Keepers' Diaries, November 2021

Nairobi Nursery Unit



At the Nursery, all the orphans begin the day in their own special way. Some, such as Naboishu, Mukkoka, Kamili, Latika, and Roho, don’t like to linger around the compound and immediately make their way into the forest. Others prefer to wait until all the orphans have been let out of their bedrooms. This is a signature routine of our “Kaluku trio”, Bondeni, Kindani, and Kinyei. Ever since their arrival at the Nursery, they like to greet everyone before heading off to the forest.

01 November 2021

As the orphans were starting to browse, Larro and Mukkoka began to wrestle each other around the forest. Although Mukkoka is larger in size and much stronger, he has taken over Maktao’s role of the “friendly uncle” and is always so gentle with Larro and the others. Their game continued for a good 20 minutes before they settled down to browse with the rest of the Nursery herd until it was time for their 9am bottles of milk. 

Some of the orphans are not as playful as Larro, Mukkoka and some of the others. Orphans such as Rama, Olorien and Ziwadi are all far too focused choosing the freshest greens to wrestle any of the other orphans. Most of the time, as the others are running around playing, the three of them will be seen browsing next to each other and moving off together in search of more greens. 

Naleku continues to be an extremely independent young girl. Although she doesn’t often partake in the wrestling matches, she is more than capable of standing up for herself against the likes of Roho. Today, however, she was far too busy with her nanny duties. For the whole day, she was right by Kerrio’s side, looking after her and making sure none of the others upset her. Every time little Kerrio would rumble or trumpet, Naleku would come running over. She only left Kerrio’s side once she was back in her stable. 

02 November 2021

Despite their size and strength, elephants are quite skittish animals. As the orphans were heading back to the forest after their 9 o’clock bottles of milk, they came across a herd of buffalo who were relaxing in the shade of the trees and foraging. As soon as the buffalo heard and smelled the orphans and their Keepers approaching, they stood still and began to listen, especially since they had young calves with them. 

The orphans also picked up that another animal was around, but as they couldn’t see the buffalos, they weren’t sure what was ahead. Suddenly, all the buffalo got up and ran in the opposite direction. The orphans didn’t seem to be expecting so many buffalo, because they got such a fright and began to dart every which way, trumpeting and rumbling. 

As the orphans were running off, little Kerrio remained by her Keepers, sheltering herself behind them. While Kerrio continues to gain her strength, she is still not as agile as the others and won’t just run off as they do. As soon as Naleku, Kindani, and Larro realized that Kerrio was not with them, they ran back towards the Keepers. The Keepers managed to calm down the rest of the Nursery herd and carried on with them deeper into the forest, where they all settled to browse. 

03 November 2021

All the orphans were in a good mood this morning as they left their stables and stockades. Some, such as Naboishu, Mukkoka, Kamili, Latika, and Roho, don’t spend too much time waiting for others in the stockade compound waiting, instead slowly heading off to the forest. Others, particularly Bondeni, Kindani, and Kinyei, hang around the stockade compound until all the orphans have been let out. They like to greet everyone before heading off. This is a routine they have had since their arrival in the Nursery. 

Naleku continues to be a very protective nanny to Kerrio, but she has not shown much attention to Kamili, Latika, or Taabu. However, because Taabu is her neighbour, they do spend some time together from day to day. It is always interesting to see how the orphans form their own friendships and how these friendships develop over the years. Latika and Kamili are both settling into the Nursery herd very well and they too are forming their own friendships. 

The orphans had a wonderful day browsing in the forest today and only braked for their milk bottles. 

04 November 2021

Because it has been so hot in Nairobi, Maxwell has not been very active. In the mornings, he will come out early to eat his greens and then finishes his lucerne pellets before going to lie in the shade. In the afternoon, the Keepers decided to fill up his mud bath for him, so he could enjoy a roll around before it was too late. As soon as they finished filling it up, Max splashed straight in, where he enjoyed an afternoon nap. 

Some of the new orphans are still quite shy when it comes to the mud bath. Even though it is very hot and all the other orphans are splashing around, the likes of Kamili, Latika, Choka, Barnoti, and Mukutan are reluctant to enter the water. As a result, the Keepers have been busy trying to hose them down and throw shovelfuls of mud on them. The babies appear to really enjoy this, as they do not charge off. It is so important for them to learn how to do this, so they can protect themselves from bugs and the sun. 

