Keepers' Diaries, November 2021

Umani Springs Reintegration Unit



Drama prevailed at Umani Springs this month. Interestingly, it was not among our dependent orphans, but among our semi-independent “nightclubbers."

01 November 2021

The rains still haven’t made an appearance and browse remains sparse in the Kibwezi area. Today, a few wild elephants and buffalos waited patiently outside the Umani stockades.

As soon as the orphans left the stockade compound, the wild elephants and buffaloes rushed in to feast on the leftover lucerne. With them was our boy, Ngasha. Ever since Faraja and Ngasha had their disagreement, Ngasha has become somewhat of a loner, preferring the company of his wild elephant friends. Today, it was almost as though he had led the wild elephants to the stockades. Once everyone had their fill, they moved on to the Springs, where the orphans had stopped earlier but had since left. Ngasha and his friends did not make it all the way to the Springs, as there were quite a few crocodiles around, so they took a different route and headed towards the Kenze Hills. The Keepers were careful and kept out of the way of crocodiles.

02 November 2021

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.

03 November 2021

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.  

04 November 2021

Since Faraja and Ngasha had their disagreement, Ngasha and Jasiri have now turned their attentions towards Ziwa. Ngasha and Ziwa had a fierce fight, after which Ziwa visits the orphans, but does so on his own. If he does visit and Ngasha and Jasiri are there, he will remain at a distance, just as Faraja does.  

Today, the Keepers spotted Ziwa amongst a wild herd and called out to him. Ziwa turned towards them but remained with the wild bulls. It appears Ziwa has found his place amongst his wild friends and the Keepers know that these wild bulls will also defend Ziwa if Ngasha and Jasiri decided to fight him. When Lima Lima spotted Ziwa, she ran towards Ngasha and Jasiri as though pleading with them to allow Ziwa to join them. Jasiri walked over to Ziwa in a friendly manner, since Ziwa did not want to come towards the orphans, but Ngasha was stubborn and did not approach his old friend. Ngasha now feels that he is the dominant bull in his herd.

05 November 2021

A wild elephant herd with little babies arrived at the Umani Springs to find Alamaya already there, drinking from the springs. The family proceeded to the water springs to do the same. What they didn’t know was there was a crocodile lurking in the waters. When it ran out of the water to avoid being trampled, he startled the wild herd and Alamaya as well. There was panic and commotion, as the elephants ran blindly through the trees. In the process, the matriarch of the wild herd knocked into a beehive. The bees started to chase the matriarch, but this clever girl waded into the springs, so the bees just passed over her. She waited in the water until the bees had returned to their hive, then quickly caught up with her herd.

Kiombo and Sonje made their way up the Chyulu Hills, with Zongoloni and her little friend Kiasa not too far behind with the Keepers. They began to make a detour aand the Keepers caught on to Zongoloni’s clever plan, as she was trying to sneak off with Kiasa again. Zongoloni would love to have another female join her nightclubber herd, but the Keepers know that Kiasa is far too young to go wild just yet. They called out to Kiasa, who ran back to join her friends. Later in the afternoon, the orphans came across a broken water pipe, where they stopped to drink water before carrying down the hill.

06 November 2021

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.

07 November 2021

When the night clubbers arrived this morning, Alamaya and Ziwa were absent. It was only Zongoloni, Jasiri, Ngasha and Lima Lima who joined the orphans at the lucerne corner. Before the night clubbers could get to the pellets, a troop of baboons descended from the trees, scooping up handfuls of pellets. Mwashoti trumpeted very loudly at the baboons, scaring them off and sending them scampering into the trees. Mwashoti continued to chase them, running after the baboons as they swung from tree to tree. Eventually the baboons disappeared, and the orphans and their friends enjoyed the pellets in peace.  

Ngasha saw Faraja walking towards the stockades, so he made his displeasure known by taking on the “charge” stance. Faraja immediately backed off, but the Keepers called out to him to return. Jasiri and the girls welcomed Faraja with trunk hugs and low rumbles. The Keepers laid out more lucerne so that Faraja could also have his fill. Ngasha was not too happy and returned to the forest on his own. The Keepers know how sparse food is during our current drought and want Faraja to have enough to eat. The current wildfires in the Chyulu Hills have forced wild elephant herds to seek refuge in the Umani area. Today, the Keepers saw a wild herd with almost 15 adult elephants and a few babies. The elephants know that Umani Springs is haven where they will have enough vegetation and water.

