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Quanza and Kiasa exited their sleeping quarters together this morning. They were walking to the lucerne corner together when Kiasa spotted Zongoloni. She rushed over to greet her older friend, forgetting all about Quanza. 

Jasiri also decided to join his friends for some lucerne, but when he made his way to where Kiombo was, the younger bull immediately backed off. Kiombo knows how boisterous Jasiri can be, especially with his long tusks, so he prudently put some distance between them. Sonje was nearby to keep an eye on everything. As the midday feeding time approached, it was getting very hot. Alamaya decided he could not wait any longer for his friends and the Keepers, so with Enkesha and Maktao in tow, the trio made their way to the mud bath to cool off. The rest of the orphans stayed back with the Keepers and only indulged in a wallow after having their milk bottles. Later in the afternoon, a wild junior bull appeared and decided to join the orphans during their browsing. Upon seeing the Keepers, he ran away with Lima Lima in pursuit, perhaps to enquire as to why he ran off.

There was a lot of activity in the Chyulu Hills today, as many buffalos and wild elephant herds arrived in search of whatever browse they could find. The temperatures continued to rise, and the orphans flapped their ears continuously to keep themselves cool.

Eventually, the heat was too much and all the orphans, along with their wild friends, made their way to the midday feeding area. Alamaya and Jasiri were the first ones to arrive and quickly sought refuge under the shade of some acacia trees. Kiombo, Kiasa, Sonje and Zongoloni made a beeline for the mud bath, and soon the mud bath was full with all the babies splashing and wallowing. Mwashoti decided to climb onto Enkesha’s back, but his weight pushed Enkesha further into the mud, Enkesha screamed out in panic. Zongoloni and Sonje, who had exited the mud bath by this time, rushed back and pushed Mwashoti out of the mud bath.  

Mwashoti has always been a humble and sweet boy, but ever since he left the Umani herd, he has been displaying some unruly behavior. It started with him chasing Kiombo and the other little ones when they first arrived Umani. Now, he has taken to chasing Quanza. It appears he is mimicking the behavior of his peers, because he has witnessed Ngasha chasing Faraja, and now Mwashoti is doing the same with Quanza. Luckily, Quanza is a very gentle and patient girl, and she knows Mwashoti is just learning how to find his independence.  

A wild family with young calves joined the orphans during their morning browsing session. A little baby was browsing next to Maktao, which made our young bull very happy. However, the baby had not seen Enkesha, so when she emerged from the bushes, the baby panicked and blew her little trunk, alerting her family. The mother rushed over and whisked her little one away. An eland who had been hiding in the bushes with her own baby finally emerged, thinking it was safe, but Alamaya and Mwashoti chased them back into the bushes.

A wild bull arrived today and joined the girls to browse. Murera was not interested, but Sonje welcomed the bull. He was quite handsome, and the Keepers thought perhaps it was Osama, Sonje’s very special male friend. Upon closer inspection, they saw that it was not Osama, but one of Lima Lima’s many suitors who visit the Umani herd every day. Quanza decided to also get acquainted with the wild bull, who was now browsing next to Sonje and Kiombo. After their initial greetings, Quanza decided to leave the wild bull with Sonje and returned to her little girl, Kiasa.  

By afternoon, the heat was unbearable. Zongoloni and Kiasa led all their friends to the mud bath, where everyone cooled off. All the orphans were having a lot of fun playing and splashing — that is, until Jasiri and Ngasha arrived. These two bulls do not know how to play with the babies, and one of them ended up squashing Enkesha, who let out a very loud scream. The Keepers had to ask Jasiri and Ngasha to leave the mud bath to allow the babies to play in peace.   

Ziwa and Faraja arrived this morning, along with a big herd of wild elephants. All the wild bulls stopped at the stockade water trough before joining the Umani herd during their morning browsing session.

After Jasiri and Ngasha’s fight the other day, all the orphans were giving Ngasha a wild berth. He was being a bit belligerent, so Murera and Sonje stayed out of his way, as did the younger babies. Maktao was attached to Enkesha’s side and avoided Ngasha. None of the younger babies liked the way he played with them, because he can be quite rough and aggressive. Zongoloni and Lima Lima walked up to where Ngasha was and the Keepers saw that they were rumbling at him and touching him with their trunks, maybe trying to get him to return to his friends, but Ngasha thwarted their attempts and returned to the forest to be by himself. After a while, both older girls returned to join the Umani herd for the rest of the day.

The orphans exited their night quarters this morning, well rested and ready to start their day. Murera and Quanza stopped by Enkesha and Maktao’s stockades to greet them and to enquire how their night had been.  

