered to help and assisted Malima back to her feet, though in reality Malima was only enjoying herself. The temperature was moderate and the orphans enjoyed each moment, with Tusuja and Esampu opting for playing on the ground as Wanjala took advantage of climbing on Tusuja.
At the mud bath, Jotto ran into trouble when after finishing his milk he passed by close to Maramoja. Maramoja thought that Jotto was attempting to take her milk bottle from her and the thought of that made her so angry that she dropped her bottle to drive Jotto away. It's only after she drove Jotto away that she came back to finish her remaining milk. Given that it was quite a cool day, the majority of the orphans opted for a soil dusting exercise instead of a mud bath, but Mapia and Karisa decided to get into the water. Once they were in the water, Karisa enjoyed climbing on Mapia while a wild junior that had joined the orphans in wallowing rode on Naseku. In the afternoon the orphans were joined by Mutara’s herd and they browsed together throughout the rest of the day.
Kilaguni was the only guest of honour in the morning during the Lucerne feeding time. Kilaguni, who is known for his gentleness and not interfering or bullying the youngsters, settled for Lucerne and later escorted them out to browse. Roi had a warm up exercise by lying down and stretching. Karisa wanted to stay fit by engaging Tusuja in a strength testing exercise. Kauro walked over to Roi and tried to get her up, informing her that she didn’t need to roll arouns and play on the ground to warm up, as he was available for a strength challenging game. Roi didn't pay much attention to Kauro however, and Kauro left when he saw that Roi appeared to be uninterested in his offer to play. Kauro then met with Esampu who wanted to challenge him but Esampu was too small for him.
Enkikwe ran into trouble with Galla when he tried smelling what shrubs he had in his mouth. Galla informed Enkikwe to go and find his own shrub to eat and not to try and take food from his mouth.
Sixteen wild bulls were present at mud bath, a number slightly higher than yesterday. Challa reported later and joined the orphans in bathing. Tusuja and Naseku emerged as the stars of the day as far as wallowing was concerned. The two had a prolonged wallowing session and were so playful, splashing and whipping the water using their trunks. Ambo and Kauro relaxed under a tree waiting for their friends. In the afternoon, Kilaguni escorted the juniors back to the browsing field.
It was a surprise in the morning when we woke up to find Wendi and her two children Wema and Wiva at the stockade compound. The mother of two was in the company of Kinna, baby Kama, Sunyei, baby Siku and Vuria. Wendi and her children were last seen in March this year. Upon closer observation, Wendi had the end part of her trunk missing, probably from a crocodile attack. Kinna, as always, appears to know the whereabouts of all her friends as she always surprises us by bringing the ex-orphans back who have been missing for quite awhile. The ex-orphans positioned themselves strategically waiting for Lucerne that they haven't tasted for a very long time. Malima had a small skirmish with baby Siku when she tried to remove Lucerne from Siku's mouth. Both babies felt the support of their families behind them – Malima the Keepers and Siku her mother Sunyei; after a bit of standoff, the two girls decided to make peace with each other after Siku apologized to Malima.
On the way out to browse, Esampu spotted guinea fowls ahead of her. These are her favourites to play with, and she trumpeted and charged at the birds. The birds flew way. Esampu felt happy for winning and informed her friends that she had cleared the way for them. Bomani, Orwa and Chemi Chemi, who were accompanying the dependent orphans, congratulated Esampu for a job well done.
Out in the bush, Naseku and Sana Sana competed who between them could pick leaves from the top of a tree with their trunks stretched up high. Naseku won the competition and it's not clear if they were doing it for fun or they were competing.
At mud bath time, though the sun was hot, no single wild elephant showed up to join the orphans and the orphans had the venue for themselves. In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse on the upper side of the Kalovoto River. In the evening, Meibai showed up and joined Orwa, Bomani and Chemi Chemi who had escorted the orphans back to the stockades.