08 November 2021

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.   

09 November 2021

An unexpected fight broke out between Jasiri and Ngasha. All the orphans, after wallowing at the mud bath made their way to the dust-bath point. Sonje was leading them all and Jasiri and Ngasha also joined in. After the dust-bath Jasiri walked over to a tree stump to scratch himself, when Ngasha demanded that Jasiri leave and give up the scratching post for him. Jasiri did not back down and so a fight broke out between the two bulls. Jasiri pushed Ngasha very hard and Ngasha came back just as strong. The fight was escalating so the Keepers decided to intervene to put a stop to it, but the two bulls were so engrossed in defeating each other, that they paid no heed. The two friends took their fight into the forest where Zongoloni and Lima Lima followed them, again, to put an end to the fight. In the end, Ngasha finally relented, but this was only after Zongoloni and Lima Lima stood between the two bulls. Ngasha left and Jasiri remained with his friends for the rest of the day.  

10 November 2021

Zongoloni, Faraja and Quanza separated from the main herd and decided to take the younger babies with them. They spent the whole day browsing with them. Sonje went with them too, to keep an eye on her little boy, Kiombo, and on Kiasa, too. When Kiasa is with Zongoloni, she gets carried away and wants to follow Zongoloni everywhere. Kiasa sometimes forgets that she is too young to reintegrate into the wild yet. She is still milk-dependent and needs the protection of her herd. The Keepers know how Zongoloni likes to sneak off with the babies, especially Kiasa, so as evening approached, they started to call our Kiasa’s name as well as the other babies, but they got no response. After a few minutes, they saw Lima Lima running towards them. Behind her were all our babies, along with Sonje and Quanza. The orphans looked tired and hungry, and slowly made their way back to the stockades, where warm bottles of milk awaited them.

11 November 2021

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.

12 November 2021

As soon as the orphans were done with their lucerne feed, a herd of wild bulls, who had been waiting outside the stockade gate, took over. There were also some buffaloes who were hoping to share the lucerne with the elephants, but they weren’t so lucky. Ziwa, who was visiting his friends today, walked over to the wild bull herd. The Keepers thought he must know one of the wild bulls, and sure enough, Ziwa was welcomed into the wild herd. It was obvious he had made a few friends in this herd. Alamaya thought he would try his luck, but the juvenile bull was stopped from joining. Seeing Alamaya’s rejection, Lima Lima decided to try her luck, and she too was welcomed by Ziwa’s friends. Again, it was clear that these wild bulls knew Lima Lima. Alamaya cleverly walked behind Lima Lima, so he too was finally welcomed into the fold. 

Quanza, who had also decided to follow the wild bulls, realized a little later that her baby Kiasa was not with her. She left the group to look for Kiasa and found the rest of the herd as they were making their way down from the Umani Hills, towards the midday feed. It had been a very hot day and the orphans were looking forward to cooling off at the mud bath. A little later, the milk-dependent orphans and their friends made their way towards the Kibwezi Forest in search of more browse. Lima Lima kept running back to the Keepers, as though to alert them, and the Keepers realized why, when they came across the carcass of a buffalo. It seems it had died of old age.  

13 November 2021

Faraja did not turn up at the stockades again this morning. The Keepers feel that perhaps he is staying away to avoid any altercations with Ngasha. The Keepers worry that during this drought, Faraja may not be getting enough to eat, so they ventured into the forest, calling out his name. Faraja must have heard them, because he came running out of the bushes, very happy to see his Keepers. They tried to lead him to the stockades, but Faraja was hesitant, not wanting to be chased off by Ngasha again. Eventually, he agreed and followed the Keepers to the stockades where he could enjoy his lucerne. Both Sonje and Murera tried convincing Ngasha to rejoin the herd, but Ngasha has remained absent since his disagreement with Jasiri.

The orphans decided to browse on the Umani Hills today. Here, Lima Lima came across a herd of wild bulls, who she seemed to know. She walked up to them confidently and exchanged greetings with them. The Keepers were pleased to see that many of Lima Lima’s suitors were in this herd. The wild bulls stayed with the Umani orphans and their friends for the rest of the day.  

14 November 2021

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.  

15 November 2021

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.

