Keepers' Diaries, November 2021

Voi Reintegration Unit



Elephants love their routines. We are constantly reminded of this. Sagala, Tagwa and Tamiyoi usually guide the orphans out to browse, but they were lagging a bit one morning, so Ndoria took the lead. The girls apparently rankled at this, because in the following days, they stood well in front of the herd, in order to ensure it was they who led their friends out to browse!

01 November 2021

It was a lovely beginning to the day, with the orphan elephants leaving the stockades soon after finishing their milk and lucerne.

Ngilai and Emoli, who had missed playing with one another while still in the stockade compound this morning, engaged in a sparring match as soon as they arrived on the southern side of Msinga Hill to browse. Rorogoi and Araba greeted each other very affectionately and entwined their trunks.

The orphans made their way to the baobab tree mud bath for their noon milk bottles. Soon after they finished wallowing, the Trust’s air patrol reported an orphaned elephant alone in the Sobo area. The Voi team was mobilized for a rescue, but after three hours of searching, they still couldn’t locate the calf. Meanwhile, we received another report from the Kenya Wildlife Service, Tsavo East Warden regarding an orphan stuck in mud at the Ndololo water hole. We quickly made our way over to rescue that orphan, who was completely collapsed and very skinny. He was later airlifted to the Nairobi Nursery.  

02 November 2021

Once the orphans finished their morning feed, Ndii decided to enjoy a game of rolling, clearly enjoying herself and inviting her friends to play. Rorogoi instead went over to the orphans’ favourite scratching rock, where she rubbed her entire body. Ndotto scratched against once of the terrace walls and invited Arruba for sparring match right there.

The orphans took off towards the park and settled on the western side of the hill, about halfway up. Ngilai approached Pika Pika to play, but was met with some resistance from possessive Ndii, who chased him away.

The milk-dependent orphans went for their noon milk bottles and some water in the stockade compound today, as there was no water at the baobab tree mud bath. They had a lot of fun bathing in the stockade water hole and resumed browsing in the area, not wandering very far from the compound, until it was time to return home at 5pm.

03 November 2021

It was a bright morning today, as the orphans came parading towards the feeding area for their morning milk feed. Pika Pika, Emoli, Tagwa and Tamiyoi were the first to get their bottles before moving on to the pellets and lucerne feeding. Ngilai and Emoli started their usual sparring games, while Pika Pika went for an early morning dust bath.

Tundani picked on Ndotto for another stockade sparring game, while Suswa scratched against the twin trees. Sagala, Tagwa and Tamiyoi decided to stick together and hang around the compound waiting for the others to finish, but they weren’t the first to lead the herd out today. Instead, Ndoria was at the head of the herd and led the orphans towards the rocky Msinga Hill.

In the afternoon, the orphans walked down to have their milk feed close to the baobab tree waterhole. Later, they resumed browsing after a short swim in the mud wallow. Kenia led the herd across the open grassland for the afternoon browsing session. Tamiyoi couldn’t bear the scorching sun and sought shady refuge under some acacia trees for a few hours, before rejoining the others who were still browsing.

At 4pm, the orphans made their way back to the stockades for the night while still slowly browsing.

04 November 2021

This morning was one of those days that started in a hurry. We received a report from the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit, who was busy attending an injured elephant, about an orphaned calf stuck in the Sattao camp water hole. The Satao camp staff were able to pull the tiny elephant calf out of the mud, but the poor thing was still in a complete state of collapse.

At the same time, we noticed another orphaned elephant calf of nearly eight months stuck in the same drying water hole! When waterholes dry, a layer of thick mud cakes the perimeter. When these small calves tried to wade through to access the clean water, they couldn’t extract themselves and became increasingly stuck. Upon being freed, the second orphan followed some wild bulls. A team was sent to monitor them, but the bulls soon left the calf behind, as they couldn’t care for him. The orphan was running around in a state of panic, so was rescued and airlifted to the Nairobi orphanage. 

The tiny orphan was stabilized through some drips, although he was so badly dehydrated that it was hard to find a good vein. He was airlifted to the Kaluku Neonate Nursery.