After a wonderful mud bath, the orphans had a relaxed afternoon of browsing. 

05 November 2021

Maxwell is such a gentle and handsome big boy. He always enjoys a chin scratch and cuddle from his Keepers. Despite being so gentle with his Keepers, he continues to have his mood swings and it is always difficult to tell what mood he will be in during the day. Today, Max’s peace and quiet was disturbed by some of the workers who were fixing sections of his stockade, carrying out simple repairs to the walls and so on. 

Max is immediately able to pick when someone is around, as he has an incredible sense of smell and hearing. As he was finishing up his Lucerne pellets he suddenly stopped and began to listen to the hammering that was going on in his lower stockade. He walked over to the gate that separated his two stockades and began to smell around. Many of the workers know Max now, so they greeted him and then the large rhino went back to his normal morning routine. 

Once he had finished all his lucerne pellets, Max had a nap in the sun before going over to the other stockade to rest in the shade. In the evening, as the orphans were coming back from the forest, Max was once again let down to his lower stockade to enjoy his fresh greens before heading off to bed. 

06 November 2021

Although Rama has settled in so well amongst the Nursery herd, he can still be quite shy with his Keepers. As the orphans were starting their day and coming out of their stables and stockades, Rama, Naboishu, and Mukkoka began to make their way out to the forest, slightly ahead of the others. They were followed by one of the Keepers, who were just making sure they did not wander too far off. 

Rama was so focused on the path ahead, that he didn’t even notice the Keeper behind them. When he realized he was there, he got a fright, running off further into the forest. Fortunately, he hadn’t gone too far before his Keepers managed to calm him down and usher him back to the Nursery herd. 

Once back in the forest, Rama happily settled to browse with his close friend Ziwadi and Olorien. He spent most of his day with them, along with Naboishu and Mukkoka. As he is so shy with his Keepers, he can sometimes be reluctant with his bottle, but he always relaxes and gulps down his milk. Rama is very gentle towards the newer rescues and doesn’t push them around during his feeding times. 

The orphans had a lovely day browsing. 

07 November 2021

We have a number of new rescues at the Nairobi Nursery. Some of them are still too nervous and weak to head out into the forest just yet, so they stay within the stockade compound. As the more established orphans head off into the forest, some of them enjoy greeting the new rescues. This morning, Larro, Mukkoka and Naboishu were walking around, checking on the new rescues and saying hello to those who had been let out. 

Being so intuitive, the older orphans always know when new rescues arrive. As they begin to react, so too do the younger orphans. Girls such as Kindani, Kinyei and Naleku have been enjoying being nannies to the new rescues. The Keepers are curious to see which of the three will step up as the next matriarch to the Nursery herd once Larro graduates. 

08 November 2021

It was a beautiful sunny morning as the orphans were coming out of their stables and stockades. Naboishu, Mukkoka, Roho and Rama were among the first to emerge and they started browsing on some of the nice greens within the compound. Today was a big day, because it was the first day that Barnoti — who is one of the new rescues — was joining the herd. Barnoti was very nervous and, as such, he was not responding very well to the rest of the Nursery orphans. The bulls Mukkoka, Naboishu, Roho and Rama were trying to be friendly and greet him, but he kept trying to challenge them. 

With all new rescues, there is always a period of adjustment as they get used to the characters of the Nursery and their Keepers. That is why the Keepers always stay close by. Barnoti was being standoffish, which did not sit well with Mukkoka — he perhaps could not understand the new bull’s attitude when all the others were being so welcoming. Mukkoka pushed Barnoti, so the Keepers quickly stepped in and they chased him and the other bulls away, giving Barnoti some space. 

Once the older bulls had been ushered away, the rest of the herd came over to greet Barnoti. This seemed to calm him down and the orphans were now happily heading off to the forest to start their day of browsing. 

09 November 2021

Ziwadi’s gentle and kind nature continues to make her a favourite amongst the new rescues, and she is always accompanied by them. As she hasn’t had a seizure in quite some time now, she is in better condition and has grown into such a peaceful quirky girl. Taabu, Latika, Kerrio and Choka, another one of the newest of rescues, are always eager to spend time with her in the forest. Taabu and Latika are both quite shy but very calm, so they enjoy quietly following Ziwadi. A bonus to this relationship is that she also always smells out the best greens for everyone. 