Lima Lima, who had been out all night, ran into the stockade compound and headed straight for the hay store. She clearly planned on stealing a bale of hay, but the Keepers caught onto her tricks and stopped her before she could. Unhappy that her ploy hadn’t worked this time, Lima Lima left the compound a bit dejected. After a while, Mwashoti went to comfort his friend, and all was well. Lima Lima followed Enkesha and Faraja to the Umani Springs, where they know the water is cool and fresh. Unfortunately, a surprise encounter with a crocodile sent them running off towards the Umani Hills. Today, Faraja joined his friends and browsed alongside Quanza and Ziwa. He decided to leave when he spotted Ngasha approaching the Umani herd. When they were young, these bulls shared quarters and were very good friends, but now do not get along. It seems that Ngasha does not want to be friends with Faraja.  

Maktao continues to have a sweet, calm disposition. He is very loyal to his friend, Enkesha. Both elephants were engaged in a gentle pushing game today. Mwashoti decided he wanted to join in, but Maktao is very wary of Mwashoti. The older bull doesn’t know his own strength and hasn’t learned how to play with the smaller babies. He tends to get carried away and sometimes knocks them down. To avoid playing with Mwashoti, Maktao walked away. Mwashoti instead chose to play with Enkesha, but true to form, he knocked her over and poor Enkesha let out a very loud trumpet. Quanza rushed over to help her friend, but Zongoloni was already there, trying to separate Mwashoti and Enkesha. Jasiri, who was nearby with an older wild bull friend, had to intervene and chase Mwashoti away, because the boisterous bull was still pushing Enkesha whilst she was down. Zongoloni then helped Enkesha to her feet. All this upset Maktao, and he immediately comforted Enkesha with gentle rumbles and little trunk hugs. Lima Lima arrived and decided that she would take Maktao and Enkesha to the Kenze Hill and leave Mwashoti to browse by himself.

The orphans found a wild herd of elephants already at the Umani Springs, enjoying the fresh water. Some had waded into the springs, while others were enjoying a quick mud wallow on the banks. The Keepers saw a bushbuck make her way to the banks of the springs, and a few seconds later we heard a loud bark and splashing sounds. A crocodile who must have been hiding in the water tried to attack the bushbuck, but luckily, she escaped. The bushbuck’s alarmed bark sent the elephants running into the forest for safety. The Keepers went to investigate further, but by that time, the crocodile was nowhere to be seen. Murera and Sonje had gathered the babies and were waiting for the Keepers under a tree. Once they returned, everyone walked towards the mud bath. 

The Keepers spotted Zongoloni and the nightclubbers in the Chyulu Hills with their wild friends, where they remained for the rest of the day. As soon as the orphans were done with their milk bottles, they indulged in a leisurely wallow. Afterwards, Lima Lima led Enkesha and Maktao to a place where she knew browse was plentiful.

When Zongoloni arrived today, she seemed to be in quite a feisty mood, engaging Lima Lima and Alamaya in a pushing game. Alamaya is a fair match, but Lima Lima knows that Zongoloni will out-push her every time. Zongoloni is our strongest female, quite fearless and never backs down from a challenge. She is also very protective of the little babies. If any of the other bulls get too close, Zongoloni is quick to step in. This is especially true with Mwashoti, who has taken to knocking down the babies whenever he can. Zongoloni is also quite the disciplinarian, and all the night clubbers respect her, as do the Umani orphans. She is a great help to Sonje and Quanza; when they need to take a break from their nanny duties, Zongoloni takes over the task happily. There is mutual trust and respect between the older females.

As the evening drew to a close, the orphans descended from the Umani Hills and made their way to the Springs for a drink of water before returning to the stockades. Resting on the banks of the water springs was a crocodile, which Enkesha and Maktao immediately spotted. They raised the alarm to warn their friends not to venture down that path. The Keepers took a detour, and the orphans went straight home instead.

Faraja and Alamaya arrived at the stockades early this morning, eagerly waiting for their friends to finish their morning feed. All the orphans set out for the browsing fields. Quanza was with her baby, Kiasa, while Maktao was with his best friend, Enkesha. Kiombo usually browses with Sonje, but today, he was watching Enkesha playing with Maktao and wanted to join them. In his eagerness, he knocked down poor little Maktao. Enkesha was not impressed by Kiombo’s behavior. She decided not to play with Kiombo and instead helped Maktao get to his feet. The two walked away from Kiombo and ventured further into the bushes to find a new browsing spot.  

As the temperatures continued to rise, Sonje and Lima Lima led the whole herd down from the Umani Hills to a mud bath they had come across earlier, so that they could all cool off from the heat.