05 November 2021

It was busy at the milk and lucerne feeding areas this morning. The orphaned elephants decided not to play around too much, and instead sought to catch the first light of day to begin browsing.

After seriously browsing for more than four hours, a few of the orphans decided to take a break and enjoy some games. Ngilai spotted his best friend Emoli and started a sparring match with him, while Murit went to scratch against a big rock boulder.

Murit picked up a piece of dry wood and carried it around in his trunk to show off to his friends, and then went a step further by catching up with Araba and initiating a pushing game. It’s rare to see Araba engaged in these kinds of games, so it was lovely to see them playing!

While at the afternoon mud bath, a report came in from the KWS warden about a wild elephant calf stuck in the Didaerea wind-mill water trough. We mobilized the stockade rescue team, who raced to the scene and assisted the little calf and reunited him with his mother and family, who were waiting nearby.

06 November 2021

It was a cool morning today. The milk-dependent orphans gulped down their delicious milk bottles and joined their friends to feed on lucerne. The orphans once again felt like there was no time to waste in the stockade compound, knowing they needed to spend the day finding as much food as possible. Tamiyoi, Sagala and Tagwa stood well in the front, to ensure it was they who led their friends out to browse, before taking everyone to the milk feeding area around 11am. 

Sagala, Tamiyoi and Tagwa took a very brief mud bath and then rolled on the ground to dry off. Pika Pika decided to get inside the water trough to have a swim, while Ngilai and Emoli enjoyed a sparring game just off to the side. Ndii came to watch Pika Pika in the water trough and soon decided to get in and join her! Godoma was sliding around on the edge of the mud bath, while Murit considered joining in. Later, the orphans continued with their afternoon of browsing.

07 November 2021

Everyone emerged from their night stockades in a happy mood today, finishing their milk bottles before enjoying a few socializing games. Naipoki and Ndoria engaged one another in a wonderful play fight. Their friend, Panda, was busy rolling around on the piles of loose, red earth, showing off to Ngilai, Godoma and Mbegu. Mudanda came over and abruptly intruded on Panda’s game in order to win the attention of the three young spectators who had been cheering her on. Mudanda played with Panda’s trunk and tried to engage her in a pushing game to get more attention.

When the orphans were finishing playing, they filed out of the stockades and walked into the bush to begin their morning of browsing.

When the orphans arrived at the mud bath after their noon milk feed, Godoma teamed up with Lasayen to briefly play in the water. Godoma then joined up with Emoli for yet another wonderful game. Mashariki and Suswa kept busy by scratching against the big baobab tree, before joining up with their friends, who were walking across the grasslands. 

08 November 2021

The orphans chose to browse along Msinga Hill this morning. It still has quite a lot of vegetation growing on its slopes, especially higher up, so they like to browse there first thing in the morning. Under the leadership of Mashariki, Arruba, Ndoria and Rorogoi maneuvered their way around the rocks on the hillside in search of fresh vegetation, quite high above the rest of the herd. 

A pride of lions was spotted hunting around the baobab mud wallow, so the orphans were forced to divert and head back towards the stockade for the afternoon.

After the milk feed, Kenia decided to cool off in the water trough as Ndii and Pika Pika had an exciting wallowing session. Arruba was spotted relaxing against the rock next to the water trough, while Ndoria stood quietly next to the mud wallow. Mbegu scratched against one of the terrace walls. The orphans then left the compound to resume browsing for the afternoon.

Around 4pm, we received a call from some KWS rangers regarding a tiny elephant calf who had been found stood guarding her dead mother’s body on the Ndara Plains. The Keepers rushed to the area and rescued the six-month-old baby, who was flown to Kaluku Nursery. 

09 November 2021

Ishaq-B and Tundani spent the morning in the compound catching up and affectionately patting one another, while the rest of the orphans enjoyed feeding on lucerne grass.

When they were ready, the elephants left the stockade compound to browse along the rocky Msinga Hill throughout the morning. Ngilai stopped to pose against a large rock and tried to touch the hat of a Keeper who was sitting atop the same rock. The other orphans continued browsing.