Because Kerrio is spending so much time with Ziwadi, her nanny, Naleku, has now been spending a lot of time with them, too. Although Naleku sometimes hangs out with Suguroi, Olorien, and Mukkoka, she will always return to check on Kerrio. When it is time for the orphans to run down for their milk, Ziwadi will be seen slowly walking down with Kerrio, Taabu, Latika and Choka. 

The Nursery herd had such a wonderful day in the forest today. They enjoyed a lovely mud bath after their midday milk feed before settling back in the Nairobi National Park for the afternoon.

10 November 2021

Olorien has also become a very peaceful young girl. Unlike Kindani, Kinyei, and Naleku, however, she has not really taken on the role of nanny and prefers to just continue with her own routine. She has also picked up Ziwadi and Rama’s habit of wandering off in her own direction, so she can get right to browsing on the best greens. Unlike Naleku and many of the other orphans, she doesn’t wake up and begin greeting the Nursery herd. 

This morning, Naleku woke up and she immediately walked over to Esoit’s stable, where she waited for the Keepers to let him out. Bondeni, Kindani and Kinyei were also waiting nearby for the other orphans to come out of their stables. Esoit continues to be friends with the whole Nursery herd, and he has even formed a friendship with Taabu, who is also such a gentle bull. Once Esoit, Naleku, Taabu, Bondeni, Kindani and Kinyei had finished greeting each other, they walked over to some of the bigger orphans. 

The first of the older orphans they greeted was Shukuru, whose stockade was just near theirs. Shukuru was eager to head off into the forest, and these little characters were happy to follow her. As they got to the top of the stockade, they were joined by Larro, Roho, Kamili, Latika, Choka, and Barnoti. They all linked up with Mukkoka, Naboishu and Olorien, who were already on the border of the forest browsing. 

11 November 2021

Shukuru continues to have her quieter days, where she is less interested in spending time with the Nursery herd and prefers to just head off on her own. As the Keepers let her out of her stable this morning, she immediately walked off to the parking area, where she browsed on some of the delicious vines that were hanging down. As soon as she heard the younger orphans heading off towards the forest, she turned to link up with them. Unlike the little orphans, Shukuru can catch up with the rest of the herd without the Keepers by her side. 

Nairobi continues to be extremely hot throughout the day, as does much of Kenya. As a result, the orphans have been enjoying their mud baths more and more. This afternoon, as Maxwell was walking around his stockade, he was so hot that he walked straight into his mud bath to cool off. For several hours, he could be seen rolling around in the muddy waters, covering his entire body. He would scratch his horn and face against the banks, getting a huge pile of mud stuck on his horn. At one point, he even took a nap, resting his head on the banks. His peaceful moment was abruptly interrupted by one of the resident warthogs, who also wanted to mud bathe right behind him. As soon as Max heard the warthog, he shot up and walked straight out of the mud bath to his soil mound, where he proceeded to cover his body in dust. The warthog happily continued to roll around. 

12 November 2021

Suguroi has settled into the Nursery herd so well. Not only has she become close to her new elephant friends but also to her Keepers. She is a shy girl, preferring to be in the middle of the herd as opposed to leading or straggling at the back. Once in the forest, she spends most of her time with Olorien, Roho, Larro, Bondeni, Mukkoka, Kindani, Kinyei and Taabu. She is very timid around Naboishu, as he has sometimes tried push her around. 

Mukkoka continues to be the favourite uncle as most of the orphans love to spend with him throughout their days in the forest. He is often in the company of Ziwadi, Taabu, Suguroi, Bondeni, Kindani, Kinyei, Olorien, Rama, Esoit, Roho, Naleku and Kerrio. All their bodies hug around his, moving alongside him as if they were his little shadows. 

When Kerrio arrived at the Nursery, some of the boisterous bulls such as Naboishu could be a little rough with her. As such, Mukkoka has taken it upon himself to look after all the younger orphans, protecting them from naughty Naboishu. Kerrio seems to be the star of the Nursery. Mukkoka remains by her side as he browses, and of course, Naleku is always close by. 