Wendi, Wiva, Wema, Mulika, Mwende, Mkuu, Kinna, baby Kama, Sunyei, baby Siku, Ithumbah, Kenze, Kitirua, Melia and two wild elephants were at the stockade compound early in morning. Mulika and her two babies were the latest arrivals after being away for eight months. Mulika was so eager to taste the Lucerne that she hasn’t had for so long that she made the bold move of walking up to the store to see if there was any one to give her the Lucerne there, as she wanted it as quickly as possible. Lucerne was provided at the usual venue and Mulika went round to have as much as she wanted.
Wiva ran into trouble with Pare when she thought that after being away for so long she might be able to beat Pare in a wrestling match. Pare couldn't allow this to happen and so fought tooth-and-nail to make sure he wasn't embarrassed in front of his friends. Wiva felt the heat was too much for her and opted to bolt instead of finishing the game. Pare felt happy after winning over Wiva since he wasn’t sure at the start of their game that his win was a given.
After the Lucerne feeding time, the ex-orphans parted ways with the orphans but Orwa and Bomani decided to follow the orphans. The orphans had a quiet morning as they looked forward to the rains that are still on the way.
At mud bath time, the orphans were joined by Melia, Kibo, Kandecha, Kalama, Chemi Chemi, Tumaren, Tomboi and several wild bulls. In the afternoon, Musiara counted himself lucky when Melia offered to spend time with him throughout the rest of the day. Sapalan and Namalok, who have not played together for some time, decided to have a strength testing exercise which lasted for quite awhile. In the evening, Mutara and her herd showed up at the stockade compound after being out of touch for several days.
Two wild bulls were drinking water at the stockade water trough when the orphans were let out. Karisa decided to grab a branch as he left the stockade, which he enjoyed as he walked to wait for the Lucerne. Ambo headed straight to the water trough where he was joined by Siangiki and Naseku. After drinking water Siangiki took Ambo to the Lucerne feeding area, because she very well knew that if she just left him behind, Ambo would just disappear off into the bush on his own! Sapalan and Namalok had a strength testing exercise that didn't last for long as Olsekki intervened and pushed the two boys away. After feeding on Lucerne, Karisa led the way but first scratched on the edge of one of the water troughs before carrying on leading his friends out.
Out in the bush Kamok and Olsekki, who are yet to establish who is dominant amongst themselves, engaged in a pushing game that again ended in a draw. Bomani and Orwa, who have reunited again, joined the dependent orphans and later escorted them to the mud bath.
A few wild elephant bulls attended the mud bath, including the one who behaves like an ex-orphan, who joined the orphans to drink water, so calm and unbothered by everything around him. He finally left when he had enough water. It was cloudy and hot this afternoon so the orphans fully enjoyed wallowing in the mud bath. Tusuja and Olsekki were the last to quit the mud bath as they were busy enjoying what they love most – a pushing game in water.
In the afternoon, the orphans settled to browse north of the mud bath. It was a quiet afternoon as the orphans concentrated on browsing and hoping the hot weather would call for the rains to come soon. In the evening, sure enough, the rain began to fall! It wasn't much but at least it brought a cooling effect that the orphans enjoyed.
Dololo was the first one to leave the stockades this morning, hoping to meet his older ex-orphan nannies, but unfortunately they had not shown up yet. Orwa and Bomani, who had spent the night just close by, joined the dependent orphans in feeding on Lucerne. Shortly later, the orphans headed out for browsing. Barsilinga, who is slowly recovering from his sore foot, managed to have a strength testing game with Orwa. Barsilinga wanted to show Orwa that he is still physically fit and he can take care of himself. Bomani ran into trouble with Tusuja when he tried to climb on Tusuja’s back. Tusuja complained and turned to attack Bomani. Bomani wasn't perturbed by Tusuja's threats and seemed to just inform Tusuja to calm down, because he is his senior and he didn’t mean anything by it. Tusuja didn’t seem to agree with Bomani and swiftly walked off into the other direction.
At mud bath time there was not a single wild elephant or ex-orphan around again. This could be because perhaps rains have fallen in different parts of the National Park and elephants appear to have migrated to those areas. The orphans took their milk bottles and drank some water and after some of them decided to wallow in the mud bath, before Ambo led the way back out to browse. The orphans had a quiet afternoon feeding along the upper side of the Kalovoto seasonal river. In the evening, Orwa and Bomani escorted the orphans back to the stockades again.