On the way to the milk feed, Araba approached her new friend Murit, bestowing him with lots of affectionate pats. This drew Pika Pika’s attention, who walked in between them to find out what they were talking about. Murit and Araba had been enjoying their own company and changed tactics quickly, starting a sparring match with one another that Pika Pika couldn’t be part of. Mbegu seemed to grow jealous of Murit and Araba’s interaction, which had been going on for some time by now, and tried to separate them. Murit has always been a member of Mbegu’s herd, dating back to their Nairobi Nursery days, and perhaps she didn’t like him playing with Araba for so long. Mbgeu’s efforts to separate the two friends were futile, as they just kept dancing around her.

Ndotto enjoyed a lengthy game, rolling atop the dust pile after wallowing, while Rorogoi and Suswa enjoyed some quality time in the mud hole. After an eventful wallowing session, Lasayen came out of the water to pose and show off next to the mud bath, before joining his friends to continue browsing across the open grasslands.

10 November 2021

Rorogoi took a break from feeding on lucerne this morning to scratch against one of the lower stockade terraces. Pika Pika spotted Rorogoi and seemed interested in her activities, so she initiated a sparring match.

The orphans then left the stockades to begin their busy day of browsing. They walked slowly, pacing themselves and making sure they found as much browse as they could. 

The milk-dependent orphans had their milk and then everyone had a wonderful mud bath. Ngilai chose to spar with his new friend Tagwa. He then tried to climb on her back, which was a step too far: Unfortunately for Ngilai, Kenia had been watching from the other side of the mud bath. She came charging over and pushed Ngilai away quite roughly. It just goes to show that even when we aren’t aware, the matriarch is always watching over the rest of the herd. Kenia didn’t want Ngilai misbehaving with Tagwa.

Mashariki jumped into the water trough instead of the main water hole and splashed about in the water, stirring it up and really enjoying herself. She looked like she was in her own personal plunge pool!

Later in the afternoon, we received a report from our Kaluku Field Ops of a collapsed orphaned elephant in the Mwatate Sisal Estate Sanctuary. The orphan was rescued at 7pm. We placed it on a drip for the whole night, but very sadly it was in such terrible condition already that it succumbed shortly before midnight.

11 November 2021

in the night and walked by his stockades on her way to her milk bottle, to pay her respects. She stood at the gate looking at the elephant, who was now covered lovingly in a blanket, as if paying tribute to a lost soul.

In the afternoon, the Kenya Wildlife Service senior warden passed by the stockades to prepare a stockade for the arrival of yet another newcomer: an orphaned zebra foal. The baby zebra had been rescued by Masai men, who were grazing their livestock and the baby had just walked over and joined them! They remained with the orphan for about one month before reporting him to the Kenya Wildlife Service authorities, who quickly collected him and brought him to the Voi stockades.

Lasayen took a break from browsing to enjoy an unusual pushing game with Ndotto. He and Ndotto were the best of friends at the Nairobi Nursery, but recently Lasayen has become much quieter and doesn’t normally wrestle or play. Their game caught Ngilai’s attention, so he came over to join in the fun, but this was too much for the young bull and he decided to browse rather than play. Ngilai wasn’t put out, as he simply started wrestling with Ndotto instead. Ndotto was all too happy to oblige; he is a very playful bull!

12 November 2021

It was another beautiful morning. The orphans played a hide and seek game, running here and there, scattering and disorienting the baboons who came down Msinga Hill to try to join the lucerne feed. The chasing games continued even as the orphans walked out to the bush, but they soon settled to browse.

After the noon milk feed, the orphans walked down to drink water from the baobab tree water trough. At the mud bath, Lasayen was the shining star of the rolling games, clearly showing off. This made Murit jealous, so he came striding into the water and lay on top of Lasayen to stop his ability to showcase his games. 

