Just a few days of substantial rain is all it took to restore the Kibwezi Forest back to its verdant green. The Umani Springs remains a perennial source of water and with all the rain now the shrubs are a profusion of lush green foliage once more, with lots of small streams trickling throughout the forest from the build-up of ground water. Butterflies love to settle in the watery footprints made by the elephants along the muddy paths and fly up in a delicate flurry with every passing being.
The recent rain in the past two days has completely transformed the Kibwezi Forest. Dry shrub and grass have now been replaced by green lush vegetation, small rivers and streams flowing with an abundance of fresh rainwater. Whilst elephants have the knowledge and acumen to be able to survive periods of drought, this green foliage is a big welcome.
During the dry the season Luggard struggled a little to find fresh foliage, but now he is overjoyed and enjoys feasting on the new shoots of green grass that he can kick up using his feet. When Murera and Lima Lima, see this it fills them with joy to see how well Luggard is feeding.
In the afternoon, just before the orphans were ready to make their way back to the stockades, they decided to make a quick stop and rest for a while under the shade of some big trees. As everyone was taking a break Zongoloni emerged out of the other end of the forest and walked right up to the Umani herd. The Keepers think she must have caught the scent of her little friend Enkesha. Enkesha who was resting next to Shukuru did not waste a second and ran in Zongoloni’s direction, both were happy to see each other and greeted with trunk hugs.
They day began on a high note with all the Umani dependent orphans as well as the six night-clubbers present during the early morning feed. The independent orphans waited for their friends to finish their bottle feed, so that they could enjoy the Lucerne together. Once done they two herds parted ways.
Later that morning as the orphans was making their way to a different browsing area, Lima Lima sped up to the front of the herd with a raised trunk. The Keepers knew immediately that their reliable girl had caught the scent of something. Sonje right away sprung into action, ushering Luggard away with one of the Keepers and then everyone kept a keen eye and ear on any new comers and sure enough, it was the big boys Faraja and Ziwa who emerged from the bushes with a large wild bull accompanying them. Ngasha was not too far behind and caught up with the boys, but sensing how uneasy his dependent friends were, he ushered the big bull and Faraja and Ziwa away from the Umani herd.
Later at the mud bath, the same wild bull appeared but this time on his own. He took a keen interest in Quanza who was equally curious. Whilst the rest of the herd kept their distance, Quanza was very happy to have this wild bulls company and they browsed together for quite a while.
Luggard is quickly becoming an expert at finding fresh patches of green pasture around the Umani area. His surrogate mothers, Murera and Lima Lima, are very proud to see how well their little boy is learning such essential skills.
The Keepers also noticed a decline in the number of wild elephants visiting the stockade water troughs. With the recent rains, these wild elephants must have found water holes and an abundance of grass elsewhere, and they are less reliant on the Kibwezi forest now. The night-clubbers have also been bringing fewer and fewer of their wild elephant friends. These older bulls must have moved away from the Umani area into the Chyulus now that there is plenty water and forage for all.
Ziwa and Zongoloni were quite late arriving at the stockades this morning. By the time they did, Murera and her herd had already had their milk feed and their fill of water and Lucerne and were starting to make their way to the forest. This is where Ziwa and Zongoloni caught up with them.
Mwashoti has started to take a keen interest in Enkesha and their friendship is budding. Since Alamaya’s departure to wander with the independent ‘night-clubber’ group, Mwashoti is the only boy in the herd apart from Luggard. Today this big bull decided he wanted to play with Enkesha. The Keepers were a little apprehensive but when they saw how Enkesha was able to hold her own and was actually enjoying playing with Mwashoti they let the two elephants be, but kept a keen eye.
It had been a few days since we last saw Jasiri with the independent group. It is quite possible that with the recent rains that Jasiri, along with his other wild bull friends, have ventured further away from the Umani Springs area to explore the Chyulu Hills and beyond.
During the dry season Zongoloni, who seems to be the leader of the night-clubbers herd, would often be seen leading the boys and other wild elephants to the stockades many time during the day, for fresh water and Lucerne. These days those visits are less frequent and so today when Zongoloni joined the Umani herd to browse, Enkesha was overjoyed to see her. Enkesha was ready to follow Zongoloni but after walking a short distance the little girl realized she might not be able to keep up the pace and walked back slowly to re-join Shukuru.