13 November 2021

When Kerrio first arrived at the Nursery, she was very unstable on her legs and struggled to walk long distances. She also had trouble keeping her balance, often falling over and needing her Keepers to help her back up. It is incredible to see how far she has come along and how mobile she is today. Now, it is so good to see her keeping up with the rest of the herd in the forest. But through it all, she has always been such a happy little girl. 

As she is the youngest in the Nursery, she continues to be doted upon by everyone. Last night, she even had the sweetest moment on her way home where she tried to bush bash, charging away from the herd and back. All the Keepers and other orphans were so excited watching her. 

She seems to be Kindani, Kinyei, and Naleku’s favourite, as they are all eager to spend time with her every day. As mentioned, Naleku is constantly seeking her out and looking out for her. Olorien occasionally likes to spend time with the little girl, but she not as interested in being a nanny as the others. This afternoon, as the orphans were enjoying a long mud bath, Naleku was keeping a very close eye on Kerrio. Every time Kindani or Kinyei tried to get close, she chased them away. She was really demonstrating her role as top nanny. 

14 November 2021

Bondeni continues to be Larro’s favourite. Despite all the new arrivals, her attention cannot be swayed. However, she is an attentive matriarch to the rest of the herd, and she always steps in when she needs to. Bondeni knows very well that he is Larro’s favourite, and as result, he loves to be the center of attention, especially when he is amongst the other younger orphans, such as Taabu and Olorien. 

Today, after the orphans finished their midday bottles of milk down at the mud bath, Bondeni was being very naughty. As soon as he finished his bottle, he went dashing over to the dust mound. Every time Taabu and Olorien tried to join him, he chased them away, as if he was King of the Mound. Taabu immediately backed off, but Olorien tried to defend herself and Bondeni retaliated by head butting her. As Olorien turned to face him once more, the naughty boy ran off and went to hide by Larro’s side, as he knew no one would bug him there. 

Once Olorien had moved off, mischievous Bondeni began to show off in front of the visitors. He kept trying to sneak under the rope or climb over it. The guests were most amused with his antics and kept laughing, which seemed to encourage his naughty behaviour. The Keepers quickly stepped him and ushered him away from the cordon, but then he would pretend to soil dust as he actually attempted to maneuver under the rope. Eventually, one of the Keepers had to really tell him off — and once again, he ran straight over to Larro for protection. After an amusing mud bath, the orphans had a lovely, quiet afternoon browsing in the forest. 

15 November 2021

As the orphans made their way out to the forest, Mukkoka, Naboishu and Rama were full of energy. As soon as they reached the first path, they began to charge through the bushes, trumpeting and rumbling in excitement. They charged around for a couple of minutes, until Rama decided to settle to browse and then Mukkoka and Naboishu engaged each other in a wrestling match. Mukkoka and Naboishu, like most days, really challenged each other. They were being so competitive that, in the end, neither of them won, because they both got tired. 

Shukuru loves to spend time with Rama. They often browse or calmly walk through the forest together. Although she is normally quiet, Shukuru does sometimes step in when she feels some of the younger orphans are being naughty. Naboishu is usually the culprit in these instances. Suguroi also seems to be enjoying Shukuru’s company, as she is always so gentle and welcoming to the young girl. She spent most of her day following Shukuru and Rama around the forest and down to the mud bath. 

Over the past few weeks, Kinyei has developed such a funny habit of protesting as soon as she is secured in her stable for the night. Once her bottom door is closed, she tries climb over the door and rumbles at her Keepers to be let out. We wonder if this may be a delayed reaction to a hyrax that was found in her room that one night, but no matter if her stable is clear or not, she continues with this habit every evening before settling down. 

16 November 2021

It was a cloudy morning, and all the orphans were in quiet moods when they arrived in the forest. The big boys, Mukkoka, Naboishu, Rama and Roho didn’t even try to start any of their wrestling matches, as they were all focusing on their greens. The peace ended when Naboishu decided to be naughty and tried to bully Taabu and Suguroi for their greens. 

Unfortunately for Naboishu, Taabu and Suguroi were in the company of Shukuru, Olorien, Rama, Naleku and Kerrio. When Shukuru saw him pushing them around, she immediately stepped in and chased him away, rumbling at him in disapproval. Naboishu ran back to Mukkoka and Roho, before he got into too much trouble. 