Meanwhile, Ndii was playing outside of the mud bath and lay on the ground to roll around. Ndoria went for a drink from the water trough and then started scratching her bottom against the side. Soon, a wild elephant herd came to drink water and join the orphan elephants. Tamiyoi and Sagala launched a mission of trying to sneak off with one of their small babies, but they were spotted and chased off by the babies’ siblings, which caused a panic and scattered the orphans. Once they settled down, they decided to leave the mud bath area and carry on with their afternoon of browsing.  

13 November 2021

It was another very hot morning, and the orphans left the stockade compound soon after finishing their milk feed and lucerne supplement. The sun was bright, forcing the orphans to take refuge under the trees in the area they were browsing. Soon, they quenched their thirst at the water trough, where the milk-dependent orphans had their noon milk bottles. 

There was a lot of fun and games in the mud bath today. When she was done swimming, Naipoki came out of water, chose a tree close to the water hole, and enjoyed a wonderful scratch. Ngilai and Emoli took each other head-on, as usual, and really enjoyed their game until everyone was ready to resume browsing. They were so engrossed in their game that they didn’t even notice their friends had already started to leave, so they had to run to catch up with them.

14 November 2021

Unlike some mornings, the orphans chose to play around in the compound this morning. Tamiyoi rubbed her itchy bottom against one of the stockade terraces and Ngilai walked over to join her. Tamiyoi didn’t like Ngilai standing behind her, unsure if he had any bad intentions and was going to try and climb on her, so she slowly moved away from the terrace and across to the lucerne feeding area. Ngilai then walked off to catch up with his best friend, Emoli, and they started a play fight. Mbegu stood tall on one of the stockade terraces behind Emoli, as if cheering him on in the contest!

Sagala, Tagwa and Tamiyoi enjoyed leading the orphans out to browse for the morning. Kenia, Ishaq-B and Naipoki browsed together and patted one another with their trunks. At the mud bath, Emoli sat in the water and played with both Tagwa and Murit. They later came out of water, enjoyed dusting themselves on the soil, and then walked off with their friends to browse for the rest of the day.

15 November 2021

It was funny to watch the younger orphans sprint to the milk feed area this morning. When they were done gulping down their delicious bottles, they duly sauntered over to the lucerne feeding area and waited for the Keepers to distribute some of the supplement food, which is much needed at the moment.

Our little drought victim. Kiume ,who we have been trying to revive, stood the whole night and browsed very slowly. His legs looked swollen, and he appeared tired and sleepy this morning. Kiume later went down for a nap and was left to rest.

The Voi dependent orphans spent the whole day browsing out across the grasslands. They made their way to the baobab tree around noon, so the milk-dependent babies could have their noon milk feed. Godoma and Mbegu spent a large chunk of the day together with quiet little Murit. Araba stayed browsing close to Kenia — and, of course, Pika Pika was never far from Ndii’s side. The buffaloes and zebra stayed in the stockade compound today as there are still reports of lion in the area.

Later, our SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Veterinarian called to say there was a collapsed orphaned elephant near a water trough about 16 kilometres from their offices. A team was mobilized and went to rescue the young elephant, who was in a complete state of collapse. We put him on drips and loaded him in the vehicle, which took him to the stockades. After several drips had been administered, the little bull was assisted to stand and went straight to browse on some fresh grewia branches. He drank quite a bit of water, too.

The Keepers then went to assist Kiume to stand up and he continued browsing in his usual, slow way. He went down to sleep at 8pm, but the Keepers noticed a change in his breathing around 4am. He died almost instantly, before the Keepers could even assess him or administer a drip or anything. We are sad to see this elephant go, especially because he held on for so long, but alas in the end he too succumbed to the drought. 

16 November 2021

The Voi orphans left the stockade compound today, as usual under the leadership of Tamiyoi, Tagwa and Sagala, with Godoma not far behind them. The orphan we rescued yesterday was airlifted to the Nairobi Nursery, where he will hopefully continue with his recovery.

The orphans spent the morning hours browsing on the eastern side of Msinga Hill. Suddenly ex-orphan Bada appeared from the pipeline area and walked straight over to the orphans, who warmly welcomed him back to the herd! It was so wonderful to see one of our orphans again after so many months away, for we last saw Bada in 2020.