After their midday bottle and mud bath, Mwashoti escorted little Enkesha to the water trough. Enkesha has been enjoying Mwashoti’s company but today the naughty boy tried to climb on her back and Enkesha didn’t appreciate that; when the Keepers heard her trumpet they quickly intervened, telling Mwashoti to stop being naughty and to interact nicely with Enkesha or not at all.
Finally this morning Jasiri paid a visit to his stockade-dependant friends. Along with him came Alamaya and Ziwa. They were in time to see the orphans exiting their stockades and after having had their milk feed.
Jasiri greeted all his friends but seemed a bit unsettled; he kept looking around as though searching for something. The Keepers thought perhaps he was waiting for one of his wild bull friends to join them but it turned out that Jasiri simply had an itch and was searching for a particular tree in order to to scratch himself! Jasiri walked around the Keepers towards a tree he knew would do the trick and he spent a leisurely amount of time scratching against this shrub.
As the orphans began their browsing activities Luggard spotted Lima Lima ahead of him and he wanted to catch up to her. He walked through the bushes to get to her faster and Murera handed over the responsibility of looking after Luggard to Lima Lima whilst she foraged for greens. As soon as she finished she would then take over from Lima Lima, to then allow her to do the same. The two older girls have worked out a great system that works very well, each taking turns to look after Luggard whilst the other feeds.
Mwashoti discovered another waterhole in the Chyulu Hills that had been dug by some wild elephants and their scent is what lured Mwashoti to that particular mud bath; he spent quite some time wallowing in the fun new mud wallow.
Enkesha directed everyone along a path that led them to a browsing area that was teeming with fresh green grass. Although we have only had a few rain showers so far here in the Kibwezi forest is already completely transforming; new shoots of grass area everywhere and there is plenty of browse for everyone.
Greedy Lima Lima was right at the back of the herd but as soon as she sighted all of the fresh green grass she hurried to the front. She stopped in her tracks for a moment, remembering that Murera had handed Luggard over to her to look after. Lima Lima slowed down and waited for Luggard to catch up with her and then they both walked slowly towards the grass. Luggard continues to be doted on by all the older girls. He always has someone watching over him, if Murera and Lima Lima are busy browsing, Sonje is always at hand to take of the beloved boy.
Quanza noticed Shukuru had ventured off on her own. Although all the orphans know not to disturb Shukuru and that she likes to be on her own, the protective side in Quanza took over and she went and browsed close to Shukuru as so to also keep an eye on her friend in case of any danger. Both girls enjoyed browsing together all afternoon, tearing up trunks full of grass and filling their bellies.
Mwashoti was up to his tricks again today! This time he tried to engage Enkesha in some pushing games. This feisty little girl was not interested and made it very clear, but Mwashoti being the pushy bull that he is, continue to pursue Enkesha relentlessly. Finally with a loud trumpet and waving of her ears, Enkesha showed Mwashoti that she cannot be pushed around. A little tired from all the pushing, Enkesha found a nice spot to catch a quick nap.
As the orphans walked through the bushes busy foraging, Lima Lima and Ngasha caught scent of some wild animals; first Lima Lima raised her trunk above her head and then Ngasha did the same. This also alerted the Keepers to start ushering the slower orphans like Luggard and Shukuru together closer to them. Luckily whatever wild animal Lima Lima and Ngasha had caught scent of had disappeared into the forest.
Today Enkesha decided to take her friend Luggard to the water hole after they had their midday milk bottles. She had her fill first and then made way for Luggard to step up to the water hole. Enkesha stood guard whilst Luggard drank water and splashed some mud on his body. Enkesha hasn’t forgotten that her and Luggard are friends from when they were at the Nairobi Nursery together.
Alamaya arrived with Ngasha in tow today. It was quite late in the day, but Alamaya was very pleased to see Sonje. They both greeted each other by entwining their trunks. It has been a while since Alamaya had seen Sonje and they walked off together as if to talk in private and catch up with each other.