As the orphans were returning to the forest after their midday bottles of milk, Esoit, Kindani, Kinyei, Bondeni and Naleku had a playful moment of chasing after a troop of baboons. Kindani and the others enjoyed charging at the baboons while they were on the ground. However, when they climbed to the top of the trees, the orphans could no longer see them, which seemed to frighten them. They quickly turned back and ran straight towards Larro and the others, yelling in protest. Once they were back with the herd, they all calmed down. 

17 November 2021

As the orphans settled back in the forest after their midday bottles of milk, Mukkoka began to churn up some soil from the large dust mound. He attracted the attention of a lot of the new rescues, such as Kerrio, Suguroi, Barnoti, Choka, Kamili, Latika, Taabu, and even Olorien and Esoit. As the younger orphans were busy rolling around, Mukkoka, Larro and Naboishu began to enjoy a mud bath in one of the pools in the forest. It was such a hot day that the orphans enjoyed these moments to cool off. Mukkoka seemed to be having the best time, tossing and turning withing the muddy waters, splashing around and spraying his surroundings. He was soon joined by Larro, who also enjoyed rolling around. 

Mukkoka and Naboishu were having a fun game of climbing on each other’s backs, but eventually Mukkoka grew tired of this game and moved off. As soon as Mukkoka stood up, Naboishu ran out the muddy water, as he thought he was in trouble. But then, the moment Mukkoka lay down again, he came rushing back. Kerrio and Naleku soon joined them, but they remained on the banks of the mud baths, peacefully rolling around next to each other. As the bigger orphans were splashing around so much, there was plenty of water for Kerrio as Naleku watched over her. 

18 November 2021

All the orphans have their own personalities, which always come through as they gain their confidence within the Nursery herd. When the Keepers need to move them into new stables or stockades, either because they are growing up or to make room for new arrivals, some of them are relaxed whereas others throw a real fuss. Orphans such as Olorien, Naleku, Larro, Mukkoka, Roho, and Rama are always happy to follow their Keepers, while Naboishu, Kindani and Kinyei put up such a fight and throw such a tantrum. 

As so many new rescues have been arriving, the Keepers have had to move some of the older orphans around to make space. Recently, they had to move Larro, Roho, Mukkoka and Naboishu to bigger stockades further up in the stockade compound. All of them were happy to move except Naboishu, who rumbled and trumpeted at his Keepers. Some nights, he forcefully runs into his old stockade and refuses to leave. The Keepers have figured out that if they enlist the help of Mukkoka and Larro appeases Naboishu and he will go to his new stockade. 

Taabu continues to be such a gentle, kind, and patient bull — but he is a greedy little thing! We were proud of him this morning, however, as he ran down for his milk, he found that Suguroi, Kerrio, Bondeni, Olorien, Ziwadi and Kinyei were all busy feeding. Despite really wanting his bottle, he didn’t amazingly disturb any of the other orphans and let them all finish, even little Kerrio. Once they were finished, he happily walked up to his Keeper and began to gulp down his milk. 

19 November 2021

Although she is a tiny girl, Kerrio has such a sharp mind and warm personality. As the orphans had settled in the forest to browse this morning, she snuck off in the company of Ziwadi, Naleku, Olorien, and Kindani to the milk feeding point. Despite being so young and one of the newer members of the Nursery herd, she has quickly learned all the milk feeding points. Naleku, Olorien and Kindani were all watching over Kerrio, while Ziwadi was just giving her some nice company. 

It was another scorching hot day. At the midday milk feed, Roho, Rama, Mukkoka, Larro, and Naboishu quickly downed their bottles so they could charge straight into the mud bath and cool off. Everyone but Rama submerged themselves in the muddy waters. As always, Rama stood on the side of the mud bath splashing mud everywhere and covering every inch of his body. 

Shukuru prefers to wallow once the mud bath has quieted down, so she waited on the banks. She was so happy, splashing all around. Although her mud bath was short, she managed to cover her entire body in mud. Once all the orphans were done cooling off and mud bathing, they were led back to the forest to browse. 