Orwa and Bomani, who had spent the night not far away again, were standing outside the stockades when the orphans were drinking their milk. As soon as the gates opened for the orphans to come out, Orwa and Bomani entered the stockades and ransacked everywhere for any leftovers, but unfortunately the orphans had picked every last branch that had been put there for them for the night. The two boys left quietly to join the dependent orphans feeding on Lucerne. Malima was watching to two bulls and felt sorry for them in not finding any nice leftover branch to feed on! Ambo headed straight to the water trough and had some water before joining his friends.
Out in the bush Barsilinga, who is gaining confidence day by day, tackled Orwa again in a strength testing exercise. Bomani again climbed on Tusuja, something that Tusuja detested. He managed to rid himself of Bomani and left thinking what he could do to stop Bomani picking on him.
It was quiet at the mud bath time with no wild elephants showed up again. The orphans were in the company of Orwa and Bomani still. After drinking their milk bottles and having some water, the orphans wallowed and after, led by Ambo, walked back out to the bush to browse. Kauro teamed up with Enkikwe to feed while Naseku took care and controlled Ambo, who is known for walking off in any direction, not minding where it will lead him.
It was a lovely morning today with dependent orphans having their milk breakfast before walking down to the Lucerne feeding area for their supplement food. It looks cloudy today and we expect some rain! It was quite a temperate temperature too, which was a good sign for rain today. Despite the cooler weather, some of the orphans walked to the water trough to have a drink of water. When they were done, they walked out to the bush for the day.
Karisa was scratching his belly on a rock while Tusuja and Rapa enjoyed a play fight. Enkikwe also was busy play fighting with Namalok away from the others, while the rest of the herd concentrated on browsing and filling their tummies. Two ostriches walked past near the orphans which some of them felt uncomfortable with and they charged at the big birds to chase them away. Just before noon all the orphans walked to the mud bath for their milk feed.
It was quite warm by lunch time, and the orphans had their milk and then some of them walked straight to the mud wallow for a swim. When they came out Mundusi played with Namalok and later the whole herd walked off to continue browsing. The orphans concentrated on feeding for the rest of the day and looked very active. Olsekki was stretching his trunk high up to reach some green leaves from a tree. Namalok was browsing up the side of the Ithumba Hill, but came down later to join his friends walk back home for the evening.
It was a quiet morning again today with no ex-orphans around, but the dependent orphans came out of their respective stockades after finishing their milk breakfast .They all headed to the Lucerne feeding area and started feeding on the Lucerne placed out for them by the Keepers.
Out in the Park all the orphans were active and playful. Barsilinga and Ukame were stretching high in a tree to reach some tasty leaves. Malima was scratching her trunk on a rock while Enkikwe and Namalok were busy play fighting. Sattao was rolling down the ground and Musiara started scratching on him. Karisa and Mundusi were busy play fighting away from the others. Later the orphans walked to the mud bath for their noon milk bottles.
After their milk bottles many of the orphans decided to play in the mud bath, with Mundusi, Karisa, Olsekki and Tusuja being the most playful today. They later walked out and some like Pare and Karisa continued playing on the outside of the mud bath as well. Kamok was playing on the mounds of soil, drying her whole body. Later the whole group walked back out to the bush to continue browsing.
It was very hot in the afternoon and most of the orphans were hiding under the shade of some trees for shelter. We didn’t have any rain today and we are still waiting eagerly for more rain showers! Mapia led the group back home in the evening. Only two wild elephant bulls came for some water at the stockade compound this evening before walking off.
It was a lovely morning with the orphans finishing their milk bottles before walking down to the Lucerne feeding area. They all looked very active today with each baby participating in one way or another. Sapalan took a bunch of Lucerne and walked away with it, and started scratching on a rock while eating. Mapia was busy scratching his bottom on the terrace. Kauro scratched his neck on a rock with Kuishi, while the rest of the herd started to walk out to browse for the day.