The Keepers noticed the absence of the other members of night-clubbers and now that they were not with Alamaya and Ngasha either, they decided to patrol the area in search of them just to make sure all was okay. They soon spotted the other four, comfortably ensconced within another wild herd. Satisfied the semi-independent orphans were well, the Keepers drove back.
Lima Lima later moved to where Sonje was browsing and they put their heads together and came up with a plan to move the herd closer to the Chyulu area. This area was bursting with fresh forage; all the orphans were completely engrossed for the rest of the afternoon, browsing to their hearts content. Murera too, was completely covered by shrubs, this was her chance to fill up and Lima Lima was looking after Luggard. The orphans remained here until it was time to go home.
Alamaya surprised everyone when he emerged out of the bushes abruptly at the midday milk feed. All the orphans had finished their milk bottles and were getting ready to wallow when we heard some loud sounds of branches snapping. As the Keepers looked towards the trees they spotted a big bull with a very large head walking towards them. They thought this was one of Alamaya’s wild friends but on closer inspection they realized it was Ngasha. They were amazed at how fast this bull was growing and at how large his head is.
Enkesha continues to amaze and enthrall the Keepers with her new skills. Today whilst Enkesha was browsing, she came across a large area of soft sweet grass. To enjoy it better, Enkesha went down on her knees and continued to walk on her knees as she feasted on the grass. The Keepers were so taken aback because this is a skill elephants learn from watching other elephants in the herd. Since none of the other elephants had ever done this, they wondered where Enkesha picked up this particular skill.
As soon as Enkesha was done with the grass she walked up to where Ngasha was browsing and followed his as he started to walk away thinking he would take her to her friend Zongoloni, but as soon she realized he was only walking away to find a different area to browse in, Enkesha walked back to where Sonje was and followed her to the mud bath. Shukuru did not indulge in a mud bath today but instead walked away by herself to browse in the Umani Hills.
Alamaya was unusually early today, coming in from behind the stockades past Murera’s stockade. Joining him was Ngasha and both boys watched the morning activities as the Keepers readied the milk for the orphans. As soon as the orphans were out of their night quarters and had finished their milk, Sonje and Mwashoti caught the scent of the two boys visiting and there was a great deal of trumpeting as the orphans welcomed their friends.
Alamaya teamed up with Quanza as all the orphans made their way out of the stockades. They were seen with their heads close together, as though sharing stories; perhaps Alamaya telling Quanza why the other four night-clubbers, Ziwa, Zongoloni, Jasiri and Faraja, had not turned up today.
Enkesha foraged on her own for most of the day and then later in the afternoon joined Shukuru. Quanza had the same idea and started to walk towards the two girls but changed her mind and abruptly turned around and walked in the opposite direction along a path and continued browsing there on her own.
The Keepers noticed Luggard was standing to one side looking around and they wondered who the young boy was looking for, when it dawned on them that Murera had handed over the duty of looking after Luggard to Lima Lima, as Murera spent some time to forage for herself. Lima Lima had walked ahead not realizing that Luggard had not followed her. After a while, when she looked back and saw Luggard standing by himself, she hurried back to fetch him.
It’s been a few days since we saw Zongoloni, Ziwa, Faraja and Jasiri. We are assuming with the new rains, these four semi-independent orphans have been spending time with their wild friends on adventures in other parts of the Chyulus, since greens and water are aplenty.
This has meant that Alamaya and Ngasha have visited the Umani heard every day. They arrive at the stockades at day break, wait for their friends to have their milk bottles, join them during their Lucerne feed, and then accompany them for the whole day. This has made Murera and Sonje very happy, to have their boys back in the herd. Not so much for Lima Lima, since she avoids the games of these boisterous boys who enjoy playing mounting games. Ngasha and Alamaya have both been chastised for this behavior and are more considerate towards Lima Lima now.
In the Umani compound Enkesha and Luggard are neighbours, with their night-quarters next to each other, but during the day they spend quite a lot of their time apart; Enkesha with Shukuru and Quanza, and Luggard with his ever doting mother figures, Murera and Lima Lima and sometimes, when required Sonje steps in to look after the little boy.