16 November 2021

When Ngasha and Alamaya arrived at the stockades this morning, Zongoloni, Faraja and Jasiri were not with them. We saw them last night, before the parted ways with their stockade-dependent friends. The Keepers think Faraja decided not to visit the stockades this morning because he knew Ngasha would be there, and to keep Faraja company, Zongoloni and Jasiri must have stayed with him. We hoped the three night clubbers will join us sometime during the day. The feud between Faraja and Ngasha continues, despite the older girls’ best attempts to broker diplomatic negotiations. We hope they resolve matters soon, as the Keepers miss seeing all their babies together. A short while later, a few wild elephants arrived — and with them were Faraja and Ziwa! This made the Keepers very happy, but both Faraja and Ziwa chose to stay with the wild herd, to avoid any encounter with Ngasha. They moved along with the wild herd and left with them. 

Kiasa was browsing by two crane birds, guarding their nests and eggs. Kiasa had not seen them, so when she ventured closer, the male and his neighbor suddenly flew out of their nests, startling Kiasa. She ran off in a blind panic, which startled the rest of the orphans, too. They ran off towards the forest, not knowing what they were running from. The Keepers found all of this quite comical and had to follow the orphans to calm then and walk them back to where they were browsing.

17 November 2021

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.

18 November 2021

Today, Faraja, Ziwa, Lima Lima, and Zongoloni arrived at the stockades early in the morning morning, waiting outside the compound gate for their friends to finish their milk bottles. However, Lima Lima was not in a mood to wait. She saw how busy the Keepers were, so she managed to push open the gate and sneak into the hay store again. Grabbing as many bales as she could, she ran off with her stash. In her haste to evade the Keepers’ detection, she dropped a few bales and some came undone, littering the compound with hay. The Keepers saw what was happening, but it was too late. Lima Lima had escaped the compound and joined her friends to share her spoils.

Jasiri and Ngasha arrived at the midday feed with a new bull friend. As always, Lima Lima was the first to welcome him. The wild bull showed an interest in Murera, but Murera was not too keen. She left her friends at the mud bath and walked towards the Chyulu Hills, with little Kiasa following her.

19 November 2021

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.

20 November 2021

Faraja, Ziwa and Zongoloni were not at the stockades again this morning. Their absence was felt, but the Keepers can see this has become the norm. Whenever Jasiri and Ngasha are present, Faraja will stay away. If Zongoloni and Ziwa are with him, they stay away, too. None of the orphans like Ngasha’s behavior, and when he visits the Umani babies, they keep out of his way.

A troop of baboons had been waiting in the trees all morning, and as soon as the Keepers laid out the pellets, they swooped down to grab handfuls of pellets. Murera started to chase off the baboons, and Kiasa and Kiombo joined her. It was funny to see the two little ones topple over their feet as they were chasing the baboons. The prolonged drought has caused severe food shortage in Kibwezi. Wild animals search for greens and sustenance wherever they can find it, so sometimes the Keepers lay out extra lucerne and hay for the wildlife that frequents the stockades.

21 November 2021

Late afternoon, the Keepers were alerted to a bushfire that was quite a distance away but still close for comfort. The Keepers gathered all the orphans and brought them back to the stockades. Initially, there was a bit of confusion when Mwashoti came charging through the trees, but he soon followed the Keepers. Even Murera, who usually walks quite slowly, also picked up speed. Once all the elephants were safely inside the compound, the Keepers split into two groups. One group stayed behind with the babies, while the rest went to help put out the fire.  

We know that a lot of wild animals will flock to the Kibwezi Forest and Umani Springs, as this is a safe haven for them. They know there is always plenty of water and forage to be found.  

22 November 2021

Alamaya, Zongoloni and Jasiri joined the orphans for their morning activities. Because Ngasha was present, Faraja stayed away. These two boys still haven’t reconciled, and for as long as that is the case, they will continue to visit the orphans separately.

Today we saw Zongoloni, Murera and Sonje in a long consultation with Ngasha, rumbling to him. Perhaps they were asking Ngasha to call a truce with his once good friend and roommate, Faraja. Ngasha is a stubborn bull, and with a shake of his head, he turned around and left the orphans. The girls returned where they had left their babies and all the elephants went back to the mud bath to enjoy a mid-afternoon wallow. With Ngasha gone, the babies felt safe wallowing in the mud. If Ngasha joins them in the mud bath, he tends to squash the little ones.  

23 November 2021

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.  