Out in the bush, Tusuja and Wanjala started play fighting while Kamok was rolling on the ground playing with her head in the air. Namalok and Enkikwe were having a conversation between themselves, and then Enkikwe started rolling on the ground playing. Kauro was digging at the ground with his tusks, digging up some loose soil to play with. Later, Wanjala, Siangiki and Karisa joined Kauro for the same game, as they found he had created quite a nice area of loose soil to play with. Enkikwe was doing some morning press-ups and play fighting with Namalok. Karisa started hugging Mteto with his trunk. Dololo was busy testing his strength against Malima while Olsekki was busy playing with soil and scratching his back leg. The rest were very much busy browsing and later they walked to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
When the orphans walked to the mud bath just before noon today, it wasn’t very hot so only a few of the orphans decided to wallow in the mud bath. Wanjala was playing with Tusuja and climbing on him beside the mud bath. Wanjala and Namalok too started play fighting with Mundusi and Olsekki separately. They all walk out to the bush for browsing again.
Back out in the bush, all the orphans looked active and busy browsing, except for Pare, Esampu and Sana Sana who sought some shade under some trees. Enkikwe and Namalok started play fighting after they felt satisfied they had eaten enough food for the day.
Only two junior wild bulls visited the stockade today. Most of the wild elephants and ex-orphans have disappeared after we had the first few short rain showers, but we are still waiting for more rain this season.
Sattao led the herd out to the Park to browse while Ambo was still scratching his belly on a rock. Enkikwe and Namalok started play fighting while Sapalan was busy doing some morning press-ups and digging down at the ground with his tusks deeper and deeper. He later lay down and enjoyed throwing the soil which he had dug up onto his body. Kuishi also lay down on the ground and Dololo accidentally stepped on her. One of our Trusts aircraft flew overhead on a patrol and Dololo and Kuishi looked up into the air at the aircraft.
Musiara was the first one to arrive for his noon milk bottles when he was done he walked straight to the mud hole to cool off as it was very hot. The rest followed him after their milk with Rapa, Olsekki, Tusuja, Wanjala, Namalok and Mundusi being the most playful today. We had only two wild bulls who visited the mud bath at the same time today. Roi came out of the water and started play fighting with Mundusi and the whole herd walked back out to the bush for browsing.
It was a very hot afternoon and most of the babies were hiding under the shade of some trees for a large part of the day. When it was cooler they started browsing again more seriously until it was time to return back to the stockades. This evening Mutara's herd decided to visit with a wild bull, then Kithaka, Garzi, Lemoyian, Kilaguni and Chemi Chemi also arrived. They drank some water and then walked off into the Park.
This morning Tusuja started play fighting with Sapalan and later switched to Rapa. The rest of the herd walked to the water troughs to drink water and then took off to the bush.
Olsekki started playing with Kamok while she was rolling on the ground. Mundusi on the other side was busy play-fighting with Tusuja. The rest were busy browsing while Olsekki and Kamok still enjoyed their game and then a serious conversation. Wanjala later led the herd to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
The babies had their milk bottles as usual and after some went to the water trough to drink water and others went into the mud bath to wallow. We only had one wild bull who visited the mud bath today and he interacted with some of our babies at the water trough, mainly Pare and Ambo. The rest were very much busy wallowing with Musiara having some fun and games and climbing on Sattao in the water.
It wasn’t as hot today as previous days and the orphans really enjoyed browsing this afternoon. Kamok and Olsekki were still playing with each other this afternoon and enjoying their wrestling match, as the two appear to be quite close friends at the moment.
At one point this afternoon, the dependent orphans met with some ex-orphans from Mutara, Olare and Wendi's herds. They all interacted for a while, with Barsilinga playing with Melia while Namalok admired their games from the side. Later, Sattao led the dependent orphans back home in the evening for their milk bottles and to go to sleep for the night.
A wild herd of elephants visited the stockades today for a drink before walking off into the bush again.