Today Shukuru was given the rare chance of looking after Luggard at the mud bath. As Murera and Lima Lima waded into the waterhole, they kept a keen eye on both Shukuru and Luggard. Shukuru did not let them down. We rarely get to see this side of Shukuru but she proved to be a capable nanny, showing that should the need arise, she can look after the little babies of the herd too. Shukuru was very gentle and loving with the young boy.
When Murera and Lima Lima emerged from the mud bath, there was no tussle over handing Luggard back to them; Shukuru having done her duty happily left the young bull in their capable care and carried on with her day. Quanza waited for Shukuru to start walking towards the browsing fields and then the shy girl joined Shukuru and Mwashoti who were browsing there peacefully.
Enkesha was not too far away browsing in the bushes next to them, when she saw Shukuru moving further out and started to follow her, but Shukuru stopped abruptly sensing that all was not well ahead. They turned around and ran back towards the Keepers and after investigating the Keepers saw a big herd buffalos ahead. They understood that that is what Shukuru must have sensed and had the good judgment to turn back.
The orphans’ had a rather noisy start to their day. Ngasha and Alamaya as usual arrived early morning and accompanied the Umani herd into Kibwezi forest. Two baby baboons who must have gotten separated from their troop started screaming in the tree tops startling both Enkesha and Luggard. Murera and Lima Lima, not knowing the cause of the commotion, became slightly panicked which made Mwashoti run to the rescue of the two younger orphans. Spotting the baby baboons in the trees he started to trumpet at them and shaking his head to scare them off. By this time the baby baboons’ mothers must have heard all the commotion and rushed to rescue their babies, barking at Mwashoti. Mwashoti tried to scare the mother baboons as well but they scooped their babies up and ran through the trees to the safety of their troop.
After this encounter, the matriarchs made a decision to move out of the forest and forage closer to the springs where they knew they would find plenty of fresh water and browse. The older girls formed a line which was led by Lima Lima, followed by Luggard and Murera directly behind him. Sonje was to Luggard’s left and this way Luggard had full protection from all his surrogate mothers.
A short while later, Ziwa and Zongoloni joined the orphans. Both Murera and Enkesha were particularly happy to see them, especially Enkesha to see her friend Zongoloni. The visit was a very short one, which surprised the Keepers too as they assumed Ziwa and Zongoloni would spend the rest of the day with them. It was almost as if they the visited the orphans and Keepers to let them know all was well, and then they left again without anyone noticing.
Light showers this morning meant a slight change to the orphans browsing plan. Lima Lima and Murera slowed down and stayed close to Luggard to shelter him from the rain whilst the rest of the herd was lead by Quanza and Mwashoti to carry on browsing further afield.
Later when the rains stopped Murera and Lima Lima felt it was safe enough now to start walking towards the area where the rest of the herd was browsing. Luggard, still ensconced between Lima Lima and Murera, walked slowly and carefully so as not to slip on the wet soil and one the Keepers held an umbrella over him in case it were to start raining again. The Keepers always ensure that Luggard is well looked after and given his bad leg, it was very important they moved slowly.
In the bushes the orphans found puddles of rainwater and mud and proceeded to create their own little mud baths. They rolled and splashed around in the mud as the Keepers watched on. At the midday milk bottle feed the Keepers thought perhaps because the orphans had had their fill of wallowing that no one would be interested in the main mud bath, but as soon as all the orphans had had their their milk, Enkesha led them to the waterhole and once again, everyone partook in a lengthy session of wallowing. Shukuru was the first one in, but after the waterhole got too crowded with all the orphans fighting for space, Shukuru decided she would rather leave and watch her friends; later on she made her way to the piles of loose soil to dry herself there.
Sonje discovered an area of very lush shrubs today and she sensed Mwashoti and Enkesha was close by; she looked towards Enkesha urging the little girl to join her. As soon as both of them were together, Sonje walked away to the Chyulu Hills with Enkesha to show her another place where she could find sweet browse. The two girls enjoyed their time together very much.
Shukuru also came upon the same shrubs Sonje has discovered earlier and couldn’t believe her luck. Shukuru stayed there for a very long time, making most of this sweet browse that she enjoyed so much.