20 November 2021

Kenya continues to experience a severe dry season, which has also been felt in Nairobi National Park. The green is disappearing from the bushes, but there is still plenty of vegetation for the orphans. However, the orphans have not been wasting any time in the stockade compound before heading off to the forest. Following Larro’s lead, they are extremely eager to start browsing to get as many greens as possible before returning home for the evening. As it is so hot, the orphans have also not been as playful, preferring to save their energy for the mud bath.

After the orphans finished their midday bottles of milk and returned to the forest, Latika and Kamili were happily browsing side by side. These girls have similar personalities and, as they were rescued shortly after one another, they have become quite close. However, they are still shy with some of the other orphans. Meanwhile, Bondeni, Naleku, Kerrio, Taabu, Kindani, Suguroi, Olorien, and Kinyei were walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Larro and Shukuru, so they could grab any of the fresh greens that the older girls dropped. The orphans had a quiet afternoon browsing before heading home for the evening. 

21 November 2021

There were some showers throughout the evening, which was such a nice change from all the hot weather. It was even cooler this morning, as the orphans were starting their day. Maxwell was so happy with the rains that he was running around his bottom stockade, playing in the mud and rolling around. The Keepers could hear him throughout the evening and morning, scratching up and down his stockade walls and banging against his gates. 

Max had had such an active evening that when the orphans were coming out for the day, he was fast asleep in his bedroom. Most mornings, he greets the orphans at one of his gates before they go into the forest. This morning, Bondeni was first to walk over to say hello to the large rhino, but he was nowhere to be found! Bondeni began to push at the gate, which would normally wake Max up, but today he slept right through it. 

Bondeni quickly got bored and turned to greet Naleku, Kindani, Esoit and Kinyei, who were standing behind him. They all began to chase each other around the stockade compound, clearly enjoying the cooler weather. They chased each other all the way out to the forest and then settled to browse with the rest of the herd. 

22 November 2021

Roho and Mukkoka do not seem as close as they once were. They used to play and wrestle each other in the forest, and Mukkoka would also run to Roho’s rescue when he needed help. Recently, however, Mukkoka seems to consider Roho as more of a competitor than a friend, perhaps because Roho is much older and bigger now. Every time the two have crossed paths the last couple of days, Mukkoka has just pushed him aside and continued with what he was doing. This really upsets Roho, who now keeps his distance. 

Roho was enjoying a wonderful wrestling match with Naboishu, and the pair were excitedly chasing each other throughout the forest when Mukkoka suddenly came over and pushed Roho aside, even though he had done nothing wrong. The Keepers quickly stepped in and told Mukkoka off, chasing him away from the duo. 

Mukkoka has been spending a lot more time with Bondeni and the younger orphans in the Nursery herd. Today, he was accompanied by Bondeni, Suguroi, Barnoti, and Mukutani, another one of our newer rescues. Whenever they stopped to browse, Bondeni would show off by rolling on the ground besides Mukkoka. 

Since Shukuru’s arrival back at the Nursery, Roho has become close with her and likes to follow her wherever she goes. Recently, Shukuru hasn’t been enjoying her milk feeds as much and has been skipping some of them. This afternoon, she didn’t want to come down for her 3 o’clock bottle of milk, and as a result, neither did Roho. The Keepers had usher them both down to the mud bath. By the time Roho got to the mud bath, he was so eager for his milk that he rumbled and trumpeted at his Keepers. 

23 November 2021

This morning, Maxwell and the orphans enjoyed chasing the resident warthogs and their piglets around. Max wasn’t in the mood to share his lucerne pellets, so he kept running after the warthogs and their piglets. As soon as they managed to get out of his stockade, Roho, Bondeni, Kinyei and Esoit chasing them around the compound and then back into Max’s stockade. They carried on, disturbing the warthogs for a couple of minutes, before Larro and Naleku stepped in and ended it all. 

Although Kerrio is much stronger, she can still be a little wobbly on her feet. As she came out of her stockade this morning, she stumbled on a stick and fell over. This caused her to yell out, which caught the attention of Larro, Naleku, and Kindani, who came running over to help. She is so lucky to have such attentive nannies. For the rest of the day, Naleku and Kindani remained by Kerrio’s side and didn’t let anyone but the Keepers near her. Although she was fine and didn’t hurt herself when she fell, Kerrio was enjoying all the attention. 