It was a very quiet and chilly morning today after we were blessed with rain last night. We recorded 70mm of rain and this marks the first substantial rains we have had so far. The Ithumba dependent orphans had their milk bottles and walked down to feed on Lucerne. It was muddy and slippery but they managed to feed on the Lucerne quite happily. Ambo started scratching his bottom on the gate post, while Malima scratched her tail on the terrace wall. Dololo was busy scratching his neck at the same time with Mapia and Kauro on the terrace. Sapalan was busy play-fighting with Namalok before they all walked out to the bush.
All the orphans all looked very happy to have received some rain. Barsilinga and Kuishi were busy browsing on the fresh green shoots. Maramoja, Oltaiyoni, Mapia and Mteto were amongst those stretching high up into the trees with their trunks reach nice fresh leaves. Olsekki was talking to Naseku and then started to try and take some food from her mout to see what she was eating. Roi was tending to Dololo all morning. Later the orphans walked to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
We found the mud bath was almost full of water today after the rainfall we have had so far! After their milk bottles the orphans couldn’t resist, and the majority of them went to swim in the now brimming mud bath. Roi was busy rolling in some mud separately to the side with Jotto.
It wasn’t very hot today so the orphans were enjoying browsing. We are expecting more rain soon too. We didn’t see any ex-orphans or wild elephants today at the mud bath or the stockades.
We received more rain of 45mm last night so it was another quiet and cold morning at the stockade compound. This was the second big rain shower so far this short rainy season. The orphans came out of their stockades carefully as it was very slippery, and walked down to feed on Lucerne. Kauro started cleaning his beautiful tusks on the gate post while Mapia and Dololo enjoyed scratching their bodies on the stockade terrace. Later the orphans walked out to the bush to browse.
Malkia was browsing on the side of Ithumba Hill while Pare and Karisa were browsing together in the bush. Wanjala started playing with Sana Sana after browsing and later Kuishi led the group to the mud bath.
It wasn’t very hot this afternoon but it was humid, which meant the majority of orphans decided to go for a swim anyway. Galla climbed on Karisa in the water and all the orphans enjoyed a mud bath. Later they got out and walked back out to the bush for browsing again. On the way back Namalok started play fighting with Mundusi. Musiara was browsing together with Sana Sana. Some of the orphans found a small pool of rain water that they started playing in, particularly Wanjala and Kuishi who enjoyed rolling in it so much they soon formed a muddy quagmire.
Just before 5pm the orphans made their way back to the stockades for the night. We didn’t see any other elephants again today, including our own ex-orphans, as they must all be out in the bush enjoying the benefits of the recent rain.
It was another chilly morning today and the orphans really enjoyed feeding on their Lucerne grass. Mapia and Esampu went to scratch their bottoms on the stockade terrace wall before walking out with their friends to the bush.
Karisa and Pare were really wrestling with each other this morning. Barsilinga stretched high into some trees to reach some tasty leaves, but most of the orphans were busy playing in the mud this morning! Malima and Oltaiyoni were rolling on the ground, Tusuja was busy on the other side splashing some mud on his head. Kamok was extra busy, digging down the ground with her tusks to produce a nice muddy pile of soil that she could play with. Naseku and Ambo were rolling and playing in the mud too. Later, Enkikwe, Maramoja, Siangiki, Esampu, Ukame and Wanjala lined up to drink water from a water pool they found out in the bush.
A number of orphans walked into the mud bath at noon to enjoy wallowing in the nice full mud wallow. Kuishi enjoyed climbing on Malima while swimming.
Back out in the bush later in the afternoon, the orphans enjoyed walking along the Kalovoto seasonal river which is also running with quite a bit of water now after all the rainfall. The orphans enjoyed playing in the water there too before heading back to the stockades for the evening. Today we recorded 20mm of rainfall in the area and we didn’t see any other wild elephants or ex-orphans again today.
The orphans didn’t spend long in the stockade compound this morning after feeding on Lucerne. It was another chilly day with all the rain and clouds around and soon they wanted to head out to browse.
Out in the bush all the orphans looked very active and playful. Even the birds appeared happy as the rain has brought out lots of insects to eat too! Mundusi, Barsilinga and Ambo were happily playing and rolling in the mud and scratching their bottoms. Olsekki came across a pool of water in the bush and started playing in it while Musiara played just to the side. Before we knew it, it was time to walk to the mud bath area for the noon milk feed, where the orphans really enjoyed playing in the mud bath as it was a hot afternoon.