Quanza was full of fun today and she did something that the Keepers have not seen her do before. She found a spot where there was some wet mud and sat on her bottom, wiggling it and swishing her tail. It was quite a comical sight that made the Keepers chuckle. The temperatures started to rise by midday, so as soon as all the orphans had had their milk, all of them decided to cool off by wading into the waterhole.
As soon as the orphans were done cooling off, Murera signaled the orphans it was time to start moving. She led the herd away from the rocky areas of Kibwezi Forest as this would not be ideal for Luggard, and towards the more lush fields. It seems a large herd of buffalo had the same idea so as soon as Lima Lima saw them, she let the Keepers know. The Keepers decided to stop and survey the situation and then decided that it was in the best interest of everyone’s safety that they move to another part of Kibwezi forest where the orphans browsed peacefully until it was time to go home.
The matriarchs of a herd always determine the movements of the day, as do Murera and Lima Lima, but there seemed to be some discord today. Sonje and Quanza had other ideas and urged the herd to follow them to a different route as to what Murera had planned. The girls hung back waiting for the herd to follow them. Luggard rumbled to Murera as he sensed Sonje wanted him to follow her. Murera and Lima Lima ushered Luggard towards him and after awhile Quanza also joined them. Sonje relented and followed Murera but at a slower place, taking her time to stop and browse at her favorite spots.
Big boys Alamaya, Ngasha and Mwashoti decided to leave the girls looking after Luggard and ventured further afield to browse by themselves. Enkesha was torn between browsing with the girls or with the big boys, as they always show her interesting things. She walked over to Luggard and rumbled something in his ear; Lima Lima who was close-by, thought Enkesha was trying to get the little boy to follow her. She ushered Enkesha away from Luggard and towards Quanza, but the little girl decided she would join the boys and browsed with them for the rest of the afternoon.
Alamaya and Ngasha arrived alone today, without the other four night-clubbers, Zongoloni, Ziwa, Jasiri and Faraja. The Keepers wondered where they were but they have also seen this as an emerging trend. Zongoloni is the matriarch of the night-clubbers and all the boys always follow her instruction except for Alamaya who has a bit of a rebellious streak. We are sure Alamaya was being taught a lesson by Zongoloni, and Ngasha who is Alamaya’s loyal friend always accompanies Alamaya.
For the rest of the day, the Umani herd, Alamaya and Ngasha browsed together in the Chyulu Hills, they only went their separate ways when it was time to go home in the evening. The boys knew they had to return to the forest where they would meet their wild friends and leave the dependent orphans to make their way back to the stockades for their evening bottles and to rest for the night.
Since the rains arrived the wild elephant herds and wild bulls that used to frequent the Umani area are rarely seen these days. Alamaya and Ngasha always brought their wild friends to visit the stockades or sometimes join the orphans during their browsing activities; all we see now are foot prints in the mud of the wild elephants that may have passed through the area during the night. It seems Alamaya and Ngasha miss these escapades with their wild friends as well, but they continue to join the Umani herd everyday whilst the rest of night-clubbers are visibly absent.
Sometimes when the orphans decide to browse along the Chyulu and Umani Hills, Luggard chooses to browse with Shukuru. On such days Shukuru always ensure to keep Luggard close and show him all the leafy greens he can enjoy. Murera and Lima Lima are also always nearby to keep an eye on their young ward.
The orphans were very exuberant with their mud bathing today, so much so that big boy Alamaya got a little carried away and did not see Enkesha next to him and stepped on her by mistake. Enkesha let out a loud trumpet that sent both Quanza and Shukuru to her aid. The older girls chased Alamaya out of the water hole and to give the rest of the orphans a chance to bathe peacefully. Alamaya retired to the sol piles instead, choosing to wait there, until the rest of the orphans were done with their mud bath.
Today Quanza decided she did not want to browse too close to the rest of the herd. She decided to browse a little further away but wanted Eneksha’s company and she rumbled at Enkesha to follow her. Most days the older girls will decide on where the herd will browse and the herd usually follows; only that Shukuru who is bit of a lone ranger with deviate from the path and browse by herself, but she is always accompanied by one of the Keepers.