The orphans set off to the baobab tree mud wallow after the noon milk feed, but the water bowser encountered a pride of lions laying in ambush in the area. The driver quickly alerted the Keepers, who turned the orphans around and led them back to the stockades to have their mud wallow ! The Keepers gave the orphans some lucerne as well, as a little top up to what they had managed to browse on today. Bada decided to hang around with the dependent orphans for the rest of the day. Godoma showed off by posing along one of the terraces and then enjoyed a good scratch, as Emoli and Ngilai engaged in their usual sparring games.

17 November 2021

Tamiyoi enjoyed leading the herd across the rocky Msinga Hill this morning, as everyone embarked on a serious browsing mission. A wild eland with one broken horn, who sometimes follows the orphan elephants, linked up with them at the stockade water trough and proceeded to shadow the herd across the hill. 

We had some light rainfall later in the morning, which was absolutely amazing. Araba used her front feet and toenails to dig at the soil and make a nice soft pile to play in. She then invited Godoma to join her and enjoy the wet soil for a dust bath.

After a peaceful morning of browsing, the orphans crowded under the commifora tree to await the van bringing the noon milk bottles. Afterwards, they all walked down to the water hole and mud wallow. Panda lined up with Suswa, Ishaq-B and Arrruba at the water trough, as the rest of the orphans cooled off in the mud bath. Mudanda and Lasayen posed at the water trough, while Ndii scratched against the baobab tree.

The orphans resumed browsing on the slopes of the hill, searching for better browse than what they could find elsewhere. Tagwa enjoyed browsing uphill with her friends in Mbegu’s group, while Naipoki stayed at the foot of the hill with some of the others. Murit invited Araba to a sparring match, then Emoli and Ngilai decided to join them. Slightly apart from the rest of the herd, Bada, Ndotto and Suswa browsed quietly, enjoying each other’s company very much.

18 November 2021

Pika Pika and Emoli sprinted to the feeding area for their morning milk bottles. Tamiyoi was right behind them, leaving her best friend Tagwa behind, who arrived a little late. At the lucerne feeding area, Pika Pika was sandwiched between Kenia, Ndii and Panda, all who were keeping a close eye on her.

On their daily bush walks, the orphans maneuvered their way around Msinga Hill to browse. In the afternoon, they walked down to the baobab mud wallow. Along the way, Tundani invited Naipoki to a sparring game, but Ishaq-B became very jealous and intervened to end their game. Tundani then turned on Ishaq-B and the two had a fantastic time playing before mud bath time.

The orphans played in the water for a long time and had a lot of fun before leaving to continue their afternoon of browsing. Later in the afternoon, an orphaned male zebra was rescued by the Rukinga Ranch scouts after being found alone. Our stockade rescue team drove over to collect the little one and bring it back to the Voi stockades. 

19 November 2021

The Voi orphans left the compound for the day on their daily bush walk towards the northern side of Msinga Hill. Ngilai and Emoli started their own exciting pushing game. Murit continues to strengthen his friendship with little Araba, so he sought her out to initiate yet another little sparring competition. Pika Pika browsed alongside Ndii and Panda, as Lasayen and Godoma ran about, trumpeting and pushing each other in excitement.

In the afternoon, our SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet Unit called about an orphaned elephant calf who was stuck in mud at Didaerea. A rescue team from the Voi stockade left immediately to the area and helped extract the calf. He had been stuck in a bad position for what must have been a long time; the poor calf couldn’t walk because his front legs were so swollen. After the vet treated him, the elephant was loaded onto the pickup truck and taken to the Voi stockades to recuperate.

20 November 2021

After the morning milk feed, the orphans left for the bush, leaving behind Emoli and Ngilai, who were affectionately greeting one another in the stockade compound.

The orphans spent the morning browsing around the summit of Msinga Hill, not far from the stockade compound. Mashariki maneuvered her way up the hill slowly but carefully, and after a short while she found herself at its peak. In the afternoon, she didn’t bother coming down for extra lucerne, despite the Keepers’ efforts to call her.