24 November 2021

Today was cause for celebration. After such a long dry spell, the heavens finally opened and blessed the Kibwezi Forest and Chyulu Hills with an abundance of rain! The bush fires had cleared out a lot of the vegetation, but with the start of the rains, Umani and Kibwezi will soon be restored to their former glory of lush vegetation and ample water for all the animals. The SWT teams and Keepers have been working tirelessly to manage the fires. Most of the animals have been flocking to the Umani Springs and Kibwezi Forest, where there is still plenty of forage, but now they will start to spread out again. 

The Keepers had another nice surprise when they returned to the stockades with the orphans in the evening. Faraja was there with his friend, Alamaya, waiting for the Umani orphans and the Keepers. All the orphans were happy to see Faraja and he received many trunk hugs. Alamaya and Faraja shared some lucerne with their friends, stopped at the water trough for a drink, and then left for their nightly adventures.

25 November 2021

Zongoloni, Lima Lima, Alamaya and Jasiri arrived this morning to join their dependent friends at the lucerne feeding corner.

Both Kiombo and Kiasa were very eager to start browsing, so they joined the night clubbers at the head of the herd. This made Quanza feel rather left out, so she also rushed ahead to join the night clubbers. Zongoloni was pleased to have Kiasa and Kiombo by her side, but not Ngasha. He does not like babies, and so he pushed Kiombo from behind, causing the little boy to fall and scream out for help. Sonje came rushing up from behind to see what the matter was with her baby. She helped him to his feet and stayed back to soothe him. After a while, Kiombo settled, and they both caught up with the rest of their friends. Jasiri was with the orphans today, but never bothered the babies. He has been reprimanded once before by the older girls and since has behaved himself.

26 November 2021

The sun was still rising over the horizon when the Keepers let the orphans out of their sleeping quarters. As soon as they had their bottles, both Kiombo and Kiasa raced to the lucerne corner. Kiombo got there first, which annoyed Kiasa. She pushed him down hard, causing Kiombo to cry out for help. Sonje rushed over to rescue her baby and reprimanded Kiasa for her naughty behavior — but when Quanza saw this, she rushed over to protect Kiasa. Then, a disagreement broke out between the older girls, both of whom were trying to protect their babies. In the end Murera, had to intervene and put a stop to the girls fighting.

27 November 2021

Ngasha continues to hold a grudge against Faraja. Any time Faraja arrives at the stockades or tries to join his friends out in the browsing fields, Ngasha chases him away. The little babies are intimidated by Ngasha and always steer clear of him. The only one who can handle Ngasha is our bold girl, Zongoloni. The Keepers have never known Ngasha to carry a grudge for so long, so they wonder if this resentment is over mating with female elephants? We may never know. Faraja joined the orphans today, but he browsed at a distance. 

28 November 2021

Jasiri and Ngasha had a big disagreement a week ago. Ever since then, the boys have been fighting every day, three to four times a day. They will fight for a while and then each bull will walk away to rest and replenish their strength, only to come back and fight again. Jasiri is bigger and stronger than Ngasha, so the Keepers were very surprised when Jasiri accepted defeat. Jasiri walked away, leaving Ngasha with the Umai orphans. Ngasha was very proud of his victory. The Keepers wonder if Ngasha is chasing all the strong bulls out of the herd, so as to exert his dominance over the Umani herd.  

29 November 2021

Now that Ngasha has successfully pushed Jasiri and Faraja out of the Umani herd, they have formed their own little herd. The two bulls browse with the Umani orphans, but they maintain quite a distance. Their spliter herd has a new addition, Zongoloni, and the three friends are very happy together. When Ngasha started pushing out Faraja and Jasiri, he clearly hoped to retain Zongoloni, as she is quite an impressive matriarch. However, Zongoloni is very smart and chose not to team up with Ngasha, because of his troublemaking ways. 

30 November 2021

Our night clubbers seem to have officially split into two groups. The first group is Faraja, Jasiri and Zongoloni. The second group is Alamaya and Mwashoti. Ziwa has always been a bit of a lone ranger, and now Ngasha is so fixated on being the dominant bull that he has alienated all the other big boys.

The Umani herd remains stockade-dependent. They are very happy to receive their friends whenever they decide to join them. Lima Lima continues to move between all three groups. She has not decided to join any particular group, but at the midday feed, not matter where she is, Lima Lima always joins the dependent herd. Besides catching up with her friends, we all know how much Lima Lima loves her milk bottle. The Keepers are sure that is one of the reasons she comes to the midday feed.