Ngasha and Alamaya arrived, swinging their heads and flapping their ears. They spotted Shukuru browsing on some fresh forage and moved to join her. Shukuru, being the loner that she is and not to keen on the company of these boisterous boys, moved away as soon as she saw the boys approaching, so Alamaya and Ngasha set their sights on Mwashoti. They tried to get Mwashoti to join them but the younger boy was hesitant. On one particular day both Quanza and Mwashoti followed Alamaya and Ngasha into the Chyulu Hills, and the two stockade-dependent orphans ended up spending the night away from the stockades and missing out on their bottles. Mwashoti did not want a repeat of the same, so he decided against joining the two older boys today.
During their browsing activities today Alamaya came across a waterhole. The temperature was starting to rise and so Alamaya decided he would cool off in the waterhole. He waded in slowly testing the waters to see how cool the water was. Enkesha, who was nearby, watched Alamaya and decided to do the same; she too waded into the waterhole but found the water too cold so instead of staying with Alamaya she walked right through the waterhole and exited from the other side and joined Shukuru and Ngasha.
It is not very often that Shukuru has the chance to look after Luggard. So when Sonje, who was given the duty of looking after the young boy by Murera, ran off to chase after some baboons, Shukuru jumped at the opportunity to watch over Luggard until Sonje returned. The young boy enjoyed Shukuru’s calm and gentle disposition and Shukuru clearly enjoyed these rare moments to spend time with the young boy.
Quanza and Mwashoti were quite the comical duo today. Both orphans were in the mud bath and engaged in some funny swimming games. Quanza would lie down and allow Mwashoti to climb on her back, but since the mud was so slippery, poor Mwashoti kept sliding off Quanza’s back and falling back into the mud. The Keepers were standing nearby and found the scene before them to be such a funny sight.
Enkesha was being a cheeky little elephant today, soon after her early morning milk bottle she ran back into her stockade and stayed there. Thinking that she would exit her room once she saw the older orphans leaving, her Keepers let her stay there, while some put away the milk bottles and tidied up the area.
The older orphans got ready to leave but Enkesha refused to come out of her room, eventually one the Keepers lured her out with the promise of some pellets. Enkesha followed the Keeper until they were with the older orphans, but now they caught the scent of the pellets too and rushed in to have Enkesha’s share. Poor Enkesha stood by watching the others finish her pellets. In all of the commotion, Shukuru decided to knock over the wheelbarrow that had the pellets in it, emptying the entire contents on to the ground. The orphans had a feast and it seems mischief was in the air today as Shukuru displayed her cheeky side.
Murera was unable to get to the pellets as she had exited the stockades with Luggard and was making her way out to the forest already. Murera and Luggard accompanied by and Quanza decided to carry on their way leaving the others to enjoy the pellets whilst they set out to enjoy the abundant greens in the Umani area.
There was an unlikely pairing of Shukuru with Ngasha today. Both of them teamed up in search of the best browse: Ngasha with his knowledge of the different areas within the Chyulus due to his wanderings, and Shukuru with her years of knowledge of what is the most nutritious, turned out to be a rather successful venture.
Another unlikely pairing of orphans was Mwashoti and Quanza who decided to test their strength against each other. They engaged in some pushing games with Quanza keeping up with Mwashoti but giving up eventually as the big boy proved to be quite strong. Quanza is small in stature and whilst she enjoyed the game she had to quit as she was getting tired.
The four night-clubbers who have been missing in action recently joined up with the Umani herd today. Jasiri came out of the bushes and made a bee-line for Sonje. It seems he has picked up some habits from watching wild bulls interacting with wild cows and he tried to mount on Sonje, but Ngasha was not too happy about the situation and immediately put an end to it. As soon as it was midday, the orphans turned to make their way to the milk feeding area and Ziwa and Alamaya made their way to the Hills, knowing their friends would join them soon after.
The orphans ventured out a little bit further than their usual area in search of finding new lush greens and also hoping to bump into the night-clubbers.