Later the orphans were busy browsing in the bush again and looked very active and happy searching for the best green vegetation which has begun to sprout with the rains. The Kalovoto seasonal river is full of flowing rain water, but the babies were happy splashing about on the side of the river just like yesterday, before heading home for this evening. We didn’t see any other animals or elephants today as they have all dispersed with the rains. Today we recorded 40mm of rainfall in the area.
Mapia appeared to be very itchy this morning and spent a long time scratching his whole body, and finished up just in time to follow his friends out for the day.
Whilst most of the orphans were busy browsing, Karisa and Sapalan were busy playing. Rapa seemed busy doing his morning press-ups digging down and playing in the mud with his tusks. Jotto and Sattao stopped browsing and started rolling in the mud too. Namalok started digging in the mud with his sharp tusks. Roi, Tusuja, Barsilinga, Malima and Wanjala enjoyed rolling in the mud separately. The orphans then walked to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
At the mud bath the orphans enjoyed swimming as it was a hot afternoon. The mud bath was very full after we got 60mm of rain which filled the water hole right up. Roi and Mundusi spent a short time wrestling after they had finished their wallowing activities.
Later in the afternoon most of the orphans were busy browsing but a small group like Musiara and Dololo were busy playing in a small pool of water they came across in the bush. Ambo and Jotto led the herd back home in the evening for their milk bottles.
It was another lovely morning as the elephant babies drank their milk bottles as usual and then walked down to the Lucerne supplement feeding area. Ambo was nervous of being pushed by his older friends, so he was isolated and given his own Lucerne bundle separately from the others. Mundusi was busy chasing a bird who was trying to drink some water from the stockade water trough. Barsilinga was busy scratching his bottom, and later the orphans walked out to the bush for browsing.
Wanjala and Mapia were busy play fighting for some time and Tusuja and Galla were doing the same. Then Mapia changed sparring partners and challenged Galla to test their strength against each other. Kauro went on scratching his belly while Naseku enjoyed rolling in the mud playing. Ukame later joined Naseku and they started playing together. The babies later walked to the mud bath for their milk noon milk bottles.
The mud bath is full after all the rain but the babies still enjoy wallowing in it and splashing around in all the water – they don’t seem to find it too cold to swim in yet!
Back out in the bush the orphans all seemed to group together to browse – whether that was to stay warm or because they were nervous of something we were not sure. Naseku was then startled by something and she ran off, which gave the rest of the herd a fright too! So they stayed grouped together for the afternoon. Later, Kuishi and Mapia led the herd back home to the stockades for the night.
It was a quiet morning today but again Ambo was given his own Lucerne separate to the others to avoid being bullied. After he was done with his Lucerne he went to scratch on the stockade terrace and then all the orphans started to file out to begin their day of browsing. Some of the orphans walked to have some water, while Barsilinga started scratching his bottom and Karisa and Pare enjoyed a play fight. Namalok was busy digging at the soft soil with his tusks playing his own little game. The orphans continued browsing throughout the morning despite it drizzling lightly.
Later in the morning Oltaiyoni and Kamok started playing while Roi, Jotto and Naseku were busy playing in the mud. Enkikwe was separately playing in the mud too.
When the orphans walked to the mud bath for their noon milk bottles it was very humid, which made them all want to go swimming in the water hole after their bottles. Barsilinga and Siangiki started play fighting on the edge of the mud bath. When they were done the orphans all started to walk out of the mud bath and wander off into the bush to continue browsing. Just before 5pm Mapia led the herd back home in the evening for their milk and to go to bed for the evening.
It was another cold morning as the orphans came out of their stockades today. Ambo was given his share of Lucerne separately to the others to avoid being bullied by some of the older bulls.