The rest of the herd walked down the hill and back to the stockades for the noon milk feed. At the mud wallow, Ishaq-B posed and scratched against the orphans’ favourite rock. Panda then approached her and the two exchanged kisses by patting each other with their trunks/ Panda moved on to scratch against the rock next to the water trough, leaving Ishaq-B relaxing beside the terraces. As the rest of the herd started to leave for the bush, Tamiyoi was spotted scratching on the twin trees. She later had to run to catch up with the herd.

21 November 2021

Godoma was the leader of the herd today and walked the out towards the bush, but initially only Tagwa, Tamiyoi, Sagala and Lasayen followed her, while the rest remained behind to finish up every last piece of lucerne. Eventually, the whole herd set off to join the others, who had already started browsing on the open savanna grassland.

Emoli and Pika Pika started their own little pushing game later in the morning, turning to face each other head-on in proper sparring mode. Under the baobab tree, Rorogoi sat on the edge of the mud hole, scratching her bottom, while the rest of the orphans had a great time wallowing. 

While some of the orphans walked away to resume browsing, Araba started digging at the ground so she could make a pile of cool soil to enjoy a dust bath. Pika Pika and Mashariki rolled around on the ground, too.

Later in the evening, at around 7pm, ex-orphan Laikipia visited the stockades for the first time since January this year! After quenching his thirst, he stood in the feeding area and wistfully stared at the pellet store. The Keepers caught his hint and duly served him some lucerne. When he was done, he walked off back into the bush.

22 November 2021

Early in the morning, before the orphans had even emerged from their night stockades, ex-orphan Laikipia showed up again and walked straight over to the lucerne feeding area. He stood by as the orphans had their milk bottles and then patiently waited for the lucerne to be distributed. The orphans must have been happy to be in the company of such a handsome 22-year-old elephant. Laikipia joined them out in the bush for a bit, before diverting to go his own way. Tundani attempted to follow Laikipia for a short distance, but Laikipia has a very fast pace, which forced Tundani to turn back and rejoin the rest of his stockade dependent friends.

In the afternoon, Mashariki was splashing about in the mud wallow and Tundani sat on the edge, posing for the camera. Sagala was on the other side of the mud bath, scratching against the baobab tree, where Ishaq-B joined her. Ndii was so excited in the mud wallow and kept running from one end to the other, in a charging mood. Pika Pika, Ndii, Mashariki and Arruba also had a good time in the mud wallow, but they were much more subdued than their friend Ndii.

Later in the evening, Laikipia returned to the stockade compound after spending the whole day out browsing. He made a beeline for the lucerne grass and pellets that the Keepers had laid out for him. 

23 November 2021

The earliest caller to the stockades this morning was Laikipia, quietly entering and coming for a drink of clean water from the stockade trough, before waiting patiently to have some lucerne with the dependent orphans. Soon, the milk-dependent babies came running out of their night stockades to gulp down their bottles and join up with Laikipia and Kenia’s herd to have lucerne. 

Tamiyoi, who has always been one of the decision-makers on when it is time to leave the stockade compound, took the lead and escorted the orphans out to browse. Some chose to hang back and admire the huge size of Laikipia, as they walked next to him. 

After browsing for more than four hours, Laikipia started chasing Panda around amorously, but Panda kept running away from him, making it difficult for Laikipia to succeed. Laikipia soon left, but Ngilai, who had been watching Laikipia, started trying to do the same to Tagwa. Tagwa grew tired of running away from Ngilai and turned to face him for a pushing game instead. Later, she relaxed by leaning against a big boulder.

After the noon milk feed and mud bath, Emoli started chasing some wild zebra and waterbucks who had approached the water hole. He soon grew tired and started to follow his friends, who were leaving for browsing. Finally, the thirsty zebras and antelopes could come in for a drink.

An orphaned baby elephant, whose reasons for being orphaned were unclear, was sighted at Salt Lick Sanctuary. She was rescued by the Voi stockade and Ziwani De-Snaring Teams and air-lifted to the Nairobi Nursery.