24 November 2021

We received another new rescue the night before from Salt Lick in Tsavo. In the morning, Larro, Mukkoka, Roho, Naleku, and the little boy Choka were all crowded around the young girl’s stockade, smelling and greeting her. She appeared to be communicating extensively with Larro and Mukkoka, as all three were rumbling quite a bit. After a short interaction, Larro and Mukkoka got all excited and dashed off to the forest, charging through the bushes. This excitement seemed to catch on with the other orphans. 

They were soon joined by Naboishu and Naleku, who also got excited and wanted to charge around with them. The could all be heard trumpeting in excitement. Roho was coming up from the stockade compound with Kamili and Kerrio, but with all the excitement, he too ran off and joined Larro, leaving the two girls with their Keeper. Everyone ran around for a few minutes before settling to browse with Latika, Barnoti and Choka. 

After their midday bottles of milk, Suguroi joined Roho in the mud bath. They were soon joined by Naboishu, Mukkoka, Kamili, Latika and some of the others. As the mud bath is not that big, some of the orphans just stood on the banks, splashing their bodies with mud. As one orphan would get out, another would get in. Shukuru and Ziwadi stayed well away from all the chaos. Kamili has been forming a close friendship with Shukuru, and throughout the day, she could be seen following her around the forest and mud bath. 

25 November 2021

Latika has a unique trunk. Unlike the other orphans’ trunks, it is very short — and because she has quite long legs, it appears even shorter. She is a very calm girl, but still quite shy with some of the herd, and does enjoy spending time on her own. Today, she browsed with Kamili before walking off to go browse in her own quiet corner. Unlike Kamili, she seems a little oblivious to the Nursery’s milk feeding routine, as she doesn’t always clock on when it is time to run down. This morning, the Keepers had to usher to the milk feeding point. 

Because there are so many babies in the Nursery these days, the Keepers had to divide them into two groups for feeding times. There is the younger group of eleven and the older group of twelve. Naleku and Kindani are the little leaders of the first group, taking responsibility of the smaller orphans and paying special attention to young Kerrio. Kamili was trailing at the back, but she quickly joined the rest of the group for her milk. Latika took so long that she ran down with the older group. 

Kerrio loves to wallow, but the big mud bath is too raucous for her, so the Keepers always prepare a mini mud pool off to the side. As the older orphans climb on each other in the big mud bath, Kerrio happily rolls around in her own little pool, closely watched by Naleku. Esoit and Mukutan, our rescue from the beginning of the month, made the mistake of trying to join Kerrio one day. Naleku quickly set them straight and drove them away. As the orphans returned to the forest after their mud bath, they decided to have a long dust bath on their special mound near the stockade compound, before returning to browse. 

26 November 2021

Naleku takes her nanny duties very seriously and will not leave the stockade compound until she knows that Kerrio is well and on her way. Some mornings, however, the Keepers want to keep Kerrio in her cozy stockade until the morning chill has lifted. That is what happened this morning. The Keepers were waiting for the morning to warm up before letting Kerrio out, so  Naleku flatly refused to follow the others and waited in the compound area. She kept herself busy by checking on the other new rescues and greeting all of them. Naleku spent some time with Oldepe and Sagateisa, rumbling at them both before hopefully returning to Kerrio’s stable.

Sadly for Naleku, Kerrio was still inside. So, she turned her attention to Maxwell, who was standing by his stockade door. As she was interacting with the big rhino, Kerrio finally made her way out of her stable. Naleku quickly ran over to her side and escorted her into the forest. 

Shukuru wasn’t feeling well today and was also a bit down yesterday. She continues to refuse her milk, but today she became even more quiet. The Keepers took her back to her stockade around 2:30pm so she could rest, and they could keep a closer eye on her. 

We received a new rescue this evening form Sala Gate in Voi. 

27 November 2021

Just as the orphans were heading out to the forest this morning, it began to rain. Some of the orphans were not bothered by it, but others did not like the loud noise it made on the roof. Kindani, Bondeni, Kinyei, Olorien and Suguroi started rumbling and tried to hide, but Kinyei took it to the next level and tried to climb out of her stable to get away from the noise. As they were causing such a stir, Barnoti and some of the other also began to protest by rumbling and trumpeting. The Keepers had no choice but to let them out. 