Out in the bush Karisa and Pare enjoyed play fighting and Karisa won the game and started climbing on Pare in victory, to show off his dominance. Barsilinga was scratching his belly on a big rock while Kamok and Olsekki enjoyed a play fight. All the orphans were enjoying browsing except for Kuishi who was playing and rolling in a muddy spot separate to Sattao and Musiara who were also busy playing in the mud. The babies later walked to the mud bath for their milk and to wallow.
Despite the chilly morning the majority of the orphans decided to play in the mud bath and really enjoyed their swim there today. Roi started play fighting in with Mundusi.
Later, when the orphans were out browsing in the bush again, the herd walked to the, now flowing, Kalovoto River and started playing there as it was full of water. Roi and some friends decided to play hide and seek with the Keepers and hid in some thick bush browsing very silently, giving the Keepers a hard time to look for them. Eventually, after searching for them for some time, they found the mischievous baby elephants and the whole herd walked back home to the stockades for the evening. We didn’t have any rain today and we didn’t really see any other animals in the area today.
It was a very clear and beautiful morning today as the orphans woke up for their milk bottles and to begin their day of browsing. Olsekki went straight to the terrace wall and started scratching. Mundusi took a big bunch of Lucerne and carried it away from the others to enjoy all on his own.
Later in the morning Enkikwe started play fighting with Namalok. Namalok then later changed to Tusuja but Tusuja played very rough and he ended up running away from him. Sana Sana was busy elsewhere scratching her bottom on a rock. Later on, Namalok walked up to Wanjala and started playing with him. Ukame and Barsilinga were rolling on the ground playing. A small group of babies found a waterhole and started playing in it. Olsekki and Wanjala were the most playful rolling in the mud. The babies later walk to the mud bath for their milk.
At the mud bath they all walked into the water and started wallowing. Tusuja, as usual, was climbing on his friends and particularly Sattao while wallowing. They later all walked out and straight to the bush for browsing.
In the afternoon the orphans enjoyed all the green vegetation to be found after all the rain.
Roi was scratching her neck on the stockade terrace wall while Oltaiyoni was busy scratching her bottom. None of the orphans looked as playful as other mornings but they were still quite active. They happily walked out to the bush to browse for the day.
Out in the bush Olsekki and Kamok were busy playing while Barsilinga and Kuishi were busy stretching high up to the green leaves. Siangiki was spotted scratching her bottom while Roi and Dololo were browsing together. Tusuja and Olsekki started play fighting while Kamok, Tusuja and Wanjala teamed up together and started playing. The babies later walk to the mud bath for their milk.
Barsilinga played with Olsekki and climbed on him while wallowing in the mud bath. Wanjala was next to them and started climbing on Malkia after watching how much fun Barsilinga was having. Tusuja and Kauro started play fighting just outside the mud bath and Barsilinga decided to copy them and went to engage poor little Siangiki to play with! We didn’t have any rain today and didn’t see any ex-orphans or wild elephants again today.
As the other orphans rushed out of their stockades this morning to feed on the Lucerne which had been put out by the Keepers, Malima and Jotto were busy playing on the ground and rolling around just outside their stockade. They seemed happy to be outside and welcome the new day! The weather was very clear and we witnessed a beautiful sunrise. As others were busy feeding, Musiara started playing and rolling near the rocks while Tusuja was feeding on Lucerne from on top of the loading wall like it was a table. A little vervet monkey with her baby was enjoying the spectacle of all the orphans feeding together too. Olsekki and Roi started play fighting, while Ukame scratched her bottom against a rock, before heading out to browse with her friends.
Out in the bush, Kamok started play fighting with Olsekki. The babies came across a water pool in the bush and started playing in it before walking for their noon milk bottles.
It was very humid again today so although it wasn’t very sunny, most of the orphans chose to go into the mud bath for a swim. It had rained lightly this morning so none of the Keepers expected them to wallow, but because of the humidity they still chose to.
It was very muddy out in the bush this afternoon and the orphans chose to concentrate on their browsing in different groups. Enkikwe was very busy digging down on the ground with his tusks to produce some loose soil to play with, before joining his friends to head home for the evening.