24 November 2021

Ex-orphan Laikipia arrived at the Voi stockade again this morning. Most of the younger orphans chose to feed in the opposite corner, as they were so intimidated by his massive size. Only Rorogoi was bold enough to fully interact with Laikipia in feeding.

The ladies, Kenia, Naipoki, Ndii and Panda, who have nearly reached maturity now, stood the furthest corner, away from Laikipia. They seemed to be avoiding him and making sure he didn’t get too close to them.

After the feeding, the four ladies followed at the back of the herd behind Laikipia, making sure the other younger orphans gave them the required distance and separation from him. Laikipia then continued walking off into the northern bushier side of the hill, following the scent of some wild elephant herds and leaving the orphans behind.

The orphan proceeded with their daily browsing routine, visiting the water hole in the afternoon and having a lot of fun in the mud bath. Rorogoi sat against the wall of the mud bath, competing with Embu about who among them could gain the most spectators and supporters in their respective games.

Around 3pm, the orphans all took a break from browsing to seek shade under a big acacia tree, as the sun was shining bright and hot. In the evening, Laikipia returned to the stockades and was given a second round of lucerne and pellets to fill him up.

25 November 2021

It was a morning full of activity. The orphans congregated in the lucerne feeding area to feast on supplements after having their milk bottles. Laikipia didn’t show up today, so the older girls Kenia, Panda, Naipoki and Ndii seemed much more relaxed and settled down to enjoy the supplement food.

The orphans then took off towards the grasslands at a slow pace, sometimes pausing to seek refuge from the scorching sun under whichever trees were close by. Tagwa and Tamiyoi spent most of the day in each other’s company, while quiet Murit chose to browse close to Mbegu and Godoma.

All was well today, until later a report came in from the SWT/KWS Tsavo Mobile Vet about an orphan elephant spotted all alone at the Satao Camp water hole. The Keepers rushed to the scene and found the young male, who was very dehydrated and thin. He had been escorted to the waterhole by some bulls, but they later left him there, as they couldn’t help him any further. The orphan was rescued around 2pm and brought to the Voi stockades. 

26 November 2021

The new orphan elephant made it through the night and is doing well. Sagala, Mbegu, and Tamiyoi made a stopover at his stockade on their way to the milk feed, to greet and check in on him. The Keepers prepared for the new orphan to be airlifted to the Nairobi Nursery. We were very worried about him, as we saw lots of worms in his stools. In his weakened condition, that is never a good sign. The young boy was eventually air lifted to the Nairobi Nursery at 10.30am.

Out in the Park, the Voi dependent orphans carried on with their day of browsing. Ndoria seemed to be running the show at the mud bath, showing off in the water and rolling about, joyfully splashing and slapping the water. Ishaq-B came over and challenged her by lying and rolling around in the water. Embu stood at the edge of the mud bath, rubbing her bottom against the wall and having a good scratch, but Mudanda came over and ousted her, taking over the good scratching spot. Ndotto and Murit came out of the water and took up position on the loose soil, so as to commandeer that spot for themselves. They really enjoyed rolling around on the soil and kept the dusting games all to themselves. Eventually, they followed their friends, who had already started to filter out to continue browsing for the rest of the afternoon.

27 November 2021

There was a lot of activity in the stockade compound this morning, as the orphans decided to stick around after having their milk bottles and lucerne supplements. Tamiyoi decided to go for an early morning dust bath, while Godoma showed off to the rest of the herd and the Keepers by lying down and throwing her head high in the air. It achieved the desired effect, as Pika Pika loved the look of her game and immediately went over to join her. She slid down next to Godoma on her tummy and kept her company whole time. Ngilai and Emoli were busym engaged in their usual wrestling match. Today, Emoli seemed determined to win and he wouldn’t back down from his opponent, even though he is younger and smaller than Ngilai. Ndotto and Lasayen were having fun playing their own sparring match, slightly further away.