Only Ngasha and Faraja turned up today, there was no sign of the other four. The came up to Murera and Sonje and greeted each other with trunk hugs. The older girls were leading the rest of the herd, with Luggard and Shukuru bringing up the rear end of the herd. All the while, even though Lima Lima was at the front of the line, she kept turning back to check on Luggard to see if Shukuru was doing a good enough job being a surrogate nanny to her lovely boy. A baby bushbuck got away from its mother and Shukuru spotted it running towards Luggard. Not wanting to scare the young bull, Shukuru trumpeted at the baby bushbuck before it could get to Luggard, scaring it off and sending it running back to its mother. After that the baby bushbuck made sure to stay close to its mother.
The heat from the sun and all the walking the orphans had done today tired them out. They sought refuge under one of the many large trees. Some stood taking a break from the heat whilst others lay down to take a nap. After sometime Quanza and Sonje rumbled to each other, which seemed like the signal for all the orphans to get up so that they could carry on browsing. All the orphans got up and followed the two girls.
Lima Lima’s greedy nature got the better of her today. She was the first one to gulp down both her bottles and when she saw Quanza was still on her first bottle and her second bottle was still on the ground, Lima Lima decided she would steal Quanza’s second bottle. The ever vigilant Sonje saw the tricks Lima Lima was up to however. Lima Lima had already grabbed Quanza’s bottle but Sonje quickly trumpeted at Lima Lima, startling the greedy girl and causing her to drop the milk bottle and spilling some of the milk. Luckily the Keepers had a spare bottle and topped up Quanza’s bottle so that she wouldn’t miss out. Sonje rumbled to Lima Lima to move away from the bottles and wait away from the feeding area so that the rest of the orphans could finish their milk in peace.
Enkesha remains an adventurous little girl, often racing ahead of the herd when they are heading out to browse; or wanting to join her friend Zongoloni when Zongoloni goes out to join her wild friends at night. The Keepers often have to keep an eye on the little girl so that she doesn’t wander too far off with Zongoloni as she is too young and still very much milk dependent. Today Enkesha did leave with Zongoloni and the Keepers had to bring her back and keep her close to Shukuru.
There are days when Sonje is comfortable with the boys’ games but today wasn’t one of those days. Ngasha arrived after the midday feed emerging out of the bushes and advancing towards Sonje. Sonje wasn’t too pleased and Alamaya, Faraja and Quanza stepped in letting out trumpets, warning the boy to back down. Eventually Ngasha got the message and backed off and for the rest of the day he kept his distance from Sonje. Sonje stayed close to Murera who was with Lima Lima and Luggard knowing Ngasha would not attempt the same mistake twice with Murera close by.
As the orphans walked through the Chyulus, browsing and enjoying the fresh grass, the Keepers heard Shukuru and Enkesha trumpeting very loudly and continuously. As they got closer to the noise, they realized the two girls were letting out warning trumpets to a herd of buffaloes browsing in their favorite spot. They wanted the buffaloes to move so that they and the rest of the herd could continue enjoying the fresh browse.
Ever since the rains have arrived and transformed Kibwezi and the surrounding areas into a lush paradise, Luggard’s appetite seems to have improved greatly. The young boy, who is always in the company of either one of his appointed nannies, will browse slowly and peacefully knowing he is well protected and looked after at all times. His stomach is getting rounder and fuller.
There seems to have been a mutual parting of ways between the night-clubbers and we now have two groups. One with Alamaya and Ngasha and the other led by Zongoloni and her boys, the two teams frequent the Umani herd but at different times. It is almost like they have agreed to do it this way so that they do not overlap. Alamaya and Ngasha are the early birds, always visiting the stockades in the early morning hours and leaving sometime during the day, with Zongoloni and her boys catching up with the Umani herd later in the day.
Some baboons caused unnecessary panic amongst the orphans this afternoon. They were screeching and screaming in the trees and this startled all the orphans. Luggard sought refuge under Murera right away, whilst Lima Lima patrolled the area like the self designated security guard that she is. The baboons moved and peace was restored and the orphans went back to their browsing.
There was jubilation and celebration this evening as Zongoloni arrived with her three boys and the loud trumpeting started even before they got close to the stockades. It was almost as though Zongoloni and the boys were signaling Alamaya and Ngasha of their arrival.