It was an extremely wet morning today after we received some rain just before we fed the orphans their morning breakfast milk bottles. They all walked out with extra care as it was very slippery. They fed on some Lucerne but it was quite wet and there was water everywhere so they didn’t stay long. Enkikwe struggled to eat the main portion of his Lucerne and followed his friends a bit later. Because there was mud everywhere the Ithumba babies were very active and playing dynamically. Kuishi took advantage of Naseku who was lying on the ground and started sitting on her and squashing her, and she yelled out to the Keepers to come and help her remove Kuishi. Namalok on the other side was playing by digging down in the mud with his tusks. Ndiwa was busy rolling in some mud too with Tusuja and Sattao. Pare scratched his belly on some rocks while Kauro and Naseku with some of their friends were busy playing by rolling in the mud. Mapia, Barsilinga, Olsekki and Mundusi played separately. Enkikwe and Roi had a private talk while Barsilinga stood behind them as if he was listening. Later on the group walked to the mud bath for their milk bottles.
There was quite a bit of water flowing into the mud bath still this afternoon. The babies had their milk bottles and because a lot of them were feeling muddy from rolling around in the wet soil, a number of them walked in and started wallowing in the main water hole. When all the orphans came out and started filing back out to the bush, Mundusi and Karisa started play fighting with no fear of being left behind. They took a long time and eventually the Keepers came back to shepherd them out after the others who had already walked off quite far.
It started raining again this afternoon and Tusuja started drinking rain water from where it was collecting in-between the rocks. Later on Sattao led the herd back home in the evening for their milk. We recorded 30mm of rainfall today with the mud bath really filling up a lot today.
It was still wet in the morning as it has been raining relentlessly on an almost a daily basis. The animals have now bid goodbye to the drought and the dry season! There is so much water everywhere and the plants are flourishing well, giving the orphans a happy time because there is so much to feed on. More than even they require! The orphans slowly made their way out to the bush this morning, walking carefully to avoid slipping and falling.
Olsekki and his friend Siangiki competed who amongst them could reach the highest leaves in the trees. This was just to have fun since they had small shrubs all around that they could easily feed on, but they wanted to see how far they could stretch their trunks and what length they could go to! Tusuja led his friends to play on the wet soil. By mud bath time the orphans had done enough wallowing in the bush, so they had their milk then returned back to browsing.
In the afternoon the rain came and this activated the orphans playing mood. They played and rolled around in the running water and continued to so even after the rain had stopped. In the evening the orphans returned back to the stockades, very tired after spending so much time in playing in the rain water today.
Even though it didn’t rain last night the ground was still wet this morning. Ambo was the first one to leave the stockades and he went to scratch along the stockade terrace wall. Shortly later, the rest of the group followed. The orphans settled briefly for Lucerne before Ambo seemed to be in a hurry to head out for the day. It was as if he were asking them why they wanted to eat the dry Lucerne grass when there was plenty of nice green shoots to find! He rumbled and started making his way out to browse and his friends seemed to take heed and they all agreed to follow him. This made Ambo happy and he felt very pleased with himself in having enough authority to influence what all the others, even those senior to him, decided to do. Ambo wasn’t aware that the other main reason the group decided to follow him was to make sure that he didn’t wander off on his own and in the wrong direction! He is known for being a bit haphazard with his decisions on which way to go and because he is young, he doesn’t put that much thought into it.
Once out in the bush, Naseku took control of the herd and led them through a hilly area heading north of the stockades. Roi teamed up with Tusuja and they fed on the same shrub as they discussed how the rain has brought lots of good things to them. Later, Tusuja had fun rolling on the ground.
At noon, the orphans had their milk bottles then settled to browse in a swampy area near the upper Kalovoto River. Tusuja and Namalok dodged without the Keeper’s without them realizing and the Keepers only found out later in the evening when they were preparing to take the entire herd back to the stockades for the night. Due to thick bush and so much water in the area, it hampered the Keepers efforts in tracking the two naughty boys. At around six o'clock in the evening, one hour after the other dependent orphans had settled in for the night, Namalok and Tusuja brought themselves back to the stockade compound, thus ending the search for the two bulls and the Keepers’ anxiety of their whereabouts!