The orphans browsed in single file, arriving at the water hole in the afternoon. In a fully charged mud bathing session, Arruba flopped on top of Rorogoi, as she became very jealous of the fact that she was playing with Pika Pika and wanted to bring an end to their game. Pika Pika always remains very neutral and doesn’t want to be doted on by any of the over-bearing females, so she snuck away from both of them and moved over to the baobab tree for a scratch. Suswa and Bada remained behind, playing in the mud bath.

28 November 2021

Once the milk and lucerne feeding was over, Tagwa engaged Ngilai in a sparring match. This ended prematurely, as their friends had already left the stockade compound for the bush. Pika Pika was treated like a princess as usual, with Ndii, Kenia, Arruba, Ishaq-B and Panda all huddled around her while browsing. Araba, who has been very much abandoned by the older females, sought browsing company with Emoli.

Later, we received reports of two collapsed orphan elephants: one at Rukinga Ranch and another at Ndara. The two orphans were rescued and put on drips in the Voi stockades. When she arrived back at the stockades, Tamiyoi took ample time touching the new babies who were still on a drip, before moving on to feed on the lucerne and grewia branches that the Keepers had laid out for them for the evening. Tamiyoi is a very caring young girl, that’s for sure.

29 November 2021

After the morning milk feed, the dependent orphans hung around the compound to play games. Afterward, Mbegu took the lead out to the bush. This was unusual for Mbegu, but everyone was happy to follow behind her! On the way out, Embu decided to lie down right in the path of everyone moving out, so Mudanda had to intervene and push her to get out of the way.

Bada, Mudanda and Mashariki decided to take a different path and browse separately, before joining up with their friends as everyone started to move towards the baobab tree. After the noon milk feed, Godoma led the orphans down to the mud bath and into the water to wallow. Everyone was eager to cool down this hot day. Kenia confined herself to the water trough and stayed there to drink, as she is not known to enjoy the mud bath so much. The orphans later resumed with their usual browsing activities until evening. 

In these prevailing dry conditions, we received another report of a collapsed orphan from the Mobile Vet Unit. Very sadly, our rescue team arrived to find that the calf had already passed away. It was a powerful reminder that our orphans are very much the lucky ones, afforded a second chance at life. 

An orphaned baby giraffe was spotted yesterday, walking alone with a herd of zebra in Ngutuni Ranch. She was rescued and brought to the Voi stockades today! We are excited to have a new baby in our midst for the moment, while plans are made on which unit she will be taken to. She was very happy to have milk formula and attention from the Keepers, and soon settled down in her stockade.  

30 November 2021

While the elephant orphans were busy feeding on lucerne after having their milk bottles, the Keepers turned their focus to their new baby, our little orphaned giraffe, who has been named Twiggy. They engineered ways to safely feed her milk, using a ladder and climbing into the stockade bunkbed that the Keepers sleep in from time to time.

The elephant orphans then left the compound for their daily bush walks, escorted by some of the Keepers, while others remained behind with the baby giraffe. Mashariki and her friends Embu, Ndoria and Arruba maneuvered their way around the rocky side of Msinga Hill in search of fresh foliage to browse on. The rest of the herd settled at the foot of the hill and slowly made their way towards the baobab tree waterhole. The milk-dependent orphans had their bottles and then joined the older orphans in Kenia’s group down at the mud wallow. Rorogoi splashed herself for a little while at the edge of the mud bath, before deciding to plunge straight into the middle for a proper swim. Mashariki tested the water with her feet, unsure whether to get in or not. Sagala basked on the edge, just outside the mud wallow. Rorogoi came out of the water and started rolling on the soil next to her, attempting to dry off after her swim. After a brief swim, Arruba and Ndotto relaxed under the baobab tree, and later started their own pushing game. Tundani decided not to get into the mud bath at all and settled by the water trough instead, dipping just one foot in to cool off. Ishaq-B majestically exited the mud bath, almost sashaying to get attention, and walked over to Sagala, who was now scratching against the baobab tree.

When they were done playing in the mud bath, the orphans resumed browsing. They walked deep into a nearby wooded area and stayed there for the rest of the day, until they returned to the stockades for the night.