As it was raining quite heavily, the Keepers chose to keep Kerrio, Ziwadi, Kamili, and Shukuru, who still wasn’t feeling well, within the warmth of their stockades. They had to usher Naleku away, so she wouldn’t stand around waiting for Kerrio. 

Esoit was having the best time playing in the rain with Roho and Naboishu. He continues to be such a friendly, playful bull and he has such a good relationship with all the Nursery orphans. They were having such fun, charging after each other and wrestling in the mud. Kinyei, meanwhile, was sulking, as she wasn’t enjoying the rain. She eventually snuck back to the stockade compound to seek shelter under one of the open stockades. The Keepers saw her and decided to leave her be. 

Once the rain stopped, Ziwadi, Kamili and Kerrio were let out to join the rest of the herd. The Keepers decided to keep Shukuru in her stockade, where they could continue to monitor her condition. They also put her on a drip to give her some energy. 

28 November 2021

Nairobi has received so much rain over the past two days. This is great as we did need it, but it doesn’t always please the orphans. Throughout the evening, there were some heavy showers. Barnoti, Suguroi, Naboishu and Roho all refused to have their late-night bottles of milk, as they didn’t want to approach the door and risk getting wet. Instead, they chose to stay in their beds of hey, keeping warm. 

While some orphans were avoiding the rain, Maxwell was having the best time rolling around and caking his entire body under a thick layer of mud. He stayed out there for quite some time, before returning to his bedroom for the rest of the night. 

As Kinyei and Esoit emerged from their stables this morning, they found Max in his bottom stockade. They walked over to his gate to greet him, but the rhino was not in a very social mood and didn’t bother coming over to them. The elephants didn’t seem terribly put out and began their own game, chasing each other around the stockade compound and wrestling. Eventually, they ran to catch up to the others, who were already on their way to the forest. 

This was Shukuru’s second day on a drip and she remained within her stockade again. The Keepers are growing more and more concerned.

29 November 2021

Today was a very, very sad day, as we lost our dear Shukuru. She has struggled with her health for most of her life, but things took a turn over the last few days. She took her last breath with her Keepers by her side, surrounded by all the love she has known since she was rescued as a baby. Although the Keepers had seen some improvement during her time in the Nursery and we continued to monitor her condition, Shukuru’s health was always up and down. We know she is at peace now and she will be forever in our hearts. 

Recently, Mukkoka has not been living up to his reputation of the “friendly uncle.” In fact, he has been quite grumpy towards several the orphans. The Keepers aren’t sure if he may be jealous with all the new arrivals, but his mood change has been so drastic and sudden that everyone is a bit shocked. Today, he was even bullying some of the newer arrivals, such as Choka and Mukutan. The Keepers have never known him to do this, so they were very disappointed with him and ushered him away. 

In the evening, the Keepers brought new rescue Oldepe back to his stockade in the company of Mukkoka, Larro, Naboishu, Kindani, Olorien and Kinyei. Naboishu first started to bother Oldepe, so the Keepers had to chase him back to the forest. Once they were within the compound, Mukkoka started to push Oldepe, almost knocking him over. the Keepers had to step between them, banishing Mukkoka to join his naughty friend, Naboishu.

30 November 2021

With all the commotion surrounding Oldepe yesterday, the Keepers decided to leave him within the stockade compound so he could enjoy some peace and quiet. The Keepers also wanted to monitor Naboishu and Mukkoka, to see if their naughty behaviour was just a one-off or if they would carry on again.  

As the orphans settled in the forest to browse, Naleku was very uneasy, constantly pacing back and forth. It was obvious that she was looking for Kerrio. As there were more showers this morning, the Keepers decided to keep Kerrio, Ziwadi, and Kamili in their stables until the day had warmed up. Eventually, Naleku walked back to the stockade compound to wait for her friend. It was still drizzling a bit, but the Keepers decided to let Ziwadi and Kamili out. Unfortunately for Naleku, Kerrio remained inside, and she was ushered back to the forest without her friend. 

After the orphans’ midday bottles of milk, Naleku went running back to the stockade compound to find Kerrio. This time, it was dry enough for Kerrio to come out and join the rest of the herd in the forest. Barnoti and Taabu appear to be growing close, as they spent most of their day together. They even enjoyed an afternoon wrestling match in the forest. It is lovely to see friendships forming among our new rescues.