Murera was still not sure what was going on but as soon as she saw her friends approaching she responded by trumpeting in return. Alamaya and Ngasha also turned, trumpeting and announcing their arrival. The Keepers were overjoyed to see all their babies altogether at the same time in the stockade compound. They went to the stores and brought out a sack of pellets for all the babies to enjoy. They do not normally do this but felt it was called for in celebration of everyone being together. The night-clubbers stayed and enjoyed the pellets, and Quanza was overjoyed to see her friend Zongoloni.
As the sun went down, the night-clubbers got ready to leave to go back into the forest to join their wild friends for some adventure and the orphans settled down for the night after so much excitement.
This morning as the orphans were getting ready to leave the stockades Luggard stood back for a while, searching for Sonje. She was still on the soil pile taking her time, and Luggard just stood for awhile watching her. Murera had moved ahead but realized Luggard was not with her so she turned back round to fetch him. She lovingly put her trunk around Luggard which she knows Luggard loves and they walked back slowly to join the rest of the herd. Lima Lima also noticed Luggard was not with them, but when she saw Murera walking towards him, she knew the situation was in hand.
The three boys, Mwashoti, Alamaya and Ngasha were more interested in the fresh browse that lay ahead of them and they left the girls to wait for Murera and Luggard whilst they went deeper into the forest where they stayed for most of the morning until was time for the midday feed, at which point Alamaya and Ngasha decided to go their separate ways, leaving Mwashoti with the rest of the herd.
Shukuru and Enkesha stayed close to Luggard today; it seemed as though he needed the extra attention and these girls were more than happy to comfort little Luggard.
Quanza has now joined the team of nannies chosen to look after Luggard. Murera and Lima Lima love to wallow in the mud and swim in the waterhole and used to take turns doing so. So whilst one would be in the waterhole, the other would look after Luggard. Now with Quanza on board, Murera and Lima Lima can both indulge in their mud wallowing and swimming and leave Luggard in Quanza’s capable care.
Shukuru was browsing next to Jasiri, who was visiting, but decided to move away from him as she could see he was starting to get boisterous and was looking for someone to play with. He set his sights on Murera and tried to climb on her back. Murera was not too pleased and tried to dissuade him but Jasiri was quite persistent. Mwashoti and Ziwa could see Murera was not to happy and started to rumble at Jasiri to stop his games. Finally Jasiri gave up and Murera returned to her beloved Luggard who was rather bewildered with all the trumpeting, rumbling and chasing, but relieved to have his surrogate mother back.
Out in the Kibwezi Forest the orphans had a great day browsing, picking the best greens and stopping every now and then to enjoy fresh water that had sprung up from temporary streams throughout the forest. After a while, Lima Lima caught the scent of some wild elephant wild bulls approaching the Umani herd and alerted the Keepers to the same. Right away the Keepers moved Murera, Luggard and Shukuru to a safer space. Faraja and Ziwa started to trumpet and at first the Keepers were worried but when they saw the two boys greeting the wild bulls, they understood that Faraja and Ziwa knew these wild bulls and all was well.
The bond that forms between the Keepers and the orphans who have been under their care always remains a very special one. Today, Zongoloni and the three boys, Ziwa, Faraja and Jasiri emerged from the thick bushes. Had it not been for Lima Lima and her strong sense of smell, the Keepers would never have known they were nearby. The Keepers once again were overjoyed to see Zongoloni and the boys. They stopped by for a quick hello and carried on with their day.
Murera and Sonje were so engrossed in looking after Luggard that they didn’t notice the arrival and departure of Zongoloni and the boys, but Enkesha absolutely adores Zongoloni and she was so excited at seeing her again that she ran through the forest, tail up and ears flapping. She made quite a funny sight that the Keepers had a little chuckle but also smiled fondly at the sight of this little elephant desperately running after her friend to say hello.
Shukuru has always remained impartial to all the excitement and boisterous greetings - she prefers to keep a low profile and continue browsing. At any given time she is always aware of her friends’ movement however, but just prefers to keep her own company. One Keeper is always by Shukuru‘s side, and when it is time to go home, both find the rest of the orphans and follow them back to the stockades.